Crow Wing County 4-H Hosts Party With A Purpose

Sprout Grower and Maker’s Marketplace building was busy Tuesday night as the Crow Wing County 4-H Club hosted a Party With a Purpose. The Parties are funded through a grant awarded to the Region Five Development Commission by ArtPlace America’s National Creative Placemaking Fund.

“It’s something that we applied for and we were lucky enough to get a spot in this,” said Sarah Ukkelberg, 4-H Program Coordinator for Crow Wing County. “They’ve provided the food and we have some Native American entertainment coming which is actually some Native American 4-H members and some volunteers. They are going to provide some entertainment.”

The Parties With a Purpose are awarded by Sprout through an application process.

“So, Sprout is a non-profit organization. We’re located at our facility in Little Falls but we really have a regional focus, trying to use food as a cultivator of community and conversation, and tonight we get to see that with the Crow Wing County 4-H group coming here to share appetizers and talk about their organization and raise a little bit of money for them to continue their youth programming,” Natalie Keane, Facility Utilization Director at Sprout, explained.

This was the first Party With a Purpose where the food was handmade in Sprout’s kitchen by the group the party benefited, 4-H members and their family.

“We’re just helping out just cook for the Sprout event. We’re the very first group to do this,” added Ali Schroer, Crow Wing County 4-H member. “We are very honored to do it. We’re just cooking, helping with the regular meal, appetizers, dips, everything.”

Tonight’s Party highlighted Native American culture through appetizers that were served as well as live performances by 4-H members from the White Earth Nation.

“It will be a really fun event for our 4-Hers and everyone else to get a taste of some Native American culture while enjoying some Native American appetizers and just having a nice night to enjoy and learn a little bit about another culture all while supporting 4-H,” explained Ukkelberg.

While the event was successful in supporting the 4-H monetarily, it also brought people together for a night experiencing a culture that might be different than their own.

“This event has been really surprising because we haven’t made these recipes before and I haven’t worked with this group before, and I’ve been so impressed by the enthusiasm by these young people, young women who are getting in the kitchen and right to work, and I can’t wait to taste what they create,” said Keane.

Tickets to the event were $10 and included appetizers, wine and beverages, and entertainment.