Could you work up an appetite to rally around the cause of expanding access to local foods? A rallying of 70 community supporters came together in Lanesboro, MN in Fillmore County recently to do just that. Peggy Hanson (hilarious blow-by-blow how-to-use-a-CSA blogger for Featherstone Farm from 2009 to 2011) and Frank Wright (local gardener extraordinaire and rhubarb crop specialist) hosted the event in their home, the former Cady Hayes House bed & breakfast establishment in Lanesboro. But the real engine behind the affair was a cluster of passionate 20-somethings who recruited food donors, planned the menu, signed up cooks and orchestrated all the logistics. The dinner was a gala of volunteers, each sharing his or her authentic specialty, be it food, food prep, or flying through a pile of dishes.

A hush of anticipation preceded dessert. Short heart-felt greetings by Laura Nethercut, representing the Eat 4 Equity volunteer team, expressed their nonprofit’s mission and thanked the rooms filled with donors and volunteers. A few more words by Loni Kemp, Lanesboro Local board member (and Laura’s mother), offered an encouraging tribute to the sustainable economics of patronizing our local food-producing neighbors (see newsletter entry “Loni Kemp on Living Local”).

Story & Recipes

Loni Kemp on Live Local -Live Well

February, 2012

February is a good time to hunker down and give ourselves time to reflect. Days are short and nights are long, while the wood stove beckons us to draw near and sit a spell.

As I think about our three decades of living in the country, it strikes me how utterly grateful I am for the blessings of a life lived here amongst our Fillmore County rural communities. The daily benefits are so abundant that one might easily take them for granted. I vow to be more observant and appreciative for the rural life we live here.

The motto adopted by Lanesboro Local is “Live Local. Live Well.” It captures the organization’s hopes of expanding the regional rural economy by connecting rural producers and rural consumers. But it is not just about helping our neighbors earn a good living. Nor is it just about our opportunity to eat some of the most delicious food produced anywhere, or to buy meaningful crafts and gifts. It is also about the joy of being part of communities that look inward to solve our own problems and create our own well-being.

I often write of the gifts of nature. Our wooded hills, verdant valleys, and productive farms form the setting for ever-changing delights. These are free to everyone who can open their eyes. The seasons, the weather, the moonrise and the sunrise provide new wonders every day. Black cattle against the snow; white lambs on green pastures; a soaring black eagle with white head and tail-all are just outside my window. Even the changing smells throughout the year say, “Wake up! Pay attention.”

I treasure the can-do, help-your-neighbor mentality that thrives here. It seems we all raised our children to make things, fix things, and grow things. I believe that a very satisfying life is created when we make it ourselves.

An increasingly important pleasure for me is buying some of our food and goods from local producers. Our neighbors bring me fresh brown eggs every week and homemade sausage when they butcher, gifts at which I never stop marveling. Another neighbor sold us a quarter beef of the finest, leanest, tastiest meat we’ve ever had.

Lanesboro Local brings in a whole new dimension, where we’ve created a Marketplace for local goods and foods. I’m totally hooked on delicious Kapper’s milk, Liz’s salad greens, and a variety of excellent cheeses, meats, and chips, all made within this region. I’d much rather spend my money here than a faceless Walmart.

As I reflect on rural life, I guess what I’m most thankful for is the sense of place. We feel firmly rooted, here in this particular landscape, in these overlapping human communities. It is not paradise here or anywhere else; people die tragically, and tornados and floods devastate. Yet we can trust that our communities will care and the seasons will turn. I’d rather live here than anywhere else on earth.

More on Lanesboro, Minnesota

Eat for Equity is coming to cook up a local feast in Lanesboro, to benefit Lanesboro Local’s Marketplace.

You may have read about this incredibly fun and conscientious non-profit funding-raising group based in Minneapolis. Founder Emily Torgrimson and board vice president Laura Nethercut both grew up here and attended Fillmore Central, Class of 2002. The Eat for Equity concept is simple. They organize volunteers to prepare a special meal, tied to a cause, engaging the generosity, ingredients, cooking skills and good will of many individuals to raise funds and create a better, more equitable world.

Eat for Equity has volunteered to put on a pre-Valentine’s Day spread of locally produced delectables in Lanesboro. The dinner will benefit Lanesboro Local, which helps rural southeastern Minnesota growers, producers and artisans secure better opportunities to produce local goods and find local markets for their products.

The evening begins at 6:00 pm on Saturday, February 11, at the home of Peggy Hanson and Frank Wright at 500 Calhoun Ave S, Lanesboro (formerly the Cady Hayes Bed & Breakfast establishment). Drinks and dinner will be prepared and served by volunteers.

