Rick Yonker

Rick Yonker longbow

Rick is currently a science and technology specialist for Farmington Schools, in Farmington, MN. He has been tinkering with wood for most of his life and has been building bows since 1996. He is an instructor at North House Folk School in Grand Marais, MN and has taught traditional bow making there since 2003. Rick…

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Cathy & Mike Mackiewicz

Cathy and Mike Mackiewicz started Bone Lake Meadows Apiary, have been keeping bees forover 23 years and have hives in various locations along the St. Croix River Valley. “Our apiaryaims towards sustainable beekeeping. As beekeepers it’s our job to set up our bees to succeed.We do this by placing our bees on organically farmed land,…

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Lizzie Christian

Lizzie Christian

Lizzie Christian is a self-taught printmaker based in Minneapolis. She runs a one-woman art business under the name Rare Press, and focuses on blockprints, painting, and textiles. She loves sharing the joy of blockprinting with others through local workshops as well as through her Patreon community. Plants, portraits, and patterns are themes that weave through…

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Marine Fall Festival Returns September 16

Bluegrass band North Shore Trail performs at the Marine Fall Festival at Marine Mills Folk School while a crowd watches.

The Marine Fall Festival hosted by Marine Mills Folk School will be held from 10am to 4pm on Saturday, September 16. Drop in and enjoy a variety of activities at the free community festival located on the grounds of Marine Mills Folk School.

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Mandora Young

Mandora Young teaches Hmong Embroidery

“I was born in Vientiane, Laos. I came to the United States in 1979 as a refugee to California. Ilearned Hmong embroidery from both my mother and grandmother who are skilled in cross-stitching, reverse applique, and story cloth stitching. I enjoy teaching Hmong embroidery tostudents, adults, and anyone who wants to learn about Hmong paj…

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Alex Yerks

Alex Yerks is a self-taught traditional wood carver focused on what he calls items of “kitchenalia” or “kitchen sloyd.” His wide range of expertise in making traditional craft objects includes hewn bowls, spoons & utensils, cups, shrink pots, wooden sculptures, forging his own carving tools, and helping other tool makers design long-lost tools – some…

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JoAnne Sabin

JoAnne has been a beekeeper since 2005 and a beekeeping instructor and speaker for over a dozen years.  She is a member and librarian for the Minnesota Hobby Beekeepers Association (MHBA) and a member and on the Board of Directors for the Honey Bee Club of Stillwater.  She is also an avid gardener and photographer and…

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Lia Falls

Lia Falls

Lia Falls is a singer and songwriter who has been leading a community song circle in St Croix Falls, Wisconsin for the past 8 years. She teaches Full Voice, Vocal Playground, and Yoga of the Voice in classes and as a private vocal coach. Lia is dedicated to sharing the aural tradition of spreading songs, and to the conviction that singing is everyone’s birthright…

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Phil Moody

Phil discovered spoon carving about 5 years ago, just in time for a global pandemic. While not forgetting about spoons his focus has shifted after seeing some pictures of Scandanavian knutkorg baskets.  Drawn to crafts that are challenging yet easily accessible (few tools and easily scavenged materials) the knutkorg basket fits these strict requirements.  Like many crafters, Phil has…

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Charlie Prokop

Charlie has been making flutes for over 15 years. An avid woodturner, currently the President of the Minnesota Woodturners Association, he has demoed the making of flutes in multiple venues and taught many classes on how these beautiful instruments are constructed.

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Sharon Knutson

“I have crafted most of my life. I started embroidering fish on burlap at my grandma’s house when I was little. I’ve dabbled in many things along the way, embroidery, crewel, needlepoint, cross stitch, and quilting among others. Knitting and spinning have been my primary focus for many years now. There is something about spinning fiber into yarn and…

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Alycen Brothen

Alycen Brothen is an embroidery and rug hooking artist from Minnesota.  She is a passionate learner of handcrafts who has been needleworking since childhood.  She believes in embracing the process, turning mistakes into happy accidents, and having fun. 

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Lynn Berens

Lynn Berens is an avid crafter and gardener.  She enjoy sewing, needle felting, counted cross stitch, and embroidery. Lynn loves to grow natives, annuals, perennials, and vegetables. She harvest seeds from most of my plants every fall. Lynn is a retired elementary school Librarian and teacher. Lynn’s work can be found on Etsy: Bloomandgrowmn

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Janice Hunton

Janice Hunton

West-African Drumming Ensemble Janice Hunton taught at the Perpich Center for Arts Education for 27 years and lead the African Drumming Ensemble there for 15 years. She studied West-African music at the University of St. Thomas, Hamline University, and has traveled two times to the Dagara Music Center in Ghana.

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Christen Pentek

Christen (they/them) is a fiber artist creating practical pieces from the earth for over 25 years. Their art includes found and natural elements, nature, and sustainable methods. They work predominantly with wools and fibers made in Minnesota’s fibershed, including wolf; as part of the wolf pack, they’ve had the privilege of working with fiber shed…

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Beth Mercer

Beth Mercer

Beth is largely self taught band weaver (using books and online videos) through she has benefited by taking classes from visiting instructors and participating in special interest groups at the Weavers Guild of Minnesota. She is a retired database administrator who has a passion for fiber arts including wool processing and spinning, weaving, knitting, sewing…pretty…

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The Genius of the Folk School Model

MMFS Board Members stand outside, ready to welcome you to the folk school.

Folk schools originated in the 1850s as part of a movement to provide individuals a way to gain self-knowledge and purpose in connection with their community through lifelong learning.

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Spoons, New Beginnings & Woodcarving

Spoons are symbols of new beginnings … …from a baby’s first bite to a woodcarver’s first foray. When someone is interested in learning to carve wood, they’ll often choose to start with a spoon. So much learning goes into the art form: wood selection, tool usage, curing, and even history. Form and function are explored. Risk-taking is…

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