It‘s late August and last night we attended a fundraising dinner for the Milan Village Arts School (MVAS) with our neighbor, Marilyn Hanson, who is an accomplished silversmith. The outdoor venue was a pastoral farm overlooking a vineyard east of Madison, MN in the Lac Qui Parle Valley. As we arrived, I noted that we had previously visited the farm on last year’s art Meander where several artists were showing their work in a studio down the hill. The property owner started the vineyard as a bit of an experiment some 17 years ago and it has grown into a passionate venture for him. He grows half a dozen grape varieties and is further expanding with a new variety next year. He sells most of his grapes to a Minnesota winery but does produce grape juice that he sells on the farm and during the Meander. His son is a winemaker in NY and his daughter lives in the NW but shows her lovely textile work at the family farm studio during the Meander. There were about 100 people in attendance at the event where a four course gourmet dinner and wine pairing was served. After the event, one could purchase the hand thrown dinner plates and bowls used for the dinner.
The pre-dinner cocktail hour allowed time to meet and mingle with the artists, teachers, friends and patrons of the school. I met and talked with four accomplished potters, several knife makers and silversmiths along with a talented landscape photographer/writer we met last year. I sought out and chatted with a nationally recognized Scandinavian Rosemaling artist whose art inspired home and studio are right in Milan. I am anxious to take some of the classes offered at/through the school starting with a rug weaving class in November. Founded in 1988 through inspired community efforts, the MVAS, modeled after the rural folk schools of Norway, was established to promote the folk arts of early Norwegian settlers to Minnesota. They operate out of a 102 year old rural school house and the old Milan school in Milan. The school has grown and expanded over the years to include additional art forms to meet community interests and needs. What a hidden gem!
On our way home from Sioux Falls last week, we stopped by the Strawbale Winery outside of Renner, SD. We were hoping for a quick last minute tasting before the winery closed and were pleasantly surprised to come upon a field of parked cars with people hauling chairs and picnic baskets to the winery’s Thursday night Strawbale Summer Porch Series with music, food vendors and, of course, wine. This lovely rural property has a large sweeping view from a large farmhouse on the hill with a wraparound screened porch, a rustic red inspired Tasting Room attached to the winery, a decked out active chicken coop along with lovely grounds for relaxing and enjoying a glass of wine and music. We completed our tasting, particularly enjoying the black current wine. We then wandered the grounds listening to music and chatted with a few vendors including an area potter from whom I purchased a new coffee mug and several wine cups we will put to good use. The Strawbale Winery produces close to 30 grape, fruit and fortified wines ready for tasting and purchase in their Tasting Room. I highly recommend this as a stop on your next trip “coming home” from the south. 2017