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Lanesboro looks good in snow.  We received a fresh covering in the past week that has transformed the Root River valley into a winter wonderland.  The Root River Trail is groomed for cross country skiing for over 20 miles.  There are also two great snowshoe trails nearby.

Lanesboro Decked out in Snow 

Schedule your two night winter getaway at the Hillcrest Hide-Away B&B or Anna V’s Bed and Breakfast.  We’re ready to help you with your winter getaway.  Cedar Valley Resort rents cross country skis and snow shoes.  Enjoy a horse drawn sleigh rides in the bluff tops. Savor a couples massage at the Prana Healing Center.  Chef Brett from the Pastry Shoppe has his smoker going on weekends at the “Smoky River Barbeque”.  It is a quaint joint near the river that has received rave reviews. You can check trail conditions at: http://www.lanesboro.com/lanesboro-rootrivertrail.php

In February Lanesboro begins to wake up from its winter hibernation.

Feb 4: 20th Annual Whalan Candle Light Ski - The Root River Trail is lit with candles for a mile with bonfires at both ends.

Feb 4: Flamenco, Pure and Strong at the St. Mane Theatre, with dancer Deborah Elias and guest singer Vicente Griego - feature raw, soul-baring solos, lustrous and spirited company dances and driving guitar rhythms.

Feb 4: Dinner on the Bluff Eagle Bluff Environmental Learning Center hosts dinner and and a presentation by Gene Merriam, of the Freshwater Society sharing the status of the protection, enhancement and restoration of our freshwater resources.  Dinner menu include: strawberry-orange salad, roasted red pepper & tomato soup, trout, wild rice stuffing, roasted asparagus and cheesecake with assorted fruit topping.

Feb 10 7PM. Over the Back Fence - locals call this Lanesboro’s version of A Prairie Home Companion, An hour and a half of fun entertainment plus 30 minutes of pre-show live music.

Feb 10, 11, 14, 17, 18 The Old Village Hall features a special four course dinner with optional wine pairings to share with your special Valentine.

Feb 27, 28: Lanesboro Community Theatre presents: “Moon Over Buffalo”-upIt’s 1953 and a washed up acting duo, George & Charlotte Hay, are touring New York.. BUFFALO, New York.  They just one shot at leading roles in a film by THE Frank Capra, and he’s coming to see today’s matinee!  Everything goes wrong – with hilarious results!  This plan is nothing less than a love letter to live theatre.

Lanesboro is a quiet destination for your winter getaway.  Comfortable inns, great food, and beautiful scenery all await your visit.

More than 21,000 theatregoers attended Commonweal’s mainstage shows, from the riveting drama An Enemy of the People to the romantic-comedy Parfumerie. In between, audiences howled at the antics of a stray dog in Sylvia, laughed (and screamed) as man-eating plants threatened the Earth in Little Shop of Horrors, and took a hard look at prejudice through the eyes of an innocent child in To Kill a Mockingbird. Overall, some 3,000 households visited the Commonweal for the first time in 2011 – the company’s largest ever single-season increase in first-timer attendance.

Two shows this year – Sylvia and To Kill a Mockingbird – also ranked in the top three for best-attended productions in Commonweal’s history in terms of average per-performance attendance. “Artistically, this has been an amazing season,” adds Cropp. “In my twenty years, I don’t know if I can think of another year when every single show hit such a high mark in terms of quality.” The Commonweal also welcomed nearly 2,200 high school students from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and South Dakota to special student matinees of its mainstage shows and gave a special benefit performance of its holiday comedy, Parfumerie, for Habitat for Humanity Winona-Fillmore Counties. Both programs were made possible by the generous support of F&M Community Bank in Preston and Chatfield.

The theatre’s success onstage has also been supported by generous giving from individuals and public and private foundations. In the final quarter of 2011, the Commonweal Theatre Company was awarded $10,000 from the Southeast Minnesota Art Council through the Arts and Cultural Heritage program, and $38,250 from the Minnesota State Arts Board for programming support in 2012. Funds from the MSAB are made available through an appropriation by the Minnesota State Legislature, a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, and private funders.

“We’re excited to hit 2012 running,” says Cropp, “with a slate of shows that includes some titles we’ve wanted to produce for a long time.” The Commonweal’s twenty-fourth mainstage season begins in April with a world premiere adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s drama, Pillars of Society, then followed by the fast-paced comedy The 39 Steps, the romantic-comedy The Philadelphia Story, the heartwarming drama The Drawer Boy, and ends with Commonweal Theatre’s own distinct imagining of Charles Dickens’ immortal classic, A Christmas Carol.

