Workshops
Engaging topics and enthusiastic presenters are gearing up to share their skills, talents and hobbies with fellow Mooners. We are excited to present a great batch of workshops this year with more to be added as we get closer to the festival weekend!
Low Carbon Wardrobe
Time: 11am
Location: Tent 1
Interactive Workshop
Hosted by Jennifer deGroot. Clothing ourselves is both a necessity and an outlet for our individuality and creativity. At the same time it is wrought with stresses: keeping up with fast fashion trends, finding ready-made clothes that fit our unique bodies, and the uncomfortable reality that most clothing is made by underpaid workers in sweatshops. Add environmental factors onto that such as the enormous amount of water use in textile production, the dyes that pollute whole watersheds, the increase in synthetic textiles and the pollution they create, the micro plastics from clothing that find their way into our oceans, and the pesticides used in growing crops for textiles, and it's easy to feel paralyzed and overwhelmed as we dress ourselves. This interactive and reflective workshop aims to help each of us create a wardrobe that works for our bodies and the lives we live while bringing good to the earth and its people.
Jennifer deGroot raises kids, grows food and makes stuff on Big Oak Farm near Morden, Manitoba
The Learn to Die Workshop
Time: 9am
Location: Church
Presented by Quinn Hunter, licensed funeral director and death doula Pamela Cavers, will create a safe space for you to start to examine your own relationship with death. We will look at what it means to create a legacy, how your values can be honoured through your funeral plans, and what it means to you to have a "good death." This workshop will provide information on alternatives such as green burial, water cremation, and home funerals, give you an opportunity to ask questions, and aims to help you shift your attitude towards death and dying in a positive way.
Reading Regeneration on the Landscape
Time: 3am
Location: Church
Hosted by Dana Penrice & Bronwyn Green. Whether in the backyard or on the farm, as we strive to heal the land how do we know we are headed in the right direction? Learn to observe the four ecosystem processes - water cycle, mineral cycle, energy flow and biodiversity - to understand if the land is headed towards regeneration or degeneration. Learn how to read the land for early signs of health and transition.
Campfire Tricks! (safely)
Time: 9am
Location: Tent 2
Hosted by Steven Greyeyes. Building a good campfire is an important skill and a passion for Steven. This workshop will explore different methods of lighting a fire, different fuels to use, safety, and some cool tricks. Steve is a member of Muskeg Lake Cree Nation in Saskatchewan and has spent most of his career with Parks Canada.
The Moon: Fact, Fancy and Fiction. How we see it and how important is it?
Time: 3pm
Location: Tent 1
Hosted by Alan Macklem M.D. The Moon. There it is up in the sky. What does it mean? There are facts about the moon which spur us onward. There is lots of fiction about the moon especially in the 20th century. There is fantasy about the moon. As well Christianity, Islam and Pagan beliefs incorporate the moon. We can look at the moon in many ways. Using some of my own photos and a few borrowed ones, I want to look at the moon through different lenses.
Panel Discussion: Real talk from the farm
Time: 1pm
Location: Church
Hosted by Lydia Carpenter. Everyone is invited to this farmer to farmer panel discussion where we will have a facilitated discussion to talk about the challenges faced by farmers during drought, shifts during COVID in direct marketing , young farmer/farmer challenges and all of the hot topics that food producers need to talk about together in community. This will be a panel discussion. The format will be less presentation style and more an open conversation where you are invited to ask questions and everyone is invited to share. The panel and attendees will help guide conversation. Come and ask honest questions about food production, farming in Manitoba, rural living, and to celebrate the spirit of creating rural urban connections.
Residential School History and Reconciliation
Time: 3pm
Location: Tent 2
Hosted by Steven Greyeyes. Steven Greyeyes is an Indigenous educator and a member of Muskeg Lake Cree Nation in Saskatchewan. Steven lives in Winnipeg and has worked in public education and corporate training for over fifteen years. Thanks to his background as a history and native studies teacher, his presentations allow room for conversations and diverse views. Steven shares stories with audiences from across Canada as the Education Coordinator at the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation. When not at work Steven can be found gardening, harvesting food in his treaty area, and dragging his bored children though museums.
All Ages Blacksmithing Demo with Jon Proven
Time: 1pm
Location: Tent 1
Hosted by Jon Proven. This all ages demonstration starts with some basic explanations of what blacksmithing is and some basic history and terminology. Discussion of how air and fire works together, plus a demonstration of bending, twisting and decorative twisting. Jon Proven is a Métis Blacksmith from Onanole Manitoba. He has 15 years of experience, and a lifetime fascination with blacksmithing. He enjoys the historical importance of smithing, and loves to share these passions by demonstrating and discussing smithing lore and techniques at historical villages and demonstrations. He makes practical tools, camping equipment, hardware and historical reproductions.
Panel Discussion: Food Security and Access
Time: 11am
Location: Church
A discussion panel to highlight the current challenges in food access in Manitoba, but also the current successes. A focus on what is working well in the different corners of our province, in the hopes of inspiring our festival goers with ways to become involved and engaged, as well as the opportunity to learn about how to connect with farmers.
Panel participants will include Myles King and Yoni Coodin from Food Matters Manitoba, Audrey Logan, who teaches out of a permaculture garden in West Broadway using traditional knowledge methods, Jeanette Silvilay, Coordinator of the Winnipeg Food Council, and representation from Direct Farm Manitoba and the Fireweed Food Hub.
