Happiness is Knocking: Join us in September for a Celebration to Remember
Franconia team members repping new merch. Photo by Jaida Grey Eagle.
Happiness is knocking. Close your eyes, and you smell prairie flowers. You hear the chug of heavy equipment between birdcalls and crickets. Open your eyes, and watch the sparks of welding and grinding coming from artists hard at work! See a new shade of blue in the wildflowers, and the ripening plums hiding in barbed woods. From sweaters in the mornings to still-warm dips in the Ókhižu Wakpá St. Croix River after work, we watch each leaf turn during these beautiful days.
Attendance was up 15% in August – let’s break some records this fall! Doesn’t a beautiful day at the park sound lovely?
What a wonderful time of year to celebrate, and we look forward to doing that for Franconia’s 30th Birthday Party on September 26. Did you know Franconia is as old as the Macarena? Pokemon? Those not-too-distant memories remind us how much the world has changed, and the creaks and pops that our bodies make now.
Work by (L) Dani Bianchini and (C) Alex Adkinson (photos by Brent Snyder Photography) and (R) Laurie Shapiro (photo by Jaida Grey Eagle) will be among the 2026 Artist-in-Residence celebrated on September 26.
With age comes wisdom, and I am so proud the park continues to be at the forefront of both contemporary art and equity in this sector. Artists here are pushing the limits of what’s possible, adapting with the environment, and sharing knowledge that comes from our unique perspectives and histories. Franconia continues to build, infused with more financial and technical support for residents, and modern operating systems to accommodate our 150,000+ annual visitors.
As we showcase what Franconia does best, I ask you to make a gift in honor of these 30 years – generously matched again in 2026 The Manitou Fund. Give to support artists’ big and bold vision. Give to the land that holds us all. Give because the joy and wonder here is what the world needs now. Join us in sustaining an open and free environment that empowers everyone to explore. Within each of us is a source of abundance that belongs in a community like this, and today and for years to come, the only limit at Franconia is what we will share with others.
For 30 years, Franconia has centered art, community, and nature. Photos (L) and (C) by Brent Snyder Photography.