Sparta holds Spring Craft Show at Senior High

On Saturday, February 22nd, the Sparta High School Spring Craft Show took over the halls, gymnasium, and even the cafeteria of the high school. The number of vendors hovered around 100, spiderwebbing throughout the educational facility. Running hours started at 8:30 a.m. and ran until 3:30 p.m. Vendors came from far and wide to offer an eclectic array of crafts, ranging from knitted Easter bunnies to homemade chocolate and homemade salsa with chips to 3-D designs.

One of the more interesting dynamics of any craft fair or show is not only the many different creative and unique items that attendees are able to peruse and cerebrally enjoy, but the vendors themselves, who journey into our county from all points, near and far, to bring us their take on art. Beautiful art, as the saying goes, lays in the eye of the beholder. Some art may be made by an individual’s hands, such as weaving, knitting, painting, and sculpting. Other art made by hand includes creative foods, such as salsa, chocolate, cookies, and canned jams and jellies.  

Familiar Yellow Tent Greets Eager Craft Pursuers

Items spanned the imagination, as vendors covered quite an age demographic, as well as experience in attending craft shows, fairs, and special events. When craft enthusiasts rolled into the Spartan parking lot the first noticeable fact was that the weather was finally breaking away from the basement of glacial captivity. The next sense indulgence was smell — Kettle Corn, and it was emanating from a familiar, bright yellow tent, just to the left of the entrance to the Craft Show.

Grandpa Choo-Choo’s Kettle Corn & Flavored Popcorn, owned and ran by Kevin and Laura Sova, is out of Medford, and they have been a fixture at the event for the past five years. Not only are they no stranger to Sparta, but Grandpa Choo-Choo’s Kettle Corn is a frequent flyer in Monroe County as well. “We also do Cotton & Birch in the summer,” said Kevin Sova. “We go to Warrens for Cranfest, and Tomah, for their Tractor Pull [Budweiser Dairyland Super National Truck & Tractor Pull]. We get down here [Monroe County] quite a bit. We love it down here; it is such a beautiful area.”

Kevin says that they will cover around 30 to 40 events in a season. “We are mostly busy in the summer, hitting an event almost every weekend.”

Kevin admitted to the Herald that the smell is the best form of advertising they produce. “It’s nice when we’re busy and we can keep cooking because the smell floats quite a distance.”

They have an online presence through Facebook, at Grandpa Choo Choo’s Kettle Corn, and you can reach them by phone, at 715-965-0674, or by email, at kevsov@hotmail.com

# 1 Chocolate Makers in Wisconsin – tabal: Chocolate With Intention

As the Herald walked the aisles of unique vendors, it happened upon Claire Mahon, who held a wealth of information for her booth, which was covered in chocolate. Mahon was the chosen spokesperson to cover Sparta for tabal chocolate, based out of Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. Her first statement was quite an interesting morsel of trivia-type information. “We are actually the only chocolate maker in Wisconsin, as opposed to a confectioner, who buys their chocolate premade and reforms it into a final product. We do everything ourselves, in house.”

Mahon went on to explain that tabal buys their beans (cacao) from small, sustainable farms. “The owner of tabal, Dan Bieser, chooses the farms personally,” Mahon explained. “He has relationships with the farmers, and ensures that everything about the farm is sustainable, and locally grown. We get the beans directly and do everything in the process from bean to bar [chocolate bar], in house. Everything is made in small batches, utilizing a stone grinder.”

Mahon further stated that tabal makes use of the entire cacao bean. “We make teas put of the skins [cacao bean pod], and nibs.” Nibs can be used in cooking, added to granola, cakes, cookies, muffins, and breads, as well as used to make hot chocolate. Nibs are one of the least processed cacao products. They are dried, fermented, and cracked into small pieces. Unroasted nibs are called raw cacao nibs. They have a bitter chocolate flavor. They are low in sugar and are a healthier alternative for chocolate lovers.  

When the Herald pressed Mahon on the healthy qualities associated with high percentages of cacao, she replied, “It is antioxidant rich naturally, it has a small amount of natural caffeine in it, and there is much less sugar in it,” she started explaining. “We never use any artificial sweeteners or corn syrup; we only use a minimal amount of pure cane sugar. Our lowest cacao percentage is 58%, with most of our chocolate being 70%, and we have a few at 80%. It is gluten, soy, and dairy free, with an occasional exception on dairy.”

Mahon also mentioned that the Great Lakes Tart Cherries used in some of their products comes from Door County. “Sometimes dried fruit sits awhile and gets hard. These cherries do not and are fresh from Door County. Within the chocolate bar, they are soft.”

