It's Neuendorf.
Okay.
See, you see the N-E-U thing, and I've met news, noise, and nays, and I appreciate you clarifying for me.
So, Karin, you're here on behalf of Kelly Meredith and the Fanatical Fish Gallery and Studio, one of the more involved individuals, organizations, businesses that I can think of in the Northwoods.
How do you know Kelly?
What's your connection to the studio?
I am actually an artist that has work in the gallery.
Okay.
And that's how the verbiage we use when we talk about on shopping show on Fridays and such.
The gallery features work from several local area artists.
That is, I can tell you word for word, the exact phrasing.
So you are one of those local area artists.
Do you work in one particular medium or are you more of a generalist with multiple media?
I actually work in multiple media.
I work in watercolor.
I have polymer clay jewelry.
And I am working on my glass art at the moment.
You know, it's fairly safe because you...
try to not put your hand in the torch or burn yourself in the kiln.
You do have to watch out for some sharp pieces, though.
I'm sure it happens.
You know, sometimes I just recently started working with rocks and cutting them on a saw, which has an incredibly safe type of blade.
I didn't know there were this type of safe saw blades out there, but it's still a saw blade.
It still wants to remove things from what it touches.
And there's always going to be those kinds of things.
So all right, you, an artist at Fanatical Fish Gallery and Studio, we've been ch-
with Pioneer Days, we'll chat with Don about Pioneer Days a few moments ago, but you guys are gonna be present and involved, and I'm guessing some of your own work will be there at Pioneer Days at the art show portion.
Can you tell us more about that?
Absolutely.
Well, there are two art shows at Pioneer Days.
One will be up at the park, and I am here to tell you about the art show that will be at the Fanatical Fish.
It will be going on around the same time.
Okay.
It will be Saturday, July 25th,
from 10 a.m.
to 2 p.m.
And we are going to be showcasing a number of local artists, and we will have fine arts, so oil, acrylic, watercolors.
We have this phenomenal artist that has some unique preserved insect art that will be there.
I know that there will be greeting cards, jewelry, fabric arts, and much, much more.
We will also have food and beverages at the phonetical fish.
and then while you're downtown and visiting the fanatical fish you can stop next door and the Historical Museum will be open as well
I will actually Kelly and I are both on the museum board and we're involved in both
Anybody who knows Kelly will be not at all surprised by that fact like I said you guys are the phrase I like to use is terminally involved some people don't seem to own a
chair because they're always standing at a booth or a stand or doing some sort of fundraising effort.
Okay, so it's like you mentioned at the same time as the art fair portion of Pioneer Days itself.
But with the window you guys are operating in, it will be more than easy for people to check out both, get a thorough look at everything going on.
Let me think, I'm trying to ask, I'm trying to pry a sneak peek of some kind from you, but I don't know if there are any juicy secrets to be revealed at the art show.
Just quality artwork from local artists who I imagine you work with and know, how local are we talking?
How far does fanatical fish generally reach with the art that it features?
How far away are people from who
who have their art in the gallery.
Kelly has artists from around Wisconsin, but primarily in the area.
I know that of the artists that will be up here, they are generally Butternut Park Falls, and I believe one as far away as Phillips.
But within the gallery, she does have people slightly further.
Of course, small towns and art galleries, not necessarily something people expect to combine simply because a lot of times art is it's well, I mean, nobody is going to
die who doesn't buy a painting you know there's there's kind of a practicality to the area but I've loved watching Kelly and the whole team that she works with totally subverting that I've actually got a Kelly Meredith painting hanging in my house right now and I can even tell you which one it is if you're familiar it's called Creek near Morse October and I look at that and I love it because I actually understand the things my art teacher was trying to teach me
15 years ago, you know, I look at that painting and I see motion.
It's a still it's it's it's
Oil on canvas, but I feel the wind that Kelly was feeling as she observed this creek near Morse and that's something Something I imagine you can absolutely relate to that is basically what art is It's a it's a at least to me and back me up on this or don't disagree with me If you will to me art is the ability to take something that you can't put in words and share it with somebody else Does that line up?
Absolutely.
And not only is Kelly this phenomenal artist that can do that, she has a vision for the community and how to bring people together.
