Cooking with Donna event at the 2010 University of Okoboji Winter Games.

Okoboji Country Inn Innkeeper, Donna Muilenburg kept the crowd inside Annabelle’s Tea Room entertained this year at her Cooking With Donna demonstration and tasting during the 2010 University of Okoboji Winter Games.  For her second cooking show, Donna chose recipes from the cookbook 9×13 The Pan that Can!  This cookbook showcases recipes of comfort foods that everyone grew up with.  Donna chose four interesting and easy to make recipes for her cooking show which included chicken broccoli strata, salted peanut bars, lasagna blanca and ended with the very popular root beer float cake. 

The cookbook is available for purchase at The Wash House  gift shop.  It makes the perfect gift for beginning cooks, busy working moms with hungry children to feed, or even retired cooks who love to read cookbooks.   Next year’s Cooking With Donna is almost filled up, call (712) 332-2358 if you want to be added to the list of attendees.

Attend the fun at the University of Okoboji Winter Games!

Be sure to attend the 2010 University of Okoboji Winter Games, the fun starts on Friday January 29th and continues through Sunday January 31st.

Donna Muilenburg, Innkeeper at the Okoboji Country Inn Bed and Breakfast will be having another cooking school during the Winter Games Weekend.  Cooking with Donna will take place on Saturday January 30th from 10 am to 12 noon at Annabelle’s Tea Room which is located inside The Wash House gift shop in West Okoboji.  Donna will be showcasing recipes of comfort foods that everyone grew up with that are easy to make and serve.  This demonstration and tasting requires a pre-registration of $5 per person.  Call (712) 332-2358 or stop by the store to register, seating is limited.   See you at the Winter Games!!!

If your stay will be for one or two nights, or a week-end visit, consider the Hannah Marie Country Inn just south of Spencer. They feature central air and heating, softened water, bubbles for your bath, and ironed top sheets.

Weekly lodging can be found at the Prairie Cottage just north of Spencer. It sleeps a small group of 4-6 adults in two bedrooms with a futon couch and rollaway bed, or is extremely comfortable for a family of 6. Fix your own meals and save $ with our apt-sized stove, refrigerator, microwave, dishes, silverware, cups, glasses, linens, coffee maker, grill, etc. Our cottage also includes a video collection, TV, a desktop computer and Wireless Internet access, games, puzzles, and cards available for your enjoyment.

Don’t wait until the last moment, visit the Web sites of each lodging establishment and make your reservation early!

Spencer, Iowa ~ The Clay County Fair has come a long way since it grew out of a series of homestead era fairs, agricultural society expositions, a state high-wheel-bicycle meet, a trotting association and community barbecues and picnics — held in Spencer in 1871, only five years after pioneer settlers drove their covered wagons from Wisconsin to Spencer Grove. For entertainment this first fair ran races with horses and riders from Sioux Rapids, Peterson and Emmetsburg. Today, the Clay County fair is the largest county fair in the state of Iowa. It has the second largest agricultural exposition in North America. Bringing in over 310,000 visitors a year, the Clay County Fair is one of the largest county fairs in the USA.

If you plan to visit the fair this year, you will want to consider lodging at one of these fine northwest Iowa bed and breakfast establishments — and, be sure to visit their booth in the Ag Building’s basement during the run of the fair:

Join the fun and attend the University of Okoboji Marathon competitions.

If you are going to be in the Iowa Great Lakes this weekend for the annual U of O Marathon and need lodging accommodations, the Okoboji Country Inn has just two rooms left.  Our historic bed and breakfast is the perfect place to relax and recharge.  We are located right in the heart of the Lakes area but also offer a very peaceful and tranquil setting for a great weekend getaway.  Call (712) 332-2358 or book online at http://okobojicountryinn.com/rooms.html.

July 17 – 19, 2009

Beginning Lampwork Glass Beadmaking (with lots of Torch time) ~ Fee: $295 plus cost of supplies used.  Ages 18 & up.   This class covers how to melt glass and make basic shapes, pull stringers, & decorate glass beads.

This is an intensive 3 night week-end course under the direction of world reknown glass artist Louis “Tony” Curiel.

Students must wear Didymium safety glasses for proper eye protection & to “see through the flame of the torch.” (You can Rent or Buy safety glasses at the school.)

If you are need lodging for the week-end, visit www.hannahmarieinn.com

The Wash House gift shop located in the heart of the Lakes area.

The Wash House gift shop in West Okoboji, IA invites you to their annual Spring Open House Wednesday April 1st to Saturday April 4th.  Spring has sprung at the store and we are bursting with color in every corner and floor.  Stop by and get inspired by our fresh new look and take a little touch of spring home with you.  Just arrived for spring are some bright yellow tulips and bunnies, rabbits and hares in different sizes and shapes.  Pick up a copy of the Iowa Bed and Breakfast Innkeepers Association new cookbook, Discover Iowa: Cooking with Iowa Wine, Meats and other Iowa Products.  We have signed copies for sale by the author Amelia Painter in our gift shop. 

