Category: 2022 Summer Series

Sun. August 28th, 2022, 1:30-3 p.m.
Pioneer Bluffs, 695 KS-177, Matfield Green, KS 66862

The process of artistic expression can be a rewarding tool for exploration and self-discovery. This session will take the form of a nature walk along Crocker Creek as the artist nurtures a discussion of the place of creativity in our daily life, and also shares the forces that have shaped his own work through the past forty years, including both human studies and contemplations of the natural world.

The walk is approximately half-mile and involves an easy creek crossing and goes into riparian areas that have some poison ivy, although the trail is maintained. Loose fitting, long pants and long-sleeves are advisable. Bring a hat, sunscreen, bug spray and a refillable water bottle. Modern restroom facilities will be open in the granary. Guests are encouraged to bring a picnic and linger. Crocker Creek is the unofficial “beach” and swimming hole for Matfield Green residents. It’s a little dry this week but still great for exploration and wading.

Just for fun, after the nature walk, Dave will show his home grown, 50s-style sci-fi production, “Killer Mutant Deer from Outer Space”. Much of the movie was filmed on the grounds of Pioneer Bluffs.

Maximum guests: 20

Sat. Aug. 27, 2022, 8-10 a.m.
Flint Hills Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, Cassoday
(meet at the Cassoday Country Store, 15133 KS-177, Cassoday, KS 66842)

Matt, when he’s not busy being and architect, husband, and dad to two future birders, is on the Kansas Bird Records Committee (KBRC) and a reviewer for Eastern Kansas of Cornell University’s eBird database, as well as past president of Kansas Ornithological Society, and former trustee with Audubon of Kansas. He’s also really fun and easy going and can answer all your bird-related questions. We’ll start in a circle of chairs in a shady glen listening to Matt talk about what is great about birding; using technology in birding; changes we are seeing in bird populations with habitat loss/global warming, and how important the Flint Hills are for nesting prairie birds and migratory shorebirds.

We’ll also hear from special guest Tony Capizzo, Flint Hills Initiative Manager for The Nature Conservancy, about the special qualities of the new Flint Hills Prairie Preserve and the rare bird species that contributed to getting it recognized as an important habitat. Then we’ll take an easy one-hour hike that involves a creek crossing (not difficult but your shoes will get wet).

IMPORTANT NOTE: We will meet in the parking lot of the Cassoday Country Store, just south of the Cassoday turnpike exit on I-35, and we will carpool to the preserve, where parking is limited. Wear sun protective clothing, bring bug spray and a refillable water bottle.

In the event of rain, the event is cancelled and tickets will be refunded.

Maximum guests: 25

Sun. Aug. 21, 2022, 1:30-3:30 p.m.
Pioneer Bluffs, 695 KS-177, Matfield Green, KS 66862

Flint Hills (Junction City) native and Academy Award winner Kevin Willmott became famous for the movies he has written with Spike Lee (“CHI RAQ”, “Da 5 Bloods” and “BlacKkKlansman”). But film buffs nationally and internationally have heaped praise on him since the 2004 release of his “C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America.” Before that, he had a cult following among Kansas film buffs for “Ninth Street,” a 1999 film set in Junction City featuring Isaac Hayes and Martin Short.

The beautifully restored, well-ventilated loft of the historic barn at Pioneer Bluffs is the setting for a screening of a 2020 documentary Kevin wrote and directed called “William Allen White: What’s the Matter With Kansas?” The film goes beyond the known facts of the Pulitzer Prize-winning “Sage of Emporia” and reveals the history of radical populism in Kansas and how White single-handedly drove the Ku Klux Klan out of the Free State. Following the screening, Kevin will invite the audience to consider how the film is still relevant today, talk about current projects and take questions.

Guests are invited to bring a picnic lunch to enjoy before the program on the beautiful grounds of the historic ranch stead and explore the new Nature Trail or even take a dip in Crocker Creek with its swimming hole and gravel bar.

