Monthly Archives: October 2017

art, Community, Local, Outdoors, Winona

Winona’s 10 Annual Family Art Day

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Parents and children gather excitedly Saturday morning Sept. 2, 2017 at Jaycee’s Pavilion in Winona’s Lake Park for the tenth annual Family Art Day.

Sponsored by a grant from the Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council this event helps introduce children to a variety of art mediums that may not be available to them otherwise.

Winona’s River Arts Alliance board runs the event with help from Winona Parks and Recreation and the Winona State University Art Department.

Aundra Arre paints on mural boards set up in Jaycee’s Pavilion for Winona’s tenth annual Family Art Day last Saturday.

With two years on the board under her belt, event coordinator Tove Wiggs said she was eager to help organize Family Art Day.

Wiggs said “Many people who volunteer are from the arts community, art supporters, a handful of WSU students and members of the River Arts Alliance board.”

“The River Arts Alliance has all sorts of different artists as members and friends of the organization,” Wiggs said.  “I just really wanted to expand into some of the forms of art that are beyond 2D and 3D; into music, movements and poetry.”

With 23 art activities, around 30 artists, live music and food from Rubio’s, the event was busy from the start, with numbers close to the 550 people who participated in 2016 according to Wiggs.

The art stations included familiar arts like water color, pottery, finger painting and beading while adding more unique art mediums like movement arts, weaving, poetry, cosmic knots and wood carving with wire.

Potter Mickey Maslowski explains how to make designs on a pot while Kara Reller and her one-year-old son, Stevie, observe.

“I had a number of people that I ran into this week that told me they were really excited,” Wiggs said. “Their kids have been looking forward to this and asking about it.”

The Minnesota Marine Art Museum has participated in this event for 10 years.

This year, the museum introduced a type of art that included a small history lesson called cyanotype.

Cyanotype is photographic printing process that uses the sun to expose a special cyan paper to produce images of objects laid on top of the paper, some artists would use this medium to document plants along the Mississippi River.

“This isn’t just for kids, parents are doing activities too,” Wiggs said. “While this is primarily for children adults have just as much fun being here and trying things out too.”

Volunteer potter Amanda Griggs shows Odin Prigge-Mavl, 5, how to raise a pot at Family Art Day on Saturday outside Jaycee’s Pavilion.

During Family Art Day families can sit down with individuals who make their living as artists and learn from them.

Artists come from surrounding communities and sometimes from outside the state.

Like Sarah Johnson from La Crosse, Wisconsin is trained as a mental therapist and practices multi-media art as her hobby. She said she often uses art to aid in therapy.

“This is the first year I have been involved in this and I think it’s awesome,” Johnson said. “I’m loving watching the families creating art together, it’s really cool and makes me really proud of Winona.”

After hearing about the event from a friend, Johnson said she decided to become one of the artist volunteers.

“It’s right up my alley, I love are and love young people and seeing their creativity, anything that builds community I support.” Johnson said.

Brewery, Community, Events, Local, Outdoors, Winona

Big Muddy Brew N’ Que

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Winona’s Levee Park was the site of the second annual Big Muddy Brew N’ Que during Labor Day weekend.  People from Winona and the surrounding area had the opportunity to experience live music, wine and beer tasting, a bean bag toss tournament, and barbeque tasting.

The Clams’ Alex Miller and Eric Wittenburg, perform classic hits for all ages during the first day of the Big Muddy Brew N’ Que.

 

The Big Muddy Brew N’ Que had a new layout this year.  Due to construction at west end of Levee Park, the location was moved to the east end or the park near Godfather’s Pizza.  Another first, was expanding the event to a two-day event.

Joe Piper competes in the second annual Big Muddy Brew N’ Que bean bag tournament.

 

Ben Knuesel, 27, of Winona attended last year’s event, and was pleased with how the second year improved.

“It was fantastic,” Knuesel said, “Last year was the first time we had something like this on the levee, and utilizing the river, which is a big part of Winona.”

Winona’s Awesome Eats food truck offered their barbeque pulled pork sandwich at the Big Muddy Brew N’ Que at Levee Park.

 

Co-founder of Insight Brewing from Minneapolis, Ilan Klages-Mundt, returned to his hometown to experience the event for the first time.

“It’s awesome to try local beer, so for people to hear that we’re from here,” Klages-Mundt said, “there’s a little bit of pride to bring the beer back to Winona.”

Klages-Mundt said he couldn’t attend last year’s event he said he was pleased with the professionalism and organization of the second year’s event.

Klages-Mundt said the venue made the experience seem busy, but not over-crowded.

“It felt like there was a really good energy the whole time,” Klages-Mundt added, “People came back to the booth multiple times, and I didn’t hear any complaints.”

Community, Outdoors

Winona County: Helping Complete your Bucket List

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Most people I know have a bucket list, you know that list of things that you want to do before you kick the bucket. And for some, their list may be filled with things they will probably never get to do. However, for those of us who live, work, and go to school in Winona County there are activities to experience, that someone may never have thought of, to add to their list.

One of these is hiking up the bluff in John Latsch State Park, near Lock and Dam 5, just north of Winona. This might not sound like a big deal, but if you take into consideration that you have to hike 405 feet straight up the hill it becomes a little more of a challenge, something each Winona County resident has to do at least once in their lifetime. This is the challenge that I took up, on a sunny Sunday afternoon. Yes, I have done this hike before, however unlike some things on my bucket list, this was not a been there done that situation. On this day it was a I have been there and done that but I’m going to do it again situation.

Over 550 stairs wooden stairs make up the “Riverview Trail” in John Latsch State Park.

The sign at the beginning of the “Riverview Trail” said that this journey would be difficult and would take about an hour, I was ready. The trail consists of over 550 stairs and after 30 or so I began to get tired. A reason for doing this hike more than once is that you never see the same thing twice.

Ripe berries, are one of the things that, can be seen in the late summer along the “Riverview Trail.”

Different times of the year bring different stages of life to the forest, from seedlings to blooming flowers to leaves changing color in the fall. I get to see a lot of new things each time I hike up this trail. However, the best part is reaching the top, one because of the sense of accomplishment and two, the view of the river valley below.

The view of the Mississippi River valley from the bluffs overlooking John Latsch State Park make all the hard work worthwhile.

After I soaked in the view, took some pictures, and caught my breath I began the trip down the hill, which in some cases is even harder, on the legs, than the climb up. By the time I got back to the car, my legs were in pain and I was soaked with sweat, yet I was glad that I had once again made the journey. Because that is what life is, a collection of journeys.

Campus

Pedestrian Tunnels Are Open

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After more than a decade of planning, and more than a year of construction, two pedestrian tunnels under the railroad tracks adjacent to the Winona State University campus are open.

The tunnels opened in time for WSU’s Homecoming football game on Saturday, Oct. 21, 2017.

WSU received a federal funds grant in 2006 to assist with the cost of construction of two pedestrian tunnels under the Canadian Pacific rail lines that run east-west through the campus, separating the main part of campus from athletic fields.

Students, faculty, staff and community members now can safely cross the tracks by using the tunnels which also include ramps that follow Americans With Disabilities Act guidelines.

The tunnels were built after many years of research and planning, and cooperation between the university, city, county and state agencies and railroad company planners.

WSU Mass Communication Professor Tom Grier used the department’s unnamed aerial vehicle to shoot video of pedestrians using the tunnel while a train passes prior to the WSU Homecoming football game.