Fire Reverie celebrates Lunar New Year with fire and community

LEAVENWORTH — In celebration of the Lunar New Year, Leavenworth’s inaugural Fire Reverie celebrated fire and community at Wenatchee River Institute on Feb. 17.

“Fire is what’s always brought people together since time immemorial, like fire is where people gather around, especially this time of year,” said Cascadia PBA’s Colin Sternagel.

The event was hosted by the Cascadia Prescribed Burn Association (PBA) in partnership with the Wenatchee River Institute, Lit Mic, and Shine Song Collective. While Cascadia PBA’s everyday work focuses on education and training around prescribed burning to prevent wildfires, the Fire Reverie was an opportunity to step back and celebrate the element.

 “We needed to just have something that celebrates fire and community, and not have to talk about learning. Let's just have fun and enjoy fire and each other,” said Sternagel.

The evening included spoken word and poetry with the Lit Mic, a song and drum circle with Shine Song Collective, and fire performances, along with food, smores and conversation. Attendees also had the opportunity to cold plunge in the Wenatchee River and warm up in a mobile sauna.

The Fire Reverie was also an opportunity to turn lemons into lemonade, or rather, storm debris into biochar. During the December storm, WRI had between 20 and 30 trees fall overnight, causing damage to its Red Barn and Outdoor Classroom. According to biochar expert Korina Stark, the nonprofit is hoping to turn the debris into biochar, a charcoal-like substance that can be used for soil health improvement, carbon sequestration, and water retention. 

Biochar is created by heating organic material in a low-oxygen environment, a process called pyrolysis, limiting smoke and leaving behind a stable, carbon-rich material, which was demonstrated at the Fire Reverie. According to Stark, the surface area of biochar is so high that if a teaspoon of it were unraveled, it would cover a tennis court.

“It's basically a microbe hotel, which is really amazing for creating soil health, and also really helps with water retention,” said Stark, noting the advantage of moisture retention in drought periods.

More information about Cascadia PBA can be found at cascadiapba.org, with information about Wenatchee River Institute at wenatcheeriverinstitute.org.

Taylor Caldwell: 509-433-7276 or taylor@ward.media