Sept 15 & *Oct 6*: Songs in Our Bodies, On this Land - TC BIPOC + Mixed Race Version

We'd like to welcome People of the Global Majority (Black, Brown, Indigenous, People of Color, and Mixed Race) to these song circles outdoors at Hidden Falls Park.

September 15th and October 6th.
We'll gather at 6 pm to picnic and start singing at 7 pm.

Led by GOOD TROUBLE, Conie Borchardt and Liz Digitale Anderson, mixed race song leaders. (Pictured here with Ihotu Ali, where we create Soul Song)

We teach songs for joy, courage, grief, hope, and justice in the oral tradition, call and echo. You don't need to "be a singer" or "know what you're doing", you just gotta be willing to breathe and open your mouth and echo back. Maybe even move your hips if you're feeling it

***If you come all the way down the drive and park in the end of the parking lot by the river, we'll be under the trees there nearish to the picnic tables. Maybe we'll go down and say hello to the river and put our feet in if we feel the need.****

Photo by Mankwe Ndosi: Preparing the Unburdening Ground, Say Their Names Cemetery at George Floyd Square, Minneapolis

Aug 20: Singing Field (Song Circle)

 

We're gonna sing at the Farmer's Market! Join us!

All Voices Welcome!

What:  Singing Field

When:  Saturday, August 20, 2022, 10 a.m. (for at least an hour?)
Where:  1807 Field Avenue, St. Paul (St. Luke Lutheran Church, map)

More specifically, we'll be on the grassy lawn to the east of the building, under the shade of two magnificent oaks.  

There's a Farmer's Market from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Come and shop early for best selection or afterward if you need less temptation ;)

Bring: water, something to sit on (blanket, camp chair ... limited bench space available), mask if that makes you feel more comfortable, your open heart and voice!  All songs will be taught.  Every voice is needed and welcome!

Song Leaders:  Liz Digitale Anderson and Conie Borchardt hold joyful, care-filled circles for you to discover freedom in your voice, de-stress your nervous system, and move your body. Come breathe deep and open up: we’ll sing songs to ground you, heal you, and motivate you for the days to come.  

--
Tinyurl: https://plm.tiny.us/SingingField

Thru Jan 5/6: Wailing Hedge, Flagging Hope, and Prayer Flag Trees

Got laments?  We invite you to visit a couple of outdoor socially distant communal grief & hope spaces we created recently.  

In Morningside (Edina/Linden Hills, So. Mpls)

Wailing Hedge & Flagging Hope 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Conie Borchardt (@pointsoflight_mu)

Where:  4201 Morningside Road, Edina (map)

• Wailing Hedge is on the patio on the southeast corner of the building
• Flagging Hope is on the corner of Grimes and Morningside

More here... 

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In St. Paul (Highland Park)

Prayer Flag Tree

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Conie Borchardt (@pointsoflight_mu)

Where:  1807 Field Avenue, St. Paul (map)

• Prayer Flag Tree is next to the Field Ave driveway into the parking lot

When:  Both installations will be up until the 11th or 12th day of Christmas (January 5/6, 2021).  

Stop by to add your lament or your hopes anytime between now and then.  Invite others & share on social media if you feel so moved.  

Oct 11: BONUS In-Person Socially Distanced DUP at Como Labyrinth

 

Posted by Conie Borchardt on Thursday, October 8, 2020

Adam and I recently pondered the possibility of holding some Dances of Universal Peace outside, masked and socially distanced.  In Minnesota, the time for warm weather gatherings is dwindling, so we're hosting an impromptu gathering this weekend!  Join us if you're available.  

When:  Sunday, October 11, 2020, 2:30-4:30 p.m.
Where:  Como Park Labyrinth

Jun 26: Public Performance: Mpls' Pianos on Parade!

Pianos are Parading through downtown Minneapolis this June.  And over the Tuesday noon hour the keys of these pianos will be tickled for your pleasure.  Check out the nearest one to you!

https://www.mplsdowntown.com/pianos

I will be making a rare public piano performance at the Grant & Nicollet piano on Tuesday, June 27, 2017, 12 noon to 1 p.m.  If you're in the area, join me in the pocket park al fresco! 

Thu, Sept 8: Songs from the road with Annie

Reposted from Twin Cities Singing Circles Facebook page:   

Friends!
Annie Zylstra is coming through town this Thursday night (Sept 8) and would love to share songs that she learned at Singing Alive Cascadia - something similar to Village Fire!

What: Songs from the road with Annie!
Where: Powderhorn Park in Mpls at the South end of the lake
When: Thurs, Sept 8 @ 6:30PM

And a note from Annie: 
You all have been doing so much good singing together these days! Thanks Brenna and others who are helping us all find one another! I am going to be in Powderhorn Park singing by the lake at 6:30 and would love to twine my voice with as many of yours as there will be. I'll be sharing Songs of the West, both literally from the Western bioregions I just came from, but also songs that are coming from the Western hemisphere of the wheel of life--the place of wandering, of mystery, of night, of the cocoon, of unknowing--the place I find myself so fully in at this moment! I'll be sharing my own songs, songs by friends, and wild cards! I hope to see some of you soon. Much love!

