GREEN ACRES - John and Mara Heinze, dressed as Oliver and Lisa Douglas from Green Acres, get into the spirit of the Great Fall Get Back Together at the Waseca Art Center Saturday evening.
Abby Walterer helps Holly Gundlach serve her "Minnesconsinite" style of catering.
Star Eagle photos by Melanie Piltingsrud
By MELANIE PILTINGSRUD
Staff Writer
The Waseca Art Center was the place to be on Sat. evening, Oct. 30. Even Audrey Hepburn, Bob Ross, and the Norton Salt Girl turned up as the Center reinstated its biggest fundraiser of the year after Covid dashed all hope of a bash in 2020.
Due to the hiatus, the yearly Great Fall Get-Together was renamed the Great Fall Get Back Together. Waseca art council member Monica Priebe, who organized the event, utilized its proximity to Halloween to turn the fundraiser into a masked fete with a prize awarded in a costume drawing.
The event this year was held on the second story of the Waseca Art Center, an unusual location, since it is not handicap accessible. “We're trying to raise funds to put in an elevator,” said Priebe.
With no expenditures for staff last year, the Art Center tread water on government Covid relief aid. According to Priebe, the fundraiser usually brings in about $5,000 - $8,000.
The talented Ditch Creek Dixies provided entertainment from the stage, rocking their mix of covers and original songs to the delight of audience members, who were likewise vocal in their praise of the band. The duo, comprised of sisters Carmen and Clare Miller, grew up in the Waseca area with music in their veins. They admired their musical aunts, who dubbed themselves the Miller Sisters. In their search for the perfect band name, the younger duo needed look no farther than the family businesses, which bore the appellation Ditch Creek. The two have been performing live at various events since 2015. Although half the band in the person of Carmen has fulfilled a life-long dream of moving to Wyoming, she returns monthly to entertain with her sister.
The smorgasbord of appetizers, cookies, and truffles was catered by Holly Gundlach, a Wisconsin native who used her cheese state connections to assemble an array of dairy delights that will be the talk of the town for weeks. Gundlach doesn't make any of the hors d'oevers herself, but she knows those who do, and she's a genius at connecting the dots into a gorgeous display that's as tasty as it is presentable.
Besides the food, and a full bar provided by Starfire Event Center, games included miniature golf, for which a hole-in-one won scratch-off tickets for a prize; punch cups with a prize in every cup; big dice, for which each winner's name was added to a drawing for a Yeti Hopper Cooler for throwing doubles; and a wine wall, for which prizes were won for matching a cork to its corresponding bottle.
A long list of businesses, organizations, and individuals showed their support of the arts and the local Art Center through contributions, including local enterprises as well as those as far-flung as the Minnesota Twins and the Minnesota Vikings. Those who donated $250 or more were honored on a poster behind the appetizer bar.
Many businesses donated items for a silent auction that went on throughout the evening, as well as a live auction, over which Larry Born presided. Just a few of the coveted items of the evening included floral arrangements by Waseca Floral; a framed watercolor painting by Elizabeth O'Brien; an evening for a group of four at the home of wine aficionados Jane Dunn and Linda Grant; a gift basket from Blair Nelson, Waseca County commissioner, including two bottles of wine, chocolates, and $100 lottery tickets; and a wheelbarrow from Ace Hardware, chock-full of temptations from Fermentals Brew Club, including beer, wine, and a wine stopper.
Perhaps fittingly, Jess Stuckmayer, interim artistic director, won the costume drawing with her circus ringleader costume, winning a basket donated by the local boutique, Zinnias.
While the festivities went on upstairs, everyone entering the building enjoyed the intricate quilted wall hangings from Stitchers in Time, an area quilters guild that meets regularly at the Waseca Art Center, as well as the 2021 Member Gallery, at which members of the Waseca Art Center display their own impressive artwork.
Priebe encourages everyone from Waseca County to get involved with the Waseca Art Center, which she emphasizes is a county-wide resource and treasure. The Art Center regularly offers classes, available by registering online through Waseca Community Education: https://waseca.ce.edeyo.com. Visitors can also come to enjoy the art exhibits that change every six weeks. If you haven't seen the current display, stop in before it's gone! Gallery hours are Wed., 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.; Thurs. and Fri. 12 p.m. - 7 p.m.