New date for the Open House: December 13, 1-4, Gallery talk at 3.
The four Prairie Grove tapestries hang each summer in the stone church on a hill overlooking oak savanna prairie.
From November 20-December 30, 2022, they will hang in a room with a different view, overlooking a city lake at Lake the Isles Lutheran Church in Minneapolis.
There is a family link from one of the tapestries to the church. I took the image of the Ladies Aid woman portrayed on the Stone Church Tapestry from the Valley Grove Church photos in the St. Olaf Digital Archive. Janna Haug, wife of Lake of the Isles Lutheran Church Pastor Arden Haug, recognized the woman – her great-grandmother, Berit Hope. Janna Haug brought another photo of her great-grandmother for this exhibit. (Read more about the Ladies Aid and their contributions to the Valley Grove Church, and about weaving this lady, in this post.)
The tapestries are available to view during church open hours each week: Monday-Thursday, 9-4, and Fridays, 9-12 noon. I’d love to show them to you on a special open house afternoon.
Valley Grove Tapestries: Open House and Gallery Talk
Tuesday, December 13, 1-4 (Gallery talk at 3)
Lake of the Isles Lutheran Church, 2020 West Lake of the Isles Parkway, Minneapolis, 55405
I’ll demonstrate tapestry weaving that day, too, on a fox tapestry. It’s my “souvenir” of the Valley Grove project. There will be lefse and cookies, too, while they last.
You can read about the tapestries ahead of time by clicking on the images below. The full project is described here.
The exhibit opens this Sunday, November 20. Services are at 9:30 (with a brass band!), followed by coffee in the Fellowship Hall at 10:30. I will hold an informal gallery talk at 11am.
I’m happy to announce this Twin Cities opportunity to celebrate the beautiful historical Valley Grove churches. It’s so close to our home. If you can’t make the open house afternoon, I would be happy to meet you there another day to talk about all the symbols they contain and about weaving them.
Final hint: This is the side door entrance to the church.
