Taste of the Arts highlights farms, artists May 27-28
May 23—PUPOSKY — Cate Belleveau said the idea for a rural art and food tour came from Springboard for the Arts, a nonprofit organization with offices in St. Paul and Fergus Falls. The Bemidji area event, titled Taste of the Arts, will be held Saturday, May 27, and Sunday, May 28.
Cate and her husband, Al, have attended summits sponsored by Springboard for the Arts and received a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board to develop a tour of their own in rural Bemidji.
"I think creative people only need a spark," Cate said. "We had a long winter, and now people want to get together. It's a reason to go for a drive in our beautiful green rural areas. I know people can just go to YouTube videos, but I think post-Covid we are really craving community and wanting to speak to real human beings doing what they're passionate about around the arts and around food."
Taste of the Arts, a free event, will run from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Sunday. It is a self-guided tour of farms, so organizers encourage visitors to pick the food demonstrations and arts of interest to them.
Brochures with a map and schedule can be found at Sunrise Foods and Harmony Food Co-op in Bemidji, at Wildflower Cottages, 4905 Bemidji Ave. N., and at Just Dandy on Puposky Road. A full list of participants is available online at
or on Belle Thalia's Facebook page.
One of the stops will be at the Kroeger-Rixen farm at 23677 Irvine Ave. N., between Puposky and Nebish. Gail Rixen will create original spring poems on antique typewriters while partner Tim Kroeger will hold sauerkraut demonstrations and have vegetables for sale.
"Gail is a very respected rural poet," Cate said. "When you look at her published poetry books, they all speak to rural. It talks about the sheep and beekeeping. She's going to sit out there by the sheep, and when people come she's going to type up some poetry for folks."
Like all of the venues on the tour, food demos and artists at work will be scheduled only at specific times during the weekend. Check the brochure for schedules.
"People need to not get disconnected from what small farms do," Cate said. "It's a big piece of the economy. We want to support artists and culinary artists."
