Saturday, May 16, 2026, Noon – 6pm

Peonies, Plants, Painting
Participatory Performances!

 The theme of this festival is HEALING NATURE

Start the day with a run, feel evil spirits flee as the Lion Dances to thundering drums!, be transported by the flow of the Hmong bamboo reed instrument – the Qeej,  practice some calming Tai Qi.  Learn about Hmong, Dakota and Chinese Medicinal Plants; be bathed in a barcarolle by a woodwind quintet, delight in a flowing peony flower dance, experience Sound Therapy, go on a sensory walk, thrill to the ethereal sounds of the Guzheng – the Chinese zither, learn about Peonies from an expert, watch plein air artists capture the scene, buy tubers and plants from Hidden Springs Peony Farm, enjoy children painting stones with water calligraphy, HEAR WINNING POETRY from high school students, win a peony plant in a raffle, take a photo by the Wonderful Wall of Peonies, and enjoy the words of inspiring local poets.

We are inviting performers, artists, horticulturalists, health and herbal sources, ecological and nature-based businesses and non-profits. To explore registering, select a button to the upper right.

• Exhibitors/food vendors
• Performers
• Plein air artists
• Poets

SAVE THE DATE for the Sixth Annual Mid-Autumn Moon Festival on Saturday, October 3, 2026

Hosted at Phalen Regional Park China Friendship Garden by the Minnesota China Friendship Garden Society and the Association of Sino-American Neocultural Exchange (ASANE)

Annual Dumpling Feast – coming in 2027

Sponsored by the Minnesota China Friendship Garden Society and the Association of Sino-American Neocultural Exchange (ASANE) at the Peking Garden Restaurant.