Upcoming Holiday Market

by Karen ReedEvent NewsPosted on No Comments

We are working on gathering artists, creators, makers, & crafters to participate in our 2nd annual Holiday Arts & Crafts Market. We love being able to connect our local creators with our local shoppers to give people a variety of shopping and gift options for the holidays. We are also participating in this years Gingerbread Festival. We will have children’s activities all day. From 10-12 Farm Bureau will be having Christmas Story and Craft Time. A free event for kids to come, listen to a story and make a fun craft. In the afternoon Choose Ottawa County is hosting Santa’s Workshop for kids to come and make a variety of Christmas crafts.

It was a busy summer! Moving on into fall.

by Karen ReedEvent NewsPosted on No Comments

Sometimes time just gets away from me and getting the blog updated doesn’t go as smoothly as I would like. Life is just like that sometimes. We are spending this fall working on a couple of projects and events. First event of fall is our line up in October. October 18th Oak Grove Radio 98.5 is bringing The Blackout Tour to our space. This is a Kansas Punk/Hip-hop show. A first for us. You can visit OakGroveRadio.com for more information. They are asking for a $10 donation at the door for this show. On October 19th we are hosting a 90’s Halloween party for friends and community. This is just a fun get together. There will be a costume contest, all the 90’s music you could ask for, karaoke, and snacks. Visit the Facebook event Here for all the details.

We are moving forward with our back patio urban garden project with the Ottawa County Conservation District. For the winter we are putting down straw and compost manure to start getting the ground ready for next year! we are pretty excited for this project to start taking place.

May Highlights and Upcoming Events!

by Karen ReedConstruction, Event NewsPosted on No Comments

I can’t express how cool May ended up being. Oak Grove Radio used the space for the first State Of Punk event. This show was so much fun. It was an open-to-the-public show that also served as a secondary live recording studio. These artists brought so much energy to the space. Their music wall all different kinds of punk and all kinds of fantastic! Oak Grove Radio is a wonderful addition to our little town and if you would like to hear more out of them tune your FM dial to 98.5 or listen online at www.oakgroveradio.com 

We had a little bit of downtime at the end of the month and took the opportunity to spruce up the inside a little bit. We know that our floors had a whole lot of character to them and as much as we wanted to refinish them into their original glory that is just not much of an option with the level of damage, they had to them in their last 110 years. We made the decision to go ahead and paint them as a temporary upgrade until we can have new flooring put in. It’s a great improvement! Our next project coming up is to finally get the front façade painted and getting some bigger signage. If you see me up on a ladder, give me a wave!

Upcoming Events-

June 7th Ottawa County Arts & Humanities Pinot and Pallet group painting event

June 10th Ottawa County Arts & Humanities Monthly Meeting 7pm

June 30th  Open Studio 2-5 pm

July 6th Electric Sandbox EDM Show

July 11th Start of the Youth Summer Art Progam. Visit their site for more information

July 20th The Ephinji’s Live Band- More Details to come

State Of Punk

by Karen ReedEvent NewsPosted on No Comments

Oak Grove Radio is bringing an incredible show with State Of Punk! Five bands will be coming in with music across the punk genre. This show will be a first for us and we can’t wait to see you there!



April is Poetry Month!

by Karen ReedEvent NewsPosted on No Comments

We are jumping on board with poetry month and opening up our space for The Ottawa County Arts & Humanities Council to host their project Immersion. This will be an evening of readings, open mic, and live music. Snacks and refreshments. From poets.org

National Poetry Month

Launched by the Academy of American Poets in April 1996, National Poetry Month is a special occasion that celebrates poets’ integral role in our culture and that poetry matters. Over the years, it has become the largest literary celebration in the world, with tens of millions of readers, students, K–12 teachers, librarians, booksellers, literary events curators, publishers, families, and—of course—poets, marking poetry’s important place in our lives. 

The Busy Season Begins!

by Karen ReedEvent NewsPosted on No Comments

I am so happy that I can feel spring in the air. Even on cold days and the random snow, there is a little green, a few flowers,  the sun just feels warmer. That means we are getting ramped back up for spring events! We are kicking things off by opening up our formal wear! As a venue, we want to ensure that even if you aren’t having an event here, we can have you looking amazing wherever you go. We can get you fitted and set up with a suit or tux from Jim’s Formal Wear for your wedding, prom, or other event. We don’t want you to have to leave town if you don’t have to. We provide flexible by appointment hours to fit your schedule. We also give all Ottawa County Residents a 10% discount off the retail price! And book Astoria now for your graduation parties before that week is completely full!

Upcoming events

April 6th—Merry’s Boutique hosts a Spring Shopping Pop-up and Ladies’ Night! She will have daytime shopping and ladies’ night with FREE lingerie (FCFS), drinks, snacks, and even more SHOPPING!

April 26th—Immersion: Poetry, Open Mic, Live Music. Presented by The Ottawa County Arts & Humanities Council. Join us for an evening where we explore the world through immersive poetry readings, unleash your creativity on the open mic, and explore the harmony of poetry and rhythms together with live music. A suggested donation of $5 is requested.

