The 37th annual Art in the Park fine art festival in Lanesboro, Minnesota on Saturday, June 17 features 90+ fine art booths, excellent live music, craft beer and community food vendors, and family art activities in the midst of mature shade trees in the beautiful setting of Sylvan Park. The event is held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Please note the change from prior years: June 17 is the Saturday before Father’s Day. Hosted by LANESBORO ARTS, a multidisciplinary nonprofit with a 35+ year legacy of supporting art and artists in the scenic Lanesboro area, the annual Art in the Park festival is southern Minnesota’s longest running fine art fair! Renowned for quality, variety and value, Art in the Park attracts thousands of regional patrons to Sylvan Park in Lanesboro each year.
The focal point of Art in the Park is, of course, the art! Fine art booths encircle Sylvan Park underneath canopies of shade, featuring a wide variety of handmade work by artists from throughout the greater Midwest. There will be paintings, photography, fine jewelry, textile rugs and quilts, hand thrown ceramics, lighted sculptures made of natural materials, stained glass, blown and fused glass sculptures, artworks utilizing reclaimed wood, stoneware clay pottery, metalwork, woven baskets, whimsical welded yard art, and more.
Starting off the day at 10 a.m is Jaybone Bell, aka Jason Ziebell — the chief songwriter and vocalist of celebrated Winona roots act “Jaybone Bell and Restless Light.” A solo artist currently based in based in southeast Wisconsin, Jason’s distinctively smooth singing voice drives a sound comfortably centered in Alt-Country, Americana, and roots music.
Taking the gazebo stage at 11:45 a.m. is Maritza, a Decorah based quartet whose repertoire includes evocatively beautiful melodies forged in the passionate history of Europe and Russia, lively Jewish wedding dance horas and frailachs, Gypsy music, and twisting rythmic line dance tunes from Bulgaria, Romania, Macedonia and Greece.
Performing at 1:45 p.m. is Little Fevers, a sweet and crunchy amalgamation of pop rock. Comprised of musicians who, having operated as longtime collaborators in Lucy Michelle & the Velvet Lapelles, have honed their craft traveling the country together for several years. Invoking the playfulness of bands like Pavement and the Violent Femmes, and vocal textures of idols such as Peter Gabriel and The Microphones to form something all their own.
The Yellow-Bellied Sapsuckers, the final musical act of the day at 3:30 p.m., perform original songs and tunes inspired by the classic hillbilly, country-duo, and old-time musical traditions–and also mines this same repertoire for forgotten gems that deserve to be heard again. Based in Soldiers Grove, Wis., the Sapsuckers (Nikki Grossman and Joe Hart) perform frequent concerts, as well as square and contra dances, and are known for the light touch and sense of humor they bring to their performance.
Attendees will enjoy delicious and locally prepared foods at booths hosted by volunteers from local organizations. Back by popular demand, Lanesboro Arts will host the “Curry booth,” serving egg rolls, curry and rice, condiments and salads of locally-grown produce, in partnership with Pedal Pushers Café of Lanesboro. Also available will be pulled pork sandwiches (Friends of Lanesboro Library), brats, hot dogs & pickles (Lanesboro Area Chamber of Commerce), and tacos (Lanesboro Public Schools’ Tex-Mex Trip). The Farmers Market will offer healthy snack stands, and the Lanesboro Community Theater will sell ice-cold pop, lemonade, and water. Lanesboro Arts will also host the famous pie and ice cream booth, serving fresh pies including peach, cherry, blueberry, rhubarb, and apple (and coffee and ice cream to go with your slice of pie). Returning to Art in the Park in 2017 will be craft beer provided by Kinney Creek Brewery of Rochester and Island City Brewery of Winona.
In honor of Father’s Day weekend and to promote artistic creativity, Lanesboro Arts will host an art activity booth for kids and families of all ages with all supplies provided. A henna artist and face painter will have their own booth set-up. Sylvan Park contains a brand new playground, and ponds on the north side of the park are known for good fishing.
Art in the Park is sponsored by Wisconsin Public Radio and made possible by support from the City of Lanesboro and the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund. Lanesboro Arts has been providing year-round arts programming for more than 30 years. Its mission is to serve as a regional catalyst for artistic excellence and educational development in providing diverse art experiences for people of all ages. For more information call (507) 467-2446, email adam@lanesboroarts.org, or visit www.lanesboroarts.org.
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