Drum Circles for Summer Solstice

In honor of summer solstice, I did the trifecta of southwest Florida's drum circles, starting out small on Friday night in North Port, building up for Nokomis on Saturday, and rounding out with Siesta Key Beach on Sunday evening.  North Port is more intimate.  Nokomis Beach is going to be of primary focus, and Siesta is, of course, probably the most well known of the three drum circles.

It was a Tom Petty weekend with Ras and Jose, as we kept hearing various Tom Petty tunes, especially after Ras mentioned the song, "Won't Back Down."  Some people don't believe in coincidence, and it was almost as if the rocker I was once start struck by had been passing me some musical inspiration to channel over the weekend.  We found ourselves busting out a rasta version.

Ras is the one who feeds the licks, and Jose brings the cow bell.  The two are known by many who venture to the drum circle as staples amongst a sea of familiar faces.  Sure, people may come, and people may go, as Florida gets a lot of tourists, but there's a few die hard drummers there, too.

There's people who get religious about drawing the circles, putting fresh flowers in a mound in the middle, even burning sage to clear the energies at the beaches.  These are the regular ones there day in and day out, only missing in case of emergency or going to visit "up north" for whatever reason.  These familiar faces are the ones that people come to know, regardless of many who may go.

Even though random lyrics do occur, the drum circle is mainly known for drums - or so people think.  There's actually a variety of instruments that show up, from the classically inspired variety, to the ones made by hand or in the spur of the moment tapping on whatever random object happens to be nearby.  People like to join in, and sometimes, necessity is the mother of inventions in any artform.

Sure, the basics of drumming is following the rhythm of the natural heart beat.  Get it to synch up, and as the drums slow, the heart rate slows.  As drumming speeds up, so does the heart rate naturally.

There's certainly people who play to the beat of their own drum, so to speak, but there's also a movement in the music itself.  It can also depend on what instruments are around, be it steel drums, something smaller that's designed to be tapped with the hands, or even coconut shells knocking.  Try to get lost in the music, drifting to another plane, whether dancing, playing or chasing bubbles.

The drum circles are designed for all ages.  Tiny tots run through hula hoops in the sand, while older kids practice gymnastics skills.  Fly with feathers or butterfly wings, and once the sun sets, grab the glow sticks and LED devices to create trails of color in the sky that can be seen a ways away.

The great thing about being at a beach drum circle, is if you get tired, just hop in the ocean, and if you get tired, lean back on the sand, and if you're lucky enough at night, you might see a couple shooting stars.  If you've never been to a drum circle, Florida has many, and other places do, too.  Check out drumcircles.net/circlelist.html for more information; there's also a drum circle finder on Facebook.