The idea for a multi-cultural arts festival came directly from my association with Björklunden. My family had vacationed in Door County since I could remember. We loved coming up to the north woods and the bay and the lake and everything everyone loves about this special place. But it wasn’t till I had become an adult and a writer that I learned the true value of being surrounded by such beauty. I wasn’t long into my creative career before I would come to Door County not just to vacation, but to work. I found the bucolic surroundings truly inspirational no matter what season of the year.
I can’t recall whether there was a single lightbulb moment, but I do remember very clearly running the idea past my brother-in-law, a theatre professor, Alan Kopischke: What if we created a week-long festival, to be held every year at Björklunden, for all the arts—theatre, dance, poetry, music, etc.—an interdisciplinary arts festival that would attract all kinds of artists from across the country? They would bring their projects to Door County, Chautauqua style, and at the end of the week, present them to a festival audience made up of local residents and tourists. We would turn Björklunden, its lodge and its 450 acres, into an incubator from which new original works of art would blossom and be sent out to the world. Al loved the idea; he wanted in. Our next step was to persuade Mark Breseman, then Björklunden’s Director. I don’t think I ever had a pitch meeting that was more successful and went more quickly. We sold the idea “in the room” as they say. We received the blessing and support of both Björklunden and Lawrence University. The Door Kinetic Arts Festival (DKAF) became a reality.
Cut to nine years later. Save a covid interruption, when we cancelled the festival one year and held it on-line another, we’ve now hosted scores of artists, who have created dozens of new works that have delighted Door County residents. A few have toured nationally with dance companies, and one of the plays we developed, Toni Stone by Lydia Diamond, wound up at Broadway’s Roundabout Theatre in New York. Actor Harry Lennix, who directed a short film produced by DKAF, was nominated this year for a Tony Award. Composer Ricky Ian Gordon used his time at DKAF to compose a new opera, which premiered at Music Theatre of St. Louis just weeks ago. Celebrity actors Rainn Wilson and Campbell Scott '83, and playwright Stephen Belber, have all developed new work at the festival. All have left Björklunden invigorated.
And we’ve expanded into the Door County community, forming collaborations with the Gibraltar School District, the Door Community Auditorium, The Weidner Center in Green Bay and Lawrence University. This upcoming festival (taking place the week of September 21st), Lawrence students will be performing radio plays under the direction of Theatre Professor Timothy X. Troy. And one of our featured artists, cellist Okerie Johnson, will be leading a master class at Lawrence for cellists in the Lawrence Conservatory. He will also be performing for Gibraltar students.
As DKAF continues to grow and we approach its 10th anniversary, we attract a wider range of artists. and an increasingly passionate audience. One of the most rewarding results of the whole venture is seeing creators come to Björklunden and, just as intended, find inspiration in the beauty that surrounds them and from the growing passionate audiences.
Volunteers and organizers get their silly on for DKAF launch party.
