Happenings at the Inn, Calendar of Events, and Workshop Schedule
Whether it's historical attractions, natural heritage, local events, unique ethnic settlements, or festivals that bring you to southwestern Wisconsin, Inn Serendipity Bed & Breakfast is the perfect base for exploring the diverse "driftless" region and all that it has to offer. Or come and relax, perhaps reading a book cover to cover.
During the year, Inn Serendipity B & B hosts special event weekends, as well as fun-filled educational open houses designed to help others who are interested in energy conservation, permaculture design, sustainable living, and organic agriculture. Please try to register for workshops at least two weeks in advance. The bold and red items below denote special workshops, discount specials at the Inn, or some of our public speaking engagements.
Additional speaking engagements as co-authors of Homemade for Sale, Soil Sisters, Farmstead Chef, ECOpreneuring and Rural Renaissance can be found on our national speaking tour schedule.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS: JANUARY THROUGH DECEMBER
AS A DIRECT RESULT OF THE COVID-19 PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY, INN SERENDIPITY BED & BREAKFAST IS NOT OPEN FOR BUSINESS. Please send an email to info (at) innserendipity (dot) com to be informed when we feel it is safe to reopen.
January
1/1 Happy New Year!
1/14-17 Get away for some quiet reading nestled next to the woodstove.
1/22 Pour through seed catalog and order organic and heirloom seeds from Fedco.
February
Brrrr...We're on the road speaking, John is capturing photos for ALAMY Stock Photography, or we're working on our articles for MotherEarthNews.com.
March
3/27 Start of Perennial Two-Day Special
Stay two consecutive nights (weekend or weekday) before 4/30 and "dig and divide" up to five assorted perennial flowers to take back home with you to beautify your own gardens. It's our way of extending our gardens to yours. Based on availability of selected flowers; please give us a call (608-329-7056) for more information.
3/28 Start pruning and dividing perennials. Plant potatoes and onions.
April
4/9 Start a Home-based Baking Business Workshop, Browntown, WISCONSIN
Launch a baked product food business from your home kitchen in Wisconsin! Based on the recent judge ruling in Wisconsin, you can now make "not-hazardous baked food products" made in your home kitchen and sell them to the public. Join award-winning co-authors Lisa Kivirist (also one of the plaintiffs in the successful legal battle with the State of Wisconsin) and John Ivanko as they offer a crash course to get food entrepreneurs going in their home kitchen, especially with baked goods like cookies, breads, rolls and muffins. Both baked goods and high-acid canned food products will be addressed in this hands-on session. Finally, "homemade" and "fresh from the oven" on the package means exactly what it reads. Space is limited. CANCELLATION POLICY: NO REFUNDS. You can, however, transfer your ticket to another person, provided that person is in possession of the ticket at the time of the workshop.
Time: 10 am - 12 noon
Location: Inn Serendipity Bed & Breakfast, Browntown, WI
Cost: $50 per person. DISCOUNT of $10 per night of lodging if you would like to stay in the B&B.
4/18 Start a Home-based Baking Business Workshop, Browntown, WISCONSIN
Launch a baked product food business from your home kitchen in Wisconsin! Based on the recent judge ruling in Wisconsin, you can now make "not-hazardous baked food products" made in your home kitchen and sell them to the public. Join award-winning co-authors Lisa Kivirist (also one of the plaintiffs in the successful legal battle with the State of Wisconsin) and John Ivanko as they offer a crash course to get food entrepreneurs going in their home kitchen, especially with baked goods like cookies, breads, rolls and muffins. Both baked goods and high-acid canned food products will be addressed in this hands-on session. Finally, "homemade" and "fresh from the oven" on the package means exactly what it reads. Space is limited. CANCELLATION POLICY: NO REFUNDS. You can, however, transfer your ticket to another person, provided that person is in possession of the ticket at the time of the workshop.
Time: 1 pm - 3 pm
Location: Inn Serendipity Bed & Breakfast, Browntown, WI
Cost: $50 per person. DISCOUNT of $10 per night of lodging if you would like to stay in the B&B.
4/22 Earth Day--think green. Plant a tree. Start a compost pile.
Eat something organically grown, perhaps from a farmers' market or the Willy Street Co-op in Madison.
4/25 Opening of the Dane County Farmers' Market on the Square in Madison, Wisconsin
Dane County Farmers' Market is held every Saturday morning around the Capitol Square in the spring-summer-fall growing season. It's one of the best farmers' markets in the U.S.A. and the largest producer-only farmers' market in the nation.
4/29 Maintain 600 mostly native trees along stream bank at Inn Serendipity Woods cabin property as riparian buffer.
May
5/1 Start harvesting asparagus.
