Friends of the Monarch Trail invite you, your family and friends to the 7th Annual Migration Celebration!

As a friend of the Monarch Trail I am passing on the following invitation. Since its inception 7 years ago this celebration has become livelier and has drawn larger crowds each year. I hope you'll join me there!

Sunday, August 24, 2014, 4-7pm
See schedule of events below.

Sunset from the Monarch Trail

This FREE, family friendly event is dedicated to preserving and protecting Monarch butterflies and the fragile ecosystem they return to each year, the precious parcel of land known as the County Grounds.

The celebration takes place outdoors, rain or shine, at the Monarch Trail on the Milwaukee County Grounds, with plenty of parking available on Discovery Pkwy. and Eschweiler Dr. off Swan Blvd.  Just look for the colorful flags and you'll find us! Please visit www.theMonarchTrail.org for a site map and more information.

photo courtesy Moving for Monarchs

This year’s event begins with a special interactive dance performance by Gwynedd Vetter-Drusch of the touring project “Moving for Monarchs,” and includes guided tours of the monarch trail, monarch release, plein air artists, lively Irish music by Ceol Cairde (Music of Friends), educational displays about Monarch butterflies, face painting, milkweed plants for sale, butterfly boutique items to benefit the Friends of the Monarch Trail and snacks too.

This is a great opportunity for artists, photographers, and videographers, especially during the Monarch release!

Schedule for the Event:

1. 4-4:50 pm - "Moving for Monarchs" Program featuring dancer Gwynedd Vetter-Drusch www.movingformonarchs.org
2. 5 pm - Monarch Release
3. 5:15-6:45 pm - Lively Irish Music by Ceol Cairde "Music of Friends" www.CeolCairde.com
4. 5:30 & 6 pm - Guided Tours of the Monarch Trail
5. 7 pm - 7th Annual Migration Celebration ends

For more information, please call Barb Agnew at 414-454-0222 or visit www.theMonarchTrail.org

(Please share this information.  We hope that everyone of all ages and all communities will be able to experience the wonder of all the creatures that inhabit the special place we care for so dearly: The County Grounds Monarch Trail.)


To see a selection of images from the County Grounds, go to my flickr set.  

Acts of Wilderness: Wildspace in the Menomonee Valley

Bravo Wildspace!

I'm at a loss for words. Wildspace performed tonight in 3 Bridges Park. It was quite incredible. One of the best features was the procession of the crowd, which numbered in the hundreds by my estimate. It felt like a sacred procession participating in an ancient ritual honoring the earth that we have chosen to reinvigorate here in the Menomonee Valley. No way to capture that through photographs in the dark (although another surprising aspect of the experience was how not so dark the dark was, like a full moon under an overcast sky.) In fact, there's no way to capture the performance, dark or not. Photographing a dance is like pinning a butterfly in a glass case. The dead object may be beautiful in its way but all the life has gone out of it.

Nevertheless, I took some photos. Here are a few shots that turned out reasonably well under difficult circumstances.

Under the Viaduct

Ridge

Large Pond

River

River

Finale