— Two Giant Egrets have joined the family at Ortenstone Gardens and Sculpture Park in Detroit Lakes.
“Dancing for Joy,” a large bamboo sculpture created by the Myth Makers — also known as artists Donna Dodson and Andy Moerlein — was unveiled at a ribbon cutting ceremony held at Ortenstone on Saturday, June 28, 2026.
The artists themselves took part in the unveiling, as well as leading the workshop on bamboo art that was held in a large tent on the Ortenstone grounds later that morning. The sculpture, which depicts two giant egrets dancing, is composed of bamboo, paint, wire ties, reflectors and other mixed media elements. An information kiosk located next to the giant sculpture explains the story behind the traveling exhibition’s journey to Detroit Lakes.
The Great Egret was driven to near extinction in the mid-20th century, first by hunters, then by the effects of the pesticide known as DDT. The birds were highly prized for their plumes, which were popular in the fashion industry. In 1918, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 was established to prohibit the killing of birds for their feathers, but the egrets’ numbers had barely begun to recover when DDT was introduced “as an effective and common insecticide.
This information kiosk next to the “Dancing for Joy” sculpture at Ortenstone Gardens tells the story behind the exhibit, which will be on display at the sculpture park off Randolph Road in Detroit Lakes through September 2027.
Vicki Gerdes / Detroit Lakes Tribune
The chemicals in DDT were later discovered to accumulate in fish, which is the egrets’ main diet. Slowly, it was determined that the chemicals also had a detrimental effect on eggshell strength, which greatly damaged the birds’ breeding success. By the 1950s, there were no breeding pairs left in the region.
Following the publication of Rachel Carson’s book, “Silent Spring,” and the ban of DDT in 1972, the birds’ population began to recover. Today, the Great Egret has returned to Minnesota in significant numbers, with more than 1,000 nesting pairs documented statewide. “Dancing for Joy” is intended to celebrate that success.
“Dancing for Joy” artists Donna Dodson and Andy Moerlein (in purple, at center) were joined for the installation of their giant bamboo sculpture at Detroit Lakes’ Ortenstone Gardens and Sculpture Park by their artist apprentices, Fionn (far left) and Seamus Fanning. All four attended the ribbon cutting at Ortenstone on Saturday, June 27, 2026.
Vicki Gerdes / Detroit Lakes Tribune
The birds will be on display at Ortenstone through September 2027. They join the giant troll, “Barefoot Frida,” created by Danish recycling artist Thomas Dambo in 2024 as part of the “Trolls in DL” public art exhibition; “Togetherness,” a life-size sculpture of two horses by Montana artist Jim Dolan; and “Of the Earth,” a trio of giant sculptures by Ohio artist Olga Ziemska that became a permanent part of Ortenstone’s landscape this year (after originally coming to the park as a temporary exhibition).
Several of these sculptures were surrounded by visitors on Saturday. They will soon be joined by three more: A fourth sculpture from Ziemska, which will become part of the “Of the Earth” collection; a trio of sculptures from Detroit Lakes’ own Hans Gilsdorf; and one from artist Ellen Moses.
Artists Donna Dodson, left, and Andy Moerlein, known collectively as the Myth Makers, took part in a ribbon cutting ceremony for their giant bamboo sculpture, “Dancing for Joy,” on Saturday, June 27, 2026 at Ortenstone Gardens and Sculpture Park in Detroit Lakes.
Contributed / Carmen McCullough
As if all that weren’t enough, Naytahwaush artist Kent Estey is displaying some large-scale reproductions of his two-dimensional art along Ortenstone’s trails this summer as well. Titled “Mino-Bimaadiziwin” (which means “The Good Life” in Ojibwe), this exhibition of Estey’s vibrant acrylic, oil and ink paintings is also being displayed at the Becker County Museum (which houses the original paintings) and the Washington Square Mall (which also has large-scale reproductions of his works). It will be on display at all three locations through Labor Day on Monday, Sept. 7 (which will be the last chance to see it).
Live music and storytelling
Ortenstone is also hosting two different series of live outdoor events this summer: Storytelling in the Garden, which made its debut on Friday, June 12; and Music Moments, which debuts on Monday, June 29.
Storytelling in the Garden features local storytellers like Amy Erickson, Mark Hagen, Lori O’Dea and Amy Stearns, sharing “a variety of poetry, humor, stories and other entertaining readings, in a relaxed, outdoor setting,” according to a press release from event host Project 412. Additional storytelling sessions are set for July 10 and 24 as well as Aug. 14 and 28. The series is being sponsored by Bluebird Books.
This sculpture by Ohio artist Olga Ziemska, known as “Hear,” will be the site for a series of storytelling events at Ortenstone Gardens and Sculpture Park in Detroit Lakes this summer. The next session is set for Friday, July 10, 2026 at 12 p.m.
Vicki Gerdes / Detroit Lakes Tribune
Each storytelling event starts at noon, and is both free and open to the public. All are welcome to bring a lunch and a lawn chair or blanket out to Ortenstone, located at 1646 Randolph Road, and join in the fun.
Music Moments, which will begin with a live concert from Pocket Change on Monday, June 29, at 7 p.m., is a curated series of live, outdoor music events, delivered pop-up style by regional artists. Additional performances are scheduled as follows:
July 6: Beachfront ComboJuly 13: The Common LoonsJuly 20: Rachael IaniroJuly 27: Meshuga MachineAug. 3: Rebecca Davis
All five remaining concerts in the series, which is free and open to the public, begin at 7 p.m. Please bring your favorite chair or blanket to enjoy the music. Free will donations to support the arts in Detroit Lakes will be accepted. The series is being sponsored by The Music Shop of Detroit Lakes.
All of these exhibitions and live events at Ortenstone are being hosted by local nonprofit Project 412, which has taken on the 55-acre park as its latest development project. Amy Stearns, its executive director, says that
the intent is to make it into “a nationally significant garden and sculpture park.”
“We put Detroit Lakes on the map with the trolls, and we want to keep that going,” she added.
Stearns noted that the park “is 100% donation-built,” with much of the work done with installing new gardens and scultpures around the property being done by volunteers. Visit
ortenstonegardens.org/volunteer
for more information.
According to a press release about its latest sculpture installation that was sent out earlier this month, Project 412 was created with the dream of making Detroit Lakes and the surrounding 412 lakes area an even better community by making waves and thinking outside the box with amazing ideas. Learn more at