She has brought together this community of artists and even regular people that are from the area or visiting on the lake for the summer.
And she provides these classes for people to come together and talk and meet each other.
And she really bridges this divide between the different communities within our community.
I
I took a class last weekend that was absolutely phenomenal.
A local artist and her name is Francis and she taught weaving where we took flat pieces of birch bark and we cut it into strips and we weave this phenomenal basket.
Birch baskets actually I was funny enough I was recently at a gem and mineral show in Managua a couple weeks ago and somebody was selling birch baskets there so I was kind of this this weird sort of serendipity but that's
something that we talked to Kelly about before the summer really picked up steam.
I think it was maybe in April or even early May that she was showing us the list of classes that were coming.
And wow, it was, if you wanted to learn about an art form, you just had to pick the right week to be there.
And is that the only class you've participated in or are you diving in every once in a while to those?
I take two or three classes every summer as my schedule allows me because I love to just support all of our local
artists in the community.
Yes.
But I'm also a forever learner where I want to know that next technique.
I've fallen into it.
You can even see it's peeking out on my computer screen there.
It's been rocks lately for me.
And I even mentioned I've been cutting them lately.
But why do I care about them?
It's because it's an excuse to learn, right?
As far as I'm concerned,
If there's a day I ever spend without learning anything, that better be the day I leave this earth, or I'm not doing something right in my mind, at least.
Am I speaking out of turn, or would you back me up on that one,
too?
I would 100% back you up on that one.
And watch out, because when you stop learning, it might be a sign that, oh, OK, we've got to change some things.
So you can catch Karin at Fanatical Fish Gallery and Studio at a couple select classes here and there.
And I take it you'll be there that day, very involved in Pioneer Days with the art sale.
be at the gallery that day for the most part?
I will be at the gallery that day.
Oh, I would say that I would love to get into oil painting.
Okay.
So you've got the watercolor thing down.
How much would that help with oil painting?
Is there going to be, is that going to help and hurt at the same time kind of thing?
Because I wonder, it's like, yeah, there's similarities in painting, but I almost wonder if the differences might be frustrating because oil, water, there's kind of a, there's a parable in that.
I think some oil and water joke that I won't make, but how much do you think your watercolor experience should help with oil painting?
I think from a drawing and perspective,
I think that will help, but oil acts very differently than watercolor.
So it's learning from scratch of how to layer things.
So oil, if I had to, and I do have to guess, if I had to guess, oil might stay where you put it, whereas watercolor, you've got to control the control the.
I don't want to say bleeding, but basically you've got that to factor into the experience, right?
I think I would tend to think oil stays where you put it, whereas water tries to run away on you.
Is that, is that even close?
I will let you know when I learn.
But what I do understand is that oil stays wet for quite a while and you have more time to work with it.
See, that's something that I don't even think of is that once it hits the canvas, it's not set in stone.
And I've watched
little bit of Bob Ross on Netflix but I'll be honest when I watch that and I watch him here I'm just gonna take my brush and we're gonna paint some rocks and he somehow just wiggles his brush and that's a rock you know like he he basically puts a picture on the screen I don't mean to measure anybody against Bob Ross but I'll admit I was pretty much just lost in the awe and I thought there's no way I can do what he's doing that's just magic but I would say that you guys challenge that notion right would you say that anybody can do art
anybody can do art.
It's learning a number of skills that you learn how to master and then at a certain point you're able to take those skills and put them together in a certain way that it makes something beautiful.
experience and learning and knowledge and confidence kind of meet and you get to see that person who's new at an activity and it doesn't matter if it's art if it's playing an instrument if it's something you do at work but there will be that moment where a person recognizes that they are capable of what they're looking to do and maybe it's somebody like you like hey I know the perspective part of this I just got to figure out how to how to get the paint to do what I want it to do and you can use like I would love to see you sitting at a
canvas and the glint enters your eye when you realize, oh, I can do this.
And that's something that I think you guys probably get to experience a lot at the gallery, seeing people build confidence as they go through these classes.
Is that something I could stop and talk to you guys about?
Could I bend your ear about this weekend at the art show?
Is that okay if people stop by and ask you about your art and your involvement in it?
Absolutely.
I love taking questions.
