My apologies for the delay in announcing the winner here – my girl has started the first grade last week, and the school routine has been a killer.
And the winner is… #26 Brittany D. Steffey: “It’s a tie between Cheesemaking, Fruit Tree Grafting, and Beekeeping for me!”
Congratulations, Brittany! I’ll send you an email soon asking for your mailing address!
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If you live in or around Viroqua, WI, or in the neighboring cities such as Madison, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Milwaukee, or Chicago, this giveaway is for you!
The Driftless Folk School is a terrific local organization offering courses in sustainability-related subjects including gardening, blacksmithing, cheesemaking, woodworking, building, butchering, herbalism, wilderness skills, food preservation, sustainable living, and more.
The classes are normally either a day (9 am to 5 pm) or half a day (a morning or an afternoon) long, and take place in a variety of locations in and around Viroqua. Occasional classes are weekend-long. Whether you are a die-hard survivalist or a city dweller with an interest in DIY, there’s something there for you.
Just to give you a taste, these are some of the classes that have been offered recently or are currently being offered:
DIY Photovoltaics (Solar Electrics)
Deer Butchering - I’ll be there!
Lots of cool, no-nonsense, practical workshops – just what I like.
There are also a few music and dance classes, like Introduction to Fiddle and Shape-Note Singing. Ever heard of shape-note? It’s a really democratic choral singing tradition that you might remember from “The Cold Mountain” movie. I sang it and it’s a lot of fun.
There’s also a whole series of courses on foraging, hunting, and wildlife watching, as well as a wilderness skills immersion class and an expedited Wisconsin hunter’s safety class (required to buy a hunting license in Wisconsin for people born after 1973). I personally took the latter one.
I have also attended a number of other Folk School classes over the years and learned some incredibly useful things. I especially loved the cheesemaking classes I took a few years ago. Read what I wrote about them here:
The Driftless Folk School Cheesemaking Class
By the way: if you are interested in dabbling in a rural lifestyle full of gardening and animal care before taking a plunge of your own, know that the Driftless Folk School has a popular work-study program. If accepted, you’d get to spend a couple of months living and working with one of the homesteading families in the area, including this one and this one.
Needless to say, I was thrilled when a representative of the Folk School (a.k.a. my husband) approached me (in my kitchen late one night as I was doing dishes) with the offer to sponsor this giveaway.
Here are the details:
The Giveaway
One random commenter will win a $75 gift certificate to the Driftless Folk School. Upon winning, you will receive your gift certificate and the current course catalog in the mail. Just mention your certificate when you call to register.
Your $75 is good towards classes and supply fees. Classes are usually priced at $45 – $75 including supplies, so your gift certificate will cover at least one class. If you have leftover balance, you can apply it to the cost of another class. The certificate has no expiry date.
Please do not enter/comment on this post unless you are sure you can travel here in case you win.
To enter:
Browse the current class listings and leave a comment here telling me what class you’d be interested in taking. It’s gonna be fun, I promise!
For a second chance to win:
Follow Driftless Folk School on Facebook AND leave a separate comment here telling me you did.
For a third chance to win:
Share the link to this giveaway on Facebook or Twitter AND leave another comment here so I know about it.
The contest ends at midnight CST on Sunday, September 9, 2012. The winner will be announced here the following day.
Disclaimer: This giveaway is sponsored by the Driftless Folk School. I have not received any compensation whatsoever for hosting. Except maybe a kiss from my husband. But all opinions are still my own.
{ 37 comments… read them below or add one }
Ooh- I like this giveaway! I want to take chicken butchering (to follow up on the hog butchering class I took last winter). Also fermentation basics and food drying. I want to get better about growing my own food and preserving seasonal bounties.
I’m already a fan of the folk school on Facebook, and posted about this giveaway there and on Twitter. Thanks for doing this!
What a great offering of classes. I didn’t realize there were so many choices. I can’t choose just one! Beekeeping, cheesemaking and fruit tree grafting are my top picks.
following on facebook.
Kate recently posted..Summertime
No prob! This comment denotes liking Driftless Folk School on Facebook…
…and this one posting about the giveaway on Facebook and Twitter.
