Femmestival Pop-Up Dinner

Femmestival, the annual femme-focused food/art hybrid, is back for a fourth year with a slightly different format. The festivities kick off with a pop-up dinner on Friday, Feb 16, at 6:30 p.m. (tickets here); a reception for the Garver Canvas art exhibition “Women’s Work” takes place Saturday, Feb. 17, from 6-8 p.m. The food fest runs Sunday, Feb. 18, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., with vendors including Level 5 Donuts, Madame Chu Delicacies, Keur Fatou Catering, Blended Sisters, 3D Mediterranean Cuisine, The Walking Jerk, Ugly Apple Cafe, Tortillas Los Angeles and Inspired Alchemy. Visual goods vendors will be selling too.

media release: The 4th annual femme-focused culinary and visual arts festival will take place in its usual festival form on Sunday, Feb 18, from 11am - 4pm at Garver Feed Mill featuring 25 food vendors and 30 art/home goods vendors. However, you won’t see Femmestival’s signature large-scale art installation hanging from Garver’s historic steel beams this year. Instead, Garver Events chose to highlight six women artists in a Garver Canvas group exhibition entitled Women’s Work. The exhibition will host a new addition to the festival weekend, an intimate pop-up dinner featuring guest chefs and special guest diners. The dinner, on Feb. 16, will benefit the League of Women Voters with state Rep and Morris Ramen chef Francesca Hong serving the first course and then taking a seat at the table. Guests will enjoy a four-course, multicultural dinner with artists featured in the exhibition and beverage pairings for $80. Other courses will be presented by Olivia Tierney from the Garver Kitchen, Origins Bakery, Missey Russell of Blended Sisters, and Femmestival regular, Gianna’s Sweets and K-Fe.

If you can’t make it to the dinner, you can mingle with the artists at the exhibition reception on Saturday, Feb 17, from 6pm - 8pm.

When it comes time for the Sunday festival, Femmestival will give the new Garver Feed Mill tenant, GROW Greenhouse, the biggest piece in the house. GROW will create a large-scale moss wall at the far end of the atrium for Femmestival visitors to use a photo backdrop. “We’ve never really had a participatory art piece as part of the festival, we think it will be a fun addition.” says Femmestival co-founder, Bethany Jurewicz.

About the Vendors

Femmestival aims to create a space that cultivates economic inclusivity, equity, and proliferation, putting forth a reimagination of what a festival can be when women and allies put themselves, their economic health, and their creative energies first.

As a fee-free festival for vendors and attendees, Femmestival provides a minimum-risk opportunity for entrepreneurs testing ideas or in the early years of their business. The only festival of its kind in Madison, Femmestival is a great place to get the first taste of the next big female chef in Madison. Some of you may have had your first taste of Ahan at Femmestival 2020.

This year, the festival welcomes back just a handful of returning vendors, giving priority to new applications. Returning visual goods vendors include Bernie and Zuzu, Mexican Folk Art Collective, Village Girl Boutique, Blessed Divine Creations, and TacoCat Creations. Newcomers not to miss include SAM remade wear, Loveland Acres Farm, Ten by Ten, malyMade, Fabor Manor, Pearl and Jelly, and Humla Pottery. In the culinary realm, the festival welcomes back Level 5 Donuts and Madame Chu Delicacies who have been at the festival since year 1 alongside first-timers Keur Fatou Catering, Blended Sisters, 3D Mediterranean Cuisine,The Walking Jerk, and Ugly Apple Cafe. Organizers are especially excited about the expansive menu being offered by Tortillas los Angeles and the superfood truffles by Inspired Alchemy.