LATEST NEWS

For those who attended the 2012 Into the Belly of Ice and Snow retreat, thank you for your courage and savvy insights.   As men discussing our roles and purposes in this time and place, we found deeper insights through the stories, commentaries, and the shared experiences of the other men.   A fire was lit in the darkness, the darkness comforted our uncertainty, a bit of ice melted, and the inside river flows a bit better now.

Thanks,  guys.      More events will happen.  We’ll keep you posted

Only one week to go before the weekend retreat starts. Call or email us if you are planning to join us. Let your friends know about the special Friday night introductory event being held in Minneapolis at the Lake Harriet Spiritual Community, in the Linden Hills neighborhood.

This special evening of poetry, story, and music will be presented at the Lake Harriet Spiritual Community, 4401 Upton Ave S, Minneapolis, MN, on Friday January 27th this month. This location was changed recently.

INTO THE BELLY OF ICE AND SNOW – Friday Night
An Evening of Stories & Music for Women and Men with Miguel Rivera
Lake Harriet Spiritual Community (LHSC)
Friday, January 27th, 7:00 PM.

Both Men and Women are invited to an evening of music and story with our weekend’s participating teachers Miguel Rivera, Timothy Young, and Walton Stanley, with performances by Glen Helgeson, Zoe Kuester, and David Ballman, and Dalyce Elliott. It will start at 7:00 PM at the Lake Harriet Spiritual Community, 4401 Upton Ave S, Minneapolis, MN. The cost for this event is $15. Free admission for retreat participants. Hosted by the Minnesota Singing Men.

Men’s Retreat at Camp St. Croix which is situated on 400+ acres of forested, rolling hills overlooking the St. Croix river, only 35 miles east of the Twin Cities. Modern cabins are furnished with bunk beds, and include restroom/shower facilities, and electricity. New Dining Hall.

Men's Retreat at Camp St. Croix

Bring poems, musical instruments, your journal. Bring a friend and take a break from the work-a-day world. Bring your dreams and the story of your life’s journey.

Dress warm, the food will be great, the companionship welcome.

Zoe Kuester singing at 2011 Mayflower Church event

Friday January 27th, 7 pm with Miguel Rivera, men from the Minnesota Singers, and women guest performers. $15 (free admission for retreat participants)

Friday event’s location now changed to Lake Harriet Spiritual Community, 4401 Upton Ave S, Minneapolis, MN.

Into the Belly of Ice and Snow is a men’s retreat with Miguel Rivera, Timothy Young, Walton Stanley, and Glen Helgeson. A featured story and the participating men’s intensity will fuel the weekend’s discussions, music and activities.  The Western Wisconsin poet, Thomas R. Smith, will also stop in and read from his incredible body of work, much of it set in and near the St. Croix River Valley. 

Miguel Rivera teaches and leads in the way of earth and nature-based traditions. He is a musician and drummer— a man in love with the language of sound. It is always an honor to have Miguel drumming, reading poetry, and grounding a gathering with ritual space and ceremony. Since 1993 he is a regular teacher at the Minnesota Men’s Conference. We are privileged to have his guidance for our journey together during this weekend.

Timothy Young is a poet, essayist and educator. For eight years he taught Anger Management, Moral Judgment and Storytelling Classes at the Minnesota juvenile correctional facility in Red Wing, Minnesota. He also served as the school librarian. His essays on folk-stories and their role in culture have been published in Journal for Family Life, Inroads-Journal of the Soul, and Parabola. His latest book of poem is Herds of Bears Surround Us.

After twenty seven years acting and developing professional theater productions, Walton Stanley is now a writer, well-known in the Twin Cities theater community. He has worked in many capacities with the Minnesota Men’s Conferences since 1984. He is currently working on a book about Gilgamesh, the earliest recorded story in western civilization.

For nearly three decades, Glen Helgeson has established himself both in world music and in the field of music therapy. He practices music therapy in special education, performs and records throughout Minnesota. He performs with his world-beat jazz group, Axis Mundi; and the Gypsy jazz group, Gypsy Mania. Glen has recorded eight CDs and he’s a Board member at the Cedar Cultural Centre in Minneapolis.

Martin Shaw at the 2011 Winter Retreat. We’ll miss him this year.

On Saturday January 29, 2011 Robert Bly dropped in to read from his new book.

The story has been chosen, and retreat taking shape. Check back soon for news updates.

Please join us for another fine winter retreat on January, 28 & 29, Saturday & Sunday. It will be held at YMCA camp St. Croix, a 45 minute drive from MPLS, just south of Hudson. The camp is located in a beautiful 400+ wooded area by the river. We will meet in a large rustic lodge, have access to heated cabins, gather together at outdoor fire circles,  and enjoy many places to hike to and be immersed in nature.  More details to be posted , please check back.