Maximum guests: 50

Sat. Aug. 20, 2022, 1:30-3 p.m.
McBride Studio, 640 KS-177, Matfield Green, KS 66862

Diallo Javonne French captures musicians lost in the pleasure of performing, documenting not just beautiful images but the state of the jazz music scene in Kansas City. His portraits have been shown in solo and group shows, including the recent “Testimony” exhibition at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.

This year, Diallo raised more than $26,000 in a Kickstarter campaign to fund a film project, “Kansas City Dreamin’” that traces the history of the Kansas City sound from Lester Young to Janelle Monáe and includes an interview with Tech N9ne.

An air-conditioned studio is the setting for this intimate artist talk and conversation about the intersection of music, passion and film.

Maximum guests: 30

Sun. Aug. 14, 2022, 1:30-3 p.m.
Pioneer Bluffs, 695 KS-177, Matfield Green, KS 66862

Learn about the rich array of native Flint Hills plants that can be used to make a rainbow of dyes and inks from educator, plant enthusiast and Chase County fiber artist Tracey Graham. Participants will dye a fabric scrap to take home inside a historic granary that is air-conditioned and accessible. 

Guests are encouraged to bring a picnic lunch to enjoy beforehand on the picturesque grounds of Pioneer Bluffs and the shady banks of Crocker Creek — explore the new Nature Trail at the ranching heritage site or even take a dip in the swimming hole on Crocker Creek. Comfortable walking shoes, hot-weather clothing, sun protection and bug spray are recommended if you plan to hike.

Maximum guests: 12

Sat. Aug. 13, 2022, 4-5:30 p.m.
Pioneer Bluffs, 695 KS-177, Matfield Green, KS 66862

Diana Ennis, host of the “Tasty Brew” music show on Kansas City’s KKFI 90.1 FM, and Danny Powell, past president of the Kansas City Blues Society and a member of the Folk Alliance International, have teamed up to create Heartland Song Network, which aims to help support careers for songwriters by building an ecosystem that reaches all levels of musicianship and experience.

Their latest project pairs songwriters with elders to tell their stories through music.

Diana and Danny will share their inspiring story and be joined by musicians who will perform songs created through the project in the beautiful, well-ventilated restored barn loft at Pioneer Bluffs.

Sally Vee is the leader of Sally and the Hurts, an Americana Roots band from north central Kansas that brings award-winning lyrics, beautifully-crafted violin, and haunting theremin to the stage. Sally and The Hurts attends the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, KS and has performed on Stages 2,3,5,7, and the famous “Songwriter’s Stage” Stage 11. Several of the band’s songs have been chosen as category winners the past three years at the festival’s New Songs Showcase.The band has also performed at Folk Alliance International the past several years in Kansas City, Montreal, and New Orleans.

Chris Hudson is a guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, educator, visual artist and founding member of the Roots Music groups Gullywasher, Gullywasher Collective and The Bard Owls. He has a passion for various forms of American Folk Music and finger style guitar. Chris studied classical guitar at UMKC’s Conservatory of Music and has been teaching guitar most recently for Kansas City Young Audiences. Randy Hudson, Chris’s father, spent his entire working career in the rail industry but has been writing songs and writing poems his entire life.

Guests are invited to come early and stay late to enjoy the beautiful grounds of the historic ranch stead and the largely shaded Crocker Creek Nature Trail or even take a dip in the swimming hole on the creek. Bring sun-protective clothing, bug spray and a refillable water bottle if you wish to hike the new Pioneer Bluffs Nature Trail and bring water shoes if you want to get in the creek.

Maximum guests: 50

Sat. Aug. 13, 2022, 10-11:30 a.m.
Pioneer Bluffs, 695 KS-177, Matfield Green, KS 66862

Kansas native son, MacArthur Genius Award winner and co-founder of The Land Institute, Wes Jackson, has deep roots in Matfield Green. In the late 1990s, Jackson launched ‘The Matfield Green Project,” purchasing and rehabbing a number of abandoned properties in the town including the former elementary school, which is now the School for Rural Culture and Creativity, a nonprofit he admires.

