Join us for a three-day, two-night immersive sustainability gathering, build lasting community and camp under the stars. Enjoy fresh, delicious plant-based meals while gaining practical tools to create a resilient future.
Come for the knowledge. Stay for the community.
SolShift Gathering Begins in...
SolShift Gathering is Here!
Live Music & Art
Acoustic sets and nature-based art workshops throughout the weekend.
Community Meals
Plant-based meals shared together, sign up to help with prep and cleanup.
Eco-Therapy
Talks and workshops from community members on their work and its lessons.
Art Through Nature
Creating beautiful works using only found natural materials.
Scavenger Hunt
A perspective-based hunt through the festival grounds.
SolShift Method
Demonstration on the SolShift education program for schools.
Eco-Therapy Session
Guided sessions on using nature for healing and grounding.
Sustainable Home Tips
Workshops on home efficiency and reducing your carbon footprint.
Goods Exchange
A community sharing circle—bring what you don't need, take what you do.
Speakers
Laina Green
Laina Green helped start the organization Vegan Community Center after realizing the great need there was to bring vegans together. Laina currently serves as chair of the VCC board of directors while working as a labor organizer and attending law school. With a background that spans teaching, coaching, managing, founding, organizing, and advocating, she wants everyone to have the tools needed to make a difference in the world.
Niko Stavrou
Niko Stavrou founded the SolShift Education Program to help children learn to see the world through perspectives beyond their own. Niko spent fifteen years working with aquariums, diving with animals, building their habitats, and introducing children to marine ecology, and is an experienced instructional designer whose work includes corporate training at Best Buy. A longtime animal rescuer, Niko has cared for pigs, turtles, and sled dogs, and keeps a rescue turtle pond at home. SolShift grew from a simple conviction: the way children learn to see the world can change how they live in it.
Barbara Huning
Barbara Huning MA LP is an advanced-practice complex trauma therapist and founder of Nature's Gate Therapy and Wellness in Minneapolis, MN. Barb leads experiential activities that help people experience moments of insight, connection, guidance and emotional healing by following their natural attractions in interactions with nature.
Check back for more speakers soon!
Weekend Schedule
Three days of connection, learning, and celebration.
Check back soon for details!
Friday, Sept 25
16:00
Arrival & Camp Setup
Settle into the festival grounds and meet your neighbors.
18:00
Opening Fire Circle
A communal gathering to set intentions for the weekend.
19:30
Community Potluck
Sharing food and stories under the stars.
Saturday, Sept 26
08:00
Morning Yoga & Meditation
Grounding exercises to start the day.
10:00
Perspective Workshops
Deep dives into the SolShift curriculum modules.
13:00
Sustainable Living Fair
Exhibits and demonstrations from our local partners.
19:00
Live Acoustic Sets
Music that honors the natural world.
Sunday, Sept 27
09:00
Eco-Therapy Walk
A guided journey through the local ecosystem.
11:00
Closing Ceremony
Reflections and commitments for the year ahead.
13:00
Farewell Lunch
One last meal together before heading home.
Community Partners
Sponsors
Dini Pederson-Opsahl
Dini Pederson-Opsahl created the menu for this year's Gathering. She is the co-founder and executive director of Anna Lake Animal Sanctuary in Underwood, Minnesota, and author of a vegan cookbook. Through her nonprofit, she has provided cruelty-free holiday meals to families, and is a longtime advocate for animals, plant-based living, and her local community.
Farmaste Animal Sanctuary
Vegan Community Center
Vegan Community Center (VCC) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that is opening a physical space in the Twin Cities. We bring vegans together and set the stage for the vegan world of the future. VCC promotes these values in the community: Health, Sustainability, Compassion, Integrity, Advocacy. The organization currently runs community programming and can be found on
Meetup.com.
SolShift Education
The SolShift Education Program is an immersive program for middle schoolers that teaches children to step into worlds beyond their own. Students learn through real encounters with people, animals, and ecosystems, then reason carefully about how their choices reach the world around them. It is currently developing partnerships with schools and community organizations across Minnesota.
Community Partners
Sponsors
Dini Pederson-Opsahl
Dini Pederson-Opsahl created the menu for this year's Gathering. She is the co-founder and executive director of Anna Lake Animal Sanctuary in Underwood, Minnesota, and author of a vegan cookbook. Through her nonprofit, she has provided cruelty-free holiday meals to families, and is a longtime advocate for animals, plant-based living, and her local community.
Farmaste Animal Sanctuary
Vegan Community Center
Vegan Community Center (VCC) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that is opening a physical space in the Twin Cities. We bring vegans together and set the stage for the vegan world of the future. VCC promotes these values in the community: Health, Sustainability, Compassion, Integrity, Advocacy. The organization currently runs community programming and can be found on
Meetup.com.
SolShift Education
The SolShift Education Program is an immersive program for middle schoolers that teaches children to step into worlds beyond their own. Students learn through real encounters with people, animals, and ecosystems, then reason carefully about how their choices reach the world around them. It is currently developing partnerships with schools and community organizations across Minnesota.
MENU
FRIDAY DINNER
Tuscan White Bean & Kale Soup (GF)
Kids/Other Alternative: Roasted Marinara Sauce Over Fire-Toasted Polenta Squares (GF)
Fire-Toasted Polenta Squares (GF)
Lemon-Garlic Arugula Salad (GF)
Fire-Roasted Spice-Crusted Pears (GF)
SATURDAY BREAKFAST
Loaded Tofu Scramble Tacos (GF)
Chili-Lime Fruit Salad (GF)
SATURDAY LUNCH
Roasted Tomato Basil Soup (GF)
Tossed Greens with Maple Tahini Lemon Dressing or Zesty Almond Lime Dressing (GF)
Sourdough Bread (GFO)
SATURDAY DINNER
Mushroom & Broccoli Teriyaki Skillet (GF)
Thai Red Curry Chickpea & Sweet Potato Stew (GF)
Brown Rice (GF)
Fire-Blistered Edamame Pods (GF)
Fire-Roasted Cinnamon "Baked" Apples (GF)
SUNDAY BREAKFAST
Sweet Potato & Banana Breakfast Hash (GF)
Smoky Maple Pinto Beans (GF)
Zesty Cucumber & Radish Slaw (GF)
KIDS ALTERNATIVES (ANYTIME)
Fire-Toasted Cashew Butter and Jelly Sandwich (GFO)
GF= Gluten-Free
GFO= Gluten-Free Option
