Join us on the evening of summer solstice at The Shed at Fogo Island Inn to visit with artist Maria Simmons and sample some of her edible creations.

For several years, Simmons has been reenacting ancient bog rituals, with a particular focus on the creation of bog butter, a historical practice in which quantities of butter or other fats were buried in peat bogs, sometimes for many years.

Simmons recently unearthed bog butters that she buried during her Fogo Island Arts 2025 residency. She shared them with Chef Timothy Charles and the Inn's culinary team. Together they will share a creation made with Simmons’ bog butter.

Regional solstice traditions and stories are of great interest to Simmons. In relation to these traditions, she requests that attendees to bring a small item to burn in an outdoor fire.

Date: Sunday, June 21, 6:30PM

RSVP: by calling the Fogo Island Inn: 709-658-3444

Maria Simmons is an artist based who embraces contamination as an act of collaboration. She collects garbage, buries butter, ferments plants, and nurtures fruit flies. She makes art that eats itself. Simmons holds an MFA from the University of Waterloo and a BFA from McMaster University and is currently undertaking a PhD at Concordia University. Recent exhibitions include the Visual Art Centre of Clarington (Canada), Lydgalleriet (Norway), Tromsø Center for Contemporary Art (Norway), Fiminco Foundation (France), and the Contemporary Art Museum of Estonia. She has completed residencies in Canada, Norway, Finland, and the US. Her work has been featured in Le Sabord, CBC Arts, Esse, Peripheral Review, and Public Parking.