Take Root Fest

08/23/2026

Aw, shucks! What a delight to receive a letter in the mail that was written at the fest letter writing station!

We’re glad that the station was used to write at least one letter, and pretty tickled that one came our way. Thanks to the letter-writer - you made our day!

08/16/2026

After a week of basking in the glow of a wonderful fest, we want to extend a heartfelt thanks to all involved in making last weekend the life-giving, special gathering that it was. Good things happen when good people gather!

To our teachers: We saw focused faces & busy hands, heard conversation & laughter, many proud students showing off creations & chatting about new-found skills & knowledge. Thanks to each of you for sharing.

To our volunteers: You help to keep the fest humming - we couldn’t do it without you! This includes our official volunteers and also our friends, neighbours, and family who pitched in before & throughout the weekend. Special thanks to: Sage Tozeland for the wonderful puppet-making activity & puppet theatre for the kids. Amy & Donald Nikkel of Adagio Acres for keeping us nourished - including managing the cob oven dinner on Friday, helping set up the dinner on Saturday, and serving pancakes and oatmeal Sunday morning! And to Duane Versluis for taking care of all of our sound needs for music & announcements. We are so grateful.

To our musicians and caterer: You nourished us on many levels! Kristi & Rob of Sandy Saulteaux - your culinary creations were a feast for the eyes and tastebuds. Nadia & Jason of Burnstick - your evening concert nourished our souls. And Erin & Cory of Two Crows for Comfort - your music was an uplifting and heartwarming wrap up for fest weekend! Thank you.

To fest-folks: You are the spirit of the festival! Your curiosity and keenness to learn & engage; your flexibility to adapt to the weather; how you welcome each other in & care for one another; you make the festival the warm & welcoming place that it is.

To the land: You are the foundation of the fest that holds and tends us. We give thanks for all that you are and hope we can all tend you as well. We also give thanks to those who tended this land before us, faced injustice in the past and still do to this day. And to the skies: We’ll forever be grateful for Friday’s triple rainbow.

To Willow: For being our furry fest matriarch - visiting (attending?) workshops, checking in on us all, offering her calming presence, and protecting us from seagulls.

08/05/2026

Essential Wild Medicinals of Manitoba with Chad Cornell

Join Integrative Herbalist Chad Cornell of The Hollow Reed School & Apothecary as he shares, after 22 years of full-time practice, his personal list of common—and not so commonly known—wild medicinal plants and their traditional and modern uses.

Explore the plant world through the lens of both Eastern and Western systems of healing, blending ancient perspectives on energetics, planetary influences, Ayurveda, and Traditional Chinese Medicine alongside modern research and science.

There has never been a more important time for all of us to dream a good dream and stay close to the green—the art and science of herbalism, and our connection to the wild blessings growing all around us.

If time permits, Chad will also cover the key local ingredients in his popular all-natural herbal smoking blend, Lung Lovers.

08/04/2026

08/03/2026

Visit the Tiny General at Take Root Fest! It’s like your summer camp tuck shop, but extra.

The tiny is stocked with:

• books by New Society Publishers

• local goods

• herbal apothecary supplies

• coffee

• herbal slushies

• s’mores kits

• cookies

• beet chips & dip

• fresh herbs

• blank shirts & bandanas to screenprint

• complimentary tea bar

• and more!

08/03/2026

Recently a friend of ours said she wanted to attend but had booked a trip for fest weekend. Still wanting to support the event, and hoping to do something nice for a neighbour, she decided to gift her neighbour a pass for Take Root. Doubleplusgood. ☺️

If you’re looking for a birthday, anniversary, or just because gift… a Take Root Fest pass gives the gifts of learning under the stars, community connection, rest and fun on the farm.

08/03/2026

Infused Flavours with Atom Dzaman

Discover the art of infused flavors in this hands-on workshop designed for food lovers, home cooks, gardeners, and curious creators alike. You’ll learn how to transform fresh herbs, spices, fruits, vegetables, and other natural ingredients into flavorful oils, vinegars, honeys, salts, sugars, syrups, butters, and more. Along the way, you’ll explore simple techniques, food safety, creative flavor combinations, and practical ways to preserve the taste of the season. Leave inspired with new skills, fresh ideas, and the confidence to create your own unique infused flavors at home.  

Atom Dzaman is the farmer, artist, and chef behind 7amfarm

08/03/2026

08/03/2026

Forest Care

Work together to give some love to the land that holds us at Take Root Fest. We’ll have a batch of JADAM potato ferment ready to add some good microbial helpers to the campground Pines. They’ve been having a bit of a tough time and we want to nourish and care for them as they care for us. Follow the provided instructions to tend the campground trees during the workshop session. Be sure to take some time to sit with a tree or two and connect.

This is a collaborative workshop that is part of our Tending the Land series. These workshops are community led and do not have a workshop leader. We hope you’ll enjoy working together on this project and appreciate you taking time to have a sense of place here at the farm. Hopefully you can visit the trees you tend at future fests and know you gave them a little boost.

08/03/2026

Rabbit Hide Tanning with Christel Lanthier

Sunday, August 9
Take Root Fest

Join Christel Lanthier of Ferme Fiola Farm to learn how to tan rabbit hides.

Christel Lanthier (she/her/elle) is a Franco-Manitoban, Red River Métis, and mixed, multidisciplinary textile artist, hide tanner, photographer, mother, shepherdess, and caretaker of land on Treaty One Territory. Her work focuses on the soil to soil cycle. Christel is passionate about turning sunlight and grass into textile through traditional, holistic and regenerative approaches of land management on her 1st generation family farm. Her hide tanning journey began a little over 10 years ago. Today, tanning her own sheepskin is motivated by her Métis roots out of respect utilizing all gifts offered and the use of an animal from nose-to-tail.