Do you know Folklore Village is staging a Sustainability Weekend September 11 -13 ?

If you’ve never been to Folklore Village before – you are in for a treat. If you have, you know what a great cultural resource it is.  They are a major player in the relay race that passes forward cultural traditions.  When we think about the need for resiliency in a changing world, maintaining a sense of community is high on the list, and that is what Folklore Village is all about.

They are well known for their concerts of traditional music, potlucks, healthy hoedowns that support local farmers, retreats , workshops and prairie restoration.

This fall, they are trying something new — a Sustainability Weekend.

What’s Up at the Sustainability Weekend?

They are calling it a holistic, hands-on festival approach for life long learners interested in sustainable practices of all stripes. This festival has components in: architecture/historic preservation and energy efficient building, prairie and land heritage, homesteading practices and cultural sustainability with old-time music and dance calling workshops.

The Aslak Lie House. Come build with us during Sustainability Weekend.

• Lay the logs of the historic Aslak Lie Cabin for an afternoon
• Take an old-time guitar/fiddle/banjo/harmonica lesson
• Learn more about beekeeping or how to call a simple dance
• Take a tour of The Underhill House
• Wind down at night with a stunning Farm to Table Dinner from Circle M Farm.
• Be sure to save some energy for the nightly square dances~ Caller Dot Kent and The Ozark Highballers.

Tour nearby Underhill House, a smorgasbord of resilient building ideas.

Meghan Dudle, program director at Folklore Village, says this Sustainability Weekend grew out of the 2013 Delicious Driftless Fair presented in partnership with Southwest  Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission.

“That event really focused on local food producers,” she says.  “We had a big tent with food vendors.  We had cooking classes and music.”

To continue that kind of programming has become a two-pronged approach, according to Terri Van Orman, Folklore Village executive director.

Dot Kent will be calling nightly square dances.

“We transformed our barn dances into healthy hoedowns by partnering with local farmers to support local food,” she says.  “That has been really successful.”

“The second part is to initiate a Sustainability Weekend like the kind that I started when I worked in Arkansas,” she continues. “What we are endeavoring to sustain is our environment, our foods and our cultural treasures. We feel like we are in touch with the local zeitgeist combining food, environment and art.”

Terri says the response to a Sustainability Fair was good when they announced the plan, but that registration has been disappointing.  

Please take a minute to check out their website and consider lending your support.  Is this something that you would like to be part of our community, your life and our children’s future.