Fire & Wonder 2026 at San Damiano

Event Highlights:

• Bonfire and lakeside fire pits
• Storytelling of Ho-Chunk history and culture by Janice Rice - Story times are 4:15pm, 5pm, and 5:45pm. Pre-registration is required as seating is limited.
• Indigenous cording demonstration and educational craft by Lightning New Rider
• Kid-friendly scavenger hunt with glow sticks
• Warm beverages to drink and marshmallows to roast
• Winter Serenity with a candlelit walk through the woodland area
• Sunset Splendor on Lake Monona

Please note that while the Frank Allis House retains its historic charm, it is not currently equipped with accessibility features and is not wheelchair accessible.

Friends of San Damiano is honored to welcome Janice Rice, a Ho-Chunk tribal member, for an evening of sharing traditional Ho-Chunk stories. Storytelling will be offered in small groups in the Frank Allis House at 4:15pm, 5pm, and 5:45pm. Seating is limited, so pre-registration is required.

We are also very appreciative of Lightning New Rider for teaching and demonstrating indigenous cording history, along with leading an educational cording craft.
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About Janice Rice:

Janice Rice, a Ho-Chunk tribal member, is an emerita University of Wisconsin academic librarian who earned her education degree from UW–Milwaukee and her MLS in Indian Librarianship from UW–Madison, and has been active in Teejop (Four Lakes) since the late 1970s. An activist, environmentalist, and educator since her college years, she has long advocated for the protection of Indigenous cultural and natural landscapes, including efforts to save the Indian Mounds in Monona and to help transform the Tenney bike path into the Lakeshore Nature Preserve. In 1988, she assisted with the installation of the Tree of Peace and a commemorative marker near the UW Observatory and effigy bird mound. A Clan Mother for Ho-Chunk Nation Social Services, Rice provides guidance for young Ho-Chunk women and serves on the Teejop Community History Project and the Harry Whitehorse International Wood Sculpture Festival Board. She has also advised UW–Madison’s cultural landscape tours and Teejop Waterscapes boat tours, served on the City of Madison’s Lake Monona Waterfront Design Challenge Ad Hoc Committee (2022–2024), and in 2023was elected president of the Ho-Chunk Nation’s first tribal library, continuing her lifelong advocacy for Ho-Chunk history, waters, environment, and the preservation of art and culture.

About Lightning New Rider:

Lightning New Rider is a tribally enrolled member of the Ho-Chunk Nation, with ancestral ties to the Poni, Otoe, Oneida, and Arikara nations. He holds a degree in landscape and horticultural design and carries lifelong knowledge shared by elders and relatives, rooted in traditional teachings of Mother Earth and our plant relatives. Working with natural fibers such as dogbane, bulrush, cattail, and cedar, New Rider creates mats and baskets, and shares indigenous teachings on harvesting plants and foods. He is passionate about helping others understand what it means to be connected to Mother Earth. New Rider has also founded a catering business centered on cooking vegetarian and indigenous foods, most recently having been the chef for the Monona Indigenous Roots Dinner and thoughtfully crafting a multi-course menu spotlighting local and traditional Indigenous ingredients.
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Additionally happening around Fire & Wonder, Kindled Community Sauna is partnering with Friends of San Damiano to provide community wood-fired sauna sessions at San Damiano. Hour-long sessions are offered on Saturday, Feb. 21, at 11am, noon, 1pm and 7pm, and on Sunday, Feb. 22, at 1pm and 2pm. Registration and payment can be made at kindledcommunitysauna.com.
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Parking is limited, including the number of accessible spaces. We encourage carpooling or walking. You may drop off guests before parking along local roads.

Please do not park in local business lots, and note that Monona Grove High School has an event, so their lot is not available. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.

This is your opportunity to connect with nature, community, and the unique charm of San Damiano. Bundle up, grab your friends or family, and don’t miss this enchanting evening of Fire and Wonder!