Upper Minnesota River Meander Arts Crawl

Description

The "Persistent Energy and Enduring Nature of Art" Theme for 11th Annual Meander The 11th annual Upper Minnesota River Meander Arts Crawl will be held on October 3, 4 & 5th, 2014. The Meander is a free self-guided tour of artist studios featuring 45 local artists from 5 counties in western Minnesota. The annual event has become a tradition for friends and relatives to experience the "hidden gem" art studios, small towns and family farms to be found in the Upper Minnesota River region in western Minnesota. A Meander brochure can be downloaded from the web at: www.artsmeander.com. More information can also be found on the Meander Facebook page at www.facebook.com/MeanderArtCrawl.

For 2014-featured artist Kristi Fernholz of Appleton, MN, the Meander is an opportunity to collaborate with other artists who are "passionate, superfluid and easy going." The design Fernholz created for this year's Meander poster highlights the strength and beauty of three kinds of prairie plants. Fellow Meander artist Franz Richter of Clarkfield says that Fernholz's print of Little Bluestem grass represents persistence, the one of the Hoary Puccoon plant evokes a feeling of "endurance" and her Prairie Onion print exudes energy. Together they represent the persistent energy and enduring nature of homegrown art and the local landscape that has come to define this regional celebration.

Fernholz was chosen by a panel of local artists to design this year's Meander poster. Fernholz was born in Williston North Dakota and grew up in Milan, graduating from Lac qui Parle Valley High School in 1994. She went on to study photography and received a bachelor's degree in Fine Arts from the University of Minnesota Duluth in 1998. Today she lives on an organic farm in the Minnesota river valley near Appleton, Minn., where she pursues her passion of photographing native grasses, prairie plants and landscapes. For her day job, Fernholz is a Community Development Senior Planner for the Upper Minnesota Regional Development Commission in Appleton.

In addition to Fernholz, this year's Meander Arts Crawl features several new artists including photographer John White, Chainsaw artist Jordan Dahl of Montevideo, painters Marva (Hayes) Harms and Nancy Bergman of Appleton and blacksmith Nick Johnson of Madison.

The weekend will begin with studios opening at noon Friday, October 3th, and an opening night celebration from 4- 9 p.m. featuring the Granite Falls Walking Theatre, as well as music, food, street theater, historic tours and entertainment centered around the charming downtown shops in downtown Granite Falls. For more information on Friday's Opening Night celebration contact the Granite Falls Chamber at 320-564-4039 or visit http://www.granitefallschamber.com.

Art studios throughout the region will reopen at 9 a.m. on Saturday, October 4th, and culminate with a Belle Amour American Jazz Standards Concert at 7:30p.m. at Memorial Auditorium at 601 9th Street, Dawson, Minnesota. Tickets are available at the door and sell for $12 for Adults and $5 for Students. For more information, contact the Box office: 320-769-2955 ext. 246 or www.dawsonboydarts.org

On Sunday, October 5th, art studios will again be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The mission of the Meander artists is to foster the culture and community of local artists, to develop economic opportunities for them, and to increase exposure of the region and its attractions to those from outside southwest Minnesota. For artist Kristi Fernholz, the Meander is about "helping local artists make a living." Like the sturdy prairie grasses that push forth from the earth to create beauty every year, the Meander has put down roots and begins a second decade of creative regional expression.