June 17: Midsummer: a Summer Solstice Festival at Franconia Sculpture Park
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Franconia Sculpture Park is pleased to present Midsummer: a Summer Solstice Festival on Saturday, June 17th from 5pm-9pm, followed by a night sky viewing of the new moon with the Minnesota Astronomical Society at 10pm. This event is free and open to the public; parking is $10/vehicle.
Drawing on the popularity of Franconia’s 2021 Summer Solstice Performance Festival which was positively reviewed in MIT’s Performance Art Journal, Midsummer: a Summer Solstice Festival continues the Swedish tradition of celebrating the longest day of the year. Curated by Franconia’s outgoing Executive Director Ginger Shulick Porcella, Midsummer is a celebration of light and love, the festival will include performances throughout the late afternoon and evening by ten local performance artists, followed by a sunset observation and an intention-setting bonfire.
Franconia is thrilled to capstone the event with a special late-night viewing of a star-filled moonless new moon night, courtesy of the Minnesota Astronomical Society who will be providing telescopes for visitors. Other traditional Midsummer activities for visitors include creating flower crowns with Franconia’s native flowers, creating solstice suncatchers, and creating a collaborative solstice altar. Center City Swine Circus food truck will be on site during the festival.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
5pm-8pm
FREE SOLSTICE WORKSHOPS
Create a Solstice suncatcher or add an offering to a collaborative solstice altar. Workshops will be held on the front lawn of Franconia.
5pm-8pm
A KINSHIP OF RIVERS: WE ARE WATER
with Wang Ping
Visit Franconia’s Amphitheatre and join Wang Ping and friends Odd Prospect to contribute to her growing prayer flag installation.
5pm-8pm
PINETREE DERBY
with Brian Black & Ryan Bulis
Join Franconia Fellows Brian Black & Ryan Bulis for a fun and interactive “Pinetree Derby”, their artistic interpretation of a traditional pinewood derby race. The racetrack will be installed amongst the mounds of Franconia’s Amphitheatre.
5pm-8pm
ENVIRONMENT
by Lacey Prpic-Hedtke
Join artist Lacey Prpic-Hedtke for a Slavic Midsummer/Kupala-inspired performance. Visitors can dip their feet in wading pools for a “Solstice Essence” containing floating wreaths, photos and flowers. Convene behind the artist residency house.
MIDSUMMER HERBAL BODY OILS WORKSHOP
with Suzanne Lindgren
Make an herbal oil infused with plants that bloom at Midsummer. You’ll start the oil in class and learn about different plants’ benefits for skin and body. You’ll bring the oil home and let it steep for a month, after which you can use it for massage and other self-care rituals. Each session is limited to 15 participants; sign-up day of at the Franconia Commons Visitor Center.
5pm-8pm
WORKSHOP
with Emma Wood
Join former Franconia artist-in-residence Emma Wood at the entrance to Franconia’s Forest to create a large, collaborative flower crown. Participants can also create their own flower pressings as a keepsake or positive manifestation of the day’s events. Emma has also created a moss canopy bed that visitors can lay and meditate on.
6pm-6:30pm
PERFORMANCE
by Kristin Bauer
Participate in a traditional maypole performance at the site of Kristin Bauer’s Counter (Balance).
5pm-8pm workshop
8pm-9pm procession
ILLUMINATED INVASIVES
with WAYFINDING
Join WAYFINDING in creating Illuminated Invasives, sculptural lanterns made from natural and human-made invasives entangled in our environment. The sculptures will be lit at dusk for an evening procession throughout the park.
5pm-9pm
PILGRIMAGE: READING ROOM
Installation by Gabrielle Civil
Pilgrimage: reading room is a black feminist installation and invitation to loll, wander and activate a good book. Situated on the back porch of Franconia Commons, the installation will offer shade, respite, and inspiration for solstice revelers. It will serve as a threshold between interior and exterior worlds.
In the installation, visitors will encounter a specially curated collection of black feminist books, contemporary poetry, and other delights, while a monitor will play videos by bell hooks and other black feminist icons with closed-captioned subtitles (for access and to highlight reading).
Visitors can gain access to handling the books by offering a personal belonging to put on hold in the reading room while they read the book on-site or while wandering. This will help ensure proper care and return of the book and foster a spirit of energetic exchange. When a visitor brings back the book, the item will be returned. With the visitor’s permission, a photo will be taken of the book and the personal item together.
Visitors will be encouraged to slow down and take their time with the books and in the environment. They can hang out on the porch, reveling in the ambience, or take a book out for a walk to read next to a sculpture or under a tree. (What better way to enjoy the longest day of the year?) Visitors will be provided with original project scores: ways to activate the books for meditation, divination, or pop up performance. They can jot down favorite lines or record their wandering experiences in the reading room as well.
9pm-9:15pm
SUNSET OBSERVATION
Join in a participatory invitation to watch the sunset on the solstice. Please join on the Franconia Commons balcony.
9:15pm-9:30pm
ONE INTERVAL
with Sean Noyce
As a complement to his sculpture, 45.381620, -92.707344 (Solstice), Sean Noyce will create a ritualistic performance that focuses light energy to manifest intentions for the year. The performance will last approximately 10-15 minutes, during which viewers will stand outside a ring of light while he recites verses from a spell book.
9:30pm
INTENTION-SETTING BONFIRE
Join in a participatory invitation to write down your wishes and intentions for the year and dispel that which is no longer serving you through an intention-setting bonfire. Please join on the back patio of Franconia Commons.
10pm-midnight
NIGHT SKY VIEWING
with the Minnesota Astronomical Society
The Minnesota Astronomical Society will provide telescopes for visitors to view the night sky. Night sky viewing will occur at Nancy Nowacek’s “Sometimes Clouds Come Back this Way” installation in the park.
When: Saturday, June 17, 5pm-12am
Where: Franconia Sculpture Park, 29836 St. Croix Trail, Shafer, MN 55074