May 22 was officially recognized as Sun Ra Day by the City of Birmingham and the State of Alabama in 2025 through the efforts of the team at Earth Libraries, and Sun Ra Day Festival founder and director Lee Shook, alongside a dedicated community of Sun Ra enthusiasts who organized the first Sun Ra Day celebration in Birmingham that same year featuring two historic performances by the Sun Ra Arkestra to help honor the occasion.
 

In 2026, the group continued the momentum with a second annual Sun Ra Day celebration featuring the Sun Ra Arkestra returning again to Birmingham to play at legendary local rock and roll club Saturn, along with a broader lineup of events and programming. Interest in the celebration has since expanded beyond Birmingham, with additional events now taking place in London and Nashville through an ever-widening circle of Ra enthusiasts.
 

Going forward, the goal is to continue growing Sun Ra Day into a global celebration led by a coalition of like-minded stewards from around the world (and universe!) who would like to see Ra's cosmic music, vision and philosophy spread as far and wide as possible, both here on earth, and places still unknown.