I have been looking at the Herbal Salves and Lotions class- looks like fun!
I would love to do the Log Home course or Herbal Lotions/Salves!
Any classes by Sofya! Any of the classes dealing with canning or gardening are on my brain lately. Also, dairy making courses!
So many great options! What a great reason for a road trip…I would take herbal salves/lotions, soap making, or spring planting.
Following Driftless Folk School on Facebook
shared link on Facebook
Hi there,
I know you are busy but I just thought I would introduce myself:
My husband and recently “down sized”, moved to a townhouse in a Philadelphia suburb and are supporting 4 kids in college and one planning on going next year. My husband and I are both busy with working, attending post-studies degrees and we usually end up eating takeout and we both gained 20 lbs since 2010…ugh..
This past winter we joined a local CSA thinking it would force us to eat healthy.. then in May I broke my foot so I basically had the summer off from work. So with all my “free” time I read all about canning and I canned beets, beans, froze corn, make jelly, jam, yogurt, all for the first time..and I also canned tomato sauce. I am into not wanting to waste anything…so I even made watermelon jelly with the leftover watermelon juice. All for my very first time…I love it!
My husband’s commented that hair ( the few he has left) is growing really fast and we feel so much better. So I have these very pretty eggplants and I have no clue what to do with them. I came across Eggplant Moussaka with garlic on your website but my printer failed when I attempted to print it. Now I can’t seem to find that recipe. Do you still have it?
The classes you mentioned sound so interesting. I’d love to make cheese ( I am half Dutch..from Holland) so the cheese and butter is in my genes! I am going to look into making butter and what’s up with buttermilk? If you have a woodworking class I could probably talk my husband into going. We are converting our beautiful finished basement into a woodworking shop.
I love your website and the pics of your family are adorable. Glad you can be home with them..they grow up soooo fast… our’s are in college and grad school and we miss them so much. I look at their baby pictures and wonder what happened to the time?
Thanks for the website and your interesting blogs.
I’ll send you an email today or tomorrow – I can answer all of your questions. I have another eggplant recipe too. Meanwhile, just use search at right.
So many wonderful classes! I’d love to take the Fall Wild Edibles one.
Already following DFS on facebook.
There are more than a dozen of those classes I’d like to take. Fiddle for beginners tops the list!
Shared the link on my page!
I’d love to learn more about composting by attending the Composting Basics class. I’ve already taken one class this year and can’t wait to take more!
Shared the link on my page
I already follow Driftless Folk School on Facebook.
It would be a great reason to visit Viroqua!
Maybe passive solar greenhouse…. or maybe the fermented foods one. I’m reading “Wild Fermentation” right now and we’ve got some sour pickles in a bucket in the basement. The school does such a nice job building a catalog.
Really excited about several classes but my shortlist includes: Food Drying with an Attitude, Herbal Soap Making, and Basics of Traditional Timber Framing. Thanks for hosting this giveaway.
Started following Driftless Folk School on Facebook!
Posted about this great giveaway on facebook.
It’s a tie between Cheesemaking, Fruit Tree Grafting, and Beekeeping for me!
Also, started following the Folk School on Facebook.
Blacksmithing or or Dry Stone Building both sound great!
Building a Solar Dehydrator/Earth Oven (either).
Also, I ‘liked’ them on Facebook.
There are so many classes I am going to take here, whether I win or not. LOL But I would have to go with blacksmithing.
Rea Tomlinson recently posted..Actually Making the Hominy
Also, I followed them on Facebook. Thanks for telling me about this. I am sending this on to a friend of mine.
I would really enjoy the apple grafting course. I have a family apple tree that I would love to preserve for my siblings. I have tried twice with no success yet. I need some more instruction.
I “liked” on facebook.
I “shared” on facebook. Thanks for the raffle. Great Idea!
We’ve taken both of the cheesemaking classes , and tried to get in the tree grafting class last year. I would like to take the fermentation class and the tree grafting in the spring and am interested in the chicken butchering class i am hoping to have some chickens next summer since we are retiring this winter. I will also follow the school on facebook.
I also liked this on facebook.