Oogstfeest
24.08.2025, Project Wilgenvrouwen, SibbeDuring the harvest gathering in the garden of Project Wilgenvrouwen, visitors were invited to enter the space at a slower pace and to attune to the rhythms of the place. Guests brought an offering for the shared altar beneath the weeping willow, creating a collective focal point shaped by personal gestures, natural materials, and quiet intention. This moment marked a transition from arrival into a more attentive, grounded presence.
From there, everyone was welcomed into the fire circle around the large cauldron of soup. Together, a short moment of breathing and meditation was shared — a pause to settle, to listen, and to arrive fully in the body and in the landscape. The warmth of the fire and the presence of the group created a shared field of stillness before moving into silence.
It was our intention to eat the soup in silence, allowing the meal to become a moment of deep listening and presence. Participants then dispersed throughout different corners of the garden, carrying their bowls with them. In quiet, they experienced what it means to be with the place without words: listening to wind, leaves, soil, and distant sounds, and sensing how stillness can deepen connection. This shared quiet allowed the garden itself to take the lead, offering its textures, scents, and subtle movements as companions.
After this silent meal, the gathering gradually opened into rest, conversation, walking, and shared reflection. Some people lay down, others wandered through the garden, and small groups formed to exchange stories and impressions. The harvest gathering became a space where slowness, nourishment, and presence intertwined — not as an event to be consumed, but as a lived experience of connection with the garden, with one another, and with the cycles that hold both growth and letting go.
