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CITY, ND – (NewsDakota.com) The Autumnal Equinox Celebration will be Thursday September 22nd at Medicine Wheel Park along Winter Show Road.

People are encouraged to walk along the North Country Trail to the MEDICINE WHEEL PARK starting at 6:30pm, those who can’t are encouraged to drive to the park.

Here are the schedule of events:

7:00 pm –  Native American Musical Performers, “The Buffalo River Dancers and Singers”

7:30 pm Observe the sunset. Then star gazing until 9pm weather permitting. Remember to bring insect repellent and a blanket to enjoy the evening.

In case of inclement weather, the Buffalo River Dancers and singers will be at the Froemke Auditorium on the campus of Valley City State University for a free performance at 7PM.  Listen to KOVC radio and pay attention to Facebook for notification of change of venue.

History Lesson: “Equinox” literally means “equal night”, giving the impression that the night and day on the equinox are exactly the same length; 12 hours each. But this isn’t entirely true.

“Equinox” means “equal night” in Latin. But even if the name suggests it and it’s widely accepted, it isn’t entirely true that day and night are exactly the same on the equinox all over the world – only nearly.

On any other day of the year, the Earth’s axis tilts a little away from or towards the Sun. But on the two equinoxes, the Earth’s axis tilts neither away from nor towards the Sun.  The equinoxes occur the moment the sun crosses the celestial equator – the imaginary line in the sky above the Earth’s equator. This happens in March and September every year.