folklore village

The Christmas tree lit with real candles is the most beautiful tree I've ever seen. The potluck was more than enough delicious food and the folk dancing easily done and fun.

This place is an unusual and well-thought-out educational opportunity for children! It is rare to find such a wonderful place to take children.

Our daughter had her summer wedding reception at Folklore Village, a beautiful setting overlooking farmland valleys. After looking at many venues, this was by far the best option for her reception. For anyone thinking of using this lovely facility, I have listed the pros and cons we encountered. Pros:- large flat area of land on the property for setting up a big tent (approx. 120 guests max are allowed)- charming building with maple floors, lots of windows, porch and A/C; can be used as the "appetizer area" (or if it rains, for the entire reception)- rental cost for building and grounds is very reasonable and includes tables, chairs, plates, utensils, etc. (approx. $1000)- gorgeous sunsets for an evening wedding- full commercial kitchen available for use all day- can provide your own alcohol (big savings over having the reception in a restaurant)- small historical chapel can be rented- separate buildings for sleeping (think scout camp) can be rented- wedding coordinator provides recommendations for excellent help. go with her suggestions. she organized a serving/clean-up crew for us the entire night, and they were fantastic! (tip them well!)Cons:- cannot have use of the grounds to set up prior to 8AM the day of your reception (altho the tent can be set up the day before). if you want to decorate the afternoon before, you must pay for 1/2 day's rent, and can only do so if no one else has rented the facilities for that day - the grounds and building must be empty and completely cleared of tables, chairs, litter, etc by midnight, or there is an expensive overtime fee, charged every 15 minutes past midnight- in the drought, the gardens and lawn were rather unkempt. I was concerned about the length of the grass being hazardous for elderly people walking down the hill from the building to the tent. when I suggested that the lawn be mowed the day before the reception, the wedding coordinator said it would not be done, because it would bring grass clippings into the building. I was not happy about this. at least they weeded the gardens the morning of the reception- FLIES. lots of flies. when the food came out, so did the flies. I guess that happens when you're in the middle of farmland. - the wedding coordinator was very strict, curtly reminding me of the rules (and I had no intention of breaking any!)Recommendations:Catering - Mazo Deli & Catering (Mazomanie, Wisconsin) -- large variety of delicious food to chose from; very accomodating owner (Chris); reasonably priced; can provide waitresses and bartender; specializes in pig-roasts on siteTent - Bel-Aire Tent (Dubuque, Iowa) -- they filled in at the last minute (a week before the reception!) when our original tent company discovered they double-booked our tent! Frank at Bel-Aire was wonderful, providing everything we needed for a perfect reception (tent, dancefloor, extra tables and chairs, lights, head table skirts, band riser, you name it). he was very helpful and patient with me, a frantic mother-of-the-bride, and it all came together beautifully.Cake - Amazing Cakes by Arni (Boscobel, Wisconsin) -- it's true, Arni makes amazing cakes, and will cheerfully do whatever you want. she'll even make you a mini-cake in advance so you can see how it will taste (amazingly delicious!). check her out on facebook.

Our daughter got married at this facility and it was a perfect setting. The staff was excellent to deal with. They had suggestions on vendors to use were very accommodating and spelled out clearly what our options were. We used all of the facility including the old church (remember to turn the air on ahead of time) the bunk house and the meeting barn. Our caterer used the kitchen and felt it was of high quality. We used their local tent company for tent, tables and portable stage and that went very well. The scenery showing in the background is beautiful. The wedding theme was a circus theme and we had plenty of space to set up and used the meeting hall for the dance. A GREAT facility and staff.