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"A Day for Eaters"

Saturday, July 21 • 1 pm - 6 pm • Cedar Summit Farm, New Prague, MN

Grazefest Minnesota 2007: “A Day for Eaters” has something for both farmers and consumers, combining on-farm education with tours, demos, music and tasty treats. This Sustainable Farming Association of Minnesota (SFA of MN) event is being held on Saturday, July 21st at Cedar Summit Farm, rural New Prague, MN from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Grazefest Minnesota will feature pasture walks lead by experienced and well-known graziers such as Jim VanDerPol and Ralph Lentz. Throughout the afternoon there will be cooking demos presented by chef Philip Dorwart of Create Catering. Dave and Florence Minar, Cedar Summit Farm; Mike Lorentz, Lorentz Meats; and Mary Jo Forbord, Executive Director of SFA of MN, will also speak about the benefits of pasture-raised foods. Chuck Suchy and the Roe Family Singers are providing musical entertainment. Chuck Suchy is a “Folksinger, farmer, songwriter, storyteller...a man who many describe as the “Voice of the Upper Great Plains.” The Roe Family Singers are an indie roots music and folk group from the Twin Cities. There will also be delicious locally produced food available for purchase and exhibitors of all kinds.

Tickets are available online at www.sfa-mn.org before July 13th or by sending a check to SFA of MN, c/o Mary Jo Forbord, 29731 302nd St., Starbuck, MN 56381. The cost is $6 per adult before July 13th. After July 13th and at the gate the cost is $9 per adult. Tickets are $3 per child ages 7-17 years old and admission is free for children under 6 years old.

Register

Schedule

1:00 pm - Dave and Florence Minar (Brief Farm Overview)

1:15 pm - Mike Lorentz (Why care about Grass-fed?)

1:30 pm - Chef Demo–Chef Philip Dorwart and Registered Dietitian Mary Jo Forbord

2:00 pm - 2:45 pm - Music –Roe Family Singers set 1

2:45 pm - Open Mike interviews with graziers, sponsors and exhibitors

2:45 pm - Farm and Pasture Tour (30 minutes)

3:00 pm–3:45 pm - Music –Roe Family Singers set 2

3:45 pm - Farm and Pasture Tour (30 minutes)
3:45 pm - Chef Demo

4:15 pm - Music – Chuck Suchy set 1

4:45 pm - Farm and Pasture Tour (30 minutes)
4:45 pm - Dave and Florence Minar (Brief Farm Overview)

5:00 pm - Open Mike interviews with graziers, sponsors and exhibitors

5:15 pm–6:00 pm - Music – Chuck Suchy set 2

6:00 pm - Official End of Grazefest Minnesota 2007

Directions to Cedar Summit Farm

We are 1 mile East of Highway 21 on C.o Rd 2- (Exit 169 at Jordan and take 21 South) or Take I35 south of Mpls. to exit # 76 (Elko-New Market-Co. Rd 2). Turn right at top of exit (left if coming from South) and go 12.8 miles to Co. Rd 15 also known as Drexel Ave and take a right onto Co. Rd 15 then left into the first driveway. Our creamery is red with white trim. There is a sign in front.

Address:
Cedar Summit Farm
25830 Drexel Ave
New Prague, MN 56071

Map

http://www.cedarsummit.com/mapdir_cs.htm

Flier

Grazefest Minnesota 2007 Flier (PDF)

Press Release

Grazefest Minnesota 2007 Press Release (PDF)

Music

Chuck Suchy

Folksinger, farmer, songwriter, storyteller...a man who many describe as the “Voice of the Upper Great Plains.”

Critics like to call Chuck Suchy (soo’key) an undiscovered treasure of the northern Great Plains, and we might expect a title like that to be hung on a singer who works towns named Keister and Coon Valley. But the picture changes when we add Chicago to that, and the Smithsonian Institute and the Kennedy Center. Plus, a recent return to Garrison Keillor’s “A Prairie Home Companion,” these are the sorts of venues that put an end to anonymity.

So he's been discovered. He's a still-working farmer from the blue hills along the Missouri River south of Mandan, ND. Suchy has sung and played guitar and accordion most of his life and in 1982 he realized that it was a life worth writing songs about. He has five CDs out, the latest called Evening in Paris - an enticing title from a songwriter better known for dance halls, dime store perfume and dancin' in the kitchen.

Roe Family Singers

A lot of folks ask us if we are all "family." The answer is: Yes and No. The band started back in 2003 with husband and wife, Quillan and Kim Roe. We played our first gig at a tribute to the then-recently departed Johnny Cash, and needed a name for ourselves. Being fans of old-time music and the Carter Family, as well as local friends the Deadly Nightshade Family Singers, we settled on the Roe Family Singers, as homage to our heroes.

We played as a duet until 2005. We were really lucky during that time that Jim Randall from the Turf Club, in St Paul, MN, liked our sound and gave us plenty of shows at his club, most opening for our friend Charlie Parr. Charlie invited us up to Duluth, where he lives, and we played up there a few times with him, as well. We really enjoyed this growing exposure and support from folks like Jim and Charlie, and decided to play out more often.

Around this time, our friend Adam Wirtzfeld asked if we needed a saw player. We said yes, not realizing he meant himself. He joined the band in mid 2005, which was good because earlier that summer we had started to play every Monday night at the 331 Club in Nordeast Minneapolis, and were having trouble bringing people down to see the show. One more person meant more people to invite, and the saw seems to attract people like a magnet.

Our friend Kurt Froehlich built himself a mandolin that year and began coming down to the Monday shows and sitting in with us, as well. I ran into Dan Gaarder, who was, and still is, one of my guitar-player heroes, at an art show and invited him to come play with us "sometime" and he was there the following Monday. A few months later he invited his friend Rich Rue to play Dobro with us, and that has been our fairly solid line-up for about two years now.

Adam's friend, Tim Behary, played jug with us for a few months before moving home to Pittsburgh. His leaving really made us sad, because he is a great guy and a great jug player. Another friend of Adam's, Rob Davis, now plays the jug with us, and it's been great to have the jug back. Plus, Rob is also a great guy and a fun player! Where Tim played the jug as a percussion instrument, Rob plays in the traditional way, using the jug like a trombone or tuba.

Occasionally our friend Jennifer Markey sings a song or two with us, and so does Nikki Matteson. Donn Ha plays the broom and other percussion with us sometimes.

So, while Kim and I are the only people in the Roe Family who are true family, the way this group has come together and grown feels very much like a family, and Kim and I think of these fellas’ like they are our brothers. They are great, creative guys who play really well, and we are lucky to share the stage with them every week!

Grazefest™ Minnesota is a trademark of Eating Fresh Publications. Grazefest Minnesota is a proud participant in Grazefest America, a national campaign to promote the multiple benefits of grass-fed and pasture-raised foods. Grazefest America is sponsored by Eating Fresh Publications, Global Resource Action Center for the Environment, the Eat Well Guide, and the Weston A. Price Foundation.