We ran a summer solstice event in Sydney also. 8 people attended for a potluck picnic in Centennial park, general social interaction, then we watched the sun go down while reflecting on the year that had been. This was followed by an attempt to get candles working -- even with cups to shield them, they kept being extinguished. Fortunately, this was about the worst thing to go wrong.

After the sundown, different people ran various short sessions. We had one on the hedonic treadmill, one on what's known about planning new year's resolutions, a session where we discussed how the year had been for us, while everyone else listened, and one where people gifted ideas they thought were valuable, to everyone else present (an attempt for a better way to do kris kringle / secret santa type exchanges without the buying of pointless things).

All in all I consider it a major success. I had a great time, I think other participants did also. Definitely worth the time to organise.