The US Open Chainsaw Sculpture Championship is finally here! Saturday is Family Day and will be the busiest day yet. See below for a complete schedule of activities.

Dozens of volunteers have given many hours to make this event hum along. Help is still needed for both Saturday and Sunday, especially "floaters" who are willing to be placed where needed. All volunteers receive admission to the event for the full weekend plus a meal ticket. If you have a few hours to spare, spend it with us!

This event is a major fundraiser for Chippewa Valley Museums. Proceeds maintain historic buildings on museum grounds and make it possible to offer a variety of children and adult programs throughout the year. 

US Open Chainsaw Sculpture Championship Schedule

August 12-13

Family Day, Saturday, August 12, 2023 | 10 am - 9 pm

• 10 am-5 pm: Chainsaw Carving

• 10 am-6 pm: 50/50 and Basket raffle

• 10 am 6 pm: Live Mural Painting on Chippewa Valley Museum building

• 12-5 pm: Chippewa Valley Railroad Train Rides, purchase train tickets at railroad

• 12-4 pm: Anderson Log House and Sunnyview School House Open, 

• 12-4 pm: Inflatable Archery, Stump Pull, Hoop-n-Stick games 

• 12-4 pm: Ecology with Beaver Creek Reserve

• 1-4 pm: Face Painting 

• 3-4 pm: Juggling and Balloon Show
• 5:30 - 6:30 pm: Quick Carve
• 7:30 pm: Live Auction
• Food Options:
  • Pie, ice cream, rootbeer floats, starting 10am
  • Lions Club Stand: burgers, brats, hotdogs, starting 11am
  • Live Great Food Truck, 2-7pm

Sunday, August 13, 2023 | 10 am - 6 pm

• 10 am - 1 pm: Chainsaw Carving

• 12-5 pm: Chippewa Valley Railroad Train Rides, purchase train tickets at railroad

• 1 pm: Judging of Sculptures
• 3 pm: Award Ceremony
• 4 pm: Final Sculpture Auction
• Food Options:
  • Pie, ice cream, rootbeer floats, starting 10am
  • Lions Club Stand: burgers, brats, hotdogs, starting 11am
  • Live Great Food Truck, 10am-7pm

For schedule and online tickets go to uschainsawchamps.com. Admission includes entry to all museum buildings. 

General Admission - 1-Day | $20.00; Kids & Seniors - 1-Day | $10.00

General Admission - Event Pass | $34.00; Kids & Seniors - Event Pass | $18.00

Walking Tour

Forest Hill Cemetery Part III

August 17, 6:00 - 7:30

There are still a few spots left for this all-new tour led by Bob Gough and Greg Kocken, authors of Rest in Nature: A Guide to Eau Claire's Forest Hill Cemetery. 

Cost:

• $10 adult

• $5 youth/students

• FREE Museum members -- remember to login for member discount.

Each tour is limited to 20 registered participants. Start location and other details will be sent to registrants the Wednesday prior to the tour. Contact Angela at a.allred@cvmuseum.com (715-834-7871) with questions or registration assistance.

Video Bonus: Use the button below to watch promotional and supplemental video segments connected to walking tours of Forest Hill Cemetery. Videos from this year's tour will be added soon.

Repeat Walking Tour

The Sawdust City Scuttlebutt: Gossip from Eau Claire’s Past

August 21, 6:00 - 7:30

July 17th tour participants

The Sawdust City Scuttlebutt tour is on repeat. Join Jodi Kiffmeyer as she discusses some of the hot gossip from back in the day on this tour through downtown. This is the same tour that was offered in July. Registration is required with limited spots available. 

Cost: $10/adult, $8/senior, $5 youth and students

Recommended for ages 13+

Play Ball! Exhibit Expansion Opening Celebration

Baseball Stories and Ballpark Songs

August 29, 6:30 pm

COST

$12.00 per Adult
$10.00 per Senior (62+)
$5.00 per Youth and Student
FREE for museum members•

• Museum members will need to login prior to entering registration info to receive discount. No member id is needed for login, but you must know your username and password. Contact Angela for assistance: 715-834-7871, a.allred@cvmuseum.com

Day 2 of the US Open Chainsaw Scupture Championship ended abruptly -- a half-inch of rain in 20 minutes will do that. The rainbows that followed were good for the soul. Enjoy the rest of your summer.

Peace,

Carrie Ronnander
Chippewa Valley Museum Executive Director

P.S. Now for something that's not about baseball or chainsaw carving.

YMCA Camp Manitou turned 100 this summer! Thousands of Chippewa Valley residents have attended Camp Manitou. I am not a Camp Manitou alumna myself, but I've heard the tales about what happens at camp. To celebrate, Camp Manitou is hosting an all-day gathering on Saturday, August 19 and all are welcome, even those who never went to camp. There will be camp tours, music, swimming, boating, art-n-crafts, dinner in the lodge, you know, the whole camp thing. Of course, the legendary the mud hike will also take place.

Archivist Jodi Kiffmeyer has featured Camp Manitou in the weekly #ChippewaValleyHistory social media series. Below are the posts she's written, both from this year. 

Red Lodge on Long Lake with boat in front; unknown date (CVM 925400-0016-001)

Red Lodge 

It's unclear exactly when Red Lodge was built on Lower Long Lake near New Auburn. One source suggests sometime around 1891, and indeed the first mention of the place in the Chippewa Falls newspaper occurred in August 1892. At that time, it was occupied for the summer by Raleigh and Earle Chinn and their friend Frank Martin. All three young men were in their late teens; the Chinn boys were sons of a lumberman from Chippewa Falls and Martin was the son of a state senator and merchant from Chippewa Falls. No doubt they enjoyed the kind of carefree summer that wealthy teenagers might expect when setting up bachelors' quarters on a resort lake.

Many years later, Red Lodge again served as a summertime retreat for young men, when in the early 1900s the YMCA began using the property as a camp. It became the place we now know as YMCA Camp Manitou. The YMCA made use of the Red Lodge building for a brief period of time before razing it in April 1925 to construct a new lodge in the same location.

Dave Farr, Lenny Seyberth, and Dave Falstad sitting on a dock at Camp Manitou near New Auburn, 1943 (CVM 679400-0059-001)

WWII

The three boys in the first picture went to Camp Manitou in 1943. Although the country was economizing during World War II, children were still encouraged to spend at least a week of their summer in the great outdoors. According to an article printed in the Eau Claire Leader in May of that year, youth camp was even more important as "an effort to overcome tension brought about by war conditions in many homes." The article also mentioned one concession to the war--Camp Manitou asked children to bring ration stamps for the food they ate in the dining hall.