Novak Creative Exchange

11/03/2025

Thanks Intuition Brewing! Open mic was a fun one!

Open mics like this one are a great way for people to play music, tell stories, and do something creative. Even if you’re new. Even if you’re nervous. You’ll have supporters cheering you on. Join a group of old friends and you may just meet some new ones!

10/22/2025

It may not be as big as ‘The Largest Ball of Twine in Minnesota ™’ in nearby Darwin, but our ball of XLR cables is still pretty impressive, if we do say so ourselves… 🤘

Darwin MN Twine Ball

(Outdoor music season is drawing to a close, so now is the time to clean up our cables and get them wrapped up nice, just in time for the next batch of shows!)

10/21/2025

Tonight was our first social as members of the New London Chamber of Commerce. It was a great night of conversation and discussion at Goat Ridge Brewing Co. Thanks everyone the hospitality!

10/19/2025

10/17/2025

Maria Novak of Painted Pixie by NCE will be painting faces and helping celebrate the season both today and tommorow at Brand Farms in Farmington! They have quite the exciting operation and the weekend is going to be full of fun events, great vendors, and rustic visuals.

Remember all of you Minnestotans: MEA also stands for ‘Most Exciting Art!’

It's MEA weekend and we are open!!!

U-Pick apples and pumpkins, hayrides, all activities, food, fun and so much more!!

Apples available on U-Pick:
~Haralson
~Honeycrisp
~Honeygold
~Fireside
~SnowSweet
~SweeTango

If you're lucky, you will get me as your hayride driver and get the very best learning opportunities on the hayride wagon.

Did you know we have speakers on all our wagons?
Do you know as we go to the activities and apple field, we discuss farming, chickens and apples?

We do our best to give you the best experience here on our real working dairy farm and the audio on the hayride wagons helps us tell you what's happening on the farm.

We are open daily 10am to 6pm all MEA!

Dont forget about our evening glow event this Saturday night! We still have some tickets available. Check out the details here:
https://brandfarms.ticketspice.com/glow-event

See you this weekend!

~Farmer Aaron

10/14/2025

Got to work another great show with The Stand Ups, this time at Luceline Orchard over by Watertown. It may have been a little grey out, but the event was still jumping and the scope of the activities was huge! Great food, vendors, games, music (of course), and a beautiful scenic view all around.

If you haven’t had a chance to visit Luce Line when they are doing their thing, do yourself a favor and check them out!

10/07/2025

This is a special one!

The Rural Voice series is in its fourth year and has been a huge catalyst for important conversations to happen in venues from rural cities across the state of Minnesota.

Kyle from NCE was able to join forces with host Kerri Miller and members of Minnesota Public Radio! It’s always such a treat to work with this incredible group. Earlier in September, one of the stops was Willmar, right in our own back yard!

The venue? Foxhole Brewhouse. The discussion? Highlighting the area’s beautiful mix of cultures, talking about the city’s history, and being real about what we can do to continue to strengthen a community that also faces challenges. The atmosphere? A full house with passionate stories, keen observations, and analysis on how the area has taken steps forward while also realizing there is still work to be done.

NCE engineered, recorded, and assisted in the production of this event for broadcast on MPR.

An extra shout out to Teresa McFarland, Kelly Smith, and the Southwest Initiative Foundation.

Check out the full recording here:

Rural Voice traveled to Willmar, Minn., in September to talk about how rural communities can thrive when they welcome new arrivals to Minnesota.

09/28/2025

A beautiful autumn night and the Dam Jammers. What a pairing!

09/27/2025

Excited to be working with the Dam Jammers again! Tonight is going to be quite the party. 🎵🎤🎸🥁🎉

Looking forward to this one, always a good time at the Saukinac!