What People are Saying About The Folk School

This class was way above even what I expected. I would take any class she offers in the future… I also really appreciated the care the Folk School took to make sure this went smooth, ZOOM all worked, the ingredients were sent out in plenty of time, Kerri was online if we had had any questions. Everything was great. Oh and on top of everything else, the food was absolutely delicious!

Student in Kendalyn Mckisick's online vegan cooking class

This was fantastic! Perfect combo of lecture and hands-on.

Student in Elizabeth Irving's "Chainsaws for Women" class

Fantastic class that exceeded expectations.

Student in Deb Ajango's "Wilderness First Aid" course

My daughter had a blast and is now begging to take another class. John is simply amazing at not only woodworking but working and teaching the children. The chair is proudly displayed in our living room. These classes are contagious. I can’t wait to research what other classes are offered! My 8 year old is also now begging to make something. Thank you so much!!

Hope Oom VanBennekom, parent of a child taking a Spring Break Woodworking Course

I 100% agree with Hope! My son loved this class & we are also anxious to see what other classes will be offered.

Veronica Carlo, parent of a child taking a Spring Break Woodworking Course

How I enjoy receiving your newsletters and notices of upcoming classes. Such a broad list of life-enriching adventures to choose from; fantastic! I have taken the spoon carving class twice because of the instructor, John. A wonderful positive teacher. I want to give you my support and pray that my health will allow me to take yet another class. Continue in the good works for our community.

Anonymous Donor

(To John Manthei, Instructor)

I wanted to tell you how great your class is for Scout. I can see the influence in her math skills. She has struggled with mental math, but since taking your classes it has some how ‘clicked’ for her and it is so great to see the enthusiasm she has for doing math now. It is a direct result of you, Susan and The Folk School’s efforts to give real experiences that will last them a lifetime. It has been very cool to watch Scout grow out of her discomfort with math. I am so grateful for The Folk School, so happy that my kids have access to an amazing community of all kinds of folk.

Mother of a young lady taking Folk School Woodworking Classes

Dear Fairbanks Folk School Board and Staff,

Fairbanks is a land of extremes and the folks that call Fairbanks home come from all walks of life and often live unique lifestyles. This incredible diversity is one of the reasons we love the Fairbanks community.

The Fairbanks Folk School is filling an extremely important niche in our diverse community by offering many new and unique classes and learning experiences for people of all ages. We don’t know of any other organization in Fairbanks that offers such a diversity of opportunities for such a diversity of community members. Through these activities, the Fairbanks Folk School is helping community members build stronger connections with each other and with their environment – connections that are vital to the future of our community.

We support the Fairbanks Folk School because it is exciting to be part of a creative and positive community organization. As long-time community members, we firmly believe that the Fairbanks Folk School makes Fairbanks an even better place to call home.

Carol McIntyre and Ray Hander, Folk School members

I was involved in the early years of WITW and John (Manthei) even tries to give me some of the credit for coming up with the idea as he, Phil (Marshall), Charlie (Mayo) and I sat on one of my favorite places in the world—the Tanana floodplain. But the only reason that it came to fruition is because of the energy provided by John (Manthei), Marianne (Stolz), Becca (Levey) and others whose names I can’t recall.

I have been involved in Folk School and similar organization events in Minnesota, North Carolina, New York, Canada, and others and they are all wonderful but without doubt WITW stands out above all others ….So congrats for 10 yrs of special times for people of all ages and hope that it keeps going for many more.

John Zasada, Instructor at North House Folk School in Minnesota

(Letter to Instructor John Peirce)

John,

I decided to make a Ladle after our Kuksa class. Here are some pics. I carved it with no power tools, just my hatchet and the knives I bought from the class. It is from a large birch branch I found on my property laying on the ground from a wind storm with a natural 90 in it. It has a pretty cool grain I did not expect when I selected the wood. If you look closely I also tried my hand at bending the handle. I was a little over cautious so I did not get as big of bend as I wanted. If you see the black spot in the bowl it is from a hidden branch that went through the bowl. It has a hole in it and I was wondering what you recommend to fix it. It is not a big hole but it is a slow leaker. Not a big deal for a ladle but thought I would ask in case I ran into a similar issue on a bowl. I am starting another Kuksa next week I think. The wood piece is selected but hasn’t told me what it wants to look like yet. I can’t thank you enough for the class. I have found a new love. I am planning on getting a set of Del Stubb knives and an adze in the next couple weeks. I have a 50 lb. burl I need to turn into a bowl soon too.

Jeff Rose, Student

If you have a comment or statement about The Folk School and would like to share it with the community, please contact us at 907-451-0445 or info@folk.school. Thank you!