Last November 5th, a flock of Fools gathered at 234 Hyde Street to come up with a vision for the next Faithful Fools community celebration in April. Everyone in the room was in agreement that the current times called for more levity and joy and were eager to tap into their imagination. The Fools Court also happened to be a polling site on that Tuesday, so while the ground floor was busy with residents casting their votes, the upstairs was abuzz with Fools envisioning what a journey beyond the ordinary could look like.
Fast forward to today, what once were ideas from the visioning session have started to transform into reality, mostly in the shape of stars, rockets, and other planetary objects. The next Faithful Fools Fest will be on April 12th and in honor of the full moon that day, the theme for the celebration will be Once in a Fool Moon. We will have live music, art activities, performances, nourishment… and one another! This will be a wonderful opportunity to connect with and build community, all in the spirit of fun.
Following are the artists who are making this out of this world journey possible, our community of Fools is fortunate to have their talents, creativity, and joy being poured into the Fest. Enjoy getting to know them!
Kirsten Hove
When Kirsten is not training for a 50-mile stand up paddle board race or immersed in being an advocate for early childhood education, she is usually at the Fools Court transforming scraps of cardboards into cosmic shapes and reworking the layout for the venue of the Fool Moon Fest for optimum foolish fun.
Kirsten has a long history with Faithful Fools, including being a Fool-in-residence with her spouse and child from 2011-2013. What drew her initially to the community – music, ritual, poetry, food, connection to people of diverse backgrounds – are the same things that keep her coming back. She is constantly inspired by what’s happening at the Fools, where she feels a familial connection, compassion and her artistic heart is fed. Conversely, Kirsten’s faithfoolness to community, child-like spirit, and boundless imagination have been ongoing gifts to the Fools.
Collaborating with people, especially for a purposeful reason, fuels Kirsten’s creativity and has been at the heart of bringing the Fool Moon Fest to life. A giant full moon wearing a jester hat immediately came to Kirsten’s mind during the November visioning session. Thanks to teaming up with other Foolish artists, there may not only be one, but two, giant full moons that guests will get to enjoy at the Fest in addition to costumes, sensory tables, puppets and more. Kirsten is excited for Tenderloin residents, artists, and friends to be in one room together soaking in creativity in all its forms.
SlimDNA
SlimDNA started coming to the Fools whenever fellow artists had activities onsite from poetry events to art classes, and later on, he became a facilitator himself for a workshop series. He gained a better sense of the Fools community through many conversations and coffee, often interacting with people coming by the Fools for various reasons.
It was only a matter of time before SlimDNA would be invited to leave his mark on the Fools Court canvas. The interesting art works and fun objects found in the Fools building are a collection representing relationships with individuals who made a special connection to the Fools. Last Fall, SlimDNA painted a mural of a jester with St. Francis’ Prayer for Peace on the Fools’ front door. He has since been part of turning the vision of the Fool Moon Fest into a reality, painting backdrops and contributing ideas to make the Fest be a colorful, other-worldy experience for guests.
As an artist, SlimDNA’s inspiration usually comes from witnessing happy moments – he can never predict them but would just bump into them as they happen. When not creating art, he enjoys experiencing it in different forms including exhibits in museums, the ballet and the opera. SlimDNA has been doing art projects in San Francisco for more than 20 years and is currently working on a piece that will be included at Hospitality House’s auction event at the end of April.
Lynn Brown
In 2004, Lynn first got introduced to Faithful Fools through a graduate school professor and even ended up connecting with a Fool on staff for an insightful interview. Twenty years later, she returned to the Fools initially participating in meditation in the mornings then becoming a regular part of the circle during Cosmic Conversations.
Lynn has learned a lot from having been at the Fools and listening to and being with people in a very organic and unedited way. Getting to spend time with diverse groups of people and exchanging ideas with them has brought a lot of newness, in addition to being a humbling and enlivening experience for her. Lynn has been able to bring her love for art to the Fools, often sharing pieces she created, resources, and even her knowledge at our immersions by leading art activities with students. She has also supported the Fools in accompanying neighbors through various life transitions, often providing a calm and steadfast presence.
Lynn’s creativity is fueled by an ongoing sense of wonder, curiosity, and connection and simply being able to be in the process of being creative instead of having an end product. Her years of participation in Sweat Your Prayers gatherings to practice 5Rhythms has been an ongoing resource for her artistry. Lynn has been at the heart of the preparations for the Fool Moon Fest and hopes that the experience fosters for guests who attend a continuous opening into life, to new experiences, people, view points and possibilities.
Sister Ade Kroll
Sister Ade has been waltzing alongside the Faithful Fools from the beginning…and even before! She shares a Minnesota connection with the Fools’ co-founders Carmen and Kay. Sister Ade and Carmen are in the same Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls community, and Kay used to lead programs at the Franciscan Spiritual Center. Sister Ade moved to the Bay Area right around the same time the Fools was founded in San Francisco in 1998 and has been volunteering since. She has delighted the community’s minds, hearts and bellies with her wisdom, creativity, and gift for making the best soups and cookies in town, and above all, she has touched many lives with her kind and fun spirit.
Sister Ade’s love for learning has made her a wonderful guide for many students who have participated in the Fools’ educational activities like immersions and retreats over the years, always infusing thoughtful reflections and stimulating the imagination in her approach. In the past couple of years, she has led weekly Cosmic Conversations at the Fools Court, where participants read texts ranging from scriptures to fairy tales and explore the meaning heard within. Sister Ade is driven by her excitement over the Cosmogenesis story and love for creativity, humor fuels her artistry and helps her to always see what’s fun and foolish in what is happening.
All of the Fools’ past community celebrations benefited from Sister Ade’s creativity; she is able to imagine wonderful, whimsical characters and bring them to life mostly in papier-mâché form. This Fool Moon Fest won’t be any different as she has been in full creative mode crafting cosmic elements, including two fool(ish) moons. Her hope for the guests of the Fest’s journey to the moon on April 12th is that they jump high and land happy!
***
Fool Moon Fest: Once in a Fool Moon
April 12th, Saturday 6-9 p.m.
1187 Franklin St. San Francisco, CA 94109
Tickets are available at the Faithful Fools website. Nobody is turned away for a lack of funds.
Comentários