May 18th – State Of Punk: Presented by Oak Grove Radio. Five Bands from across the state and across the genre. $10 suggested donation. All Ages. Byob

The Bitter Cold of January and Upcoming Events in Spring!

by Karen ReedEvent News, ThoughtsPosted on No Comments

The December Gallery and Creators Market wrapped up. I couldn’t have been happier to see how many artists showed up, most of them local and some from as far as Wichita and Dodge City. I hope that all the items purchased for gifts were thoroughly enjoyed by their recipients. I cannot thank the Artists and Creators who shared their works and allowed us the opportunity to work together. Without them, the market wouldn’t have been possible!

We were really hoping to use the month of January to get caught up on some of the renovations that are still in progress. Unfortunately, it was bitterly cold, and the upgrade we were working towards was upgrading our heating system. It was far too cold to get the work done indoors, and those projects will come together in time.

February brings in some very awesome news! We are so excited to announce that we are now working with Jim’s Formal Wear to be able to rent and sell tuxedos and suits! We are working on ways to provide discounted rates to those in Ottawa County to help make prom season and weddings a little easier and stress-free! Being local and living so close to Astoria will allow us to be able to get fittings and orders at times convenient for you. Not having to drive to Salina, not having to take time out of work/school days, and getting a special local rate are huge benefits.

In additional community news! We can finally move forward with our goals for a community pantry! This week, we are purchasing two used newspaper machines that we will convert into a community pantry for anyone with a need. These are also going to join with another project that we are beginning. We will be working with the Ottawa County Conservation District to turn the small plot of dirt behind Astoria into an urban community green space! We are planning on having a few raised garden beds to be used for pollinator gardening and a few other options. We will work together to use this as an opportunity for classes and workshops to teach kids and adults about conservation and ways to make it work in small spaces. There will be updates and events to come as the weather warms up. If you are interested in participating in this project or would like to contribute, please let us know so we can ensure you are updated!

December Holiday Market and More Giving Back!

by Karen ReedEvent News, ThoughtsPosted on No Comments

I’ve been so excited to have the Pop-Up Gallery and Creators Market running! When I bought This building, I envisioned what it would look like. This is something entirely different. I never imagined I would have so many opportunities to help others with this space. Everything for sale in this market will impact the creator and the consumer. We all hear about how we should shop locally because it matters more. It’s hard to always see how that phrase actually helps others. For every item bought from us during this market, 80% of that sale goes back to the artist. When we help them sell one of their works, it will directly impact them. I wish I could express the feeling of knowing how much I can facilitate for my community just by having a space and being willing to manage it. I have been given the gift of being able to live my life in a way that allows me to serve others. As a way of giving back to the community members who are coming in to help support us, we will have a drawing for a $25 gift card to Gene’s Heartland Food in Minneapolis, KS. If you come into the market, you can fill out a card, and we will draw the winner on our last day of December 31st.

Happy Holidays! -Karen

Pop-up Gallery and Artist & Creators Market

by Karen ReedUncategorizedPosted on No Comments

🎨✨ Explore the Magic of Art at the Astoria Pop-up Gallery and Artists & Creators Market! 🎨✨

 December 2nd – December 30th

Calling all artists and creators! This December, Astoria invites you to be part of a unique Pop-up Gallery and Artists & Creators Market, providing you with an exclusive platform to showcase and sell your masterpieces.

 Display or sell your incredible pieces throughout the entire month of December. No booth fees or display costs – Astoria believes in supporting artists!

🎨 How It Works: 🔹 Submit your pieces with the associated artist and piece information, along with a photo and description of yourself. 🔹 All items for sale must be self-priced, with the artist’s name on the sale tag. 🔹 Artists are responsible for adjusting pricing for the 20% commission. 🔹 Provide an inventory list with all items and prices. 🔹 Make an appointment to drop off your works of art at Astoria from November 25th to November 30th and sign your consignment agreement.

🕰️ Hours of Operation December 2nd – 30th: 🗓️ Thursday: 4 PM – 7 PM 🗓️ Friday: 4 PM – 7 PM 🗓️ Saturday: 3 PM – 6 PM 🗓️ Sunday: 11 AM – 2 PM

📍 Location: 🏛️ Astoria 📍 214 W Second St, Minneapolis, KS 67467

🎉 Highlights: ➡️ Table and hanging options available. ➡️ Astoria will handle advertising, reaching a broad audience. Artists will be paid when they pick up their items from January 1st to January 6th.

📢 Act Now! Secure your spot in this vibrant artistic showcase. Submit your pieces, read and sign the consignment contract, and let your creativity shine!

For more details or to get involved, contact Karen at AstoriaCreativeCommunity@gmail.com or Message on Facebook. We can’t wait to celebrate your talent at Astoria’s Pop-up Gallery and Artists & Creators Market! 🌈🖼️ #AstoriaArtMarket #SupportLocalArtists