It's the longest day of the year.

It's the first day of summer.

June 21 must be the perfect day for a party.

Sara Segerlin, senior museum educator at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, says hosting that party fits in perfectly with the museum's mission -- bringing together art, nature and community. And the museum has the perfect location -- around James Turrell's Skyspace installation, "The Way of Color."

The Skyspace -- created by the 71-year-old artist best known for his work-in-progress, Roden Crater, near Flagstaff, Ariz. -- is all about bringing visitors "closer to the sky," Segerlin explains, and calling to their attention the way light changes seasonally. As part of the solstice celebration, visitors can hear "The Way of Timbre," a site-specific musical performance commissioned by the Walton Arts Center and composed especially for the Skyspace by renowned sound artist Steve Parker of SoundSpace.

"It uses wind instruments, including digeridoos, to create this sort of sweeping sound and color sequence around the top of the Skyspace," Segerlin describes. "Now guests will have a new way of experiencing the Skyspace."

Early in the evening, children of all ages can make art with bubbles and sound with PVC pipes and musical instruments, and later, a collaboration with Downtown Bentonville's Notes at Night series brings a poppy and popular Bentonville band, The Airplanes, to add another sonic element to the celebration. And, Segerlin says, to top it all off, the Astronomical Society of Northwest Arkansas will set up telescopes for viewing the night sky.

"We hope to see a wonderful blend of different age groups here, kids and parents and senior citizens," Segerlin says. "It's the first day of summer! Who doesn't want to celebrate?"

-- Becca Martin-Brown

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