Taste of the Arts showcases local creators and food in northwestern MN

PUPOSKY — This Saturday and Sunday, May 24 and 25, you can take a unique tour that combines demonstrations and hands-on art projects with fermented foods and music.

The Taste of the Arts Tour features six stops around Puposky, Turtle River and Bemidji. People will be able to see demonstrations of wood turning, basket weaving and other crafts, plus certain stops will offer opportunities to make art, such as a welded dragonfly sculpture.

Cate Belleveau runs Belle Thalia Creative Arts Space in rural Puposky. She and weaver Carrie Jesson were recent guests on the KAXE Morning Show. Jesson will be demonstrating patterns on a portable floor loom at Belle Thalia during the tour.

Belleveau and her husband Al were inspired by a Springboard for the Arts conference, which highlighted a farm tour in Reedsburg, Wisconsin.

The tour will also incorporate fermented foods, a type of culinary art. Belleveau likened the experimentation process to how an artist works. She said, "Take sourdough bread, right? Somebody sorted that out."

This year's tour is in memory of Francois Fouquerel, who was originally from France. He found a home at the Concordia Language Villages north of Bemidji and was known for his sourdough bread.

You can find a list of locations on Facebook or by stopping at Sunrise Foods or Wildflower Cottage in Bemidji. The tour runs Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Listen to our conversation above!