Events
From dinners on the farm to gourmet cooking classes; grocery store pop-ups to games of trivia, a CommonGround event is sure to be something you’ll remember for a long time.
Chat with farmers. Ask questions. Hear about farm life. Come to an event by yourself or with friends or family. Bring your criticisms and your compliments. Whether you’re well versed in agriculture or a total newbie, you are welcome at our events.
Let’s find our common ground and talk food + farming together.
Upcoming Events
Cheese + Wine Pairing Class
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Join the farmers of CommonGround Minnesota in a cheese and wine pairing class led by The Grater Good and Distinguished Taste.
June 16, 2026
Rosemount, MN
More details to be released very soon– mark your calendars!
Past Events
CommonGround Night Out
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Come join us at The Back Bar at Young Joni for a fun evening filled with great drinks, delicious food, and good company. This in-person event is the perfect opportunity to connect with farmers, ask questions about how food is grown, and share your perspectives with like-minded individuals. Whether you’re looking to make some new farmer friends, get information on specific topic, or simply learn more about agriculture in Minnesota, CommonGround Night Out is the place to be. Don’t miss out on this exciting event!
In addition to our volunteers, we will hear from Ann Kim, the owner of Young Joni and a James Beard award winning chef about her journey into the food world. She owns multiple restaurants in the twin cities area including Young Joni, Kim’s, Pizzeria Lola, Hello Pizza, and Kyndred Hearth.
This event is for ages 21+. Tickets are $25 (including all taxes and fees). Entry to the event as well as food and drinks are included in the ticket cost. Space is limited, so register today!
Ticket proceeds will all be donated to Second Harvest Heartland, a food bank on a mission to end hunger in their 59-county service area.
Thursday, July 25th 2024
5:00 to 9:00 p.m.
The Back Bar at Young Joni
165 13th Ave NE
Minneapolis, MN 55413
Farm Dinner
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Join us for dinner on the farm! Complete with a farm tour hayride and photo opportunities galore (hello, sunflowers!), this evening is sure to be one to remember.
Our host, Angela Guentzel, farms full-time with her dad and brother on their sixth-generation family farm. They are farming some of the same soil that their ancestors settled over 150 years ago! With a passion for adopting sustainable farm technology & equipment, they aim to grow their corn & soybeans while being the best stewards of the land.
The menu for the evening will have a local flair, from farm fresh appetizers, local ingredient woodfired pizza, and small batch MN ice cream to MN brews & wines, you’ll have an incredible food experience and even more incredible conversation about food, farming, technology, and sustainability. We look forward to seeing you there!
The schedule for the evening is as follows: 5 pm social, 6 pm meal, 7 pm panel, 7:30 dessert, social until end!
Tuesday, August 27th 2024
Guentzel Family Farms
Kasota, MN
Field Gate to Table Plate Virtual Charcuterie Class
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Thursday, February 13th at 7:00 p.m. central time
Join us virtually for a one-of-a-kind charcuterie experience! You’ll assemble a charcuterie board along with CommonGround volunteer hosts Brittany, Haley, and Jocelyn and learn about the products on the board and how to display them as well as where they came from!
With the purchase of your ticket, we will send you the board, a heart shaped cutter, and a shopping list two weeks in advance so that you can be prepared for the event. The FREE ticket option will provide you with the shopping list and the meeting link, but you will need to source your own charcuterie board and heart shaped cutter.
We’ll have time to share some stories from the farm and answer any questions you have along the way!
Cooking & Conversations
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March 18, 2025 from 4:00- 7:00 p.m. at Cooks|Bellecour in St. Paul.
Join us for an evening of fun and learning! Together, we’ll create a four course meal and enjoy it together afterwards! Along the way, we’ll get to talk families, farming, food, and more! Who knows- you might even walk away from the evening with a new friend!
The evening will begin at 4:00 with light appetizers and some time to settle in. Please arrive no later than 4:20 so we can get cooking at 4:30! We’ll prepare the meal, enjoy our efforts when it is finished, and be wrapped up by 7:00 p.m.
