Non-Profit
We are a non-profit family-friendly food festival based in rural Freeman, SD. The organization is guided by a 9-member Board of Directors drawn from across southeast South Dakota and the Chislic Circle.
If we make money in any given year, we are putting that money toward ensuring future years of the festival. Know that your money is always going to making the South Dakota Chislic Festival continue to be fantastic for years to come.
After setting aside the money for future years, the festival will designate area non-profits to receive grants as recognition for the work they do in our rural community.
2024 SDCF Board of Directors
“It takes a village” for a successful festival. The Festival Board of Directors is comprised of 9 members. We continue to see changes to the board membership bringing new faces and fresh ideas to our festival.
The end of 2020 saw the exit of festival founder Joshua Hofer. The board remains grateful to Joshua for having the idea that Freeman should capitalize on chislic becoming the South Dakota “state nosh.” This idea, along with funding from the city of Freeman and the Freeman Community Development Corporation, provided the foundation for our festival.
Andrea Baer, President
Andrea currently spends time working on freelance projects for small business and the rest of the time is spent taking care of her family and extended family. Her first memory was when she was young with a bunch of neighbors in Turkey Ridge South Dakota that would get together play games, make homemade ice cream and often we went out for chislic. Chislic has such a strong history of bringing together people in our community. As soon as someone mentions chislic- memories flood back of events and gatherings with friends and family. Andrea likes it best when someone else does the cooking, but when making it herself she will often grill or use her air fryer. She eats her chislic with garlic salt and crackers, the best is with family and friends.
Abby Streyle, Vice President
Abby is the manager at Meridian Corner. Abby was selected to represent South Dakota at Flavored Nation, a traveling culinary event showcasing states' iconic dishes. Abby has traveled to Columbus, OH in both 2018 and 2019 as well as Chattanooga, TN in 2019, proudly serving our state's nosh, chislic, on a national stage.
My first memory of chislic is when Marion had their chislic feed and baseball games out at the twin diamonds during the town celebration. Everyone was all gathered around eating chislic and watching the game before the fireworks show.
To Abby, Chislic is one of those foods that feels like home. She grew up with it,; had it on special occasions. She has memories of chislic growing up that are were surrounded by friends and family and that's what was for supper. “It is one of those nostalgic foods for a lot of people around here, myself included.” Abby states and went on to say “Chislic is also getting a creative twist in the last few years which I think it pretty neat. I am pretty firm that chislic should be either lamb or mutton but now it's turning into kind of a culinary technique and it's very interesting seeing what people come up with!”
Her favorite way to cook chislic is deep fried with onions and sprinkle some garlic salt or lemon pepper on it.
Jeremy Daniel, Secretary
Jeremy is a psychiatric clinical pharmacist for Avera Behavioral Health Center in Sioux Falls, SD and an Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice for the SDSU College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions. Being a transplant to South Dakota, his first memory of chislic was when his co-workers were talking about it at work; and having no ideal about it, they went and tried it after a meeting. ”I'll have to admit, I was a little skeptical of how special "little meat cubes" could be...but I'm hooked! I now take all my out-of-state friends who visit to experience chislic at various restaurants. ”
Chislic means community to Jeremy. When he came to the festival the first year, he realized it was clear people were passionate about chislic. They were so passionate, the Board underestimated the attendance! He came back the second year and it was clear the group was committed to making this festival happen. From getting to know the other board members, its clear chislic means a lot to the Chislic Belt communities, and he is honored to help keep that going. How does Jeremy like his chislic? “I'm more of a fried kind of guy, but I will eat it grilled if that's the only option. Either way, it tastes great! I'm a garlic salt plus or minus ranch kind of guy. I know people will have something to say about the ranch addition, but I promise it's not an every time thing.”
Joann Smith, Treasurer
I was raised in Emery, SD where Chislic was a community staple. The PTA sold dozen upon dozen sticks of Chislic to provide the school with athletic uniforms, musical instruments and anything else that was needed. The smell of Chislic was the smell of family gatherings on special occasions. When my husband KC Hofer and I moved back to Marion, South Dakota we came back to the Chislic Circle where we continue to create new Chislic memories with our family and friends. Our favorite way to cook Chislic is grilled with garlic, salt and pepper.
Charles Harberts
If you grow up in Freeman SD, you also grow up with chislic. You also learn that "real" chislic is lamb or mutton, not the cubed beef people like to call chislic! Like many who grew up in the area, I have many memories of getting together and eating chislic with friends and family. Stuck lamb is a staple in our community, and it has been exciting to see how the Chislic Festival has brought people from all parts of the US to Freeman.
Sam Sorensen
Sam is retired and lives now for his grandchildren and is serving his community in many ways.
Growing up in Freeman I was introduced to Chislic when I was in the 5th grade. Our family fell in love with the original Chislic -which is lamb or mutton deep fried along with garlic and crackers. Chislic on the grill is also a good match. I was mayor of Freeman and volunteered at the first South Dakota Chislic Festival in 2018 which was a BIG eye opener for our town.
Nathan Schrag
Nathan, a graduate of the University of South Dakota and a full-time farmer, is a Freeman native who grew up with Chislic as part of his life. Nathan’s hobbies include video production, sound engineering and tech support for the broader community.
Ian Tuttle
Ian is a security specialist for G4S. He first heard about chislic on the podcast CaucasTalk, where Marnette Hofer described the dish’s history and traditions in the Freedom area. He was then invited to the 2019 Chislic Festival to present the history and culinary traits of chislic’s “old world” ancestor, shashlik, a similar dish with roots in the Russian steepe and Caucasus Mountains. Chislic to Ian is the culmination of culture and methods of cooking from several groups of people, including the Germans from Russia, who created the dish in a unique way on the American Great Plains. They adapted their heritage and traditions to their new environment and these cultural adaptations are what we celebrate at the Chislic Festival. A thousand years of tradition and heritage in one place. He likes his chislic in it’s original form as shashlik, grilled and marinated in traditional spices from the North Caucasus, along with flatbread or with dumplings and with fresh drill and vinegar on the side.
Our Committees
Our committees are the operational arm of the festival. This is where the day-after-day festival work gets done. Our 2023 committees are:
Beverage - Jay Hofer & Abby Streyle
• Secure all non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages for the festival and manage the logistics and equipment needed to serve and sell beverage items.
Chislic Booth - Charles Harberts & Abby Streyle
• Organize and manage a booth selling chislic the day of the festival.
Entertainment and Exhibits - Andrea Baer and Nathan Schrag
• Provide an entertainment package that will provide festival goers with a wide range of things to do from Main Stage Entertainment to exhibits and activities for the whole family.
Historical and Culture - Ian Tuttle
• Incorporating the various element of heritage and history of Chislic on the festival grounds in an engaging and educational manner.
Infrastructure - Andrea Baer and Charles Harberts
• Provide the fundamental components of support for the festival from parking and traffic to general operations, sanitation, security/safety as well as tables, chairs and tents.
Merchandise - Andrea Baer
• Manage the design, promotion and sale of all SDCF sponsored clothing and other promotional items for the festival.
Public Relations - Andrea Baer
• Promotional arm of the SDCF to all of the festival markets.
Resource Development - Board of Directors
• Manage the financial viability of the organization including sponsorships and other festival generated income.
Vendor - Jeremy Daniels
• Solicit, select, and manage logistic decisions for all Food and Non-Food vendors.
Volunteers - Anne Pankratz
• Recruit, coordinate, and mange festival volunteers. There is no festival without our volunteers.
Our Volunteers
It takes a village. These are the people that bring the festival to life. Signup to be part of our village.
Click here to go to volunteer form.