Folks2Folks Mini Poetry Festival 

Where We Come From

Lyricality invites you to Folk 2 Folks: Where We Come From–– A mini-festival of poetry, song, story, and inclusive belonging–– at the Great River Regional Library in St. Cloud on Saturday, September 28th, 2024, from 12:30 to 4 p.m.  

This is a collaborative event emceed by comedian Comrade Tripp and, with a diverse lineup of Lyricality Artists, facilitated sessions to celebrate creativity and”Where we come from” through poetry, music, art, and storytelling. Participants can engage in poetry readings and artist-facilitated workshops: collaborative poem-to-song creation, dot painting, cowboy poetry, neurodiverse poetry, ancestry stories, and comedic monologues. Please be sure to register for the main event, scheduled from 12:30 – 4:00 PM, before selecting and signing up for your choice of artist-facilitated workshop, which will take place from 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM.

 

1. Visit Great River Regional Library Events.
2. In the events search bar, type “Folk2Folks.” The main event and the Artist-Facilitated workshop sessions will appear in the search results.
3. Register for the main event (duration is from 12:30 – 4:00 PM).
4. After registering for the main event, return to the events page and repeat the search for “Folk2Folks” in the search bar.
5. Select one of the eight Artist-Facilitated Workshop sessions and register for your chosen workshop.

 

Event Schedule

Schedule  

12:30pm — Registration and check-in 

1:00pm — Opening Gathering in the Mississippi Room 

1:45pm — Break/Moving 

2:00pm — Small Group Sessions (Throughout the Library) and Open Mic (Mississippi Room)

 3:00pm — Break/Moving 

3:15pm  — Closing Gathering 

4:00pm  —  End

Mississippi Room/Main Stage

Welcome, Acknowledgements, and Community Agreements by Khadijo Abdi.

Opening Gathering Join us at the main stage for an exciting parade of poetry, spoken word, and music, emceed by locally grown comedian Comrade Tripp. 

Open Mic Hosted by Amanda Bailey, President of the League of MN Poets. This session invites unlimited audience participation, with a limit of 20 readers.

Closing Gathering At the Main Stage/Mississippi Room, emceed by Comrade Tripp. The Poem-to-Song collaborative jam group will share their newly created song, Mettekor will lead us in songs, and we will close with a ritual to celebrate inclusive belonging. 

Artists Facilitated Sessions

Poem-to-Song Collaborative Jam Session Facilitators will guide participants through a jam session where they use lines from a poem aligned with the theme of “Where We Come From” to collaboratively create a new song. Facilitated by: Lyricality Facilitators, Purpose Artisans (Nicole Konz & John Salgado Maldonado), and Hedy Tripp. Mettekor: Stephanie Hart, Mandy Spiczka, Carliene Quist. Spanish interpretation available. Limited to 15 participants. Location: Bremer Room

Dot Painting Join us for an hour of creativity and play as we learn how to use dot painting tools before painting on rocks. This creative process is sure to be both relaxing and fun, offering a safe space for everyone. No artistic abilities are necessary. Facilitated by: Angela Seutter. Limited to 12 participants. Location: Array Room

Where the Body Comes From – Carissa Natalia Baconguis will share insights from her poetry collection Sacred and Perishable Country of Want. Participants are invited to explore what it means to inhabit the body through the lens of poetry. Limited to 12 participants Location: Learning Center Room 208

Cowboy Poetry & Its Influence on Hip-Hop Vas Littlecrow Wojtanowicz will guide participants in recognizing how who and what we are today grows out of the traditions that came before. Limited to 20 participants. Location: Conference Room 259

Neuro Spicy with a Little Bit of Cardamom Anisa Hagi-Mohamed and Khadijo Abdi will guide participants through creative prompts and the crafting of “spicy neuro-diverse poetry” that celebrates neurodiversity and fosters connection. Somali interpretation available. Limited to 12 participants. Location: Conference Room 267

Creating Ancestry Stories Tracy Rittmueller will teach participants how to access the library’s history, geography, and genealogy resources and guide them through creative writing prompts to explore where their ancestors came from. Limited to 12 participants. Location: Glassed-in Computer Room Upstairs

Crafting Comedy Monologue (Storytelling) Workshop Comrade Tripp will teach participants tools and techniques for crafting their origin stories with humor. Limited to 12 participants. Location: Conference Room 268

Organizers, Facilitators and Partners

Comrade Tripp (Comedian, Emcee) is one of the saddest standup comedians in Minnesota, and he wants you to know it. Born and raised in Saint Cloud, Minnesota; a city as large as it is small. Comrade successfully escaped to Minneapolis which is marginally better, he has also found another home on the internet, which is several margins better. His brand of dark humor fits well in the ecosystems of the algorithms. Despite his despondent disposition, he’s a child at heart; insomuch that he cannot be trusted to take care of himself and has no self esteem whatsoever. The rest of his body is very old.

Comrade was named Growler Magazine’s Comics To Watch 2020 and had been featured in the Star Tribune. He is a co-producer of the award winning Uproar Performing Arts collective and has been a featured performer of the 10K Laughs Festival and the Fargo Comedy Festival. He was also the runner up in House of Comedy’s Funniest Person with a Day Job Contest & Sisyphus Brewing’s Funniest Person in Minneapolis Contest, twice, he has never won anything in his life. And he never will.

Khadijo Abdi (Lyricality Executive Co-Director—Operations and Accessibility) embodies transformation through her art of communication, facilitation, and advocacy. Whether in academia, healthcare, or publishing, her essence is woven into fostering understanding, bridging gaps, and advocating for inclusivity.