I was talking to a guy who makes wirewrapped stones and wirewrapping.
I saw on the list of things that Kelly was going to have as a class at the at the gallery this year, but I was talking to a guy about wirewrapping stones and he basically said, I would do this all day, but it's not worth it if you can't share it.
I mean, and art does have its own satisfaction.
But would you say that it's part of the artistic process to share it with somebody else?
Absolutely.
And that's the beauty of Kelly's space is...
It's not only a place where you can go and look at and purchase art, but it is a space where everybody can come together and share their skills, learn from each other, and share their techniques.
And that was what Kelly said too when she was explaining that when she inherited, she purchased the property, the storefront, and she talked to us about the couple simple changes she made, notably adding larger windows and
blowing up and raising the ceiling basically a little bit so that she could deal with, actually, I think it was so she could deal with bigger murals indoors.
And I thought, there's somebody who's dedicated and passionate to the craft.
If you're going to literally knock walls down so that you can do what you want to do, that's somebody I want to stand behind, learn from.
And Karin, I can tell that, well, Kelly's rubbed off, but you're your own person with your own media.
And I look forward to what you guys might have this Saturday.
What time is that?
10 to two, if I recall, correct?
10 to two.
It's Downtown Butternut 108 North Main Street.
That about covers it.
Fair
Well, hey, I know you guys are busy and thank you.
I appreciate you taking some time out of a busy schedule.
But that is roughly the end of our schedule today.
As you guys know, I hang out until noon these days, but you're pretty used to me saying goodbye at 10.
I'll say thanks for hanging out today.
I'm going to archive reality radio and I'm actually going to do it this week.
I absolutely promise.
So check it out.
98QCountry.com.
Listen back to this conversation we just had with Karin.
We talked with Don and we talked with Korty from the Park Falls Chamber.
All three of those conversations available on demand on 98QCountry.com.
Again, I'm not leaving.
I'm not leaving, but I know some of you tune off at 10 a.m.
And so thank you for joining me for another beautiful day in the Northwoods from the Aspirus Health
studios, better begins with human kindness, and at Aspyrus Health, better begins with knowing you and your health needs.
Passion for excellence, compassion for people.
That's Aspyrus Health.
We're 98Q, I'm Gray, you're the best.
See you tomorrow right here, and I'm hanging out till noon anyway, so stick around.
And what a good time it was Alan Jackson on 98Q 846 on a Wednesday morning and our first guest has arrived.
So let's get the music rolling and the microphones on.
Good morning, Courtney.
Good
morning.
I am here to talk all things flamborama because believe it or not, it is time already.
We have pioneer days this weekend.
And then coming up next week, we've got harvorama on Thursday and then we go right into flamborama.
you got two days arrest built in there though, Monday and Tuesday.
Very true.
I'm actually super excited.
Of course, flamborama for anybody who's grown up here is it's a big deal, and especially those who haven't grown up here, new to the area.
It's a perfect welcome to the North woods for anybody who's looking for a little bit of fun at the start of August.
Well, let's let's look at the basics.
Let me get my light turned on.
We we do the vampire thing here in the studio.
But if you've got reading material, I'll get that light turned on quick.
What's it looking?
like this year at Flamborama.
So this year we have
a packed schedule.
There is something for absolutely everyone to enjoy.
Musically, we have a little bit of something for everyone.
On Friday night, we have from five to eight, seven thousand apart.
They actually are a band that spends half the time of the year over in Europe and half the time here in Wisconsin because they are a couple that met through a like student exchange program.
She's from Sweden originally, so they do have the
in each place and they travel and play and they're fantastic.
And then Friday night, our headliner from 8 to 11 is Ember.
Many of you may have seen them at Firefest in Phillips a week ago, but they are fantastic.
They bring high energy.
They're going to be a really great time.
Saturday we roll into from 5 to 8, we have relative paradox.
So the Crombergers, if you've seen them play, you know they put on a fantastic show.
They are
Excellent.
They're very talented.
It's gonna be a good time.
And then after them, our band for the night is that 90s band.
They played last year in an earlier time slot and we had so many people come up to us and ask us to bring them back.
And the band themselves asked to come back because they had such a good time and they loved it here.
