NWDC Hosts 250+ for Winter Solstice Celebration

The 2024 Winter Solstice Celebration was, without a doubt, our biggest and best yet! We were thrilled to host over 250 community members who bundled up and came down to enjoy a FREE evening of festivities with us at the River Campus.

The event took place from 4 – 7 pm on the solstice itself: Saturday, December 21, 2024. The first item on the program was a land and solstice acknowledgment. Taylor Driver (NWDC Executive Director), Crystal Speier (Crystal Moon Witchery), and Lei Marquez and Doug Villers (CSU-Pueblo Astronomical Society) took turns speaking about the socio-cultural and scientific significance of this seasonal holiday, which marks the longest night of the year and promises a gradual return to more hours of sunlight. Waves of anticipation rippled through the crowd as we inched closer to the next big moment of the evening. . . the wild owl release!

The acknowledgment concluded, and NWDC Raptor Center Director Diana Miller stepped forward, accompanied by our guest of honor: Pueblo City Councilor Sarah Martinez. At their feet sat a small cardboard animal carrier, holding a very special Great Horned Owl.

Photo: Zachary Allen, Pueblo Chieftain

This Great Horned Owl was originally found struggling in a tangled mess of barbed wire. These situations often have a sad ending, but luckily for this owl, a kind soul rescued it and brought it to our Raptor Center for rehabilitation. After a few weeks, it had a full recovery and was ready to return to the wild!

Diana assisted City Councilor Martinez in carefully holding the bird, which was affectionately nicknamed “Solstice” by our Raptor Center care team, although we normally do not name wild birds. With a toss, it took to the air and flapped silently away to a round of applause from the gathered crowd. Click here for the video!

Photo: Zachary Allen, Pueblo Chieftain

The evening festivities continued with a drum circle, community fire, and luminaria walk located around the outside areas of the River Campus. Over in the Riverfront Room, we had hot cocoa, hundreds of Schuster’s cookies, Christmas carols, prize drawings, and bird of prey meet and greets to entertain guests and teach them more about our raptor rehabilitation efforts.

We were thrilled by the amazing turnout we had, and we are incredibly grateful for each and every person who celebrated the winter solstice with us. We are especially grateful for our generous sponsors, whose donations made it possible for us to offer this signature Pueblo event to our community for FREE. This is why we do what we do. Thank you for being a part of it!

Photo: Jenn de Groot, NWDC