Guest Pass: Silverwood Park In St. Anthony

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – On a #Top10WxDay, we'll all try to get outside. Whether it's a longer walk with the dog, a jog around the lake or just sipping a cup of coffee in the sun, when the weather is warm Minnesotans love to be outside.

This week's Guest Pass is to a place where you can do all of the above, Silverwood Park in Saint Anthony.

"Some people always say it sounds like they're saying 'spring's here,'" Tom Moffatt, the Silverwood Park Supervisor, said of the chickadees. "But if you listen close to me it sounds like they're saying 'cheeseburger.'"

No matter what the chickadees are singing, they are singing with joy at Silverwood Park.

"We're in this unique little location. We're just a mile off of 694," Moffatt said. "And you'd never guess you're right off a major freeway here."

Their position on the map isn't the only thing that's unique.

"We have an over-arching mission here to do nature-inspired arts," Moffatt said. "So along the trail, as you might just be out for a walk, or walking your dog, you're also going to come across sculpture that local artists have placed in the park."

The sculptures range from the impossible to miss, to the small and subtle. And the art in the park expands beyond the visual mediums.

"There's a half a dozen poetry stops, where you can hear works from local poets," Moffatt said. "So you can sit down on a bench, and dial in on your cell phone and listen to a poem about the forest, while sitting in the forest."

There's also ceramics, paper-making and photography.

Alyssa Baguss is the program coordinator and one of 10 fine-arts educators on staff.

"We use art to teach about nature," Baguss said. "So it's a little different twist on the normal nature center programming."

They start teaching very young with four and five-year-old classes and continue through adulthood with nature-inspired art galleries.

"That little extra added layer, I think, is one of the things that makes this place sort of magical," Moffatt said.

There is a new art gallery exhibit at the park, debuting Thursday night. More information about the park and the event can be found on their website.