You’ve seen the ads, but what is the Wheat Trail Festival? It’s a weekend of fun, camping, live music, food trucks, beanbag tournament, BBQ contest and more bringing awareness to mental health issues. Excitement is growing for the outdoor festival with a cause taking place July 24-25 in Belle Creek Township.
16764 342nd St. Way, Goodhue MN, is midpoint between Goodhue, Cannon Falls and Red Wing. The 200 acres owned by Dan Ryan will be transformed with stages, parking areas and 170 campsites for the weekend. Described as a kid-friendly summer community gathering with music, it will focus on mental-health support for rural and farming communities.
Leading the effort is Will Erickson who is using his previous experience with the Goodhue County Fair board and Goodhue Volksfest to organize the event. “I’m grateful to be able to make this vision come true after many years of thinking about it and talking about it. A little nudge from a great buddy made me move forward. What makes this special is the significant need for mental health and suicide support in the Ag and rural communities. I figured I would use my years of knowledge to support this issue. If I can make a difference in one person’s life, that is a win in my eyes.”
Working on the event with Will are Josh Finnesgard, Jamie Kells, Shawn Erickson, Molly Grobe, Lucas Erickson, Derek and Katie Weckerling, Paul Thomas “PT” Hohag, and Travis Ryan. Will says they are, “A group of friends who want meaning behind an event. We want to bring people together for conversations.”
Any talk of suicide needs to be taken seriously. 134 people die by suicide each day in the United States making it the eleventh leading cause of death overall. Especially true in small communities, every suicide impacts at least 135 people. Team member, Jamie Kells reiterates, “Mental health challenges and suicide affect so many, yet they’re often left unspoken. Raising awareness helps reduce stigma, encourages people to seek help, and builds supportive communities.”
The festival is being put on in partnership with the LIVIN Foundation. Their mission, according to their website, is to “Prevent suicide by creating quality connections through everyday conversations about mental health, by way of programs and partnerships. We can’t change the past, but together we can affect the future!” Their vision is to make “#LIVIN a universally recognized movement that promotes a world that is just as comfortable talking about mental health as it is the weather”. On partnering with the Wheat Trail Festival, they acknowledge, “If we want to expand our impact, we’ll need to plant some new roots!”
Through LivWell partners and the LIVIN Foundation, the Wheat Trail Festival organizers planned a suicide prevention training held at the Goodhue Community Center on March 7th. The free event included breakfast, suicide awareness training and a question and answer session. Paul Thomas Hohag, a media personality known as PT on KMNB The Wolf 102.9 FM radio station, welcomed attendees via live video feed.
After losing his father to suicide in 2013, PT founded the Minneapolis based non-profit LIVIN to start conversations around mental health and preventing suicide. “Instead of focusing on the way he died, I needed to embrace the way he lived. I needed to encourage others to talk about depression and suicide instead of hiding it due to embarrassment. This way we could reduce the stigma associated with depression and other mental illnesses and maybe, just maybe, save a life in the process. Remember, it is ALWAYS a great day to be alive.”
The program then moved on with QPR training. QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) is a formula that hopes to help save lives through recognizing warning signs and directing people to mental health resources including the 988 suicide prevention hotline. Other programs can be found through the county and state Department of Health. If people get the help they need, they may never be suicidal again. It is often a 10 minute window within a crisis that drives people to suicide and survivors admit that they immediately regretted their attempt. It is a myth that no one can stop a suicide. QPR is meant to inform people on how to open a conversation, listen without judgement and find professional help.
Ray Stenglein, Training & Inspiration Director for LivWell, led the training. Ray has turned personal tragedy into passion to help others and save lives. He began looking for mental health resources in 2012 when his oldest daughter attempted suicide five times. He lost his youngest daughter to suicide in 2016. He admits to using medication and a therapist to deal with his own mental health. “And that is OK”, he says, encouraging men to seek help. Men between the ages of 25 and 50 make up the largest demographic of those who die by suicide – at a rate of nearly 4 times higher than women. “Between agriculture, community and construction (occupations), men are a big part of it.”
“We want to focus on the farmer,” says festival organizer, Shawn Erickson. Facing everyday struggles puts farmers at risk as they see their identity and legacy highly connected to their business. Pride and a lack of time and resources keep many from seeking professional help but sometimes they just need to talk. People considering suicide want to talk and this training may help recognize when someone is in a crisis, learn how to have these conversations and lead them to available resources.
This course provides knowledge and skills to protect young people from self-directed violence. With today’s youth having phones and social media providing constant contact, bullying doesn’t end after school lets out. 52% of high-school-age kids struggle with anxiety or depression. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among young people ages 11-24. LivWell wants those working with youth to reduce this risk by knowing as much as possible about mental health, suicidal behaviors and intervention. Many attending the March training were parents, educators or youth leaders. Stenglein stressed the importance of sharing personal struggles with children to open conversations and reduce the stigma around mental health.
Shawn says, “I am active in getting behind Wheat Trail Festival because as a farm kid of the 1980s, Agriculture teacher of 25 years, livestock business owner, and former farm business management instructor, rural mental health has been part of my life and awareness ever since I can remember. I know firsthand the importance of this topic and this is a small way that I can help give back to the agricultural community that has made me who I am today. This could be something very, very special for Southeastern Minnesota”.
Highlighting the festival activities will be great country music provided by local artists Bryan Anderson on Friday and Foster Grand on Saturday. Friday will also feature popular recording artist Noah Hicks, and multi-platinum country music singer and songwriter, Dylan Scott whose most recent chart-topping song is “What He’ll Never Have”. Saturday’s line-up includes West Concord native and 2025 contestant on “The Voice”, Cori Kennedy opening for Eddie Montgomery, surviving member of the Montgomery Gentry CMA Vocal Duo of the Year Award winner.
The festival will also feature a keynote speaker on mental health, shining the spotlight on the topic. Organizers feel it is bigger than just an event. Will says, “It’s about community, about showing up for one another. It’s about continuing to bring awareness to mental health and suicide prevention in a real and meaningful way. Wheat Trail Festival is more than music and gathering together, it’s a platform to start conversations that matter, reduce stigma and remind people they are not alone. Every sponsorship, every partnership, and every supporter helps us expand that impact. We’re grateful for businesses that are willing to stand beside us and invest in something bigger than themselves. Together we can raise awareness, raise funds, and most importantly, raise hope.”
Festival information can be found on the Wheat Trial Festival Facebook page and website www.wheattrailfestival.org. A link can be found on the website to order tickets online through Universe.
For mental health support, information on QPR training and other programs, visit www.livinfoundation.org or www.livewellpartners.com.
If you are experiencing a crisis, use the 988 suicide and crisis lifeline. Call, text or chat for 24/7 judgement-free support for mental health, substance use, and more.
