COME CHECK IT OUT

Convivium’s demonstrations are free and fun ways to witness a variety of our behind-the-scenes projects. You will see and experience new things that inspire you to connect more with food, nature, and your community.

​You can see how maple syrup is made, watch honey be extracted from our backyard beehives, and view non-traditional growing methods in our demonstration gardens. 

These demonstrations are one of three ways that we accomplish our mission of improving life through food. We offer them, along with classes and experiences, on topics that cover three (of the many) areas of the food system: the production (GROW), preparation and preservation (COOK), and the sharing and enjoyment of food (EAT).

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Convivium Demonstrations

There are a lot of projects happening throughout the year at Convivium, and a lot of work going on behind-the-scenes to make them happen! Convivium demonstrations include our demonstration gardens (May through October),  educational garden and kitchen videos, as well as in-person events (below) where you can witness some fun behind-the-scenes processes.

The dates for the in-person demonstrations change each year -- be sure to check our social media pages or sign up for our mailing list to see the current schedule.

From Sap to Syrup

Have you ever wondered how maple syrup is made? Each year, as part of our Community Mapling Project, we help Dubuque residents tap their maple tree, collect the sap, and then boil it down to make maple syrup. The syrup is then served up at our pay-what-you-can Pancake Breakfast!

Each year, while boiling down the sap, we host a demonstration where you can come see the process of converting 40 gallons of sap into one gallon of syrup.

Composting Turning

Each year, Convivium diverts over 5,000 pounds of kitchen waste from the landfill by composting. This incredible fertilizer then becomes the secret ingredient to a successful harvest in all of our neighborhood gardens each year.

​Although a lot of the magic of the composting process happens on its own, there are specific times we tend our compost bins to assist the decomposing process and invite you to come check it out!

Honey Extraction

Convivium has offsite beehives that help pollinate the many neighborhood gardens and collect nectar to make and fill their comb with honey. Once a year, we remove the extra honeycomb to extract the honey – leaving them plenty of food for the winter and returning the empty comb back into the hives in the spring (fun fact: it takes about 9 pounds of honey to make just 1 pound of comb).
The demonstration to witness and learn more about the process of extracting honey usually happens in late summer or early fall.

Our mission:
Improve life through food.

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We accomplish our mission through classes, demonstrations, and experiences that use food to foster connection to ourselves, our community and our environment. 

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Classes

Experiences