Workshops & LARP
Live Action Role Playing - led by Lukayo (Friday evening)
Enter the spirit realms that are woven within and around Biblioterre, to summon the spirit Oterra at the behest of their queer companion, Bibli, so that our festival can be magically blessed. For this quest, you may choose one or more Manifestations (aka races) and Fates (aka classes). Your Manifestation (the optional costume you bring to the game) will give you certain advantages while your Fate(s) will determine your challenges. You can Manifest as a human, a plant spirit, an animal spirit, or a mix. You can choose one or more of the following: the Fate of the Explorer (who treasure hunts for talismans), the Warrior (who defeats physical challenges like boffer duels), the Sage (who solves secret riddles), or the Champion (who does all of the above). There is also the Cooperative Chronicle, a special side quest open to all adventurers, where you can share and record the backstories of everyone else you meet in the quest. Blessings (prizes) from the Spirits will be given to the Fastest Explorer, the Greatest Warrior, the Cleverest Sage, the Epic Champion, the Most Marvelous Manifestation (best costumes), and the Beloved Bard (of the Cooperative Chronicle). This live action roleplaying (LARP) game is open to all ages (minors must be accompanied by adults) and experience levels. Please email Lukayo at biblioterre@proton.me if you want to know more!
Camping knots and shelter building - led by anya (Friday evening)
anya will take us through some nifty knots and share knowledge on how to level up your camping experience - with rope, tarp, or natural materials in any season!
Silent sunrise sitspot - led by Fiona (Saturday / 7am)
Morning wonders and wanders - early birds will meet up to share a moment of witnessing the land. We’ll gather quietly and go for an intentional wander into the woods (or to the water’s edge) to listen in on our more-than-human neighbors.
Mechanical advantage: lift 3x your lifting power! - led by Rob Cole (Saturday / 9.30 am)
Resident arborist and knot enthusiast Rob will be teaching some techniques to levvy heavy weights in smarter ways!
Basics of fermentation and friendly microorganisms - led by Fiona (Saturday / 9.30 am)
This saturday morning, we’ll redefine morning funk. By getting more curious about the creators of all the beloved flavours of funk, we’ll talk about fermentation and relating with microorganisms such as wild yeast, lactic acid bacteria, acetic acid bacteria, but also the lesser known ones such as pediococcus. And practice how you can get more friendly and confident with these little gut-loving pals by touching on some basic foundations of food safety.
Plant Spirits 101 - led by Lukayo Estrella (Saturday / 11am)
Based on the teachings of their Filipino Elders and arbularyo teachers, as well as the book Plants Have So Much to Give Us, All We Have to Do Is Ask: Anishinaabe Botanical Teachings by Mary Sisiip Geniusz, Lukayo will be sharing the stories and ways of how to approach plants in their own home for assistance and community care, or what humans have called "wild harvesting" and "foraging". They will also touch on plant identification techniques and how to make decoctions/tea. This is an interactive and communal workshop, which means you'll be asked to practice talking to plant spirits and then have the option of participating in a collective ritual.
Herb Walk & Cyanotype Printing - led by anya (Saturday / 1.30 pm)
Come join for a herbal walk identifying medicinal plants and their preparation into various medicines. This will be followed by making a cyanotype print herbarium of the plants to take home.
Body-ful Belonging - led by Sky (Saturday / 4pm)
We belong to this wondrous web of Life...even if the world tries to tell us otherwise! In this workshop, we will awaken our bodies and aliveness through playful movement, imagination and interactions with other humans and non-humans at Biblioterre. Drawing on Joanna Macy's group process called "The Work that Reconnects", we circle together and remember that we are indeed part of this living Earth!
Sky is a queer, non-binary earth-being in a tired, aching body. They are in-love with a vacant lot and inspired by the fierce tenacity of life there. They do arts-based research and dream with the trash, the trees, and birds of this place. They are also an ecosomatic practitioner, just beginning their therapeutic practice: www.soil-2-sky.com