Each solstice show has a theme, and this year, the focus is on a bear and its annual cycle in relation to the sun. The story follows the bear as it seeks out and consumes food to prepare for hibernation. According to Barb LaVigne from the Good Harbor Hill Players, the bear will settle in for a long nap and potentially encounter "unexpected fellow hibernators knocking on her door before the sun returns and wakes her up."

The performance is expected to run approximately 35 minutes, and as usual, will feature a live band providing the soundtrack. The event is free, with donations welcome. The performance is held outdoors, and attendees are advised to dress warmly and appropriately for the weather.

Following the shadow puppet show, a community potluck will take place indoors. Those planning to participate in the potluck are requested to bring a dish to share and their own utensils. 

Community members burn their gloomies after the 2024 shadow puppet show.  

In keeping with tradition, a fire will be available for audience members to burn their "gloomies," or "gloom," after the show. A gloom is a thought or worry someone writes down on a piece of paper that the individual wishes to see go up in smoke. The first documented tradition of writing down and burning "gloomies" began as an idea from artist Will Shuster in Santa Fe in 1923 on Christmas Eve. By 1924, he decided to combine the Mexican Yaqui tradition of burning a Judas effigy with burning gloomies to create the first Zozobra effigy in Shuster's backyard (Zozobra is a Spanish word for a strong feeling of anxiety or distress). The annual burning of this figure, nicknamed "Old Man Gloom," has since become a major event in New Mexico, drawing over 60,000 attendees. 

To learn more about the Good Harbor Hill Players, click here.