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.
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.
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!
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
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.
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 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!
October always comes like a ton of bricks. It is always the busiest month for us. This year, I officiated my first wedding. It was an incredible experience. I loved being there to send two people in love to the beginning of a new chapter of their lives. Every month, on the second Monday of the month, the Ottawa County Arts and Humanities Council has its monthly public meeting here at 7:00 p.m. After that, I was allowed to attend a symposium for all the Arts Councils in the state on October 11th & 12th. It was an incredible experience that will bring more opportunities to Ottawa County. It was enlightening to know how much tourism money the arts bring in. I would love to do more to bring people into the county.
Immediately following the symposium, we began getting the 8th annual Art in the Park event ready on the 14th. If anyone has ever been the head of an event run by a small group of volunteers, you will know that it is an insane amount of running around. On the day of the event, though, everything always comes together. It was a chilly event this year, but it turned out lovely! The Card Collector Corner met as well. This group is so passionate and dedicated to their hobby. They are a super fun bunch! If you are a sports fan, stop in and check it out.
This month, we have some inspiring events happening. Our first Holiday vendor market will occur on November 11th from 10 am to 3 pm. This was created and organized by Merry’s Boutique. There will be a whole afternoon of snacks and holiday shopping! I am so excited about this event. I hope it’s a fantastic success for all the vendors. There is no better way to support small local businesses than to attend these events. You can get holiday shopping in and not have to leave town. I’m always happy not to add an extra trip to Salina or Concordia.
The other event we have is a partnership with several nonprofits to provide a Friendsgiving potluck! Smokyhill Equality Coalition, LgbtqKS, and Salt City Pride are coming together to host a potluck dinner for anyone in the community who may not have a family to spend the day with. We plan on an enjoyable day with food, games, music, a hot cocoa bar, and a chance to enjoy the day and not be alone. Everyone deserves a loving space on the holidays, and we are happy to be able to provide one!
Starting this month, we will seek artists and crafters to create an open gallery and art market for December. If you would like more information, please email or message us! We will kick off the month on December 2nd for a full day of shopping and events in downtown Minneapolis. Astoria will have both the Artist Market and The Ottawa County Arts & Humanities Council will have ornament decorating.
We have some pretty exciting news. We want to add to our wedding options and ways to help the community. We made the decision to become a retailer for Jim’s Formal Wear. We have the ability to help you rent a tuxedo for any special event. Through us, you will be able to rent or buy your event tuxes and not have to leave town for fittings or pick up and return. Having this as an in-town option, we can help by eliminating shipping fees and ensuring we can keep prices low! We will have more information coming soon in the wedding section of our menu.
This summer has been brutal between the heat and being just being busy. We hosted the first Artist Reception and Fundraiser Preview for the Ottawa County Arts and Humanities Council. The event went amazingly well! I can’t wait to see these remarkable and unique art pieces hung downtown. The Arts Council had the space looking grand, with Art on the walls and a beautiful charcuterie table. The live music really brought it all together. I wish I could really express how joyful it was to see Astoria lit up and filled with people having a good time. Here are some photos from the event.
