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Here are a selection of brief news items pertaining to arts, entertainment, culture and other fun things to do in your spare time:
Jazz Party features 5 Midwestern bands
A mid-July afternoon and evening of great jazz is planned for Riverside Park in La Crosse.
The Great River Big Band will host the Riverside Jazz Party from 2-9:30 p.m. Sunday, July 20, at the band shell. The free concert is an extension of Western Wisconsin’s Jazz Repertory Orchestra’s Gertrude Salzer-Gordon Jazz in the Park Concert Series. The rain site is the Green Island Ice Arena.
“It’s a way for us to introduce jazz to a wider audience and provide a superb cultural opportunity for the residents of our communities,” said Great River Big Band director Greg Balfany, chair of the UW-La Crosse music department.
The “party” features five popular groups from the Midwest and concludes with a performance from internationally acclaimed trumpeter and vocalist Byron Stripling.
The schedule includes:
2 p.m. — The Bones Band
3 p.m. — The John Paulson Quartet
4 p.m. — Somethin’ Jazz
5 p.m. — The Bones Band
6:30 p.m. — Air National Guard Jazz Band of the Midwest
7:30 p.m. — Byron Stripling & The Great River Big Band.
The “Riverside Jazz Party” features no gated entrance, buttons or admission fees. It is funded by corporate sponsors, individual donors and others. Food and beverages will be available for purchase. Bench seating is limited; bring a lawn chair or blanket.
Michelle Lynn to perform at Timbers
Singer-songwriter Michelle Lynn will perform Saturday, July 26, at the Timbers in Onalaska, 426 Second Ave. S.
Lynn has drawn comparisons to Fiona Apple, Tracy Bonham, Tracy Chapman and Ani DiFranco, combining in her music elements of bluegrass, gospel, reggae and blues.
Lynn will perform at the Timbers from 6 to 8 p.m. and also is scheduled to perform at 1 p.m. at Arts on the River in Trempealeau on Sunday, July 27.
To learn more about Lynn or listen to some of her music, log onto www.myspace.com/ michellelynnsongs.
Annual ag museum show set for Aug. 1-3
The Western Wisconsin Agricultural Museum will hold its 37th annual show Aug. 1-3 on Highway 27 between Cashton and Westby.
An antique show will feature vehicles, models, gas engines and tractors and machinery. Field demonstrations will include corn shredding, feed grinding, threshing, rock crushing and a saw mill.
Events for the kids include a tractor pull, sawdust pile, barrel train and games.
A $5 button is good for the whole weekend, and kids 12 and younger are admitted free.
Museum plans evening of sea poetry
WINONA, Minn. — The visual and literary arts will combine Tuesday, July 29, when the Minnesota Marine Art Museum hosts Winona’s poet laureate for an evening of sea poetry.
Poet Laureate James Armstrong will give readings from a selection of poems about the sea, and attendees are encouraged to bring favorite sea poems or book passages to share. Armstrong is an English professor at Winona State University and has had two collections of poetry published.
The free program will run from 6 to 7:30 p.m. and wine and cheese will be served. The public is invited to attend this free event.
For more information about the Minnesota Marine Art Museum, call (507) 474-6626 or visit www.minnesotamarineart.org.
Norwegian choir to perform in Onalaska
The La Crosse Area Convention and Visitors Bureau together with the Sons of Norway Wergeland Lodge has announced a concert by Sangkoret Oyeren, a 115-member choir from Norway.
The choir is celebrating its 20th anniversary by visiting the United States, and they will be touring and performing in La Crosse, Decorah, Iowa, and St. Paul. The concert in the La Crosse Area will take place at the Onalaska High School auditorium on Sunday, July 27, at 7 p.m.
Tickets for the concert are now on sale at the La Crosse Area Convention and Visitors Bureau in Riverside Park in downtown La Crosse; Dregne’s Scandinavian Gifts in Westby; Festival Foods Stores in La Crosse, Holmen and Onalaska; Quillin’s Food Stores on French Island, the Village Shopping Center and Shelby; Leitholds Music in downtown La Crosse; and Norskedalen in Coon Valley.
Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door. Youth tickets for those 18 and under are $8.
The choir was established in 1988, and the members are from the regions surrounding Oslo, Norway.
Fort McCoy fish contest runs to Sept. 1
Pine View Recreation Area Campground at Fort McCoy will host its annual fishing contest through Sept. 1.
The contest is open to the public. All fish must be caught in Fort McCoy waters, registered at the campgrounds office, building 8053, within 24 hours and can't be frozen.
Anglers must follow all applicable Fort McCoy and state regulations and possess state of Wisconsin and Fort McCoy fishing licenses/permits. Personnel can purchase all of these items at the Pine View Campgrounds office.
Participants in the Fort McCoy fishing contest can enter fish in one of six categories: largemouth bass, rainbow trout, crappie, catfish, bullhead and bluegill. Prizes will be awarded by weight and limited to one per person. A first- and second-place prize will be awarded in each category.
For more information, call Pine View at (608) 388-3517.
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