It's time to start looking ahead to spring and summer. Teen Guide Program applications open March 1. Registration for children's summer workshops open March 2 at 8:00am. April is full of new programs and events. See the museum's online calendar for upcoming programs. 

But before you get too deep into thinking about summer, here's what's happening in the next few weeks at Chippewa Valley Museums.

Annual Folk Arts Festival

Saturday, February 24, 12:00 - 5:00

The Folk Arts Festival is finally here! This colorful, fun-filled event includes music, vendors, demonstrations, presentations, hands-on activities, and food for sale in the ice cream parlor. It's one of our favorite things we do each year.

The Festival is included with museum admission. $12/adult, $10/senior, $5 Youth 5-17, Free for museum members and children under 5.

Pre-register by 5:00pm Friday, February 23 and bring your tickets for easy entrance. Walk-up admissions day of event.

Folk Arts Festival Food options:
Jay Ray's Deli
Chips & Ice Cream Novelties

Folk Arts Festival is made possible with support from Volume One and Visit Eau Claire

Art Experience: Barbara Koppang
Tuesday, February 27, 6:00-7:30pm

Get some art into your life and spend some time with artist Barbara Koppang from Oddest Goddess Art. She uses clay, natural elements, oil paint and encaustic wax to bring her sculptures from the world of the creative into the world of the created.. Hear how she incorporates myths into her art pieces. Don't miss the opportunity to join her in personalizing your own 3D sculpted figure using provided materials.

Advance registration is strongly encouraged to guarantee a spot in this program. Recommended for ages 18+

Cost: $17/adult, $15 senior, $10 student. $5 discount for museum members.

Advance registration recommended but walk-ins welcome.

Art Experience: Raymond Kaselau
Saturday, March 16, 1:00-2:30pm

Be a part of creating the first layer of a group sculpture featuring the 400 diesel train that will be completed later by presenting artist Raymond Kaselau of Empty Walls Art Collective. Enjoy a special presentation and gallery walk with the artist as part of the event. Limit: 30 participants. 

Cost: $17/adult, $15 senior, $10 student. $5 discount for museum members.

Wool Spinning Class

Saturday, March 9, 12:00-3:00 pm

Ever wonder how to spin wool? Join guest instructor Janie Mininger for an introduction to the spinning wheel, as you create your own beautiful yarns! Each student will enjoy exclusive use of a spinning wheel and receive a generous amount of roving. The class is geared for beginners and those who desire a refresher course.

Ages 13 and Older | 3 students only per class | Cost: $90/student or $80/CVM member.

Contact Karen Jacobson at k.jacobson@cvmuseum.com for details.

Summer Kids Workshops 2024

Registration Opens Saturday, March 2 at 8:00am

Time Travelers programs are offered for 1st - 5th graders at $8 per session + material fees. Classes run 90 minutes. 

• Art Adventures: Morning, June 26th General | Afternoon, June 25th OR June 26th ECASD at the Paul Bunyan logging camp

Explore artwork in Color the Chippewa Valley-Junior Edition with artist Patricia Hawkenson and take a silhouetted shapes tour of the Paul Bunyan Camp

• History Hide and Seek: Morning, July 11th General | Afternoon, July 10th OR 11th ECASD

Go behind the scenes to discover special artifacts, investigate lighting, and make a UV light detecting creature. 

• All Afloat: Morning, July 17th General | Afternoon, July 16th or July 17th ECASD

Explore early river navigation, design a wooden boat that really floats, and test your bowline and other knot tying skills

• Sunnyview Shindig:  Morning, July 24th General | Afternoon, July 23rd or July 24th ECASD at Sunnyview School 

Hear stories of one-room teachers, make and eat an edible abacus, experiment with quill pen art and learn about marbles.

Students living within Eau Claire Area School District (ECASD) boundaries should register for ECASD Only sessions on Tuesday or Wednesday afternoons to take advantage of special pricing arrangements. Chippewa Valley Museum members can participate in General Sessions on Wednesday mornings for the cost of materials.

Contact Museum Educator Karen Jacobson with any questions regarding children's programs at k.jacobson@cvmuseum.com | (715) 834-7871

Use the button below to learn more and register.

** ECASD families may register for afternoon classes on Tuesdays and Wednesdays

 Teen Guide Program

Apply starting March 1

Who: Students entering Grades 8-12
What: Service Learning Program
When: Summer 2024

Why: Meet interesting people

Develop valuable workforce and relationship skills

Go behind the scenes at the museums

Immerse themselves in local history and culture

This is a tremendous experience and often the first opportunity for many teens to try out the world of work. The program also provides much needed support for the museums during our busy summer tourist season. 

Applications and information on the Teen Guide program can be found at cvmuseum.com. For more information, contact Angela Allred at 715-598-2661 or at a.allred@cvmuseum.com.

The Folk Arts Festival is one of the museum's signature events and turns the whole place into a beehive of activity (and this year, an actual beekeeper is one of the scheduled presenters). Stop over and join in the fun. Hope to see you soon!

Peace,

Carrie Ronnander
Executive Director, Chippewa Valley Museum

PS - Parking in downtown Eau Claire has been in the news on and off for decades. Public discussions about downtown parking and traffic congestion started in earnest after World War II. Historian Brian Blakeley noted in his third volume of A History of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, "The Leader editorialized in 1946 that parking was one of the gravest issues facing Eau Claire."

The Galloway Hotel (first called Galloway House), 1920s. Built in 1873 and modified numerous times over the years, the Galloway Hotel was  replaced by Eau Claire's first downtown parking ramp in 1953. (#906000-0037-001)

The 1953 booster film Our Town Eau Claire recognized municipalities across the country were wrestling with parking issues. It praised the Eau Claire's decision to invest in a downtown parking ramp, and because it was a promotional piece, the film also implied that Eau Claire was more forward thinking than other cities. A YouTube link to the full 53-minute film is below. Go to the 6:30 minute mark for the bit about the new parking ramp. 

Below: The new parking ramp at Gibson and Farwell, 1953 (#510700-0005-001)

Shopping centers  -- Consumers Coop on Hastings Way (1947), London Square Mall (1971), and Oakwood Mall (1986) to name the big three -- developed on the edges of town and included ample free parking. London Square Mall even advertised it had parking spots for 2,200 vehicles, a far cry from the 325 stalls in the downtown ramp. In the early 1970s, the Eau Claire Downtown Development Association, formed in 1968, worked to keep people downtown by putting together a public-private hotel/civic center/parking ramp project. Today's municipal parking ramp on Farwell Street came out of that project. It opened in 1975 and added hundreds of parking stalls.

New municipal parking lot, 1975 (#510400-0004-001)

The new parking ramp and downtown hotel were not enough to stop the shift away from downtown. Changes in shopping habits, influenced by parking decisions (but not solely caused by these decisions), reshaped Eau Claire's downtown over the next few decades.

Here we are today, still talking about parking. The more activity and vehicles there are downtown, the more need there is for parking. You can think of it as a good problem to have, but it is still a problem. Downtown Eau Claire Inc (DECI) put together a survey to help inform city government's plans for downtown parking.

The survey should be taken by anyone who uses downtown -- business owners, employees, residents, and visitors -- and is open through Sunday, March 3.