Last year, the Minneapolis Parks Foundation commissioned 15 portraits of parks users from Stephanie Glaros (pictured above), the photojournalist behind Humans of Minneapolis.

Taken over the course of the summer and throughout the city, the images and stories Stephanie collected captured our imaginations. Fathers, athletes, dog lovers, hammockers, an archer, a diarist and a bookworm all appeared in that inaugural canon of park-goers, opening our eyes to many ways that our 160 neighborhood parks serve as places for gathering, recreating, and solace.

Stephanie’s portraits also reminded us of the many powerful ways that parks can connect us, heal us and make us whole. That’s why we’re so looking forward to this year’s Humans of Minneapolis series, already underway. Experience the stories first on social media – especially Stephanie’s Facebook and Instagram feeds, as well as her blog. We’ll also be sharing the content on our own social channels, and here, of course.

You can view all of Stephanie’s portraits for the Parks Foundation via our Humans of Minneapolis blog category.

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Featured image courtesy of Stephanie Glaros