It’s great to see our achievements being recognized on a national level. The White House Rural Council included Fermentation Fest as part of the United States Department of Agriculture results. Below is an excerpt of the article.
Driving economic development via arts and culture in Reedsburg, WI
Since 2011, Reedsburg has played host to an annual festival and Farm/Art DTour that attracts over 20,000 visitors to experience the local agricultural landscapes and the culture of the farming community. With funding support from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Our Town grant program, Wormfarm Institute (a Reedsburg-based arts nonprofit) brings together a diverse coalition of local farmers and community organizations to drive tourism and attract new business for local farmers through the Farm/Art DTour.
The Farm/Art DTour is a 50-mile self-guided tour intended to attract tourism, and in the first year saw 65% of their visitors traveling over 50 miles to experience arts installations, performances and artisan produce stands situated on local farms. Artists and farmers work together on arts installations that are exhibited during the annual festival and have been able to reap the benefits of a new influx of visitors, seeing revenue increases of as much as 300% during the DTour. Reedsburg’s annual festival has helped increase agricultural tourism for the region, as well as to build new local coalitions between the local farmers and residents.