So we are having them be our main band on Saturday night from 8 until the grounds close at midnight.
And Sunday we have Robbie V joining us after
the parade.
So for all of those who know and love him, he is back again on Sunday after the parade.
Bobby
Oh no, Johnny, I ran into another artist with some very, very grungy bluegrass music once upon a time, a guy by the name of Johnny V. And I get him mixed.
But that guy was kind of clever.
If you asked him what his name was, he pointed his jaw.
is knee he's a johnny v and that's actually how he spelled it too but anyway i'm getting bogged down in other music artists but you guys have plenty for anybody who's coming looking the genre mix is is like you said it's music for everybody
yes there's something that everyone will enjoy and then we do have a lot of things that people can pre-register for um
On Saturday we have the Evergreen 5k is going to be at 9 a.m.
You can register day of but it is helpful if you pre-register just so we know how many runners to plan for and it makes the whole thing go much much faster and smoother and that registration is open we have it open online as well as at the chamber office so you can pick up forms we even have a little vestibule outside with some forms in it so you can pick one up at any time day or night 24-7 the rotary pickle
tournament is on Saturday starting at 10 a.m.
and they have registration open as well.
You can register day of but they are capping the event at 32 teams just for sanity's sake when you're running a big tournament like that.
So to make sure that you can be involved it helps to pre-register and then on Sunday we have the kiddie car races before the parade.
If you've never seen it it's the cutest
cutest thing ever.
B&B Insurance Services puts that event on at 10.45 right before the parade starts right down on division.
That has registration open and they would like it's a completely free event to be involved in but they like to know how many kids are coming so that way everybody gets a little something to walk away with so they can be prepared.
It helps to pre-register.
That is available online as well as at B&B Insurance Services or at the chamber office.
And then something new we're doing this year.
We have a 50-50 raffle each day of Lamboram.
So Friday, we will be drawing right before the eight o'clock band goes on.
Same thing with Saturday.
We'll be drawing the Saturday 50-50 right before eight o'clock.
And then on Sunday, we are going to draw during the band break for Robbie V. So come down.
You can buy your tickets.
We'll have our chamber booth set up down by the beard.
Stand area so you'll see us will have signs up but come by your 50-50 raffle tickets
and that'll be as Assuming things are laid out like they were in the last couple years will probably be pretty darn close that beer spot there.
That was I was hoping that it's like hey if things change I understand that they have to but I love hanging out with you guys right next to that It's kind of the second the second bartend that's not always used and therefore it's subject to all kinds of Randomness and hey we need this cooler and people are coming and going at all times and we get to
We get to throw some, some, uh, some joking insults and things back and forth as we set up and help each other and borrow screwdrivers and, hey, help me hang this banner.
Okay.
Cool.
Fair enough.
I absolutely love.
It's one of the underrated parts of flamborama is just hanging out with the people in the booth next to you.
Uh, but we've got plans too.
We'll be there, uh, going pretty hard on Friday night.
Actually, we're looking to, to really bring some energy on the Friday night of flamborama and we'll be, be present on Saturday too.
But I personally actually won't be so Joel.
And Darla and the team will be holding it down on Saturday in underneath that civic media attempt And just in the middle of the controlled and carefully planned chaos that is flamborama I can't believe it's already this part of the year Courtney, but I'm betting you've probably already had at least one
somewhat planning discussion for next year.
Am I right?
Oh yeah, we're already talking two years ahead even because this year's the 73rd, so as you can kind of see as time goes on, we have an important flamborama approaching.
And these things, like bands especially, book.
people don't realize how far in advance bands booked now.
So if you want someone, you really have to be on it and be planning way, way in advance.
So we've got, we've got lots of things cooking.
You saw me laughing at your reaction because you didn't roll your eyes at what I said, but there was a certain energy there was like, yeah, so my gosh, we've been doing that.
It was perfect.
It was, it was like, it was almost like an eye roll minus the personal insult of it.
Just like, yeah, I was, I was kind of foolish to ask that question because anybody I talked to, whether it's a district administrator,
or a business owner in the area.
Yeah, you guys have to be at least six months ahead or you're in trouble.
So I can't imagine how much effort's going in.
between you and other members of the chamber and the committees involved in doing this.
