This new program series seeks to create pathways of connection to the natural world through movement and creativity.
*NEW* Nature Fables
What can this place tell us about who we are?
Nature has always been a catalyst for storytelling.
Animals, plants and the elements of our existence — visible, invisible, real, imagined, historic and contemporary – have always been vehicles for our curiosity and invention. The natural world allows us to tap into deeper mysteries of who we might be and to share wonder through powerful metaphors. Sometimes we humans create fables, using the elements of nature to make meaning for one another. Mni Sota Makoce, or Minnesota, as a place, with all its diversity of life and ecosystems, has inspired powerful writers. Some of these folks have created fictions that transport us out of our own existence and into the non-human, where we discover new meanings or “truths.” Erdrich, Gawboy, Morrison, Wilson, Dylan, Dessa, Drouillard, Preus, Phi, Holm, Krueger and many more MN writers give us powerful allegories, metaphors and fables that are grounded in this unique place we call home.
If you are looking for something truly “fabulous” this summer, join us for a new natural writing adventure.
Join writers, educators and explorers, Allie Rykken and Marlais Brand.
Together, we will wander Theodore Wirth Park, wonder with Minnesota fabulists, and aim to write some place-based fables of our own.
Dress to explore outside for several hours, regardless of weather or bugs.
We will talk and walk the park at a leisurely pace, enjoy some intentional movement, use our five senses, and occasionally sit on the earth to circle up and chat.
We will supply readings and suggested readings to catalyze curiosity and conversation.
Materials:
- Sturdy notebook
- Something to write with
- Reading glasses, if you need them
- Comfortable shoes
- Clothes you don’t mind getting dirty
- Water bottle
- Inclusion
- Imagination
Times/Dates: Tuesdays, 5:30 – 8 pm, July 9 – 30, 2024 (4 weeks)
Location: Wirth Beach
Cost: $150
Ages 18+, 15 people max
Register Now!Lead Instructor: Marlais Brand
Marlais Brand is the Associate Executive Director of Voyageur Outward Bound School and author of “The Hungry Coast: Fables of the North Shore of Minnesota”.
Facilitator: Allie Rykken
Physical expectations: Participants will be asked to hike 1-2 miles around uneven and hilly terrain. If anyone would like to participate in the class but have physical limitations, please contact rykken@loppet.org to make arrangements as best as we can.
Scholarships: If finances are a barrier, please reach out to rykken@loppet.org to discuss. We’d love for you to join us!
*NEW* Embroidery in Nature
Join this playful and generative class by immersing yourself in the natural world, learning various embroidery techniques, and crafting together multiple projects into a final product that can remind you of the park you were inspired by.
““Most things I’ve done in my life are because of my love of stories and storytelling. I have found a few threads of string that can tell many stories!” – Shalee Dunaski Palmquist
Materials:
- Comfortable shoes
- Clothes you don’t mind getting dirty
- Water bottle
Times/Dates: Wednesdays, 6-8 pm, July 17, 24, 31 (3 weeks)
Location: Wirth Beach
Cost: $145
Ages 18+, 15 people max
Register Now!Lead Instructors: Ericha Gudmastad & Shalee Dunaski Palmquist
Facilitator: Allie Rykken is delighted to combine playing outside with creativity.
Physical expectations: Participants will be asked to hike 1-2 miles around uneven and hilly terrain. If anyone would like to participate in the class but have physical limitations, please contact rykken@loppet.org to make arrangements as best as we can.
Scholarships: If finances are a barrier, please reach out to rykken@loppet.org to discuss. We’d love for you to join us!
Hike & Handcraft
Based in Theodore Wirth Park, this hands-on class will combine nature exploration and green wood carving, a traditional Scandinavian handcraft. Emphasizing sustainability, you’ll gain skills to transform a common local material from its raw form into items of your choice such as butter spreaders, magic wands, game pieces, beads and more. This gently-paced class welcomes makers of all skill levels, and is intended for intergenerational partners: children and their parents or grandparents or special adults.
Come learn the basics of green wood carving in an outdoor environment. You’ll learn about carving knives and grips, wood species and carving safety. Above all, we’ll have fun together and go home with the confidence to keep carving at home.
This three-session series is designed for kids ages 8-14 and an accompanying grown-up. One adult per child registrant.
Materials:
- Comfortable shoes
- Clothes you don’t mind getting dirty
- Water Bottle
Dates and Times: May 7-21, 2024 (3 weeks) Tuesdays, 6 – 8 pm
Location: Trailhead building: 1221 Theodore Wirth Pkwy
Lead Instructor: Anna Sharrett
Cost: $135 (12 people max – Intergenerational – Family program)
Anna Sharratt is the founder of Twin Cities Makers Circle and Free Forest School, and believes in the power of lifelong learning, mixed age education and being out in nature.
Facilitator: Allie Rykken – loves creating programs with all of her favorite things: playing outside and creative things!
Physical expectations: Wood carving requires average hand dexterity and strength. If anyone would like to participate in the class but has physical limitations, please contact rykken@loppet.org to make arrangements as best as we can.
Scholarships: If finances are a barrier, please reach out to rykken@loppet.org to discuss. We’d love for you to join us!
Hike & Print
Join the Loppet this March in a new three-class program integrating nature, movement and print-making at Theodore Wirth Park. Starting with a hike, this class will center ourselves in nature and our bodies, followed by indoor background and instruction in the art of print-making. We will be using carving blocks, and all materials will be included in the program. Beginners welcome! It will inspire and refresh you artistically and personally!
Dates and Times: February 29, March 7, March 14, 2024 – Thursdays, 5:30-8 PM
Location: Trailhead building – 1221 Theodore Wirth Parkway
Lead Instructor: Betsy Hsiao
Cost: $120
Betsy is a printmaker inspired by the prairie, the wetlands, the lakes and the woods. She loves the challenge of putting the beauty that surrounds her in Minnesota into a woodcut.
Facilitator: Allie Rykken
Physical expectations: Participants will be asked to hike to 1-2 miles. If anyone would like to participate in the class but have physical limitations, please contact rykken@loppet.org to make separate arrangements as best as we can.
Hike & Write
Join the Loppet this November in a four class program series integrating creativity, movement and nature at Theodore Wirth Park. Inspired by the deep autumn, we’ll explore readings of nature writers, keep nature journals and experiment with creative writing via prompts and exercises.
Dates: 2024 TBD
Location: Trailhead building – 1221 Theodore Wirth Parkway
Lead Instructor: TBD
Facilitator: Allie Rykken
Hike & Watercolor
Join the Loppet this Fall in a new three-class pilot program series integrating creativity, art, movement and nature at Theodore Wirth Park. Starting and finishing with a hike, this class will take place outdoors in a special pocket of the park, with a lesson from a lead artist, time designated for painting, a regrouping for snacks and sharing, with the intention of building connection to the outdoors, ourselves and each other. It will inspire and refresh you artistically and personally!
Dates: 2024 TBD
Location: Wirth Beach. 3200 Glenwood Ave N, Minneapolis
Lead Artist: TBD
Facilitator: Allie Rykken
*Participants are invited to use the lesson or environment to influence the artwork they work on in the open painting time, but it isn’t limited to those.
Refund Policy
The Loppet will issue a full refund of the program fee minus the original processing fee up until 4 weeks before the program starts. Between 4 and 3 weeks from the program start date, a 50% refund will be issued. There are no refunds for any cancellations within less than 3 weeks of the start of a program.
Contact
If you have any questions, please contact rykken@loppet.org.