6-21-2025 1:02am

Hale Education Hosts Summer Solstice Swim and S'mores

Darlene Cancell Editor

Photo by Westwood Minute/Maddie Mulligan. Members of the public attended Hale Education's Summer Solstice Swim and S’mores event in Westwood on June 18, 2025.

By Maddie Mulligan

Arriving at Hale’s South Beach in Westwood, the sounds of splashing overlaid children’s joyful screaming as the sun began to dip lower in the sky. Blankets and chairs were left empty as people wandered in and out of the water, cooling off on one of the first days of summer vacation.

To celebrate the start of the summer months, Hale hosted its Summer Solstice Swim and S’mores event on June 18th. Free and family-friendly, the event featured open swimming and boating followed by s’mores to roast over campfires on the beach.

Check out some photos from the event below!

Accompanied by a lifeguard or parent, many kids took boats out onto Noanet Pond. From canoes to rowboats to paddle boards, Hale offered many different ways to cool off by the water besides swimming.

Many of the smaller kids played around the shore, leaving pails and shovels abandoned around the beach as they jumped around the shallow end. Parents could be seen dodging potential rolled ankles from the various castles and streams built across the sand.

Just before 7:15 pm, the s’mores station was in full swing as families lined up for their share. Kids came running straight from the water to get their hands on a sweet treat, Hale staff giving out sticks and marshmallows to eager hands.

Hale Summer Camps leadership was also in attendance to meet families and answer any questions about the upcoming summer. Hale offers many different camps on its property, each popular with residents of Westwood as well as neighboring towns.

Stacey Gallaway, a resident of Jamaica Plain, visited Hale for the first time for the Summer Solstice event. Preparing to send her son to his first ever summer at camp, Gallaway and her family wanted to experience Hale on its own before the camp season started.

“My son, Leo, is six, and he is going to camp here this summer. It’s his first time going to camp, and so we wanted to come see how beautiful it was and get him acquainted with the space,” said Gallaway.

Families then crowded around the small campfires, many strangers interacting over the firelight. With around 100 cars having registered for the event, the crowd quickly grew as many people shared campfires to allow everyone to enjoy the s’mores portion of the night.

As families milled about the campfires, Hale’s Executive Director Aaron Morehouse took the time to thank people for coming out and extend his well wishes for this summer.

“Hopefully you got your belly full of s’mores,” said Morehouse. He noted that Hale is a place for both new faces and people returning to Hale generation after generation. “This is a place to gather,” he said, excited about seeing everyone there.

The Summer Solstice event kicked off Morehouse’s first summer as Executive Director after having been announced to the position last August.

As the crowd began to dwindle, parents packed up their beach wares and attempted to wrangle their kids out of the water. If the crying and screaming coming from many kids was an indication of anything, it was that they enjoyed their time at Hale enough to not want to leave.

And though many parents had to deal with meltdowns, they couldn’t help but share the sentiment about Hale’s summer kickoff.

“This is awesome. I want to be here every summer night. I mean, my kids made s'mores, we went on a boat ride and swimming and digging in the sand. Honestly, it's a perfect night,” said Gallaway.

The Family and Community Programs season starts June 30th, featuring more daily and special events on South Beach throughout the summer.

Thanks to Maddie Mulligan, student at Boston College, and head editor for the arts section of The Heights, an independent, student-run newspaper, for contributing this article to Westwood Minute. Ms. Mulligan is interning with Westwood Minute for the summer.