But I imagine you've probably got some sponsors worth giving a shout out to because there's some some organizations like the chamber that we just couldn't do this without.
Yes, and we have our diamond level sponsors.
We want to send a huge shout out to because they are what keeps the music playing at Flamborama.
And that would be Forward Bank, Monaco Chevrolet and Northwood's Community Credit Union this year.
And we have so many more.
Super One, Park Falls Hardwoods, Dave's Ash Trucking, Lena's Northern Pines, and Lena's Bar and Grill, BW Paper Systems, Lake of the Torches Casino, Schwarmagen Home Furnishings, Fiorio Wealth Advisors, Restory You, putting on the softball tournament, Michelle, Henry, their whole crew.
That is...
Such a huge undertaking and they do a fantastic job with it as well as we want to give a shout out to Family Worship Center for doing the safe rides for flamborama a lot of people might not know about that But they are set up on Friday and Saturday nights over right by the entrance there right in front of the community pool The ride is completely free you get to you get a safe ride home You can have a fantastic time and you don't have to worry about a thing because there are wonderful volunteers
there to give you a ride to get you safely back home.
And that is sponsored by Deb Richter Law Office, so we want to give her a shout out too because that's a really important part of flamborama because we want everyone to be safe.
And speaking of safety, also all of our the city crew guys, the fire department, the police department, everybody who pitches in to help with keeping everything running smoothly, running safely.
You just can't put a price on that.
are fantastic and the amount of hours the city crew guys just pitch in to help us out with things like especially getting the grounds prepped and ready because it's a lot of extra work and I could not do it alone.
I don't want to be dramatic or anything but last year during flamborama I kind of you ever have one of those moments where you know you're in the moment you're doing whatever you're doing but then you get an opportunity to kind of zoom out and realize like it's almost like you get to view the moment from above
kind of thing.
Last year I was standing there talking to Chris Cruzy and a member of his team with Officer Kohler and with one of the with one of the city guys.
And I was like, how often does this get to happen?
Like it was it was like
one of the coolest moments of the year just because we're sitting there having a casual conversation.
And there's one of everybody in that small group of people.
Sure, we're all young guys basically, but I sat there looking at us and I was like, this is a cool group of people to exist.
And it's Flamborama, it's Park Falls, it's small town.
It's just people.
It's just people.
Well, and I saw him chatting.
I walked up because I was like, oh no, did something happen?
You know, a piece of equipment get broken.
No, they were looking at pictures of deer and talking about family tradition of deer hunting.
I was like, oh, that's cool.
Absolutely, no, that's I don't care pick a person have a conversation at flamborama and chances are you'll find way more in common than you might ever expect, you know It's it's a Every every part of life is an example to relearn the lesson don't judge a book by its cover and I've gotten better at it But it's just every once in a while you find yourself like oh, I don't know what I expected This is this is fantastic and flamborama is much the same if it's if you've been there before it just it feels like it's overwhelmingly busy Or maybe it feels like hey, there's not much to do
Go again this year.
Take a different mindset.
It'll be what you want it to be.
It can be if you want a busy day, you can find a busy day.
If you want a relaxed atmosphere, you can find it.
But you just got to look for what you want.
It is there because you guys have made it.
It's an event for everybody.
Well, I said we've got like the car show, the craft show.
There's something for all tastes.
Like if sitting live music might not be everyone's thing, but going to the craft show and seeing that visual art and all the cool things people have created or going up and looking at all the amazing vehicles at the car show.
That's
It's also available.
So there's just, there's something for everyone and all the kids activities during the day, Saturday is like family day.
There are so many things going on.
St.
Croix's broadcasting contest, the credit union doing the sawdust dig and the chalk draw contest.
We got the Phillips children's museum set up and then the carnival kicks on in the afternoon.
So there's tons of stuff happening.
If you'd like to parkfalls.com and follow the links, follow the clicks.
There's an event.
Super easy to find and a big old flamborama button pink and orange are the colors this year Who's who's responsible for the visual design on the flyer and for things like this?
Is this
you that would be me?
