Gather with fellow enthusiasts for a weekend of hands-on learning, tasting & socializing in a beautiful wooded landscape next to the Deep River in Franklinville, NC.
Each workshop is $50 per adult ($25 per youth) or a full-day pass is $80 for adults ($40 for youth). See details and registration below.
Register to Join Us!
Saturday Morning Workshops, 9 - noon
All About Fermentation
Instructors: Ben Harman and Nancy Harman
Join food scientist Ben Harman and natural chef Nancy Harman in a hands-on experience of making, tasting, and exploring the wonderful world of fermented foods.
Fermented food and drinks are an important part of traditional diets. Cultures have traditionally fermented food and drink for many reasons: to get unique or desired tastes, to preserve food longer, to increase the digestibility, texture, or nutritional value of food, and for many additional reasons. Fermented food also provides many health benefits.
Fermented Drinks from Around the World
Instructor: John Powell
Led by scientist John Powell with help from others, this workshop will sample and explore the world of fermented beverages from alcoholic beverages like wine and beer to traditional drinks like buttermilk, Kvass, Kombucha, Amahewu and much more.
Learn the secrets of creating some of the world's most important traditional fermented beverages. Learn traditional methods of creating fermented drinks, as well as the cultural background that surrounds many of these traditional favorites.
Saturday Community Lunch, provided
noon - 1pm
Lunch is included! A key part of the Folk School is community, and sharing a meal is one of the best ways we know of to get to know one another and build community. There are always plenty of options to suit various dietary needs, including gluten free, dairy free, meat free, vegan. If you have particular dietary restrictions that you’d like to share with us, of course just send us a message so that we can be aware of your need so that we can be sure to accommodate it or communicated clearly with you if we think we cannot.
Saturday Afternoon Workshops, 1 - 4pm
Food Preservation:
drying, freezing, canning, salting, smoking, root cellaring, fermenting, pickling, etc.
Instructor: Sherri Powell
Learn and experience the many ways of preserving food long-term. Led by homesteader/farmer and food preserver Sherri Powell, this workshop covers the many and varied ways to preserve food. Preserving food is important for making larger harvests available for the long term. It is also a way to save money, build resilience and self-sufficiency, increase options, handle challenging times, and add flavors and textures to the foods you preserve. Learn how people have used these methods for thousands of years and why they are still essential skills in the 21st Century.
Mead Making:
The Art of Home Brewing
Instructor: Dr. Rebecca Schwendler
Drink of ancient heroes and modern wizards, mead is known archaeologically to be at least 5,000 to 9,000 years old and is found around the world. That antiquity makes mead one of the first alcoholic beverages our diverse ancestors consumed. Unlike wine, beer, whiskey, rum, vodka, chicha, and other alcohols made with domesticated plants, mead can be created from completely wild, naturally occurring ingredients. As a result, mead is a very approachable and personable drink that is easy to make and infinitely adaptable to personal taste and experimentation.
This workshop will begin with a brief history of mead and its appearance in archaeology and ancient and modern literature. Next will come a summary of the great diversity of mead varietals that can be created, and a tasting of many different flavors made by the workshop leader.
During the heart of the workshop, participants will start their own half-gallon batches of mead using pure honey and water, and optionally flavored with one or more flowers, herbs, fruits, and/or woods of each participant’s choosing. The workshop is led by archaeologist and farmer Dr. Rebecca Schwendler.
(SOLD OUT) FREE Sunday Afternoon Workshop, 1 - 4pm
Sauerkraut & Kimchi Making Party
Fermenting foods for taste, preservation, digestibility, health benefits, and increased nutritional value has been done in almost every culture throughout the world. Join experienced food fermentors in an afternoon of making sauerkraut and kimchi. Bring cutting utensils, cutting boards, vegetables and food items you wish to contribute for a fun afternoon creating traditional fermented sauerkraut and kimchi. A suggested list of vegetables and food items to bring will be supplied to all those who sign up for this hands-on, free community workshop. All items created in the workshop will be divided and shared with all participants.