5/3 Local Sky-Vu Drive-In movie theater opens for the season! (Wear sunglasses when visiting their crazy-retro website.) There's always a double feature, since 1954.
5/23 Start a Home-based Baking Business Workshop, Browntown, WISCONSIN
Launch a baked product food business from your home kitchen in Wisconsin! Based on the recent judge ruling in Wisconsin, you can now make "not-hazardous baked food products" made in your home kitchen and sell them to the public. Join award-winning co-authors Lisa Kivirist (also one of the plaintiffs in the successful legal battle with the State of Wisconsin) and John Ivanko as they offer a crash course to get food entrepreneurs going in their home kitchen, especially with baked goods like cookies, breads, rolls and muffins. Both baked goods and high-acid canned food products will be addressed in this hands-on session. Finally, "homemade" and "fresh from the oven" on the package means exactly what it reads. Space is limited. CANCELLATION POLICY: NO REFUNDS. You can, however, transfer your ticket to another person, provided that person is in possession of the ticket at the time of the workshop.
Time: 1 pm - 3 pm
Location: Inn Serendipity Bed & Breakfast, Browntown, WI
Cost: $50 per person. DISCOUNT of $10 per night of lodging if you would like to stay in the B&B.
5/16 Last frost date: Plant tomato, pepper, broccoli and cabbage transplants.
5/23 - 25 Happy Memorial Day Weekend!
Picnic, bike, hike and BBQ your weekend away with us (2-night B & B minimum stay). Campfires and our inaugural s'more-fest of the season, weather permitting.
June
6/13 Sustainable Living in the 21st Century Workshop, Browntown, WISCONSIN
Experience a "hands-on" approach to sustainable living by spending an afternoon at Inn Serendipity, an organic farm and B&B. This 1/2-day workshop includes resources to get started and a hands-on tour of the farm, growing fields, a straw bale greenhouse and various renewable energy systems. Topics include: buying farm property; organic food production using French style raised beds; using renewable energy to completely power the farm; developing a diversified business from a rural setting; raising a family on the farm; paying off the "death pledge" (mortgage) and other financial matters. Registration fees cover a copy of ECOpreneuring (a $17.95 value), hands-on instruction and refreshments. Lodging is additional. If you opt to stay as guests while taking this workshop, we offer a $10 discount per night of lodging. Space is limited. CANCELLATION POLICY: NO REFUNDS. You can, however, transfer your ticket to another person, provided that person is in possession of the ticket at the time of the workshop. If you cannot attend after registering and cannot find a substitute attendee, please let us know and we are happy to mail the ECOpreneuring book to you.
Time: 1 pm - 4 pm
Location: Inn Serendipity Bed & Breakfast, Browntown, WI
Cost: $50 per person (includes a copy of ECOpreneuring ($17.95 value)). DISCOUNT of $10 per night of lodging if you would like to stay in the B&B.
6/26 - 28 Midwest Renewable Energy Fair, Custer, WI (near Stevens Point).
Catch a workshop or two facilitated by Lisa and John, or stop by our booth at the event! The Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA) is a non-profit network for sharing ideas, resources and information with individuals, businesses and communities to promote a sustainable future through renewable energy and energy efficiency. The fair, held in Custer, is the world's largest renewable energy educational event with hundreds of workshops and demonstrations on solar and wind energy, alternatively fueled vehicles, sustainable living and more. For more information, contact the MREA (Phone: 715-592-6595, E-mail: info@midwestrenew.org)
July
7/4 Happy 4th of July! We celebrate energy and food independence day.
7/10 to the middle of August: Perennial flower gardens in full, spectacular bloom. Chase butterflies. Swing in a hammock. Sip lemonade. Contemplate corn fields.
7/11 On-Farm WORKSHOP: ECOpreneuring - Launching your own Small (green) Business
Say good-bye to corporate cubicles and job descriptions void of meaning. Learn how self-employment entrepreneurs are creating and managing business endeavors while meeting the social and environmental priorities they have set for themselves. Join Lisa and John as they facilitate this 1/2-day interactive workshop, focusing on finding right livelihood, understanding the basics of business start-up, strategies for income diversification, simplifying expenses, stimulating creativity and innovation, and balancing various life roles.
Time: 1pm - 4pm
Location: Inn Serendipity Bed & Breakfast, Browntown, WI (see map and directions in links below)
Cost: $50 per person (includes a copy of ECOpreneuring ($17.95 value)). If you opt to stay as guests while taking this workshop, we offer a $10 discount per night of lodging.
Meals and Lodging: Registration fees cover a copy of ECOpreneuring (a $17.95 value), hands-on instruction and refreshments. Lodging is additional.
