The first ever Festival of Belonging was the culminating project of composer JG Everest’s yearlong MNPAiR Artist Residency at Wild River State Park, on the St Croix River, near Tayor’s Falls, MN. It took place over four weekends in late August and mid-September 2025, and featured a wide variety of site-specific performance installations at various areas of the park, each weekend featuring a different lineup of music, dance, storytelling, service projects, nature walks, and presentations for park visitors. SCROLL DOWN FOR FESTIVAL SCHEDULE and MORE INFO, including written visitor comments and reflections.
FESTIVAL SCHEDULE: (Each Day from 9am – 5pm*)
WEEKEND #1: August 23-24 (Opening Weekend)
* Wild River Sound Garden, Part 1 at Visitor Center (Saturday & Sunday 9am-5pm)
* Fire In The Village crafting, art making, poetry at Picnic Shelter (Saturday 10am-6pm)
* Walking Into The Woods (Storytelling Walks with Rosetta Peters) (Saturday at 11am, 2pm, 4pm)
* Celebrate Your Wild Voice (Workshop) w/ Barbara McAfee
* Wild River Poetry Walk – self-guided on River Trail (Saturday and Sunday)
* Meet The Snake! (Saturday 2-3pm)
* Seed Collecting Service Project (Sunday 9:30am-11:30am)
WEEKEND #2: August 30-31 (Labor Day Weekend)
* Wild River Sound Garden, Part 2 at Visitor Center (Saturday & Sunday 9am-5pm)
* Sound Garden Qi Gong (Saturday 9:30-11am)
* Mitigwaki Sound Garden + live performances, Part 1 (Saturday 12-5pm)
* Woodpecker Walk & Talk (Saturday 2-3:15)
* A Microscopic World (Saturday 3:45-4:15)
* Human Wind Chimes (Sunday 31st 1pm at Visitor Center Sound Garden)
* Wild River Poetry Walk – self-guided on River Trail (Saturday and Sunday)
* “Harmonize with Nature”: Sound Garden Yoga (Sunday 9-10am)
* Birds Of Wild River (Sunday 10-11am)
* Meet The Snake (Sunday 2-3pm)
WEEKEND #3: Sept 12-14
* Wild River Sound Garden, Part 3 at Visitor Center (Saturday & Sunday 9am-5pm)
* Look To The Stars + NightSky Sound Garden (Friday Sept 12th 7:30-9:45)
* Sound Garden Qi Gong (Saturday 9:30-11am)
* Nature Play for Kids (Saturday 10-10:45am)
* Amador Prairie Sound Garden at Prairie Overlook (Saturday 10am-12pm, 3-5pm)
* Bats Eat Bugs! (Saturday 2-3pm)
* Amador Prairie Sound Garden & Presentation (Sat 12:45-2pm) *Registration Required*
* Seed Collecting Service Project Sunday (9:30-11:30)
* Wild River Poetry Walk – self-guided on River Trail (Saturday and Sunday)
* Human Windchimes in the Sound Garden (Sunday 1pm at Visitor Center Sound Garden)
* A Microscopic World (Sunday 1-2pm)
* Swampling (Sunday 4pm)
* Sept 12 and 20th include The NightSky Sound Garden that runs until 9:45pm. All events are Free and Open to all park visitors. Park Permit Required and available at Park Office. Sign Up here for emails with exact lineup details and events schedule.
WEEKEND #4: Sept 20-21 (Closing Weekend)
* Wild River Sound Garden, Part 4 at Visitor Center (Saturday & Sunday 9am-5pm)
* Block Printing and Flag Making at Picnic Shelter (Saturday 12-4pm)
* Wild River Poetry Walk – self-guided on River Trail (Saturday and Sunday)
* Mitigwaki Sound Garden + live performances pt 2 (Saturday 12-5pm)
* Oak Savannah Restoration Talk & Walk w/ Heather Holm (Saturday 10am-12pm)
* Look To The Stars + NightSky Sound Garden (Saturday 7:30-9:45)
* Oak Savannah Restoration Service Project (Sunday 9:30-11:30)
FREE OUTDOOR Art + Nature Workshops at Wild River for the Festival of Belonging!
Visitor Comments from the Wild River Sound Garden at the Festival Of Belonging:
“since when did it become so hard to let go and enjoy a moment? Thanks for creating the space to be free in, even for just a little while.”
“Thanks for making the forest sing with joy and peace”.
“Raised my spirit today “
“Thank you for the unexpected surprise. Very cool.”
“I love how the sound just becomes a part of nature. Just mind blowing.“
“Sonic geometry in conversation”
“What a gift!! A new way to experience both music and nature. Unexpectedly moving after a terrible week for Minneapolis (our home)”
(*week of Annunciation Church shooting)
“A balm for the soul.”
“I came to the park today for a calming hike in the woods and was pleasantly surprised by this beautiful music. Thank you!”
“I love how the posted quotes invite a greater hope and fortitude”
“I stop to hear with you. I stop to see with you. Let’s remember this.”
“This is the first time I’ve understood non-duality. Transcendent.”
“I want to live here. My soul remembers this music.”
“it feels like you are in the sound and it feels light”
“the music invites, calm and centered, a sense of deep connection. Thank you! This was a beautiful experience.”
“I feel connected to others here, enjoying this same sound bath, even though we aren’t speaking. I can feel everyone else is healing and relaxing as one. We need more of this!”
