written by Cate Rysavy, PEG Leadership Team Coordinator

The Great River Community came together for Harvest Festival 2019 with beloved traditions and new and exciting opportunities to connect, learn, and have fun. Most of the activities were held inside due to cold, wet, and windy weather - even the bike rodeo! Only the hearty bouncy house participants, apple cider pressers, and soup cauldron tenders remained outside. Sergeant Fuzz from the St Paul Police was duly impressed by our community's dedication and resourcefulness.

The stone soup seemed to particularly capture the spirit of the day. The soup base was started by adolescent students in our new commercial kitchen. 10th year student Isaiah Curtis prepared hominy from scratch (including burning wood to make ash!) to add to the soup after learning about indigenous foods on his key experience to the Red Lake Nation and wanted to share it with the community. Throughout the day as people came, a variety of ingredients were added to make a beautiful and nourishing blend. And when the fire for the stone soup cauldron was billowing too much smoke inside through the nearby doors, volunteers moved the fire. Safely and skillfully moved a fire. Impressive skills in this community!

Thank you to all the volunteers, students, staff, and families who made this great event happen.