September Rolls Around.

by Karen ReedEvent NewsPosted on No Comments

We have quite a few events happening this month! Friday the 19th from 3-7 The Blair Farm and Bakery will be hosting a pop-up shop. They will have all kinds of goodies for sale. Stop in and pick up some homemade bread and beyond! Saturday the 20th we are hosting a meet and greet for House of Representatives candidate Cheri Koochel. Come in and ask questions and see if she is the Representative for you! The Ottawa County Arts and Humanities Council is having events all month. Check out their Facebook Page Here for their full schedule and signing up. It’s also our last Final Friday for the year. We are so happy we could share these events with the community. If you are interested in renting our venue for your event please check out our calendar and see if your date is open!

New Mural and Upcoming Events

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We are so happy with how our new mural came out. It’s been titled “Western Night Lights”, It adds a new dimension to our patio space. We have really been grateful for how may days the weather has been nice enough for activities.

Our next upcoming Final Friday flyer

July Final Friday, Mural Unveiling!

by Karen ReedEvent NewsPosted on No Comments

This month for Final Friday we are introducing vendor tables to the mix. If you have produce or products to sell come set up shop for an evening in downtown Minneapolis. We are having a by donation hot dog feed, bring your own beverage this month! Karen has been working hard to get the mural on the patio finished and it will be ready for unveiling this month. Come out, play some games, listen to some music, do some local shopping and have a great evening!

Final Friday Announcement!

by Karen ReedEvent NewsPosted on No Comments

We are excited to announce Final Fridays! These events are open to everyone! What better way to create and get to know community than food, drinks, and fun! For this month we will be having Prairie Fire Catering with their food truck, Gypsy Pony Mobile Bar for drinks, Oak Grove Radio providing Vinyl Dj on the patio. We will have games and Art inside! We are looking forward to hosting these events every final Friday through September.

Busy with doing!

by Karen ReedEvent NewsPosted on No Comments

It’s been a busy April so far. We started the Sacred Women’s Circle and weekly meditation classes. Tux fittings for prom and rentals for graduation. But something fun that’s happening this weekend. The Ottawa County Arts & Humanities council is hosting Homegrown Voices: A poetry and music celebration! Saturday April 19th at 7:00 pm.

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.

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!