During the first two weekends in October each year, Inn at Wawanissee Point bed-and-breakfast guests enjoy exploring the Wormfarm Institute’s Fermentation Fest—A Live Culture Convergence, this year Oct. 1–9, 2016, in Reedsburg, Wis., 40 minutes from the Inn.
Reserve a guest room before they’re gone!
Call 608-355-9899 or click HERE.
If the date you prefer is booked, call us, sometimes we receive last-minute cancellations.
It’s a multifaceted event assembling artists, performers, local residents, chefs, scientists, brewers, bakers, poets and cheesemakers to celebrate food, farming and abundance, and transform the working landscape during harvest to experience in new ways the land that sustains us.
- From dance to yogurt, poetry to sauerkraut and art in farm fields, this festival of fermentation in all its forms is a unique and fun way to enjoy the fall colors and bird migration.
The Fest’s signature attraction is the Farm/Art DTour, a 50-mile self-guided tour through agricultural landscapes and six rural hamlets from Reedsburg to Baraboo punctuated by temporary, site-responsive art installations by nationally acclaimed artists, farm forms by community members, pasture performances, educational field notes, food stands and roadside poetry.
- Discover the DTour by car, buggy or bike—cue sheets and outfitters are available.
Plan Your DTour
Meander at your leisure this multi-sensory tour that welcomes visitors to observe and participate in DTour stops. Begin at the Fest’s headquarters at the Reedsburg Area Chamber of Commerce in the historic railroad depot building at 240 Railroad St., to get a free visitor’s guide, purchase for a nominal fee the comprehensive 2016 DTour map and learn tips from the staff of how best to experience the tour.
- Plan to spend four hours to an entire day to experience art in the different lights of the day and have enough time to eat, savor, ponder and enjoy. Make subsequent trips to this free tour for the changing daily specials and pop-up surprises along the route.
You may also purchase a DTour Passport with value-added surprises to complete along the tour; its proceeds support the Fest, keeping it free for all.
What To Expect
DTourists have seen a glowing combine, giant straw animals leaping a fence, miniature circus wagons, stories told in storefront windows, giant chimes rising out of the land that become an interactive percussion instrument, an igloo with dumpling making inside, jars of fermenting cultures making music and more.
Meanwhile in Reedsburg are 44 classes and tastings about fermented food and drink highlighting kimchi, yogurt, hard cider, chocolate, cheese, beer, bread and others, food writing, making clay steins and mugs, and more, with presentations by best-selling food writers Sandor Katz and Peter Reinhart. Many classes are hands-on and seating is limited. Register as early as possible for these online at www.fermentationfest.com.
Visit www.fermentationfest.com to view images from previous years and learn more.
Monitor the changing fall colors in the Baraboo Bluffs by visiting the Inn’s Live Web Cam at the bottom of our home page at www.bestviewinwisconsin.com.
More Fall Frolics Around Baraboo
Oct. 1–2: Conservation Conversations at Flyways Waterfowl Museum, adjacent Devil’s Lake State Park’s north shore entrance, 10:00 a.m.–11:00 a.m. Read the weekly conservation message posted on the museum’s Facebook page, then discuss it while enjoying free coffee and cookies, every Saturday and Sunday In October. Participants receive $1.00 off museum admission, $6.00 instead of $7.00. Learn more at duckmuseum.com and its Facebook page.
Oct. 1: Kayak Tour at Mirror Lake State Park, between Baraboo and Lake Delton, 25 minutes north of the Inn and a short jog from Reedsburg, 10:00 a.m.–11:30 a.m. Learn park geology, history and points of interest, paddling from the boat landing to the dam. Rentals are available at the landing, first-come, first-served, so please arrive early if renting. Call 608-254-2333 or e-mail Rebecca.green@wisconsin.gov with questions. Learn more about the park here.
Oct. 1: Geology And Nature Hike at Mirror Lake State Park, between Baraboo and Lake Delton, 25 minutes north of the Inn and a short jog from Reedsburg, 10:00 a.m.–11:30 a.m. Hike the Echo Rock trail to see different rock formations and the geologic history of the Mirror Lake area, while learning about plants trees and wildlife along the way.
Oct. 1: Beer Train at Mid-Continent Railway Museum, North Freedom, 25 minutes from the Inn and along the Farm/Art DTour route, 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. Enjoy the brilliant hues of the Baraboo River valley and hills during the same great 55-minute ride from restored vintage passenger cars along the former Chicago & North Western rail line while sampling Wisconsin’s crisp, cool brews with snacks. Reservations are required for the beer train, and tickets are $40.00 at www.midcontinent.org. Today coach, first-class and dining service (see Elegant Dinner Train below) available. Museum grounds open 9:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m. to browse indoor and outdoor restored, vintage railway equipment displays, and ride the train.
Oct. 1: A Hike Back In Time at Devil’s Lake State Park, Baraboo, 1:00 p.m.–4:30 p.m., five minutes west of the Inn. Join the delightful retired 30-year Park naturalist, author and Baraboo Range geology expert Ken Lange for a 3.5-mile geology hike through the Park. Hike onto the end moraine of the Wisconsin glacier to learn about rocks transported by the glacier. Then onto the top of the south end of the east bluff to see rocks transported by glaciers, potholes, Devil’s Doorway, an Indian marker tree, a 200-year-old red cedar, a quartzite glade and pygmy forest unique to Wisconsin.
Oct. 1: Elegant Dinner Train at Mid-Continent Railway Museum, North Freedom, 25 minutes from the Inn, 5:30 p.m. First-class service and fine dining with a five-course meal and beverage choice by Elite Catering of Baraboo. Reservations required, tickets $75.00 and $85.00. Arrive 25 minutes before departure. The trip lasts about 2.5 hours. Reservations and details at www.midcontinent.org. Museum grounds open 9:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m. to browse indoor and outdoor restored, vintage railway equipment displays, and ride the train.
Oct. 1: Mal-o-Dua House Concert at the River Arts On Water Gallery, Prairie du Sac, 7:00 p.m. Acoustic swing music, details forthcoming. No advance ticket sales for these casual, intimate house concerts with beverages provided, but donations are appreciated to benefit River Arts Inc. programming. Learn more at www.riverartsinc.org.
Oct. 2: Behind-the-scenes Cranes Care Talk, International Crane Foundation, Baraboo, 20 minutes north of the Inn, 1:00 p.m.–2:00 p.m. Learn from the aviculture staff how they care for the world’s 15 crane species that reside here. Open daily 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. through Oct. 31, 2016. During a guided tour with a naturalist learn about cranes and the organization’s global conservation programs at 10:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. weekends only in September and October. Also hike and bird through the Foundation’s restored prairie, wetland, and oak savanna ecosystems; and browse the gift shop. Visit www.savingcranes.org
