2024 FALL ALASKA HOMESTEAD MINI-EXPO

Description

Hey all! We finally have our fall mini-expo decided – after tons of ideas and changes, we’re good to go! The expo is taking place on October 19 from 9 am – 3 pm with a community potluck in the middle of the day. Bring your favorite dish to share and a notebook and come prepared to learn because it’s going to be amazing!

This mini-expo serves two purposes:
First, we are offering some pretty spectacular classes! I can’t wait to learn from a few of these teachers!
Second, we will be breaking bread together in a community potluck and we will have an opportunity to get to know one another and enjoy each others delicious food!

Here is the schedule: NOTE: The sausage class and the soapmaking classes have a max of 20 adults so if we can keep it to one person from each party that will enable more individuals to participate. There are no children allowed in this class because of space issues. The classes will be recorded and will be available for purchase as well.

Class descriptions are as follows:

The Dirt on Good Soil (CameRon Hogate – Gravel Boss) 

Good food comes from good soil – but making good soil can be a bit challenging if you don’t know what you’re doing or where to start! In this class, CameRon will talk about all aspects of turning dirt to living soil that will produce a healthy, bountiful garden.

Homestead Finances (Haylee Kurka – Noble Tax & Accounting)

As a homesteader, are there things you can write off on your taxes? How about restrictions, what can and can’t you sell? Haylee will tackle all this and more in her Homestead Finances class.

Making Simple Salves (Tandy Hogate – Common Ground Alaska)

In this class, Tandy will demonstrate how to make a simple salve using homemade infused oils from calendula from her garden. She will talk about ingredients, keeping it simple, and will have a handout with a few recipes for folks to try themselves.

Charcuterie: How to make sausage & bacon (20 max) (Sonny Castillo – Ice Age Charcuterie)

We are excited to offer a hands-on Sausage Making Class designed for up to 25

participants. This class is perfect for individuals who want to learn the art of crafting

delicious bacon & sausages from scratch. Participants will engage in every step of the bacon & sausage-

making process, gaining practical experience and useful knowledge that they can take home.

Learning Objectives:

• Understanding the different types of bacon & sausages and their ingredients.

• Mastering the preparation of meat, seasoning, and stuffing.

• Learning how to properly use sausage-making equipment.

• Best practices for storing and cooking bacon & sausages.

*NOTE: This bacon & sausage class has a 20 person maximum so we ask that only one person per party plan to attend this one. This class will be recorded and will be made available in the academy, so if you are unable to attend in person, you can still watch the recording!

Forging & Blacksmithing (Ilya Somov – Viking Iron Works)

Enjoy a live demonstration while Ilya shows how he uses his forge to make everyday items (and some really cool specialty stuff, too). If you’ve been wanting to learn more about forging and blacksmithing, you don’t want to miss his class.

Winter Health – SAD, Treating viruses at home: what to have on hand (Dr. Ilona Farr)

Dr. Farr was one of the leading physicians helping during the Covid pandemic – thinking outside the box and truly helping her patients with prevention, cure, and post-illness issues. Dr. Farr is now helping Alaskans understand how to regain all aspects of their health including virus care. She will also be talking about what you should have in your home medicine cabinets to fight this winter’s coming crud and she will even be touching on Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) which is a tough reality for many Alaskans.

SImple Milk Cultures – Yogurt, kefir, simple, quick cheese (Tandy Hogate – Common Ground Alaska)

In this class, Tandy will demonstrate how to make simple cured milk products like yogurt, kefir, and even a couple of simple, quick cheeses. One thing to note: She always teaches milk classes in a way that you can use either raw milk from your own cow or your milk shares PLUS she shares how you can use Alaska Range Dairy whole milk that you can purchase at the store so you don’t have to have to consume raw milk to participate.

Northern Exposure to Cold-Process Soapmaking (Andrea Briggs – Wild Moose Co.)

In this class you will become familiarized with:

• Cold-process soap making

• Working with lye

• Reading soap recipes

• Oil selection

• Fragrance selection

• And curing time of soap

Join us for a fun time together where you can learn, ask questions, and have a great

time together!

*NOTE: This soapmaking class has a 20 person maximum so we ask that only one person per party plan to attend this one. This class will be recorded and will be made available in the academy, so if you are unable to attend in person, you can still watch the recording!

Winter livestock care (Suzy Crosby – Cottonwood Creek Farm)

Suzy Crosby has spent years perfecting livestock care in Alaska and she’s done a darned good job figuring out tips and tricks to keep your critters healthy, fed, and watered no matter what winter brings. In this demonstration class, she will be telling – as well as showing – how to best care for your livestock during our coldest and darkest months.

We are so excited for this event on October 19 at the Big Lake Lions Club – hope to see you there! Tickets are limited.

FAQ: 

KIDS: Kids are allowed to come with you but they must remain with you at all times. There are no kid classes so bring something for them to do while you are in class. If your kids are disruptive, we will have to ask you to leave. And we can’t have kids in the soap making and sausage making classes just because there is limited space in there.

POTLUCK: Bring a main dish, side dish, or dessert to share. There are no rules but it is nice if you include a card with information about your food (name of the food, who made it in case we all want the recipe, and allergy info if you know of any). We do have plugins for crockpots etc so just bring your dish upstairs to the kitchen when you arrive and we can find a place for it. We also have refrigeration if you need that for your dish.

WEATHER: The outdoor classes are rain (or snow) or shine so please dress for the weather. The show will go on whether there is rain, sleet, hail, snow, wind, frost, or whatever else is thrown at us.

REFUNDS: Tickets are non-refundable. If you make different plans, we will not be reimbursing you.