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Organizers of the Cesar Chavez Memorial Solar Calendar will hold a community informational workshop Tuesday evening on the Berkeley Marina site where the project will be built. 

The workshop coincides with the summer solstice, which – despite last week’s heat wave – marks the official start of summer. 

A solar calendar is an architectural device used to keep track of the seasons. The most famous one is Stonehenge in England, but other ancient cultures all over the world also constructed them. 

The local project calls for the construction a solar calendar at Cesar Chavez Park, on the north side of the Berkeley Marina. In addition to honoring the late Cesar Chavez, the purpose of the project is also to educate local school children and the general public about the astronomical and cultural significance of the seasons, organizers say. 

So far, the concept has been approved by the Berkeley City Council, which has set aside space for the calendar at Cesar Chavez Park, and by the Berkeley School Board, which approved its educational use in Berkeley public schools. 

Tuesday’s event will be held at 7:30 p.m. on the high ground overlooking the Bay.