Also featured at the Spring Open House on Friday April 3rd from 5-8pm, will be a Wine Tasting by Diane Benjamin from the Little Swan Lake Winery.  Join us and sample a variety of different wines that we carry in our gift shop from the Little Swan Lake Winery and be treated to several sensational appetizers too.  This will be a fun event that you won’t want to miss.

More information on The Wash House 1712 Terrace Park Blvd. West Okoboji, IA. 51351 can be found at http./www.okobojicountryinn.com/ or call (712) 332-2358.

Arts on Grand will host a reception for Chad Elliott at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 17, in conjunction with his current exhibit, “Artsong: Lyric-Inspired Paintings.” In place of the traditional artist’s talk, Chad will perform the songs that inspired the paintings, beginning at 7:30 p.m. The public is invited to attend both the reception and the performance.

Elliott’s songwriting career began after he taught himself to play the guitar during college. Since then he has enjoyed accolades including being a New Folk Finalist at the 2008 Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Festival and winning FolkAlley.com’s Open Mic Finals.

Several of his CDs are available at Arts on Grand, including Bowl of Stars and his most recent one, Swiftsure, which was released at a house concert last spring. The exhibit includes paintings inspired by songs on previous CDs, such as “How’s the Weather” and “Threads of Wicker,” plus previously unreleased songs, such as “Barn’s on Fire.”

The exhibit is being sponsored by Solutions, Inc. of Spencer. To learn more about Chad Elliott, visit www.myspace.com/chadelliottfolkmusic.

Local lodging available at the Hannah Marie Country Inn.

Join us for a fun time at Annabelle’s Tea Room in West Okoboji, IA during this year’s University of Okoboji Winter Games.  On Saturday am January 24, 2009, Innkeeper Donna Muilenburg from the Okoboji Country Inn will be having a cooking demostration and tasting.  The cooking starts at 10 am and Donna will be featuring some recipes from the new cookbook,  just released from the Iowa Bed and Breakfast Innkeepers Association.  The Discover Iowa: Cooking with Wine, Meats, and other Iowa Products author Amelia Painter will also be present to sign copies of this wonderful new cookbook and discuss recipes.  Annabelle’s Tea Room is located inside The Wash House gift shop right in the heart of all the Winter Games activities.  We still have a few rooms available at the Okoboji Country Inn during the Winter Games.  Click on www.okobojicountryinn.com to make your reservation or call (712) 332-2358 for more information.

Arts on Grand in Spencer will host a book fair on Sunday, December 7, from 1 to 3 p.m. A number of local authors will be on hand to sign their books. Books inscribed by the author make wonderful gifts.

Author Amelia Painter will be on hand to sign copies of her popular book Opening and Operating a Bed and Breakfast in the 21st Century  and take orders for her upcoming books Discover Iowa: Cooking with Iowa Wines, Meats and other Iowa Products and Discover Oahu: A Pictorial Guide to a Tropical Island Paradise.  Amelia Painter and Mary Nichols compiled Discover Iowa: A Culinary Journey Through Iowa and it will be available for sale.

Also on hand will be Alan Oppedal of Ruthven, author of The Inevitable Triumph, the story of a northwest Iowa community; Jim Oleson of Milford, who wrote In Their Own Words: True Stories and Adventures of the American Fighting Ace; Helen Augustine of Emmetsburg, who wrote They Opened the Door and Let My Future In about the country school teachers of Palo Alto County; and Julie Schmidt, author of Conflagration: The Great Spencer Fire of 1931. Other books of reminiscence are also available, including My Grandma Always Told Me … by Patricia Phipps and Snapshots: Memories of an Iowa Farm Girl by Verna Hanson.

Among the books available will be the recently published Walking Beans Wasn’t Something You Did With Your Dog, stories of growing up in and around the small towns of the Midwest. Compiled by Jean Tennant of Everly, the book includes stories by members of Arts on Grand’s writers group, several of whom will be on hand to sign copies. Hartley artist and writer Katie Thompson will be present for the event. She is the author (using the pen name Kate Iola) of Deadstock, a novel that deals with agricultural terrorism in northwest Iowa.

Arts on Grand has a number of books with whimsical illustrations for young children, including A Mutt Wutter’s Tale and The Muttwutter in a Storm at the Zoo by Marjorie Ilich, illustrated by Mark Ilich, as well as a series books of animal books by Ina Faye Underwood with illustrations by P. K. Streets. Amy J. Maurer will be at Arts on Grand to autograph her book, A Purple Hippopotamus and Pink Penguin Sheets, which was illustrated by Rachael Smith with a cover design by Gina Bailey. Marjorie Roelofsen of Spirit Lake will also be on hand to autograph her children’s book, Sam.

Arts on Grand
408 N. Grand Avenue, Spencer, IA 51301
Phone (712) 262-4307
Fax (712) 264-0430