For more information, you can go tabal’s website, at www.tabalchocolate.com or call Dan Bieser, at 414-585-9996. They are located at 7515 Harwood Avenue, in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, 53213. They have choclate that comes in from Thailand, Ecuador, Columbia, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and more.

The Salsa Man’s Wisdom and Salsa from Watertown

Brian Schmidt journeyed up from Watertown, Wisconsin, and had his booth set up in the southeastern corner of the gymnasium. If any craft-show goers had a hankering for chips and salsa, Schmidt had them covered in spades. He was selling fresh, homemade salsas, homemade chips, and hot sauces. When asked where he sets up to sell his products, Schmidt raised the ears of the Herald with a surprising answer. “I do a lot of farmer’s markets and I sell to food stores as well.”

Taken aback from a man who makes his own salsa selling to food stores, the Herald pressed Schmidt on which stores he sold to. “I sell to Woodman’s, Piggly Wiggly, and Sentry. It is out there as much as it can be, in the Milwaukee, Madison, and Northern Illinois area, as well as Waukesha, Menominee Falls, Rockford [Illinois], and Beloit.”

The Herald queried Schmidt on how much he can produce in a week’s time. “I used to do the event at the State Fair, and if I need to, I can do 1,000 lbs. a week. I would be busting my tail, but I can do it.”

Stunned by Schmidt’s 1,000 lbs. statement, the Herald asked if he could do that 1,000 lbs. by himself, and Schmidt clarified that he could.

Schmidt started on his salsa creating journey in 2010. “When I first started doing farmer’s markets, people would come up to me and offer suggestions, ideas, or some service they could offer,” Schmidt shared with the Herald. “As you’re going along, on your venture, you come across these pieces of the puzzle, as I call them. You pick them up [pieces of information/puzzle pieces] and store them for future use. It can be people who used to me in business, who basically offer you mentorship. Since 2010 I have been collecting many pieces to the puzzle, and while I do not have the complete puzzle, I have gotten a long way with the ones that have come my way.”

“When I look back at the way I used to put my business together, compared to how I do it today … well, I used to work in some ridiculous ways, that made my work more cumbersome and difficult. I have adapted to easier and more streamlined functionalities. I am so much faster and efficient now. All of sudden you wake up one day and everything is running smooth.”

You can reach the Salsa Man on his Facebook page: The Salsa Man’s Salsa, or on his website, at www.thesalsamanssalsa.com

A Travel in the Third Dimension Design with CraftZilla   

As the Herald traversed the craft labyrinth at Sparta High, a long table was set up with 3-D sculptures, ranging from samurais to octopuses and dragons to sharks. It seemed to be the displayed items that passersby would gravitate towards, as it is something fresh in the market. As potential customers investigated the 3-D pieces, they were astounded by the intricacy of each item, and the incredible detail. When someone picked up the samurai, they said “Wow, I thought this was a cloth item, but it is solid!” The astonishing characteristic of the samurai was that when you held it, it was loose as a goose, with all parts moving and flexible. But when set on the table, it stood on its own, as a solid piece.

The owner, Stacey Oehrke, was all smiles as she conversed with customers. Oehrke is out of Verona, Wisconsin.

“I have been doing this pretty much since covid started,” Oehrke said. “It started out as a hobby but has turned into a little business.”

To get a better look for yourself, you can go to the CraftZilla website, at www.craftzillabyjs.com To get a 10% discount, use the word NEWTEN.

Greg and the Easter Bunnies and Gnomes

Greg Ratajczyk, out of Winona, Minnesota, started coming to the Sparta Craft Show in 2006. Ratajczyk says that he will do around 80 shows in a year. He says that there is a group of them out of Winona that do craft shows. “We do a lot more during Fall and Christmas, and our items on the shelves will change with the seasons,” Ratajcyzk said.

“Today I am just kind of doing a clearance sale, with everything being sold for half price. But when you see me again in November, my items will not be half off,” Ratajcyzk quipped.

In addition to the hats, mittens, gnomes, and Easter bunnies, Ratajcyzk informed the Herald that he has a candle line that started four years ago and has become quite popular. “We are getting a following with our candles; people love the candles,” he stated. “They are 100% soy, which means no soot. They are all hand poured, and we use thicker jars because people will get 80 hours out of them.” While he works in conjunction with many creatives, Ratajcyzk spearheads the artistic effort.

While Easter bunnies and gnomes were prevalent in Greg’s display on Saturday, he informed the Herald that in the Fall, scarecrows, reindeer, and snowmen will make their way onto the shelves.