Sacred Harvest Festival
The Sacred Harvest Festival is the Harmony Tribe’s premier annual event. It has grown to be the largest and most beloved festival of the upper Midwest. Held in early August each year, its new home, Atchingtan, is completely unspoiled, and maintained by Paul and Janette (active supporters of SHF and Harmony Tribe) on earth-friendly principles. Surrounded by its own woodland, and situated on a very private 40-acre site in Northern Minnesota, it is about 90 minutes north from the Twin Cities, and 90 minutes south of Duluth. Atchingtan is very easy to get to using Interstate and County roads. Sacred Harvest Festival has developed a national reputation for a fun and family friendly event that develops a second family for festivants during its duration…. the Tribe. The festival brings the Tribe together to celebrate the harvest and our diverse spiritualities each year..
Sacred Harvest Festival, a festival community
Other characteristics that makes SHF unique:
- A festival theme that is supported by guests and workshops
- Theme based rituals that develop an experience over the week
- A large percentage of children and teens!
- A central hearth fire, the Heart Chakra/Sacred Circle.
- A spirit of co-creation, many rituals and events are drawn from the talents and experience of our festivants
- A home for individual Rites of Passage, community recognition for the life changes of our festivants
- A vibrant community of families, youth, and elders
Explore Sacred Harvest Festival by year using the Navigation links at left!
History of Sacred Harvest Festival
Celebrating its twentieth year in 2017, SHF began when a small group who had traveled to regional Pagan festivals decided a family friendly local festival was needed. Starting with the vision of a co-created event organized by those dedicated to work together each year, it has flourished. In 2004 Harmony Tribe took a big risk and allotted 25% of its funds to start festival production to securing national guests to enhance our yearly festival theme. The decision paid off with soaring attendance. Our hospitality toward out guests has helped spread the unique nature of SHF nationally, and many who travel to national festivals still count SHF as their tribal community home.
SHF expanded from a long weekend event to a nine day event encompassing two weekends, the first festival to do so. For those of our festivants who can attend the full event (about 2/3rds of you, now for seven days), you find you get to know nearly all of the festivants. By our Closing ritual, you have become part of the tribe through fellowship, ritual, education, and living within our sacred community.
From our 2001 village guide: Magic All around you …
This week we will be connecting with the energies of nature, the Sun and Moon, the wind and trees, the rhythm of the earth and fire. As we walk through festival, we are constantly co-creating sacred space with our breath, our movement, our words and our deeds. Remember this. Be quiet in quiet spaces, join in with dance, sing the songs, laugh, play and encourage one another. Sacred Harvest Festival is a place to build and strengthen community. Whether this is your first festival or one of many, we believe you will experience the “magic” that happens when those who honor the Earth and her creatures, gather and walk together on the land in love, trust and with respect.