The pictures included are from our last Cooking & Conversations event in 2019!
The menu for the evening will feature a four-course “French to Table” meal:
Herbed Lentil Salad
Winter Squash Gratin
Roasted Chicken Thighs with Zucchini-Basil Pistou
Chocolate Soufflé with Créme Anglaise and Raspberries
Along with appetizers & wines to pair! Let’s find our common ground and talk food + farming together!
Cooks | Bellecour (formerly Cooks of Crocus Hill) has been a fixture in the Twin Cities area since 1973 and offers everything from cooking classes, events, and catering to kitchen tools and gadgets. They have multiple locations- please note this event is taking place at the St. Paul location on Grand Avenue!
Farm Dinner
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A summer staple for CommonGround Minnesota, this year’s Farm Dinner brings us to rural Hamburg, MN in south central Minnesota. Our host, Ellyn Oelfke, is a sixth generation farmer alongside her husband, Jacob. Together with his sister and her husband, they own and operate their family farm.
This event will showcase two things that are incredible important to Ellyn and Jacob: family farming and regenerative agriculture. Through soil health improvement and technological advances, they operate their farm in a way that ensures that their land will be healthy and thriving for generations to come.
Join us beginning at 5:00 p.m. for social hour, complete with drinks, appetizers, and great conversations. At 5:45 we will kick things off with a formal introduction of our hosts, as well as our chef for the evening! Our chef will walk through each delicious course, highlighting ingredients and techniques. Following dinner, we will have a Q&A panel with farmers from around the state of Minnesota! Come hear about farm life, soil health, and more! You’ll have a chance to ask any food + farming question you’ve ever had. We’ll have time for dessert and some additional informal conversation before wrapping up the evening at 8:00 p.m. Whether you’re coming from the metro or just down the road, this event will be an evening to remember!
Thursday, July 24 2025
5:00-8:00 p.m.
HyTest Ag LLC
35603 170th St
Hamburg, MN 55339
Cooking & Conversations: A Taste of Fall
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Join us for an evening of fun and learning! Together, we’ll create a four course meal and enjoy it together afterwards! Along the way, we’ll get to talk families, farming, food, and more! Who knows- you might even walk away from the evening with a new friend!
The evening will begin at 5:00 with light appetizers and some time to settle in. Please arrive no later than 5:20 so we can get cooking at 5:30! We’ll prepare the meal, enjoy our efforts when it is finished, and be wrapped up by 8:00 p.m.The pictures included are from our last Cooking & Conversations event in March!
The menu for the evening will feature a four-course meal, consisting of chicken meatballs with pomodoro sauce, fresh pasta, mixed green salad with apple and spiced walnuts, butternut squash gorgonzola gratin, herbed garlic bread, and lemon pudding cake with berry sauce!
Cooks of Crocus Hill
877 Grand Ave
St. Paul, MN 55105
Holiday Cookie Bake
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Join us for one of the most popular holiday traditions- cookie baking! Throughout the cookie bake, you’ll hear from real Minnesota farmers about their family traditions and life on the farm.
The evening will begin at 6:00 pm and wrap up around 8:30 pm. Appetizers and soda/ water will be available, but no formal meal will be served. This is a family and child friendly event- we recommend bringing kids old enough enjoy the evening, and they must be accompanied by their adult at all times.
Way Cool Cooking School
16544 W 78th St
Eden Prairie, MN 55347
Farm-Hers in the Kitchen
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What is better than getting an expert demonstration on how to cook an exquisite meal made from local foods? Having the farmers who raised those ingredients there, too!
Join CGMN volunteers A.J. Popp and Jocelyn Schlichting with Cooks of Crocus Hill’s Chef Rebecca for an evening of stories and delicious food as we enjoy Beef Wellington Bites with Horseradish Sauce, Three Sisters Stew, and a Honey Crème Brûulée.
Tuesday, March 3rd, 2026
6:00 p.m.
Cooks of Crocus Hill
St. Paul, MN