In her work to amplify voices, Anisa Hagi-Mohamed (Lyricality Executive Co-Director—Communications) brings transformation to the spaces where she practices and facilitates through the power of positive language and authentic representation. Drawing from her own experiences as a diaspora member, she creates resources and materials that not only serve educational purposes but also foster healing and empowerment within communities. 

Dr. Sangeeta Jha (Lyricality Intercultural Advisor) is an intercultural advisor at Lyricality and a strong advocate for intercultural development, inclusivity, and transformation. She is also involved in notable initiatives such as Create CommUNITY and the Jugaad Leadership Program, demonstrating her unwavering commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. Drawing from her Indian heritage, Dr. Jha is passionate about initiating challenging intercultural conversations with an anti-racism lens in the community. She played a pivotal role in establishing the Multicultural Center at SCTCC, showcasing her dedication to creating inclusive and transformative spaces.

Purpose Artisans’ mission is to offer meaningful activities that promote social justice and sense of belonging with fun. As occupational therapists they consider how to create engagements that are inclusive. This 501(c)(3) group is located out of Willmar. Nicole Konz (Lyricality Board Member and Artist-Facilitator) is from central MN, is a mental health occupational therapist and yoga teacher, and uses her training and experience to support people in healing and meaningful engagement of life. For over a decade she has worked in the broken mental health system. Bringing alternative methods of treatment to those in crisis care (i.e. inpatient hospitalization, corrections) such as art, body oriented healing, music, and spirituality. John Salgado Maldonado (Lyricality Board Members And Artist-Facilitator) from Chile South America, is a mental health occupational therapist who has worked in social inclusion programs and as a professor of occupational therapy. Since coming to the US, he has focused more on social justice through the arts and by providing pathways for different cultures to connect. He is a percussionist, photographer, and international lecturer.

Chinyin Oleson (Lyricality Accessibility Coordinator) is an undergraduate student at St. Cloud State University majoring in creative writing and minoring in gerontology, psychology, and Asian Pacific American Studies. Her work has been published in the Upper Mississippi Harvest Literary and Art Journal and the Windward Review. 

Tracy Rittmueller – In her work as a genre-fluid writer, mentor, and facilitator, Tracy Rittmueller (Lyricality Executive Co-Director—Development and Finance) strives to bring transformation to the spaces where she practices by offering beauty and hope through artistic expression. Drawing from her studies in trauma-sensitivity and the diverse cultures of her communities, she collaborates to create environments that foster connection, healing, and empowerment. 

Hedy Tripp (Lyricality Antiracist Advisor and Artist-Facilitator) brings her global life experiences of more than seven decades into her engagement with the community. As a long-time social justice activist, and BIPOC artist, she has taken part in peace protests, spoken word, writing, poetry, and storytelling. These are her elements for transformative change.  

Vas Littlecrow Wojtanowicz (Lyricality Artist-Facilitator) leads life as a multidisciplinary artist and writer. They find joy in building bridges between people of diverse belief systems, cultures and genders, while engaging in creative pursuits that reflect a deep love for research and learning. A Puerto Rican-born creative who finds inspiration in natural and reclaimed materials, Vas currently lives in Rice, MN.

Angela Seutter is a trauma-informed Holistic Life Coach and Meditative Painting Instructor based in Central MN. She supports women on their healing journeys, bridging the gap between where they are and where they want to be. In addition to coaching, Angela teaches the meditative practice of dot painting, helping participants quiet their minds and experience a feeling of greater wellbeing.  

Amanda Bailey is a poet, storyteller and memoirist based in Mankato, MN. Uprooted from the south early in life, she’s explored every corner of the U.S. and its middle. Now living in Mankato, she’s active in her local arts community and has won several awards for her poetry.  Her poetry has appeared in various journals, anthologies, and on the Mankato Poetry Walk and Ride. Amanda currently serves as the president of the League of Minnesota Poets.

Carissa Natalia Baconguis is an award-winning poet and educator from Laguna, Philippines, currently based in St. Paul, MN. She has hosted creative writing workshops and programs supporting English as Second Language learners. Her work has been featured in Gantala Press/Tilted Axis Press UK, Voice & Verse Poetry Hong Kong, and Young Star Philippines. 

Mandy Spiczka (Artist-Facilitator) runs an interest-led day program for homeschoolers in rural Sauk Rapids, where she encourages kids to create, learn, and shine their unique light.  She is a founder and leader of Mettekor, a local community singing group, and loves to participate in and help facilitate community singing experiences.  Mandy is in awe of the power of song to inspire, connect, heal, and move people through the full gamut of emotions, and she loves how community singing makes this power accessible to everyone and connects us to generations past, present, and future.

Stephanie Hart (Artist-Facilitator) is the hospitality manager at a local retreat center, where she helps create contemplative and restorative experiences for a variety of groups. She also practices bodywork, listening to the stories that the body has to tell and witnessing transformation as people do their healing work.  Stephanie is the song spreader for Mettekor, a local community singing group, teaching the group many simple yet meaningful songs in the aural tradition.

Carliene Quist (Community song leader, song creator, social work professional) lives as an exploring healer grounded in stories and expressions through song. Enlivened by relationships, informed by training and experiences in social work, youth services and education, inspired by Earth’s living and non-living kin, Carliene endeavors to strengthen and heal bonds of community through conversation and song.

If you need an interpreter for Spanish, Somali, or ASL, please call (320) 650-2500 after you register.