For more details, including information about schedules, tickets, and other Commonweal programs, visit www.commonwealtheatre.org or call the Box Office at (800) 657-7025.

December 12th, 2011 by David Reeck, Amil’s Inn Bed & Breakfast

This past November, my fellow Innkeeper, Jennifer Dunn from The Franklin Victorian Bed and Breakfast in Sparta, Wisconsin and I went on the Lanesboro Inn Christmas Tour in Lanesboro, Minnesota. They were all very delightful and full of decorating ideas. 

One of our favorite Inn’s on the tour was the Hillcrest Hide-Away B & B.  We commented on the array of plates filled with the different flavors of Biscotti’s served with Cider Wassail.  Marv and Carol Eggert were great hosts and kind enough to share the recipes with us.

Last week Jennifer visited Amil’s Inn Bed and Breakfast and we managed to make 5 different Biscotti recipes.  For those who don’t know, a biscotti is an Italian cookie baked twice and served with something hot.  They are commonly dunked in the hot coffee, tea or hot cider to soften them a little before eating.  What makes the biscotti special is the white or chocolate coating on one end which makes them delicious to enjoy with friends and family.

Here is one of the recipes:      

Carol’s Almond Biscotti

Commonweal Theatre: Parfumerie by Miklos Laszlo running through December 20, 208 Parkway Avenue North, Lanesboro www.commonwealtheatre.org (507)467-2525 , (800)657-7025.  The original romantic comedy that inspired the hit movies The Shop Around the Corner and You’ve Got Mail.

Watch the Parfumerie Trailer Video

Andy, City employee, installs snowflake lights downtown

Lanesboro Minnesota’s historic downtown is decorated for the holidays!  Escape the holiday bustle, come and relax in a quiet place with no stoplights or franchises. Lanesboro is a historic village nestled in the Bluffs of the Root River Valley. 

Treat yourself and someone special Romance and Relaxation Package ]]> http://www.lanesboro.com/blog/2011/11/lanesboro-adorned-with-holiday-lights/feed/ 0 http://www.lanesboro.com/blog/2011/11/plan-ahead-lanesboro-for-the-holidays/ http://www.lanesboro.com/blog/2011/11/plan-ahead-lanesboro-for-the-holidays/#comments Tue, 15 Nov 2011 16:25:17 +0000 chamber http://www.lanesboro.com/blog/?p=971 BY ELLIE M. BAYRD

Minnesota Monthly.com

There’s something delightfully charming about Lanesboro, which prides itself on being “The bed and breakfast capital of Minnesota”—seriously, there are more than 14 in the area. The town, nestled in the bluffs of the Root River Valley, is a beautiful place to explore and relax no matter the season. Forbes even named Lanesboro one ofAmerica’s Prettiest Towns in 2010.

After Halloween this weekend, the holiday season will be right around the corner. Start feeling festive at the third annual Lanesboro Holiday Inn Tour (Nov. 19 & 20, from 2-6 p.m., tickets limited). On the tour, you’ll see 12 of Lanesboro’s much-loved inns decked out for the holidays (six each day).  Tickets run $20 for one day or $35 for both (half-price for guests at sponsoring inns) and include appetizers at the Old Village Hall Restaurant & Pub.

PHOTO BY TODD BUCHANAN

Just in time for the holidays, don’t miss Parfumerie (Nov. 18-Dec. 20), a romantic comedy about the rivalry of two department store perfume clerks during the Christmas season (think: You’ve Got Mail) at the Commonweal Theatre Company.

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Country Haven is a great, peaceful getaway!  We loved your wonderful hospitality.  You always made us feel at home.  We’ll miss the crowing roosters, guinea hens, Tia the dog and the cats.  Next time, we promise to interact with the goats more, and maybe get the old John Deere started.  Thanks again for a wonderful time.  We couldn’t have enjoyed our 25th Anniversary more! – Guests from Plymouth, MN

There is so much to appreciate here in your “country haven.”  It shows all your nurturing care you have given it through all the years you have lived here with your family.  You clearly love the many choices you have made and your personal stamp is evident everywhere – and now you are sharing it all with people like us.  Thank you!  We were fascinated and amused by all the animals and their antics and the crowing and bleating as we woke up this morning.  He was born and grew up in New York City, so that part was a special treat for him.  Your cooking is outstanding!  A special treat.  – Guests from Prior Lake, MN