A Festival of Festivals!

The First Annual Wild Goose Creative New Year's Festival has come and gone, and what a festival it was! Over a four-day period, we presented 12 workshops, 4 mainstage performances, and enough food to feed an army! So, how did we do this?

First, a History:

New Year's 2006-2007, the Hokes, Boettchers, and Dekkers had been together as "Wild Goose Creative" for about 3 months and were planning a New Year's Party. Many were invited, and surprisingly, many came! In fact, roughly 20 people came and stayed for 2-3 days! The weekend was a blast, and new friends and connections were made. So that got us thinking...if we could have a fun, inspiring weekend with virtually no planning, what would happen if we put some thought into it?!

In Summer 2007, the ladies of Wild Goose Creative met and envisioned a weekend where old friends could meet new, art could be shared and discovered, and the New Year could be welcomed in, Wild Goose style! Thus the Wild Goose Creative New Year's Festival was born!

Now, This Year!:

The weekend started off with a flurry of preparation activity on Saturday, readying the generous hosts' houses for guests (5 houses opened their doors to over 19 guests for 3 nights, enabling people to come without paying for hotel rooms...what a blessing!), and prepping 6 giant meals for 40 people each, as well as a full-blown New Year's bash! People started arriving mid-afternoon, and the reunion fun began, as old friends reconnected, and new friends were made! Saturday evening's meal was a multitude of soups and breads, followed by a rousing Improv show, featuring some of Calvin Alumni's finest Improv-ers! Over 40 people attended the show in the Dekker's living room, which was a cozy place to double over with laughter!


The next morning broke late as most of the festival goers headed to Central Vineyard, the Geese's church of choice here in Columbus! Afterwards, we broke into two groups for lunch at some of our favorite eateries, Taj Mahal and North Market. After lunch we started workshopping with Nick and Terry Schoone-Jongen and their world-famous film, Bible! The Musical, as well as Beth's Polymer Clay workshop. The Gallery opening at Rumba Cafe down the street was next, curated by Jessie Boettcher and Emily Cable, and featuring 5 Columbus artists! We were even asked by the owner if the art could remain in place for the remainder of January! (The pieces are selling fast, so stop by if you'd like to take a look!) Back to the Dekkers now, with Karl and Nick's mellow jazz stylings, accompanied by Andy Anderson's sweet poetry. At Rumba, Kal Poole and Christina Ritter helped people "Brush up their Bard" with a Shakespeare acting workshop!

Dinner was a delicious taco bar, followed by cheesecake (the true foil to taco's spiciness!), and then our first main stage performance by Calvin Alum New York City singer/songwriter Rachel Zylstra (www.myspace.com/rachelzylstra) at Rumba Cafe. This amazing performance was attended by festival goers and the public alike, and was clearly well loved! Afterwards, we headed back to the Dekkers for our special greeting of the New Year, Night Before Last. This collective performance was a mixture of songs, poetry, readings, and collaborations of pieces tributing the last year, and looking forward into the new one.



Monday started with a plethora of workshops, including an Improv class, Floral Design, Sushi and Gocco Screenprinting, as well as a last-minute addition of Karl's Barista workhop. Lunch was provided by the Rumba Cafe buffet-style and we headed back into workshopping with Craft Beer Tasting and Chocolate Tasting, a performance by Jacqui Hoke, Swing Dancing, and a class on a printing form called Trace Monotype.


After a light dinner of subs and chips, the festival crowd headed out to Rumba to see our last mainstage performance, Common Shiner, a West Michigan Calvin-roots band who rocked the house! It got everyone in the mood to party, and we all headed back to the Dekker's for one last blow out in 2007! And, with a rousing chorus of Auld Lang Syne, we welcomed in 2008!

Everyone awoke late the next morning, as you may imagine, and we got together for one last meal, a big breakfast featuring 2 quiches, 40 pancakes, 3 gallons of juice, and 8 pounds of bacon!

It was an amazing, inspiring, perfect weekend that is still resonating amongst the 40+ people who were able to attend. Connections and collaborations are still being made and art is still being created. And, in all of this, we are able to truly thank and praise our God who made it happen!

Mark your calenders for next year, and stay tuned for the next Wild Goose Creative production!