By Alan Burke
MARBLEHEAD — First, a news flash. It isn't winter yet.
But the big day comes Monday, and the Clifton Improvement Association (yes, the CIA) will mark the change in seasons with a visit to its new Sun Circle at Beach Bluff Park. The $70,000 mini-Stonehenge designed by Marblehead architect Bruce Greenwald was erected this past fall and will mark the winter solstice for the first time as the sun beams past a stone pillar and scores an interior disc at precisely 7:10 a.m.
"It's a solar calendar," Greenwald explained.
"I'm glad the CIA can offer the community both the science and some mystery," added the organization's president, Lynn Nadeau. The CIA includes residents from both Swampscott and Marblehead.
In case of clouds, Tuesday at 7:11 will be the alternate date, as the sun's rays will only be off by a bit by then, according to Greenwald's wife, Krena. The site is at Atlantic Avenue on the Swampscott/Marblehead line. Children will be welcome and music encouraged.
"Everybody is invited," Krena said. Compared to the unveiling of the sculpture, she added, "This will be much more relaxed."
Although such structures are often seen to have mystical properties, Greenwald explains that the purpose of his is almost entirely educational. Astronomer and former Marblehead High School teacher Jim Keating will be on hand to talk about the heavens and the pathways of the sun, a course more easily charted thanks to the Sun Circle.
Yet, Greenwald won't deny "there is something about the power of the circle when you stand in the center. ... This was created as an artistic sculpture. If it's seen also as a special place for people, that's good, too."
It's the perfect time of year for this, Nadeau said. "Thinking about the Earth's relationship to the sun is a very grounding experience."
For her part, Krena isn't certain of the turnout given the cold weather. She stressed that this is not a religious ceremony, although the opening brought Catholic, Protestant, Jewish and Muslim clergy. "We have invited the Wiccans," she said, "but they never came."
Some believe Stonehenge-like structures harken back to the Druids, but Krena noted a lack of historical documentation establishing even the existence of such a class.
The origins of the most famous sun circle, the actual Stonehenge, still sparks controversy among historians and archaeologists who simply cannot say authoritatively who built the thing.
Greenwald built this one, however, with lots of help and with donations from the public. The CIA is still looking for donations to make improvements to the seawall that protects the park and this unique public monument. Thus far, Nadeau estimates the total cost of the project at $300,000 "without any public funding."
Anyone willing to mark the coming of winter with a gift to the sun can do it at the group's Web site, www.ciabeachbluff.org.
