Wausau, Wisconsin: Wausau’s 25th annual Artrageous Weekend, Saturday and Sunday, September 6 – 7, offers fun for all ages during north central Wisconsin’s biggest art extravaganza, spanning both sides of the Wisconsin River. A new organization to the event, Center for the Visual Arts, hosts the Wisconsin Regional Artists Association State Art Exhibit, on display for the first time in Central Wisconsin.
The area’s weekend favorite overflows with art. About 50,000 visitors celebrate the visual arts at four locations – Art in the Park in Marathon Park, Festival of Arts downtown, Birds in Art at the Woodson Art Museum, and the WRAA in downtown’s Center of the Visual Arts – throughout Wausau’s Artrageous Weekend.
The now four-venue, art-packed weekend offers distinct, complementary experiences, including Birds in Art Artists in Action Saturday morning at the Woodson Art Museum, the Festival of Arts 50th-anniversary celebration downtown, regional artists’ work at the CVA downtown, and an array of artisans’ handcrafted work at Marathon Park. Children’s art activities, food, and entertainment abound. All events are admission free and are linked by complimentary, handicapped-accessible, shuttle bus service. Check this website for more information and a link to a pdf of the brochure: https://www.lywam.org/wausaus-artrageous-weekend/
EASTSIDE: Birds in Art opening weekend festivities at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum coincide with Wausau’s Artrageous Weekend. Early birds who visit the Museum on Saturday morning, 9 a.m.-Noon, can meet more than seventy Birds in Art artists who flock to the Museum from all over the world for the opening festivities. The 2014 Master Artist Barry Van Dusen explains how he developed his lifelong passion for birds and watercolor painting during a presentation, 9:30-10:30 a.m.; see artists demonstrating various mediums during Artists in Action, 10:45 a.m.-Noon, Saturday, September 6. Dozens of other Birds in Art artists will be in the galleries on Saturday morning to talk with visitors and to sign catalogues and posters.
Browse galleries to see fresh artistic takes on birds by some of the world’s most talented artists in an array of mediums, portraying unexpected perspectives, amusing poses, and majestic bearing. This 39th-annual Birds in Art exhibition presents paintings, graphics, and sculptures created by 112 artists who bring a global perspective to their passion for birds. A selection of 15 luminous watercolors by 2014 Master Artist Barry Van Dusen comprise a blend of impressionism and realism. Always free admission. Special opening-weekend hours: Saturday, September 6, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday, September 7, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Birds in Art remains on view through November 16.
DOWNTOWN: Festival of Arts in downtown Wausau, on Third Street and the 400 Block, marking its 50th anniversary in 2014, offers for purchase work by over 120 juried artists representing a variety of mediums. The festive browse-or-buy strolling is enhanced by live music on two stages, a hands-on children’s art area, a children’s entertainment stage, Young Collector Market, a scholarship silent auction, and food stands operated by local non-profit organizations. Free admission. Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
DOWNTOWN: Center for Visual Arts, 427 North Fourth Street, displays the Wisconsin Regional Artists Association State Art Exhibit during its first appearance in central Wisconsin and outside of Madison for the first time in its 60-year history. Over 200 Wisconsin artists’ work remains on view through Sept. 27. The WRAA supports the Wisconsin Regional Art Program. Artwork in three CVA galleries and in the Gift Shop is available for purchase. Free admission. Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
MARATHON PARK: Art in the Park brings together more than 120 exhibitors in the East Gate Hall and Historic Exhibition Building in Marathon Park on Stewart Avenue near 17th Avenue, on Wausau’s west side. Pottery, art glass, jewelry, woodcraft, carvings, furniture, and wearable art are just a few of the many items for sale that attract visitors to this lively venue. A children’s art and craft area offers free activities and a book reading by an area author and children’s illustrator. Assorted food and beverage selections are available for purchase from local non-profit groups and businesses; ATM available. Free admission. Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Free, handicapped-accessible shuttle buses between all three locations run every 15-20 minutes from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. from designated locations: downtown at the SE corner of the 400 Block at Fourth and Jefferson streets and at Third and Franklin streets, at Marathon Park near East Gate Hall, and at the Woodson Art Museum on Twelfth Street.
For additional information contact the Festival of Arts at 715-842-1676, the Center for the Visual Arts at 715-842-4545, Art in the Park at 715-581-1484, the Woodson Art Museum at 715-845-7010, or log on to https://www.lywam.org/wausaus-artrageous-weekend, http://www.wausaufoa.org/, http://www.cvawausau.org or http://www.wivalleyart.org/
