Art, Fishing & Community in New York Mills July 8th
Fish House Festival + Summer Celebration + Lund Mania Fishing Tournament
The New York Mills Regional Cultural Center invites the public to its 8th annual Fish House Festival on Friday, July 8, 2022, with art, fishing, community, and fun throughout the day, culminating in a raffle and live auction at 6:30 p.m.
Artists begin painting in the street at 10am, and family activities begin at 12pm on Main Ave in front of the Cultural Center and continue until 4pm. At 6:30pm, the raffle drawing and live auction of fish houses, decoys, and other art created during the festival will be held in front of the NYM Fire Hall on Centennial 84 Drive.
The Cultural Center’s Fish House Festival is held in conjunction with the New York Mills Summer Celebration and Lund Mania Fishing Tournament. NYM Summer Celebration activities begin on Centennial 84 Drive after the Fish House Festival, and include Boatville Drags at 4:30, Lund Mania fishing tournament results at 5:30, Live Auction & Raffle Drawing at 6:30, Parade at 7pm, and Street Dance to follow. There will also be a coin scramble, bouncy house, and variety of activities and food vendors in Central Park throughout the evening.
The Fish House Festival includes artists painting in the street, sidewalk chalk, bubbles, tie dye, games, fish cookie decorating, free “Art in Your Park” activities for kids, youth decoy painting, the annual Decoy Show & Nature Art Exhibit inside the Gallery, food for sale, raffle & live auction, and live music by James Bzura. All are welcome and most activities are free for all to enjoy. Tractor t-shirts will be available to tie dye for $15/shirt.
Youth Decoy Painting begins at 1:00 p.m. with limited spots available; please call 218-385-3339 to pre-register. Cost is $5/decoy and recommended for youth ages 10+ (or accompanied by an adult); sponsorship support from the EOT Darkhouse Association keeps costs low for participants.
Two ice-fishing spear houses (one each for raffle and auction) will be painted on the street in front of the Cultural Center on Friday between 10am-4pm by artists from around the region. Currently confirmed artists include Cheryl Bannes of Wadena, MN; Jacob Sazama of Perham, MN; Kent Estey of Naytahwaush, MN; John Peeters, Molly Swanz, and Noah Noffsinger, all of New York Mills, MN; and Mati Turenen of Vienna, Virginia.
Raffle tickets are just $10 and available for purchase at the Cultural Center and other NYM and Perham businesses (check kulcher.org for full list). First prize is a one-of-a-kind ice-fishing spear house, custom built by Ronn Hamm and painted by local artists; second prize is a half-day guided fishing trip with PT’s Guide Service; third prize is a John Peeters collectible decoy, and fourth prize is Lund Boat gear, including a hockey stick net and backpack.
Live auction bid numbers will be available all day on July 8th, from 10am-4pm at the Cultural Center and on Centennial Drive after 4:30pm. The 6:30pm live auction by Perala Bros. Auctioneers will feature a second artist-painted, Ron Hamm custom-built ice-fishing spear house, decoys and other wildlife art. Proceeds from the auction will be shared equally between the artists and the Cultural Center, to support future community art events.
We are proud to feature two regional artists in this year’s annual Decoy & Nature Art Show in the Cultural Center Gallery: decoy artist Bruce Dixon of Pine River, MN and painter Kent Estey of Naytahwaush, MN.
Bruce Dixon was born in 1952 in Backus, Minnesota and now resides in Pine River, MN. His is work is featured in the Smithsonian Institute of Washington D.C. and the Fishing Hall of Fame in Hayward, Wisconsin. His decoys are also included in many limited-edition fish decoy art prints and fish decoy books.
Kent Estey is a proud member of the White Earth Nation of Ojibwe, in Northwestern Minnesota. He and his wife Becky live and work on the White Earth Reservation in the village of Naytahwaush, Minnesota. Kent paints the land, sky and water that surrounds his Northwestern Minnesota home. See more of Kent’s work on his website: kentestey.com.
The Gallery show will be on display July 6-30, 2022. Gallery Hours are Wed/Thurs 10-7, Fri 10-5, Sat 10-3; private tours available by contacting Cheryl at 218-385-3339 or [email protected]. Admission to the Gallery is always free and open to all.
This event is made possible by an ongoing partnership with the National Fish Decoy Association and Rod Osvold; their invaluable support connects us with the country’s best decoy artists. Thanks also to our main event sponsor, Lund Boats, and also to the East Otter Tail Darkhouse & Angling Association and PT’s Guide Service.
This activity is also made possible in part by the voters of Minnesota through an operating support grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
For more information, call the Cultural Center at (218) 385-3339 or visit the Center’s website at www.kulcher.org.
About the Cultural Center
The New York Mills Regional Cultural Center is a rural hub for creativity, community vitality, and lifelong learning in the arts. The Center offers visitors intimate opportunities to encounter art and artists in its 80-seat concert listening room, visual art gallery in a historic building, gift shop featuring local artists, artist residency program, sculpture park, and a variety of opportunities to learn, grow, and thrive. Since its incorporation in 1990, the Cultural Center has been passionate about connecting people to artists and rich cultural experiences in rural Minnesota, celebrating the local and being a window to the world. For more information, call 218-385-3339, or visit www.kulcher.org.
