Is there shade at Greenfield Lake Amphitheater?

Greenfield Lake Amphitheater: the stage blocks the sunset, the lawn waits

Greenfield Lake Amphitheater points its stage east across the seating, which turns out to be the fact that decides everything. The audience looks west toward the stage, and toward the setting sun behind it. In high summer, Wilmington's sun sets at 8:24 PM, and at a 7 PM start it hangs about 15 degrees up, west-northwest, almost directly behind the stage house. The structure earns its keep: our model puts the pit at 94 percent shaded across a typical 7 PM show.

Best and worst spots by the numbers

Across a whole event, Greenfield Lake Amphitheater averages 77 percent shade; count from 6 PM, when many people actually arrive, and it's 52 percent. The spread:

• Pit 2 and Pit 3 lead at 94 percent shaded, sitting in the stage's shadow as the sun drops behind it.
• Pavilion sections 108, 109, 110, and 209 follow at 88 percent.
• The lawn is the trade-off: Lawn 1 through Lawn 4 all come in at 63 percent, catching the low western light the longest.

How a show evening plays out

Early arrivers on the lawn get the sunniest stretch of the night, roughly the first hour is low-angle sun in your face, since you're looking sunset-ward. It fades fast; by 8:24 PM the sun is down and every seat in Wilmington is equal. If you burn easily or you're bringing kids, the pit and the low-numbered 100s are the calm choice, and the lawn is fine if you're comfortable squinting through one golden hour.

Check your exact date and section on the interactive shade map before you buy, the numbers above describe a typical midsummer evening, and your night may run shadier.