Yeah, I
love them I wanted to know I didn't I didn't want to share an opinion first But I absolutely love this kind of halfway between sunrise and sunset grabbing my attention without screaming at me with 90s neon colors Yeah, I do love the 90s neon colors, but hey it feels like a pastel kind of year Toby
Who's here, bud?
We must have a reality radio guest coming in the door.
And in fact, I think we might, but one way or the other, we've got more guests coming for reality radio.
Courtney, thank you for some time out of a busy schedule.
People can go to parkfalls.com, but you guys are also active on Facebook too, correct?
Yes, we have our Facebook page.
That's where we're posting lots of updates.
So follow along there.
And the community calendar, that's the best place for information that has information on also the other events coming up here.
Like I said,
We've got Wednesday Night Live, tonight and next week, Harvarama next Thursday for everyone who wants to really get in the spirit before Flamborama starts and then moving right on in.
It's awesome.
I'm going to leave it there.
If you haven't done Harvorama, go do it.
And yeah, there are some things in life that you've got to experience.
And from there, decide what you want to do with it.
Yeah, Harvorama is on the list and you will be going back.
Courtney, thank you again.
We'll chat with you again soon here on 98Q.
In the meantime, we've got to give you an update from some of the most excellent sponsors who happen to be businesses we work with on 98Q.
A lot of these businesses you'll see in various forms, sponsorships, donations, volunteers at Flambo-Rama.
And if you
a business with their name at Flamborama or if you hear it on the 98Q Country Airwaves, you know you've got a local organization that cares about the community.
Reality Radio continues after this on 98Q.
All right, reality radio continues a little early 9 12 a.m.
But I've got my next guest and so why wait if you wouldn't mind introducing yourself, please Hi,
I'm Don Christian from butternut Pioneer days
Don and I have been talking about local people local names being locals here in the north woods of Park Falls Northern Price County and into Southern Ashland and Iron County to Don you've been in the area for your whole life.
I take it, right?
Yes And so you've been seeing a lot of these pioneer days.
It's the 60
and we were talking specifically about how much things have changed.
So before we dive into what's happening this year, would you mind just walking that back and talking about how the Sunday used to look at Pioneer Days?
Well, Sunday, Sunday was, as I was growing up, Sunday was the biggest day of Pioneer Days.
It was actually only yet for a while, only a two day event Saturday and Sunday.
And that was because of the farming community.
We'd have to parade and then everybody would come up to the park and have a
good time.
And after around 5 o'clock, 6 o'clock, you'd see the crowd start to disperse because the families went home to take care of their animals, do their chores, and then they came back Sunday evening for the fireworks.
The Big Hurrah.
That was the closing.
Well, now we have fireworks on Saturday, and by 5 o'clock Sunday afternoon, it's pretty much over with.
But the big thing that will probably never change, we all have to report back for duty on Monday morning, don't we?
Correct.
Don, thank you so much for being here today.
You popped in the station here, and I was on my schedule.
It was Glenn again for the third time, and you said, hi, I'm Glenn today.
The perfect answer.
Don, tell us about your involvement.
I see you're a member of the Butternut Fire Department.
Yes.
And what else?
What do you usually do with Pioneer Days?
What's your role?
My role is I'm the...
the treasure of the Pioneer Days Committee and then it's one of the my duties is making sure the events go that everybody's the bars have their monies everybody's happy everybody they're taking place I also line up to parade on Sunday morning it's
just a very busy weekend for me.
And in some places, a title-like treasurer, you know, in some maybe different communities or organizations, the treasurer is the whole list of things you do.
But in Butternut and in small towns like this, the treasurer is the extra thing you do on top of
helping everybody out with anything they might need, right?
Correct.
That's just the way it absolutely has to work.
And so you guys have been putting in hours and hours.
I imagine you've been dedicating a lot of the last few weeks to Pioneer Day's prep.
Yes, it's a big prep work.
I mean, locally and in the whole area, these events could not happen if it wasn't for all the people of the community who step up and volunteer their time.
I don't know if you listen often to us here, Don, but one of the things I probably talk about a little too much, I hit it pretty hard, I'll admit.
I know it, but I am constantly blown away by how we find ways to give a little bit more.
in ways that benefit everybody.
Like, hey, how often is a party or an event like Pioneer Days a critical fundraising effort for things like fire departments and area organizations?
