What a Night. What a Community.

Three years of Concert Under the Stars, one unforgettable night, and a community coming together for what comes next.

Three years ago, when we first dreamed up Concert Under the Stars, I’m not sure I imagined looking out across a field of over 400 people.

But there we were.

Hundred Acre Wood families who have been with us for years. New families. Teachers, friends and neighbours. Community supporters. Danny Michel fans. People discovering Hundred Acre Wood for the first time.

All of us together, under the stars.

I’ve had the privilege of organizing this event since the beginning, and watching it grow has brought me pure joy. But what I love most about it hasn’t changed: it brings people together.

This year, that felt especially meaningful.

It is never just a stick. It is a wand, a weedwacker, a sword, a fishing rod, a treasure. It matters so much that it cannot possibly be left behind, and so it is handed to a teacher for safekeeping. Will it be forgotten about in ten minutes? Nine times out of ten, yes. But do we carry it? Yes. We do.

Because what we are really being handed is a child's imagination, running free. Our whole school is built around carrying that carefully.

People often ask about our name. Here is the story.

It really does take a community.

There are so many people behind an evening like this.

Danny Michel has brought something incredibly special to Concert Under the Stars. This time, when I thought I had bargained for Danny Michel, he showed up with his entire band. From the music to the lights to all the little details, Danny brings so much generosity to this event, and I’m incredibly grateful to call him a friend.

We were also honoured to welcome Jillian Morris, a Haudenosaunee writer and poet, who shared a beautiful reflection before the music began - a quiet, grounding moment that felt especially meaningful as we gathered together on the land.

The Ruthven Sisters then shared their beautiful music with us. They’re also part of the HAW family as our music teachers, which makes having them on stage even more special.

For the third year, Spy Cider House & Distillery welcomed us into this incredible space, while our sponsors, auction donors, volunteers and Concert Committee contributed the countless pieces that made the evening possible.

A special thank you to our event sponsors: Party Bros Co | Haltoncreative | Georgian Bay Estates & Household Management | Good Family Farms | Alexa Jackson Creative | Sunbelt Rentals.

And our community showed up in more ways than one. Together, the online auction raised over $4,500 for Hundred Acre Wood - an incredible result made possible by the businesses and individuals who donated, everyone who bid, and Katrin from Georgian Bay Estates & Household Management, who put so much time and energy into bringing the auction together.

Thank you again to Alexa Jackson of Alexa Jackson Creative, who captured the night so beautifully. The photographs throughout this post are hers, and I think they tell the story of the evening better than I ever could.

Then the evening became about something bigger.

At one point, Kim asked everyone to think about a core childhood memory in nature.

She asked us to raise our hands if we had one.

Hands went up across the field.

That moment captured so much of why Hundred Acre Wood exists.

Every day, we watch children build those memories. They know the pillbug, the salamander and the honeybee. The silky feel of a milkweed pod. The joy of a rainy day. The magic of the first snowfall.

They get muddy. They climb. They explore. They ask impossible questions.

And somewhere along the way, nature becomes something they know, love and eventually want to protect.

And then Kim shared our big news.

For seven years, our Heathcote location at Kimbercote Farms has been home to Hundred Acre Wood. But our lease is coming to an end, and we need to move.

For something so rooted in place, that news has been incredibly difficult.

But that night, we finally got to share with the wider community what our HAW families already knew:

Hundred Acre Wood has found its forever home.

We have purchased a beautiful 50-acre property in Fairmount, Grey Highlands, with hardwood forest, open fields, orchards and so much possibility.

Now, we need to build the licensed childcare facility that will allow Hundred Acre Wood to continue there.

The project is estimated at $1.4 million. Hundred Acre Wood is investing $700,000 of our own funds, and we are asking our community to help us raise the other half.

It will protect our existing 42 licensed childcare spaces, create a permanent home for Hundred Acre Wood and give us the potential to serve more children in a community where more than 200 are currently waiting for a childcare space.

A story we’d been waiting to share.

Concert Under the Stars was also the first screening of our new campaign film.

Watching it for the first time alongside hundreds of people gathered in that field was something I won’t soon forget.

The film was produced by Dino Harambasic of Division Productions, with Brian Hunt of HVisual.Media behind the camera. Together, they captured something those of us who spend our days at HAW feel deeply but sometimes struggle to put into words:

Why this place matters. Why these experiences matter. And why what we build next matters.

Three years in, this one felt different.

Every Concert Under the Stars has been special to me.

But this year, looking around that field, I couldn’t help thinking about how much this little event has grown - and how much Hundred Acre Wood has grown alongside it.

What started as a night of music has become something bigger: a gathering of people who believe in community, who believe childhood should still include muddy boots, forests, snowstorms and salamanders, and who believe places like Hundred Acre Wood are worth protecting.

To everyone who bought a ticket, donated, bid in the auction, volunteered, sponsored us, performed, shared our story or simply showed up:

Thank you. You made the night what it was.

And now, as Hundred Acre Wood takes the biggest step in its history, I hope you’ll stay with us for what comes next.

Someday, another child will turn over a log on those 50 acres and discover what’s underneath.

They may never know all the people who helped make that moment possible.

But we will.

Joanna Zycki is the Program Director at Hundred Acre Wood, a licensed, non-profit forest school and childcare centre in Grey County, Ontario. To learn more about the Small Feet, BIG Change campaign or to support the project, visit haw.ca/donate.