Did you miss an invitation to a cabin or summer camp? No worries! You and your family can still experience an evening around the campfire, complete with songs, stories, and roasted marshmallows to make that tasty, gooey treat known as s’mores.
This Thursday, July 20, from 5 to 8 pm, everyone is invited to a free fun event at the Eloise Butler Wildlife Garden and Bird Sanctuary (EBWG). Operated by the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, this local landmark is tucked inside the Theodore Wirth Regional Park that straddles Minneapolis and Golden Valley.
“It’s a friendly, casual event for the whole community. People are welcome to drop in at a time that works for them,” said Susan Wilkins, garden curator and program supervisor at EBWG. “We’ll provide the ingredients for the s’mores, the campfire, and the blankets, pillows and benches.”
Just like at any traditional campfire, this one will invite children who want to participate to share a bit of their talent. “We’d love it if they would bring a joke, a song, a poem, or a story to share around the campfire, to have their moment just for fun,” Wilkins said. “We’ll also have craft activities and our weekly flower hour program is at 6:30 with a walk through the garden with one of our naturalists.”
Visitors to the campfire will delight in a rainbow of midsummer blooms in the wildflower garden: reddish-orange Michigan lilies are flowering this week, along with purplish bee balm and coneflowers; bright red cardinal flowers; and swamp milkweed that attracts monarch butterflies. Also in bloom are button bushes, with white pom-pom flowers that “look like a plant that Dr. Seuss would draw,” according to Wilkins.
“We have visitors who are here every week and almost every day we meet someone who lives nearby and says, ‘I’ve driven by a hundred times and I finally came in.’ We love to see people discovering the space,” Wilkins said.
Founded in 1907 by a group of Minneapolis public school teachers, (including Eloise Butler!) the 15-acre wildflower garden showcases some 600 plant species and attracts migratory and resident birds, insects, and animals.
“The garden changes with every season. People love to be in nature, a forest or a meadow, and still be in the city, a few miles from downtown,” Wilkins said. “We have a lot of tree cover in the garden, so even on a hot day it tends to be quite pleasant if you’re looking for a cooler walk.”
The weather forecast predicts Thursday evening will be mild and clear, not too muggy, and with no smoke from wildfires anticipated.
Nor will there be smoke from the campfire.
“This summer we will be using our Solo stove for our bonfire. With air pollution and air quality a concern this summer, it’s good to have a stove with a secondary system that burns the smoke, so there’s not a lot of smoke with the fire,” Wilkins said. “It doesn’t irritate your eyes and at the end of the evening, you won’t go home smelling like a campfire.”
If you miss the Family Campfire Fun on July 20, make plans to attend the next one, coming up on August 31. Also, on August 10, the Eloise Butler Wildlife Garden will be a host site for a statewide Star Party, an evening of stargazing from 6:30 to 10:30 pm.
Family Campfire Fun takes place in Eloise Butler Wildlife Garden and Bird Sanctuary, part of Theodore Wirth Pkwy, 1 Theodore Wirth Pkwy, Minneapolis, MN 55405. (Garden entrance is off Theo Wirth Parkway immediately south of Glenwood Avenue) on July 20 and again on August 31, from 5-8 pm. The event is free; registration is not required. Vegan, gluten-free, and kosher s’mores will be available. For more info, go here.
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It’s awesome that there are many fun, free, and healthy activities for families in the Twin Cities! I can’t wait for my child to get old enough to participate.