The sun is shining, lupine are blooming, fish will soon be running, and the visitors are here and coming. Yep, it’s looking like summer folks. With more than 19 hours of daylight to get out and play, check out all these Best Bets for fun, educational and inspirational events, workshops and activities in and around Homer.

BEST HARVESTING HORSETAIL BET: SVT Health & Wellness hosts Thriving Thursday, June 15, 6-7:30 p.m. Clinical Herbalist Mel Mutterspaugh will share about horsetail plants, including their nutritional value, and participants will make horsetail tea and vinegar. For more information, 907-226-2228, 880 East End Road.

BEST PETER PAN PLAY BET: Pier One Theatre hosts “For Peter Pan on her 70th Birthday.” In her father’s hospital room during his final moments, Ann and her siblings contemplate their upbringing. A loving look at a family’s view of life, death, and the allure of never growing up. Performances are Thursdays to Sundays, June 15-25, 7:30 p.m. Purchase tickets ahead of time online at pieronetheatre.org, 907-226-2287, 332 E Pioneer Avenue. Spit theatre, 3858 Homer Spit Road.

BEST DAD’S DAY REMEMBRANCE BBQ BET: Hospice of Homer hosts a Father’s Day barbecue on Friday, June 16, 2-4 p.m. with food and beverages provided as they invite everyone to join and gather to remember the fathers no longer with us. For more information, 907-235-6899, hospiceofhomer.org, 265 E Pioneer Avenue.

BEST HOMER PRIDE WALK BET: “Without Them, There Is No Us” is the theme of this year’s Juneteenth x Homer Pride Community Walk hosted by Homer Pride on Saturday, June 17. Everyone is invited to join in the walk, meeting in front of the H.E.R.C. building at 11:30 a.m. and walking to WKFL Park for talks and festivities from 12:30-5 p.m. Vendor, volunteers, and performers wanted. For more information, homerakpride.com.

BEST PLANT SALE BET: Kachemak Bay Family Planning Clinic hosts a plant sale – planters, baskets, flowers, and vegetables, Saturday, June 17, noon to 8 p.m. at Grace Ridge Brewing. All sales support KBFPC bringing a mobile mammogram van to Homer. Plants have been donated by Baycrest Greenhouse, pots by Wagon Wheel and Save U More, and soil by Anchor Point Greenhouse. For more information, 907-235-3436. Grace Ridge Brewing, 870 Smoky Bay Way.

BEST BASKET WEAVING BET: Pratt Museum & Park hosts local basket weaver, Mavis Muller and her workshop, Basket Art Weaving with Plant Materials on Saturday, June 17, 1-5 p.m. Muller will guide and collaborate with each student to create a unique woven vessel using locally gathered plant materials. All materials are provided. There is a fee. For more information and to register, 907-235-8635, prattmuseum.org, 3779 Bartlett Street.

BEST MUSIC IN THE WILD BET: Homer Council on the Arts presents musical duo, Endless Field live at the Wynn Nature Center on Saturday, June 17, 4 p.m. for a free outdoor performance. Take in the grand opening of the Carl E. Wynn Visitor Center, hike the trails, and enjoy music in the wilderness. Find Endless Field online at endlessfieldband.com. For more information and to RSVP homerart.org/events/, 907-235-4288, hcoa@homerart.org, 355 W Pioneer Avenue.

BEST SELDOVIA SUMMER SOLSTICE BET: Set out across the bay Solstice weekend for the 22nd Annual Seldovia Summer Solstice Music Festival, Thursday, June 15 to Sunday, June 18. This year’s lineup includes a variety of genres from Rhythm and Blues, Swing, Folk, Rock, Hip Hop, Bluegrass, Americana, Classical Traditions, Honky Tonk, Country, Alternative Punk, and even a Celtic Harp. Full schedule of events at seldoviaartscouncil.org.

BEST AWARENESS IN ACTION BET: All Things Recovery, Kachemak Bay Family Planning Clinic, Recovery Connection, and South Peninsula Hospital host an Awareness in Action community safety education event upstairs at Alice’s Champagne Palace on Tuesday, June 20, 5:30-6:30 p.m. Learn how to protect yourself and others while partying, identify signs of a nonconsensual intake of substances, test drugs for fentanyl and identify signs of an overdose, and use of narcan with free kits to take home. Open to the public with free pizza and refreshments. For more information, 907-235-0285. Alice’s, 195 E Pioneer Avenue.

BEST SCULPTURE DEDICATION BET: On Wednesday, June 21, 5:30-6:30 p.m., Bunnell Street Arts Center joins The Ninilchik Tribal Council and The City of Homer in dedicating a new sculpture in the City of Homer Municipal Public Art Collection with a reception, including remarks and refreshments. Tuyanitun: Tuggeht (pronounced too-yan-eee-toon: to-get) is a public art sculpture that was installed October 2022, designed by Ninilchik Village Tribal member and artist Argent Kvasnikoff, with the intention of making land acknowledgment visible and broadly accessible. The sculpture anchors a wider, upcoming revamp of Bishop’s Beach Park and Pavilion. For more information, 907-235-2662, bunnellarts.org.

BEST HOMER SUMMER SOLSTICE BET: The Homer Chamber of Commerce & Visitor Center hosts a Summer Solstice Festival, Wednesday, June 21, 5-10 p.m. at the Homer Deep Water Dock. Enjoy live music with U.S. military musicians performing through Operation Encore, including Andrew Wiscombe, Barbara Sim, Brandon Mills, JB Brown, Rachel Hill, Schaefer Mueller, Shannon Book, and Stephen Covell, as well as a deckhand skills competition, food trucks, kids activities, a beer garden, boat raffle drawing, and more. Volunteers and vendors are needed — contact Jessica, 907-235-2327 or events@homeralaska.org. For more information, 907-235-7740, homeralaska.org, 201 Sterling Highway.

BEST WILD PLANTS CULTIVATION BET: Pratt Museum & Park hosts a workshop with Shawn Jackinsky, museum’s head gardener and Kenai Peninsula homesteader. Jackinsky will share fun and creative ways to bring native plants into your garden, including exploring soil types and settings for coastal, alpine, bog, and other biomes. You’ll learn how to make cuttings and divisions so you can propagate plants in the field and share plants. Participants will take home a small potted plant from the museum’s garden. Cultivating Wild Plants in Your Garden workshops are Thursday, June 22 and Saturday, July 1, 1-3 p.m. Space is limited and there is a fee. Need-based scholarships are available for local community members at education@prattmuseum.org. For more information and to register, 907-235-8635, prattmuseum.org, 3779 Bartlett Street.

A pair of seastars at high tide along the Land’s End beach, June 7.