“all things make music. I hear it.”
“Beautiful! It was a wonderful surprise!”
“I came upon this special place unexpectedly in sorrow, but found profound peace. Through my loneliness, finding belonging amongst it all.”
“Amazing! Thank you so much for creating this!!”
“Loved the combination of crickets, wind, murmur of people and ethereal sounds created for this journey. Thank you. “
“there is always a chance for peace.”
“this all stirs me from a trance and reminds me of what is…And I rest”
“It helped me feel relaxed after a very stressful week”
“Thanks for such an amazing initiative! It really made me contemplate; I paused for a moment and noticed details I’ve never paid attention to before.”
“ the most peaceful ever…”
“It’s rejuvenating. And good for the soul.”
“Thank you for being in touch with that part of God that needs to be expressed through you to the rest of us. You brought a glimpse of something unspeakably beautiful. Thank you.”
“all the music and nature come together in harmony, none canceling the other out. It’s so peaceful and refreshing.”
“such a beautiful reason to sit still and relax the mind in a chaotic world”
“so much good medicine (hear) here art heart”
“Amazing!”
“Loved it – playful, lovely, finely crafted. Thank you!”
“this place is so cool. You have made something beautiful and inspiring.”
“the Sound Garden reveals the melody of the world around us… All in harmony with each other.”
“the music came to us in before we knew what this was. My muscles relaxed, breathing slowed.”
“a perfect addition to a meandering Saturday. Thank you.”
“the sound garden was everything I didn’t know I needed.”
“very relaxing, helping me with chaos happening in my life world right now.”
“Beauty is all around us when you start looking. Get out of your bubble. Look at this view – it’s stunning. Can you believe you’re privileged enough to be living here in this moment surrounded by your true mother? Spread kindness and joy, and it will find you.”
(two Haikus from a family sitting on the VC deck:)
“The baby babbles
The wind chimes in with him
Our family sits.”
“I hope you are wild
Explore our earth, little boy
You will find much joy”
“we’ll be back.”
“so soothing. So very needed. I don’t want to leave!”
“this music is a wonderfully complementary addition to Nature’s Symphony.”
“What a pleasant and beautiful surprise. I stopped at WRSP on my way up north and I am so glad I did!”
“The sounds of love & peace. Thank you”
“So lovely! Peaceful! Thank you. “
“Stunning, tranquil, and much needed! Thank you!”
“Such a wonderful idea for spending time in nature. Loved it and Thank you! ”
“Thank you for the beautiful, soothing music. It is a soul-settling touch to this beautiful park.” 9/13/25
“You’ve provided an opportunity, an invitation, to slow down, to muse and circulate. What a symphony- your sound and nature’s.” 9/21/25
“It is important to take moments like these to disconnect ourselves from technology and social. It’s these moments… that truly allow us to intune ourselves to the world and connect our roots to mother nature.” 9/20/2025
“It really made me contemplate, pause for a moment and notice details I’ve never paid attention to before.”
“I’ve been feeling so overwhelmed and over-stimulated lately, mind constantly racing. I didn’t know this Sound Garden was taking place when I decided to day trip from the Twin Cities, but I’m so thankful I came. I’ll definitely be coming back to Wild River.” ~ZP, Northeast Mpls 9/20/25
“Ich will hiern sien. Seele im Wald baumeln lassen- gibt doch nichts besseres! Ich wunche dos ich ein zu hause haben. Grusse aus Koblenz! “~Elena
TRANSLATION: “I want to let my soul dangle here in the forest. There’s nothing better! I wish I had a home here. Greetings from Koblenz!” ~Elena
“The forest sings if you only listen. Thank you for this enchanting concert. ~A fellow Nature Lover”
“I so often feel that I need an excuse to simply enjoy nature. The pace of life is such that it’s hard to simply “be,” I always have to be doing something, have some activity to answer the anxious pressure I put on myself. What a beautiful excuse this is!”
“It is Sunday, Driving Day, Returning Day, and my mind travels faster than my car- it’s already back home busying itself organizing the weeks mundanities. But here, ushered by the soft sounds of the Sound Garden playing a duet with the leaves blowing in the wind. It has pulled me back to the beauty I drove all these miles to see. Thank you, – A Happy Camper”
“Finding serenity and joy unexpectedly today in SO many ways…The Sound Garden is no accident… we are meant to be here- together, yet by ourselves. Thank you for this beautiful moment in our weekend. I will treasure it and all of the sensory memories it has helped create for myself and so many others. ~J from Woodbury ”
“Came for the hiking- Stayed for a beautiful soothing musical delight. Didn’t want to leave. Even my dogs calmed down to enjoy. Amazingly delightful. “
“What a day changer! This is exactly what we needed today. So grateful to have happened upon this serene, peaceful, calming atmosphere.”
“It’s challenging to stop and listen to the wind these days. What a great reminder that the solace mother nature offers is at our fingertips.The Sound Garden is my new favorite thing. ”
“Slowing down and taking it all in is healing.”
“I always “walk my trouble down” in beautiful, natural places. Didn’t think this could be improved upon… but the Sound Garden brought this healing activity to a whole new level. Perfectly balanced, had difficulty discerning natural sounds with the musical piece. I’ve “installed” the deep peace I feel right now for future and frequent use as we journey through this surreal, cruel time.”