Pembina Valley REDress
The REDress project is a public art installation inspired by the work done by Winnipeg artist Jaimie Black that seeks to honour victims and bring attention to the issue of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and 2 Spirited (MMIWG2S). There will be a red dress display as well as a Blanket Exercise and Sharing Circle. The display and workshops will be presented by Pembina Valley REDress, a group of women from the Pembina Valley including Denise Thiessen of Morden, Courtney Yeo Thiessen (Morden) and Amber Bezte (Morden), Carolyn Wiebe, and Doreen Cameron (Swan Lake), Rachelle Dean (Winnipeg and Morden) and Amara Reimer (Morden).
9am
Location: bottom of schoolyard hill
The Blanket Exercise - Based on using Indigenous methodologies and the goal is to build understanding about our shared history as Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada by walking through pre-contact, treaty-making, colonization and resistance. Everyone is actively involved as they step onto blankets that represent the land, and into the role of First Nations, Inuit and later Métis peoples. By engaging on an emotional and intellectual level, the Blanket Exercise effectively educates and increases empathy.
1pm
Location: bottom of schoolyard hill
Sharing Circle - Rachelle Dean will share her experience of losing her cultural knowledge and connections through the Sixties Scoop and her journey to reclaiming her Anishinaabe identity. Amara, Denise, Courtney, and Carolyn will share about what made them decide to get involved with the REDress Project. A safe space will be created to hear from anybody else who wishes to share their own thoughts, feelings, and questions within the circle.
Small Space Gardening: Making the Most of an Urban Garden
Time: 9am
Location: Tent 1
Hosted by Ameena Bajer-Koulack. Do you have big gardening dreams, but limited gardening space? Whether you have an apartment balcony, tiny yard, or small community garden plot, you can grow more than you think. This workshop will explore how to stack functions in the garden, use vertical space effectively, and plan for succession to get the most out of the growing season. We will also discuss sustainable gardening in the city, and ways to create valuable habitat for insects, birds, and pollinators. Finally, we will draw up some plans for your urban garden so you can get creative and put these techniques into action next spring.
Hoop Basics & Beyond + Build-a-Hoop
Time: 11am
Location: Tent 2
Hoop Basics & Beyond starts with waist hooping then plants the fundamental seeds for hoop Flow. What is "Flow"? It is the seamless connection of movements and tricks in a dance of infinite possibilities. This lesson is designed with the complete beginner in mind and is inclusive of all ages, genders, & skill levels. Afterwards, for the first time ever, Karrie will share her hoop "recipe"! During this interactive workshop, adults & children will build their very own hoop using quality materials, a rainbow of colourful tapes, and learn all the secrets to become a hoop-smith too! *A limited amount of materials will be supplied for free but donations are welcome!*
Wrought: a film about decay
Time: 5pm
Location: Church
Film screening and Q & A
With co-directors Joel Penner and Anna Sigrithur. Wrought is an award winning short timelapse art film by co-directors Joel Penner and Anna Sigrithur about the beauty of decay, focusing on subjects such as rotting produce, flesh eating beetles, compost and fermenting foods. During this workshop Wrought will be presented along with a Q&A and an artist talk by the photographer and co-director.
Joel Penner is a self-taught photographer with over ten years of experience rigging up DIY photographic contraptions with scanners, cameras and microscopes to capture the incredible close-up textures, colours and movements of organic life in states of growth and decay.
Yoga in the Morning- Ashtanga Based Flow Class
Time: 9am - Saturday
Location in the school yard
Hosted by Instructor Yuan (Linda) Zhou. Yuan (Linda) has completed 220 hours of yoga teacher training with Serge Salvador and Yoga Masterji. She is trained primarily in Ashtanga as well as practices in Vinyasa and Yin. She believes there is always more to learn. Her current mission is to keep exploring the 8 limbs of yoga and she is committed to applying the principles of yoga to her own life.
Her other interests include bouldering, composting, training for endurance sport (Ironman) and volunteering for awesome organizations (such as the Harvest Moon Society and Bike Week Winnipeg). She and her puppy Tippy are regular dog park goers.
Join her for a Ashtanga-based flow class to start your day. All levels welcome.
Swan Lake First Nation Climate Change Group
Time: 1pm
Location: Tent 2
The SLFN Climate Change Youth Program is in its second year after kicking off its inaugural year in the summer of 2021. This 6-week summer employment and training program works toward reconciliation by bringing together Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth to understand the impacts of climate change from both Indigenous Knowledge and Western Science perspectives. Under the direction of Indigenous Knowledge-Keeper, David Scott from Swan Lake First Nation, participating youth from Swan Lake First Nation and from surrounding non-Indigenous communities observe climate impacts first-hand and to learn about mitigation strategies informed by Indigenous Knowledge and by invited Western Science experts. The program is designed to build Indigenous and non-Indigenous relationships and to encourage the next generation of practitioners to work together in the spirit of reconciliation as we confront climate change as a collective concern.
SLFN Knowledge Keeper, David Scott, will lead our workshop and will present the basic activities and findings from the SLFN Climate Change Youth Program and the importance of dealing with climate change together in the spirit of reconciliation.
Eco-Meditation on the Lessons From the Land Trail
Time: 9am - Sunday
Location: Meet in the schoolyard
Hosted by Cheryl Cohan. Cheryl is an anthropologist, psychotherapist, horticultural therapist, land activist and steward. She works as a therapist, does programs, teaches and co-manages matlockretreat.ca, a 45 acre restored habitat, retreat space and homestead. Cheryl and participants will greet the day, get grounded and find joy! ... on a therapeutic walk into the wisdom nature. Participants will learn about horticultural and ecotherapy as effective healing modalities for people of all ages and abilities.