What insight or new discovery do you love to share? I’m not alone in considering it a privilege to champion the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum. I’m surrounded by people – staff and volunteers – whose eyes shine like a child’s with a treasure in cupped hands, saying “look what I found!”
Because so many of us love the Woodson Art Museum and the ever-changing wonders awaiting here, effervescent excitement bubbles up spontaneously in countless conversations about an artwork detail or nugget of knowledge gleaned from an artist’s presentation. It’s particularly gratifying, though, when that same excitement is palpable after just one Museum visit, prompting visitors to write glowing comments in the digital guestbook, sculpture garden comment wall, or TripAdvisor reviews.
My husband and I just returned from Canada, visiting trip advisors of our own – a daughter-in-law and son who’s beginning his second year as a graduate student conducting forest-health research at the University of Alberta in Edmonton.
Having camped and hiked nearly every weekend this spring and summer near Jasper National Park and the Icefields Parkway, they were the perfect guides for our first trip to see the Canadian Rockies. Beyond packing excellent gear – toasty down sleeping bags and not-so-comforting, mildly alarming bear spray – they knew where to go and what to avoid. Our tour was infused with mountain-goat and elk sightings and the backstory of the mountain pine beetle invasion, evident in spreading swaths of red, dying lodgepole pines that will be tinder-dry fuel for future forest fires.
First-hand impressions, knowledge, and recommendations provide valuable insight, guiding decisions for all of us about how to invest our often-scarce and precious time.
Consider snippets from some recent Woodson Art Museum TripAdvisor reviews:
• “42nd Annual Birds In Art – By far one of the best juried exhibits at the Museum. Thank you to all of the artists, staff and Woodson family for your efforts. Please allow adequate time in your schedule to enjoy your tour.”
• “Got an hour? Kids? Grandparents? Single? Go see this! – Easy to find. Easy to park. Easy to stroll, sit, and view. Helpful staff. Free admission. The fall show Birds is a great show. Inside or outside you can find pieces filled with fun, humor, reality, and in flight. Very worth your time and support.”
• “Birds In Art Juried Show – The first Saturday after Labor Day the Woodson Art Museum has a show of bird art – pictures and sculptures from artists around the world. The quality and diversity of the works were amazing. On opening day, many of the artists were there (from all over the world) and happy to talk with visitors. One artist said there is nothing like this anywhere in the world! Each work had a short description from the artist about the work – why they chose the particular subject, the materials, and/or challenges in making it which was personal and engaging. It is free and open through November.”
• “Great Museum; Don’t Miss – This is a ‘Best of’ Wisconsin and definitely a ‘Don’t Miss’ for Wausau. . . This is a treasure in Central Wisconsin!”
• “Among the best exhibits in the world – The exhibit of birds in art is epic. Not just one medium but many. Large, small, humorous, serious hard to imagine the creative vehicles of expression. If you are going to be in the area this is a must see. Oh, and did I say it’s free?”
After our stay at our favorite Canadian Beck couple’s “Air B & B,” – both in their charming abode and spiffy loaned tent – this is my unabashedly partial, glowing review. It eases the parting to focus on the next upcoming visit; they’ll be home for Christmas.
As you peruse a few of the Museum’s TripAdvisor reviews, plan your next frequent visit. Who can you invite along to take in the view with you?
