Fast times, these times of information that flows torrentially across the Internet. There are days where I just want to turn off the glowing screen, call a halt to the mad pace and indulge my longing for slower, simpler times.
I found what I was looking for last Saturday night—a brief retreat, a summer evening on a shimmering river, the circular song of a sternwheeler paddle as it churned the Miss, the color of stout. Our vessel was the Jonathon Padelford, organized for an event called “Mississippi Megalops--A Floating Chautauqua,” a historic reference to a lively gathering of artists, educators, entertainers and an audience. There was music, art, poetry and storytelling to while away the two-hour tour of the river. That or a one could settle in a spot on the deck and simply gaze meditatively at the water.
The excursion, Mississippi Megalops – A Floating Chautauqua, was just one piece of Northern Spark, a new MN Festival modeled on a nuit blanche or “white night” festival—a dusk to dawn art and happenings event that took place June 4-5 throughout the Twin Cities. From sunset Saturday to sunrise on Sunday, more than 200 artists presented 100 installations and performances. Venues ranged from the top of the Foshay Tower to Harriet Island in St. Paul where we boarded The Jonathon Padelford.
The Mississippi Megalops event was organized by artists Colin Kloecker and Shanai Matteson of Works Progress, along with artist Andy Sturdevant. Each of the four excursions (8PM, 11PM, 2AM and 5AM) featured artists, scientists and storytellers. Wandering the boat revealed art and storytellers around every corner. Our friend and an early Kinship of Rivers supporter, Park Ranger David Wiggins was there sharing river history. Photography and paintings were on display in addition to poetry readings, music and natural history lectures. We were only part of the 8 p.m. sailing. Further trips during the night would feature new artists.
Our Kinship of Rivers team of artists, led by Wang Ping, consisted of Lucy Steinmann, Samuel Bjorgum, Tressa Versteeg, Yeshi, a Buddhist monk from Tibet and me. We brought our river flags, several hundred in number now, and hung them along the decks of the boat. While tunes from The Como Avenue Jug Band were strummed, drummed and tap-danced on the outer deck, we created our own Kinship of Rivers gallery space inside. Wang Ping provided delicious ingredients for jiaozi, Chinese dumplings, (a taste from the Yangtze River). We invited guests to join us--everything was hands-on, whether pinching dough wraps around spoonfuls of meat filling or painting and writing on hand-dyed cloth. As new river flags were created, they were hung along the walls.
It was an evening of drifting and floating but also celebrating and creating. It was just the sea change--make that river change--I had been longing for.
