byA. LaBan
Summer Solstice, also known as Midsummer, Litha or St. John's Day, marks the longest day of the year and the beginning of summer. Celebrated in various forms since the Stone Age, solstice is derived from the Latin word "solstitium," meaning "that the sun stood still."
Solstice was celebrated in ancient Celtic Europe with night-long bonfires blazing in places like Stonehenge, the Plain of Salisbury and numerous wooded groves. Druids lead ceremonies that celebrated the fertility of the earth. Sexual unions during these festivities were an essential part of the rites, since the Celts believed trees and plants could not be fertile without the complementary union of human beings.
Urban dwellers today continue to celebrate summer by flocking to our own modern-day sacred groves, sidewalk cafes and beer gardens. And, like the festivities of old, these gatherings are overseen and behavior is mandated by our society's current supervisory bodies. Chicago's latter day druids are to be found in the Department of Revenue in Room 107 at City Hall. Here work the wise ones who publish the twelve pages of rules and regulations (complete with dos and don'ts graphics) concerning the city's Sidewalk Café Program.
Some things have changed since ancient times. No more all-night rituals that celebrate the rising sun. Sidewalk cafés are licensed to operate only between the hours of 8am and midnight. Gatherings now have more structure: Sidewalk cafés must leave six feet of clear space for pedestrian movement between the outer edge of the sidewalk café and the curb line, and no sidewalk café can be located within 15 feet of a bus stop, bus shelter, or rapid transit station entrance. No rules, however, about bonfires or public acts of romance.
In spite of the structures imposed, denizens of the city seem to be able to find nearly as much pleasure in our outdoor gathering places as the pagans of the past did in theirs. Take the patrons of the Zephyr Cafe, who sit under the shade of an expansive awning complete with ceiling fans on an Astro-Turfed stretch of Wilson Avenue in Ravenswood. Summer decadence knows few bounds here, where diners gather from 8am until 1am on the weekends (midnight during the week), imbibing festive beverages and frolicking through all manner of frozen, butterfat-based creations with names like War of the Worlds, The Titanic and The Grand Hotel.
Urban warriors looking for a sidewalk sanctuary off Michigan Avenue can commune at Bella Luna Cafe, a neighborly Italian restaurant at Dearborn and Superior. The twinkling white lights hanging over the sidewalk seating reflect the soft jewel tones of the restaurant's interior. Surrounded by an uncanny silence that reigns after the construction on the hulking condo/Whole Foods complex across the street knocks off for the day, diners enjoy a selection of pizzas, generous pastas and entrées like cappellini canne strelli, a thready pasta with pillow-sized scallops and spinach in a marinara sauce, and bistecca all pizzaolla, grilled NY strip sautéed with tomatoes, black olives, garlic and white wine and topped with fresh mozzarella.
For those who want to let it all hang out on that special night, the Museum of Contemporary Art hosts its annual twenty-four-hour Summer Solstice Celebration, starting at 5pm on June 18 and running through 5pm the next day. Billed as "an exuberant festival of contemporary art, dance, music and activities for audiences of all ages," the party features artfully-prepared sustenance from the M Café, as well as a couple thousand slices of Bailey's Millennium Cheesecake from Eli's; in the morning, don't miss the free breakfast of Krispy Kreme donuts.
Zephyr Cafe, 1777 West Wilson, (773)728-6070
Bella Luna Café 731 North Dearborn, (312)751-2552
Museum of Contemporary Art, (312)280-2660
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