How cool is it that we can have fun benefiting groups like that?
But it all comes from the sweat and hard work and labor of people like you and your team.
So thank you for making Pioneer Days possible.
But Don, you mentioned you wanted to give a shout out for one particular incredibly impressive effort.
We talked
about it briefly with Glenn, but if you would please, what did you want to highlight with Pioneer Days this year?
Well, one of the things that started last fall with with a idea that we wanted to construct a bathroom down by the ball field bar because we always use porta-potties and we discussed it over the winter and as things got closer and crunched kind came we said okay we're gonna do this and in less than a month
little over a month I would say it is with a whole list of great volunteers we have
fully functional handicap accessible bathroom up and ready and running for down at a by raw field bar
and I really love to give that effort some highlighting like you wanted to do Don because you know if you want to if you want to make four cinder block walls in the middle of a plot of land that's one thing but if you want a handicap accessible properly constructed
Plummed bathroom.
That's a completely different game.
You're not just digging a hole and building a shack on top That's that's a lot of work to pack into a month.
Yes, frankly is I mean I'd love to ask you how that's possible But you've already explained a lot of hard work from a lot of awesome volunteers Is there anybody in particular you'd like to give a shout out there by chance?
Yes, I guess, you know, my thing is you know, Troy Schwindzky, you know spearheaded came up with the idea smart plumbing and heating and
His family of smarts, their plumbers throughout Wisconsin came back and they got the initial part going.
They got the water and sewer run down there and that.
And then we got the building erected and Joe Ernst and John Schrader and their crew, they put in the footings.
The building was erected and then they finished it off.
Just you know our great volunteers Tom Miller electric and his crew and Johnny Lynch They they did all the all the wiring in it and like I said now in little over a month.
We have a fully functional back
So impressive too.
And you know, you call out names and these different contributions they make.
And I often talk about it with music or other creative kind of things.
But what I like to highlight too, along with that extra effort and the knack we have for raising money in a fun way, I like to highlight the amount of talent and effort and ability in the area.
We live in a small town.
But if you need something, there's somebody within 20 miles with the right skill set who can come to you and do the job.
And wow, that's true in big towns too.
But the
The difference is here, these are names you recognize.
These are businesses you hear on the radio.
These are people whose kids you rode the bus with.
How many of these people you're working with are people you used to go to school with or know personally on that kind of
way?
Almost all of them.
I've gone to school with I've known them my whole life.
It's just they're just an amazing group of people that come together to get to talk about a project and I'd like to do this and the minds come together and you get it done.
My my biggest thing that I enjoy and that's the
pipes and drums from Thunder Bay.
here for the parade, and then they put on a little show afterwards.
I mean, I have a little Scottish heritage in me.
bagpipes just it's just a musical instrument that that does something to me
it absolutely does that's it's if you'd ever experienced that it's kind of an odd thing when you encounter that thing in the world that affects you when you don't expect it it's like whoa I didn't realize this was you learn about yourself it's it's and it's kind of weird for me it was and I know this sounds odd but for me it was demolition derbies I went to my first demolition derby and I was sitting there and my heart rate was increased I was like oh my gosh they're hitting each other and I was like
Obviously, I knew that but I was affected in a way that I didn't expect and so I'll always tell people, hey, go out and do things that you haven't done before.
Get your kids to them and sometimes they even come right into our own backyard.
Don, why don't we briefly touch on the schedule a little bit here because things actually technically start tomorrow with that women's softball area alumni game.
That's tomorrow at 6 p.m.
Yes.
There's that and also the Butternut Cafe, they have a
We have, it was started as, it was a local picnic that volunteers for Pioneer Day got together on Thursday night and we had guys that cooked ribs and it kind of grew and grew and grew and now the Butternut Cafe is kind of spearheaded part of that.
So she'll be up there selling, selling a plate of ribs and that and there's the women's softball game.
It's just kind of a soft kickoff to Pioneer days.
Well, and I know how it goes too because it was we were just talking with Courtney about flammorama in next weekend and she was talking about harvorama on Thursday, which Technically a little separate from flammorama, but tied right in as anyone can tell I think it's safe to say that when events like this happen There's a certain crowd of people who want to just go a little bit earlier And so you've got butternut cafe.