Instructors: Lisa Kivirist and John Ivanko, co-owners of Inn Serendipity and co-authors of Homemade for Sale, Soil Sisters: A Toolkit for Women Farmers (by Lisa Kivirist) , Farmstead Chef, ECOpreneuring: Putting Purpose and the Planet before Profitsand Rural Renaissance: Renewing the Quest for the Good Life.
August
8/7 In Her Boots: Sustainable Agriculture for Women, By Women Held on The Old Smith Place, Brodhead, WISCONSIN
Time: 10am - 3pm
"In Her Boots: Sustainable Agriculture For Women, By Women" workshops are facilitated by the MOSES In Her Boots Project, providing educational outreach, resources and networking opportunities to support women farmers and food-based ecopreneurs. Join Lisa and the Soil Sisters team to kick off this weekend with this all-day, on-farm workshops for women farmers.
Cost: $35
8/7 - 9 SOIL SISTERS (3 days of events, tastings, dinners, tours & celebration of farm life), Monroe, Brodhead and surrounding communities, WISCONSIN
8/7 - 9 SOIL SISTERS: Green Acres Workshops, Monroe, Brodhead and surrounding communities, WISCONSIN
Fun, hands-on workshops experienced on-farm. These are be ticketed events; prices vary.
8/7 Powering your Home or Farm with Renewable Energy Workshop at Inn Serendipity, Browntown, WISCONSIN
Build self-reliance at your home or on your farm with renewable energy. Join John Ivanko as he explains how to completely power your home or farm with the sun, as he and his wife, Lisa Kivirist, have done since 2003 and get paid by your utility. Explore your options with a solar electric (photovoltaic) system, wind turbine system, solar thermal system for domestic hot water or in-floor radiant heating. Also covered are plug-in chargers for electric vehicles, the use of Sun Ovens, and EPA-certified woodstoves. Funding options, real-world experiences and actual costs for renewable energy systems will be addressed, as well as a hands on tour of the operating systems. Children (ages 13 and over) welcome with adult supervision and own paid ticket (for the child).
Fee: $50 (Includes a tour of the renewable energy systems), plus ticket service charge
8/8 Start a Food Business from your Home Kitchen Workshop at Inn Serendipity, Browntown, WISCONSIN
Join award-winning co-authors Lisa Kivirist and John Ivanko as they offer a crash course to get food entrepreneurs going in their home kitchen. Every state in the USA (except NJ) now have "cottage food" laws that apply to high acid foods like pickles, preserves, jams and jellies, or baked goods. Based on the HOMEMADE FOR SALE book.
Fee: $50, plus ticket service charge
8/8 "Pizza on the Farm" Fundraiser Meal at Inn Serendipity, Browntown, WISCONSIN
Pack up your blanket and picnic basket with your plates and silverware and join us on the farm for some delicious pizza, served "picnic-style". Savor hand-crafted pizzas cooked in a wood-fired oven.
Meal Ticket: $35/adult and $10/child (includes your own personal pizza (kids get 1/2 personal pizza), salads/veggies, cheeses and root beer float), plus ticket service charge
8/9 Sustainable Living Day-long Seminar & Tour at Inn Serendipity, Browntown, WISCONSIN
Pay off the mortgage. Completely power your farm or home with renewable energy. Grow your own food. Craft your version of the good life that's based on self-reliance, addressing food, energy, environment and personal finances. Join this lively timeline journey of how Lisa Kivirist and John Ivanko did it, so you can too. Features a farm tour that covers the 10.8 kW solar electric system, solar thermal systems, growing fields, plug-in electric vehicle chargers, wood-fired outdoor pizza oven and greenhouse made from straw bales. Price includes a copy of Kivirist and Ivanko's award-winning ECOpreneuring book ($17.95 value) and complimentary refreshments.
Fee: $100 (includes a copy of ECOpreneuring book and refreshments), plus ticket service charge
8/9 Introduction to Drone Photography Workshop at Inn Serendipity, Browntown, WISCONSIN
Whether you already have a drone or are thinking about buying one, join drone pilot Liam Kivirist for a very introductory session on flying your own drone.
Fee: $50 (Includes some flight time with a Phantom 4 Pro+ Drone (if you're ready), plus ticket service charge
8/9 Bus Tour of Farms: Know Your Farmer!, Monroe area, WISCONSIN
Want to experience where your food comes from? Do you have a dream of running your own farm one day? Join this bus tour that will take you to three different farm businesses operated by soil sisters for a personal tour of their diversified farms, sharing their love for agriculture and the steps they took to launch and grow their business. INN SERENDIPITY WILL BE THE LAST STOP ON THIS BUS TOUR. The farmers will cover a variety of topics from small scale livestock, market gardening, CSAs (community supported agriculture), retrofitting a farmstead sustainably and running a farm on solar energy. Soil sisters will serve as your guides throughout the tour and on the bus, sharing stories and answering questions about our shared mission to steward our landscape and cultivate community.
