Quilt exhibition captures beauty of Frontenac State Park prairie

A trail at a Minnesota state park will become the gallery for an outdoor art exhibit this weekend.

Inside Minnesota's oldest government building in continuous operation — the historic Florence Township Hall in Frontenac Station — volunteers are carefully sorting and preparing quilts.

But the quilts aren't headed for a gallery — they're headed for the prairie.

"We thought, how can we put the quilts into the park itself so people experience both the natural beauty and the beauty of the quilts about the prairie," said Steve Dietz, president of the Frontenac State Park Association.

The answer came in fabric, thread, and imagination.

On Saturday, the landscape of the park will become part of the art itself during "Prairie Dreams: A Trail of Quilts." Over 120 quilts will be displayed along a trail through the park.

Artistic Director Janet Bruce challenged participants with identical starter kits: blue, brown, and orange fabric representing sky, earth, and fire. From there, the creativity was entirely their own.

"I was amazed. I mean, we have every level of skill imaginable," Bruce said.

As the saying goes, every patch tells a story, and every stitch holds a memory. 

"It's just wonderful to see everyone's take on what their prairie dream is," said Dietz.

The setting provides plenty of inspiration.

"We're only about 2,500 acres, not a really big state park but within that 2,500 acres there is bluff-side forest, bluff-top prairie, oak savanna, emergent marsh," said Jake Gaster.

For Bruce, that's part of the park's magic. No two visits are ever the same.

"It changes daily. No matter what day you come, there's something new and different to see," said Bruce.

This weekend, visitors will find something else new to see: 123 prairie dreams, stitched by hand and displayed beneath the open sky.

The free exhibition starts at 10 a.m. and goes until 5 p.m. on Saturday at Frontenac State Park.