You've got the women's softball alumni game.
That's tomorrow
at 6 p.m.
And like you said, Butternut Cafe will have some delicious food available.
What's coming on Friday, though, when things technically really kick off?
Friday night, we start with the carnival.
From six to ten, they have the wristband special.
And then the softball, which has been a great thing, a great ride.
You know, you talk locally, a great rivalry.
The Butternut Bulldogs and the Glidden baseball team have a game.
Oh.
And that, you know, it's, you know, the...
Park Falls, Butternut, Glidden, those rivalries go way back and it's just something that's well attended and in a great time.
All right, here we go.
That's all it takes.
We share a county, we share a highway.
Therefore, we share a lot of fun with a softball game, baseball games, all through the weekend, basically.
Let's continue on that schedule.
There's a volleyball tournament on Saturday.
What's the timing on that one?
I don't have the exact timing, but yes, there's actually the volleyball tournament.
It's filled up in that there's 18 and older, and then there's under 18.
They have two separate categories in it, which is...
which is a great event.
One thing I do want to forget, I don't want to forget to mention on Saturday night, Friday night, we have Shotgun Jane back.
Very, very good band.
They're back for their second year.
They're, they're well worth the trip up the butternut to listen to.
mob is is a is a bander out of the Minneapolis area.
We none of us have ever really heard them.
We've we've gone off a lot of recommendations, a lot of reviews.
So I'm expecting another high energy band to keep the night of rolling and and that
And then, uh, and also on Saturday night at dusk, we do have our fire, our fireworks display.
You know, growing up as, growing up as a kid, I look at the bands that we have now on Saturday night.
We used to have a polka band on.
Saturday night because that's what the people wanted,
And that was just the tradition.
And now, you know, we talk about polka.
We still have polka time here on 98 Q. It's hanging on.
I know people people have been declaring polka dead for decades now.
And it was early then it's still early.
It's sure maybe fewer people listening.
But there's this core group that will only polka.
And boy, they've got energy.
I like I've never seen that's when I see polka dancers.
It's like, man, I hope that's where I'm at at that age.
I don't want to speak as a young man to older people.
But
I will say I hope I've got the energy of a polka dancer when I become the right age for it But horse pole Sunday at 1 p.m.
You got the yes Cornhole tournament at about the same time this flyer done.
Would you be able to leave that with us by chance?
Yes at the very least I guarantee I'll take a picture of it and we'll put this whole flyer alongside the ones we've already got on our website so people can check our events calendar and see exactly what's up this weekend
But, Don, I want to highlight it again.
It technically starts tomorrow.
So if you're antsy for pioneer days, get up there tomorrow at 6 p.m.
Cheer on the women's softball alumni game and grab yourself.
You said it was ribs from the butters cafe.
Oh, man, that just I didn't realize how realized how hungry I was until you pointed that out.
One thing I want to forget.
You talked about the demolition derby.
Somewhere along the same line, the mud runs on Saturday.
That's gonna get your heart pounding too.
High powered.
vehicles running through racing side by side through mudpips.
I challenge you.
For me, and I mentioned, so I mentioned the demo Derby.
That was, that was a decade ago at the Price County Fair that that happened to me.
Something similar happened last year though with a horse pull.
Same thing.
When you just see power on display like that, there's, there's a certain part of you that just, wow, now I know what the word awe actually means like.
If you want that kind of reaction check out the mud run Saturday at 1 p.m.
The horse pull Sunday at 1 p.m.
But whatever you do just don't miss Pioneer Days Don thank you so much.
I know you're a busy guy You've got a fire department logo on your chest and you still made time for us.
I truly appreciate both of those facts man Thank you so much.
Thank you We'll chat again with someone from Pioneer Days probably in the aftermath in the next couple weeks because it starts tomorrow 6 p.m.
Get up to the Pioneer Days grounds cheer on the women's
alumni softball game, grab some ribs and build that energy for when things kick off on Friday.
Check out the full schedule and even just a picture of the flyer itself on 98Qcountry.com slash events.
We've got one more guest coming up here soon on reality radio, but first a word from sponsors, a look at the weather and then more from us on 98Q Country.