Out in the Open: Skunk & Funk – Cribbage in the Field

Name: Jordan Wiklund
Occupation: Writer, Editor at Quayside Publishing
City/Neighborhood: St. Paul!
Open Field Activity: Cribbage in the Field invites participants of all ages and skill sets to spend a few hours at the Walker playing, teaching, learning, and sharing a Minnesota classic–cribbage! Replicating last year’s highly successful event, cribbage-goers need only show up. Boards and cards will be provided, but players are encouraged to bring their favorite boards or pegs from home to share with others.
Dates of Activity: Saturday, August 25, from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm.

1. Fill-in-the-blank: _______________ is what we make together.

Connections (of any kind) are what we make together.

2. What is your favorite public space in the Twin Cities or beyond?

As a Luther grad, I’m always returning to Decorah every chance I get. Phelps Park, overlooking the Upper Iowa River Valley from rolling, hilly bluffs, is unbelievably beautiful.

3. What brought you to Open Field?

The idea that cribbage–such a simple game–seems to perfectly match the idea of the community meeting art.

4. Who do you dream of attending your activity?

Anyone new to the game, mostly. Last year we had participants travel from over 200 miles away, a blind gentleman with a pack of Braille playing cards, kids, parents, and general gamers who had never been to the Walker–tough to beat a crowd like that.

5. Describe your favorite summer memory.

 I spent a summer with my brother and family living at our cabin near Gordon, Wisconsin, and it was beautiful. Friends visited all the time. We raised a pair of ducks and several dozen pheasants. We spent a lot of time in our tiny, tiny lake. We fished. We biked. We worked ad-hoc labor jobs for my dad, a general contractor, in Duluth. I crashed on friends’ couches all summer and had a perfectly irregular schedule. It went too fast!

6. What other Open Field activity are you looking forward to this summer?

I’d like to check out Art Swap once more. I have a few Steve Keene pieces to give away.

7. What is your favorite sumer song?

 So many. This summer it’s probably Middle Brother’s Blue Eyes or Delta Spirit’s White Table.