Announcing an exciting new project!!
Extra Extra read all about it!!! Launching a new movement that serves to reawaken a sense of belonging, wonder, and connection to the earth and one another.
Dear Friends,
I am writing today to let you know of this vibrant new movement I am helping to bring to life in the Dubuque area that serves to reawaken a sense of belonging, wonder, and connection to the earth and one another!
This February, our emerging Groundswell Joy Collective is launching “Brigid's Flame: A Tale of Spring” – our first annual participatory theatrical celebration featuring community singing, dancing, storytelling, silence, and puppetry! Our celebration, held on January 30 and 31 at Steeple Square in Dubuque - will incorporate Irish myth and tradition centered on welcoming the Spring, the growing light, and the feminine connection to the land.
Many of you are already aware of the Groundswell Community, Safe Passage Singers, and Wild Church – all part of a growing movement in the area to strengthen community through the participatory arts of singing, dancing, and contemplation. Out of this movement was born the Groundswell Joy Collective, which cultivates human connection, collective healing, and a sense of belonging through joyful, participatory experiences of song, storytelling, movement, and silence that engage the cyclical rhythms of nature while celebrating tradition, culture, and feminine connection to the land. In a society increasingly separated from community and the earth, our collective seeks to rekindle a sense of belonging to and wonder of the living world and one another.
We plan to make Brigid’s Flame an annual touchstone in Dubuque to which the wider community looks forward every year! This central annual event will support our growing collective to more regularly weave community song, story, dance, and silence – what some call the “four universal healing salves” – into our community year round.
We estimate that this production will cost about $12,000 to cover space rental, sound/lights, artist fees, costumes, props, and advertising. We have already raised almost a third of what we need!
Would you consider making a contribution to support the Groundswell Joy Collective to bring “Brigid’s Flame: A Tale of Spring” to life?
Groundswell Joy Collective is a fiscally sponsored affiliate of the Dubuque County Fine Arts Society, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
Make a tax-deductible financial donation of any amount on our Zeffy page;
Checks can be sent to Groundswell Joy Collective- PO Box 1166 Dubuque, IA 52004
Email me if you are interested in becoming a Sponsor of “Brigid’s Flame” with a contribution of $2500 or more! (Sponsors will be recognized on promotional materials for the production as well as the program.)
Or contributing any of the following to our puppet and prop making efforts? email groundswellcmty@gmail.com to contribute these
Cardboard, especially large pieces.
Newspaper
Sheets, linens, and other fabric (light colored, unpatterned)
Wire (variety of thicknesses)
Hula hoops
Casters (preferably ones that move in all directions)
Scrap lumber and PVC
Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions - we’d love to hear from you!
Gratefully,
Mary Kay McDermott (with Brenna Cussen Anglada, Allyson Polman, Lyric Morris-Latchaw, and Rachel Boeke)
Find us here-
Read this previous post I wrote on the importance of cultivating a practice of joy-making to sustain and nourish us.