ELLSWORTH – Pierce Pepin Cooperative Services and the Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery are teaming up to host the first Co-op, Curd and Candy Crawl from 4-7 p.m. Oct. 30 at Pierce Pepin to celebrate Cooperative Month.

The event features fried cheese curds, bounce houses, touch-a-truck, costumes and candy, flu shots, Tesla test drives and more. All are welcome at the celebration.

“We’re really excited to welcome the community in outside of just our normal membership,” Pierce Pepin Director of Marketing and Growth Dave French said. “People will see it’s not just about the bills and about the electricity, it really is a community thing.”

Cooperative Month means a lot to the two businesses. They each operate through different systems under the cooperative umbrella.

“We are owned by our members, which is very unique,” Store Manager Olivia Girdeen said. “We are owned by 200 family farms, [Pierce Pepin] are owned by their members. Those owners or members are invested into that company.”

Under the cooperative model, the community is the key, which is why the two are looking to host an event that can provide both a connection and serve to educate.

“The Creamery is a very different cooperative than what we’ve got, but us coming together and having this event together, I think it’s important to show people how different they can be but that we all have one goal in mind,” Pierce Pepin’s Maddi Smith said.

French shared a piece of Pierce Pepin’s history, mentioning that when the company started in the 1930s, there was not a reliable electric network in rural areas. That allowed the business to sprout and grow alongside residents that relied on the electricity.

“We try to, wherever we’re at, wherever we’re electrifying, improve the community,” French said. “We want to keep that [co-op] model alive.”

French said the goal is to bring back the fire and help each other toward common goals.

“When you have a co-op that is rooted in that mission of just providing community service, it helps keep that towards the top, people helping people,” French said. “That’s why we’re having this event to really celebrate Ellsworth, celebrate Pierce County.”

With Wisconsin residents running out of weekends to enjoy the weather, the cooperatives of Ellsworth are hoping people stop by and enjoy the event.

“Overall, we’re just excited to celebrate Cooperative Month. It’s been really great working with [Pierce Pepin],” Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery’s Laura Lefebvre said.