Wes, a prolific writer, has a new book coming out Sept. 1 that has a more sober theme than last year’s delightful, “Hogs Are Up: Stories of the Land, With Digressions.” “An Inconvenient Apocalypse” confronts harsh ecological realities and argues that humanity’s future will be defined not by expansion but by contraction.

The beautifully restored, well-ventilated loft of the historic barn at Pioneer Bluffs is the setting for this chance to hear one of Kansas’s premier thinkers and gifted storytellers discuss the weightiest issues of our day. 

Guests are invited to bring a picnic lunch and linger on the beautiful grounds of the historic ranch stead and the shady banks of Crocker Creek. Bring sun-protective clothing, bug spray and a refillable water bottle if you wish to hike the new Pioneer Bluffs Nature Trail.

Maximum guests: 50

Sun. Aug. 7, 2022, 1:30-3 p.m.
McBride Studio, 640 KS-177, Matfield Green, KS 66862

LeLan Dains, former owner of the UNBOUND Gravel cycling race, owner of Gravel City Adventure & Supply Co., and founding chair of Gravel KS will be joining us to talk about the continued rise of gravel cycling and how rural Kansas is perfectly positioned to capture this momentum and become a top global cycling tourism destination. He will discuss the vision of Gravel Kansas to create stories around routes that connect the rider to the place, weaving in history, landmarks and local quirks.

Guests are invited to bring a picnic lunch and linger afterwards to enjoy the 4 miles of hiking trails on the adjacent PrairyArt Path. And, of course, we will have suggestions for cycling routes east and west of Matfield Green if you bring a bike.

Maximum guests: 30

Sat. Aug. 6, 2022, 4-5:30 p.m.
McBride Studio, 640 KS-177, Matfield Green, KS 66862

Lawrence-based artist and Caldecott medalist, Stephen will discuss his many wide-ranging projects from public artworks created for site specific sites across America to the inner pages of his award-winning children’s books. Improvisational and playful creative associations using the contextual surroundings of Matfield Green may also happen based on thoughts and concepts of the audience members. Mission: Have fun with ideas! Long-time Matfield fans will remember Stephen’s exhibition of abstract works at the Gallery at Pioneer Bluffs.

Guests are invited to bring a picnic supper and cold beverages and linger afterwards to catch the sunset on the beautiful 4 miles of hiking trails on the adjacent PrairyArt Path. Bring sun-protective clothing, bug spray and a refillable water bottle if you plan to hike.

Maximum guests: 25

Sat. Aug. 6, 2022, 10 a.m.-noon
McBride Studio, 640 KS-177, Matfield Green, KS 66862

Many people fantasize about escaping the rat race for a more Thoreauvian existence in the midst of nature. Carole did just that in 2000: After living in New York City for a while, she lived in the middle of a Chase County cow pasture half a mile from the nearest neighbor, on the bank of a creek. After 10 years of off-grid living, Carole returned to her childhood home in Kansas City. Now, as she prepares to venture back to rural life, she has become deeply troubled by the decline of the natural world and the general lack of concern for — even awareness of — this loss.

One author has observed that “the Fall” is not a discrete event that happened in a mythical past, but a story that we continue to enact. It would seem that, likewise, we continue in various manifestations to play out an impulse to “regain Paradise.”

Carole will describe her move to a primitive cabin and invites others to mull over with her the relevance, or lack thereof, of it to their life course. We will begin at air-conditioned McBride Studio, then transportation will be provided to the Cabin, where a circle of chair will be arranged in shade. Walking 100 meters on uneven terrain and crossing a small creek on foot is required; the cabin has no plumbing. Wear walking shoes and pack sun protection, bug spray and a refillable water jug; water for refills will be provided. Guests are invited to bring a picnic lunch. Transportation will be provided back to McBride Studio immediately following the hangout as well as later for picnickers.    

Maximum guests: 25