Singing at Village Fire

Labyrinth Updates

2016 has been filled with labyrinths more than ever before ... Here's a skinny chronology of what's happened so far and what's coming ahead:


Walking the labyrinth at Wintermission.

• Jan-Feb 2016:  Invited to make a snow labyrinth for the Friendly Streets Initiative and their Wintermission event at the planned site for the Rondo Commemorative Plaza. 

The huge snowfall from the previous week melts during an incredible mid-winter thaw!  Oh no!  Brainstorm a stanchion-based rectangle design from materials from Ax-man that also can multi-task as dreams and concerns collector. 

• Mar-Apr 2016:  Submitted poster session proposal to The Labyrinth Society's annual meeting based on the Wintermission labyrinth.  It is accepted!



Two little people walk at the Backyard Farm Fair

• Apr-May 2016:  Invited to install a temporary labyrinth by The Trust for Public land at Frogtown Farm's Backyard Fair. 

Adapting Tom Vetter's Flower in the Seed design, I develop the stanchion based labyrinth idea from February and add pennant flags for more presence.

• Jun 2016:  Submit a proposal to Springboard for the Art's Ready Go mobile art tools to continue developing the stanchion based labyrinth idea.  I find out in a couple of weeks if it's accepted!

So, what's ahead?
* Prepare my poster and handouts for The Labyrinth Society gathering, make travel plans for Houston, TX, and go!  (Sept-Nov 2016)

* Attend Veriditas' labyrinth facilitator training in North Carolina.  It occurs to me that if I was going to install and facilitate labyrinth walks, it might be a good idea to get the stamp of approval by "the experts." (Aug 2016)

* Bring Field of Reflections to fruition if my Ready Go proposal is accepted!  (Jul-Aug 2016)

* Round up financial support. (Now) Although I'm hopeful about receiving a scholarship to attend training and the poster presentation comes with a stipend, I need to raise more funds for travel, lodging, and registration.  And if the Ready Go! proposal is not accepted, I already know I want to move forward with the project and will need to raise funds to buy material and commission an artist to create a centerpiece (intrigued?  more on that later!).  Would you be willing to consider supporting me in one of the following ways?

• Hire me to install a labyrinth (either the simple rectangle or Flower in the Seed design) for an event at church, workplace, or family/friends gathering.  Since I already have the materials, you pay for the setup/teardown and time facilitating during the event. 
• Or hire me for one of my many other interests: 

1. a Full Voice workshop with friends, family, or co-workers (ask me for details!)
2. a 1:1 Full Voice lesson,
3. lead Dances of Universal Peace for an event
4. lead community song at an event or worship service or team building session
5. facilitating other community art projects for your neighborhood or organization
6. providing music for funerals, weddings, other services, and events from the piano and organ bench, voice, flute, baritone ukulele, shruti box

• Contribute to my GoFundMe.com campaign. 

Thanks so much for reading my Labyrinth Update!  It's an exciting time and I'm grateful to have you along for the company!

Temporary Labyrinth Installation: Frogtown Park & Farm, Sat, May 21, 11a-2p

Come on over to the Backyard Farm Fest!  The folks from Frogtown Park & Farms are invitin' everyone over to see what they're planting in their swales and berms this Saturday and have all sorts of other enticing events going on like giving away sweet potato starts and other plants, gardening tips and tricks, gardening tool repair, and Poetry Gumbo with my friend Sheronda ... plus a labyrinth in the lower park!  Checkout the Facebook event page for more details.

Frogtown Farm's Backyard Fair!
Saturday, May 21, 2016, 11a-2p
Frogtown Park & Farm
941 Lafond Ave, St. Paul (map)

The labyrinth I'm installing for the day is Tom Vetter's "Flower in the Seed." It looks like this on the page. 

Tom Vetter's Flower in the Seed labyrinth design.

 And a little like this on the ground.  I mocked it up in the church greenspace by my house. 

Mid-installation of "Flower In the Seed."

A volunteer runner making sure "Flower in the Seed" is fun!



I'm especially excited to see this installation from the hilltop at Frogtown Park and Farm though.  You'll really get to see the center of the flower, the stem, and its leaves.  So come on over and walk, run, skip, dance, crawl your way through Flower in the Seed labyrinth with me! 

Many thanks to The MN office of The Trust for Public Land for sponsoring this! 

If you'd like to help out in some way, here's a few ways you can...

• Lend tomato plant cages or shepherd's hooks (hanging plant hooks) - they're sturdy posts for the ropes and lines of pennants!
• Got old party streamers in a corner collecting dust?  I'd love to weave them into the garden fencing we're using!
• I'm open to other ideas too!  Suggest something and we'll work with it!
• Donate to my GoFundMe page:  https://www.gofundme.com/CBLabyrinthDreams.  I'm dreaming of bringing temporary labyrinths to places that need thoughtful activation, like vacant lots, and need more sturdy pieces to bring it all together.  Plus I've been invited to share a poster at The Labyrinth Society's gathering in Houston, TX in November and I'd like to complete labyrinth facilitator training in the near future, both of which require funds to travel and registration/tuition.

Thanks so much! 

p.s. if you miss it, you can see a shadow of it for a few days afterward (at least a mowing or two) as we'll be using marking paint on the grass.