Fee for Bus Tour of Farms: $60 Adults and kids ages 12 or older; $25 for Kids ages 2 - 11; ticket service charge additional
8/14 Enjoy the lazy days of late summer.
Play a game of chess with the life-size chess set, instigate a water balloon fight, catch fireflies.
September
9/4 - 7 Celebrate Labor Day weekend with fresh, grilled seasonal veggie appetizers (2-night minimum B&B stay)
9/9 Start harvesting apples from the red delicious tree. Canning apple sauce begins in earnest.
9/9 Pick grapes before Mr. Raccoon gets them first; John crushes the grapes for grape juice.
9/12 Sustainable Living in the 21st Century Workshop, Browntown, WISCONSIN
Experience a "hands-on" approach to sustainable living by spending an afternoon at Inn Serendipity, an organic farm and B&B. This 1/2-day workshop includes resources to get started and a hands-on tour of the farm, growing fields, a straw bale greenhouse and various renewable energy systems. Topics include: buying farm property; organic food production using French style raised beds; using renewable energy to completely power the farm; developing a diversified business from a rural setting; raising a family on the farm; paying off the "death pledge" (aka mortgage) and other financial matters. Registration fees cover a copy of ECOpreneuring (a $17.95 value), hands-on instruction and refreshments. Lodging is additional. If you opt to stay as guests while taking this workshop, we offer a $10 discount per night of lodging. Space is limited. CANCELLATION POLICY: NO REFUNDS. You can, however, transfer your ticket to another person, provided that person is in possession of the ticket at the time of the workshop. If you cannot attend after registering and cannot find a substitute attendee, please let us know and we are happy to mail the ECOpreneuring book to you. This is a part of the Mother Earth News/Grit International Homesteading Education Month.
Time: 1pm - 4pm
Location: Inn Serendipity Bed & Breakfast, Browntown, WI
Cost: $50 per person. DISCOUNT of $10 per night of lodging if you would like to stay in the B&B.
9/18 - 20 Green County CHEESE DAYS in Monroe, Wisconsin (2-night minimum B&B stay; full payment; no cancellation policy in effect)
From cheese sampling in the Cheese Tent to yodeling and alphorns, from cheese curds to live music from various bands -- including polka -- and an insanely long parade on Sunday. Swiss. Cheese. Beer. Music. Fun.
October
10/23 - 25 Aspiring Innkeeper Working Retreat
at Inn Serendipity Bed & Breakfast
Dream of starting a B&B, but don't know where to start or whether it's right for you? Join this "short-course" on innkeeping from the award-winning innkeepers of Inn Serendipity. Covered are start-up considerations, "right-scaling" your operations, and marketing ideas. Included is a tour of the operations, a peek at the financials and plenty of time to address all the questions you might have. We keep these groups small and personal so we can address your questions and help you develop your ideas and vision.
Time: Friday night private reception, Saturday work sessions from 10 am to 4 pm; Sunday morning work session with Q & A, completed at 11 am.
Location: Inn Serendipity Bed & Breakfast, Browntown, WI (see map and directions in links below)
Cost: $449, single; $549, two people, double occupancy (includes two nights' lodging) and working sessions.
Meals and Lodging: Registration fees cover Friday and Saturday night lodging, hands-on instruction, tour, refreshments and applicable taxes. Saturday evening dinner is on guests' own.
Instructors: Lisa Kivirist and John Ivanko, co-owners of Inn Serendipity and co-authors of Homemade for Sale, Soil Sisters: A Toolkit for Women Farmers (by Lisa Kivirist) , Farmstead Chef, ECOpreneuring: Putting Purpose and the Planet before Profitsand Rural Renaissance: Renewing the Quest for the Good Life.
Can't wait until the Working Retreat?
For a personalized, in-depth and honest examination of the operations, marketing and financial aspects of innkeeping, especially from the perspective of a small, 1 to 4 room operation, consider participating in a PivotPlanet consultation.
10/31 Boo! John dresses up as Obi Wan Kanobi or Indiana Jones (depending on mood).
November
11/5 "Oh the weather outside is frightful...but the wood fire is so delightful."
Cuddle around the first fire-up of the Lopi Endeavor woodstove.
December
12/4 Turner Hall's Christmas Tree Lighting with Candles, Monroe, Wisconsin
Get into the holiday mood with a spectacular ol' fashioned, traditional Christmas tree lighting event, with carols and snacks at the Turner Hall. Yes, even the Monroe Fire Department is on hand to keep an eye on all the candles.
