Storytelling Group
2024-04-13 10:00 - 12:00, 2024-05-11 10:00 - 12:00 UTC | Winona Arts Center, 228 East 5th Street, Winona, MN, 55987, United States

Acrylic Painting Class with Barb Halvorson
2024-04-13 12:00 - 16:00
Join us for an Acrylic Painting Class with Barb Halvorson on Saturday, April 13, 2024, 12pm to 4pm. We will be painting a yellow Finch on an actual leaf just in time for Spring!
Beginner to Adult painters are welcome – no experience needed. All supplies are furnished. Cost is $40 for members and $45 for non-members.
Interested individuals can register for the class by contacting Jen at jsbenson50@gmail.com.
Registration fee, including a current email address, can be mailed to Winona Arts Center at 228 E 5th St, Winona, MN 55987.
To ensure classes are affordable to all, scholarships are available. Please contact Jen Benson at jsbenson50@gmail.com for more information.

Chris Koza Duo
2024-04-13 19:00
Chris Koza Duo
Saturday / April 13, 2024 / 7:00pm
Tickets $15 in advance at Music Mart (formerly Hardt’s Music) until April 12 at 5:00pm or Eventbrite until April 13 at 3:00pm or $20 at the door
Coffeehouse & gallery open at 6:00pm
Buy Tickets Online
Composer / Performer Chris Koza is an internationally-recognized Americana artist. Chris has toured the US extensively, sharing the stage with Gordon Lightfoot, Brandi Carlile, Ingrid Michaelson, Andrew Bird, Stephen Kellogg, and many others. His music appears regularly on ABC’s General Hospital, 60 Minutes, and Good Morning America. His song (Rogue Valley) The Wolves and the Ravens was featured in Ben Stiller’s film The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.
Chris embraces classic Americana with a contemporary feel and utilizes a wide range of textures in creating music rooted in folk and pop, with an emphasis on storytelling. Subtle synthesizers, rich harmonies and pop-music sensibilities interweave with acoustic and electric guitars, earthy pianos, and familiar rhythms. For every song that sounds like it could be strummed from a boxcar clacking slowly across a grassy midwestern plain, there’s a tune sailing from a city rooftop, echoing across a valley of streets and traffic, or a melody twisting and shimmering like a dim frequency deep into the starry night.
Longtime friend and guitarist Peter Sieve joins Chris for a stretch of duo dates this Spring, throughout the Midwest and Colorado. The pair have been playing and performing music together since meeting over acoustic guitars in the dorms as Freshmen years ago at St. Olaf College. They’ve been at various festivals including SXSW, Iceland Airwaves and CMJ, and have covered long stretches of highway; storytellers in pursuit of a stage.
Solo, with Rogue Valley, and his moniker Nobody Kid, Chris has self-produced, written, and released sixteen albums and EP’s. In 2023, Rogue Valley released their 6th album Shell Game. Currently, Chris is rediscovering old sessions and reimagining forgotten material for a collection called Graveyard Shift, which revives songs spanning the last twenty years.
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:
Website: https://chriskoza.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chriskozasongs/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriskoza/

Gallery Open
2024-04-14 13:00 - 16:00, 2024-04-17 15:00 - 18:00, 2024-04-21 13:00 - 16:00, 2024-04-24 15:00 - 18:00, 2024-04-28 13:00 - 16:00, 2024-05-01 15:00 - 18:00, 2024-05-05 13:00 - 16:00, 2024-05-08 15:00 - 18:00 and 1 more date

Estro-Jam Session
2024-04-14 16:00 - 18:00, 2024-04-28 16:00 - 18:00
2nd and 4th Sundays / 4:00pm-6:00pm
Women of all ages are invited to join in the Estro-Jam sessions on the 2nd and 4th Sunday of the month from 4 pm to 6 pm in the gallery of the Winona Arts Center. Bring your instrument and gather with other musicians for some spontaneous musical collaboration. For more information, contact Kristen Young at kristendyoung@comcast.net.
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Southeast Minnesota Arts Council thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

Drum Circle
2024-04-15 08:00 - 17:00, 2024-04-22 18:00 - 20:00, 2024-04-29 18:00 - 20:00

Drawing Circle
2024-04-16 18:00 - 20:00, 2024-04-23 18:00 - 20:00, 2024-04-30 18:00 - 20:00

Open Studio
2024-04-18 16:30 - 20:00, 2024-04-25 16:30 - 20:00

God's Slave – Winona Film Society
2024-04-19 19:00
Doors open at 6:30pm
Admission – $5.00 (Best deal in town!)
Based on the actual events of a 1994 bombing in Buenos Aires, God’s Slave the acclaimed debut from Joel Novoa Schneider is a suspenseful cat and mouse game that leads to a deadly showdown.
The characters: Ahmed, an Islamic terrorist, and David, a cold-blooded Israeli special agent are involved in the conflict carrying suspense and intrigue.
Spanish with English subtitles, 91 minutes.

Pleasure of Pastel Painting with Betsy Midthun
2024-04-27 10:00 - 15:00
Join us for the Pleasure of Pastel Painting with Betsy Midthun at the Winona Arts Center on Saturday April 27, 10am to 3pm. Betsy has a double major in Art Education and Art History and was recently chosen for a one-woman show of her work at the LaCrosse Pump House! She has a passion for painting and drawing and has attended many pastel conferences and workshops.
Participants in this class will learn all about pastels and the different techniques used in painting with pastels. You will take home 3 different small paintings that you have painted!
Beginner to Adult painters are welcome – no experience needed. All supplies are furnished.
Cost is $40 for members and $45 for non-members.
This class is limited to 10 participants so early registration is highly recommended!
Interested individuals can register for the class by contacting Jen at jsbenson50@gmail.com. Registration fee, including a current email address, can be mailed to Winona Arts Center at 228 E 5th St, Winona, MN 55987.
To ensure classes are affordable to all, scholarships are available. Please contact Jen Benson at jsbenson50@gmail.com for more information.

The Swamp Poppas
2024-04-27 19:00
Coffeehouse & gallery open at 6:00pm
Ticket are $20 advance/ $25 door and available through Eventbrite until April 27 at 3pm or at Music Mart ( Formerly Hardts Music) until April 26 at 4pm.

Wine, Beer and Cajun treats will be available for your enjoyment at this event. Let the good times roll!
The Swamp Poppas play Swamp Pop music.
It all started in the 1950’s in Southwest Louisiana. Young folks grew up hearing and playing traditional Cajun and Zydeco
music in their families and local venues. Starting with that base, they added the sounds they were hearing on the radio
and jukeboxes in the region to those traditional sources and Swamp Pop was born.
Many early Swamp Pop hits were ballads, featuring highly emotional lyrics, tripleting piano, prominent bass lines, large
horn sections and a strong rhythm and blues backbeat. Examples of these are Cookie and the Cupcakes song “Mathilda”,
Dale and Graces’s “I’m Leaving It All Up to You”, Rod Bernard’s “This Should Go on Forever”, and Phil Phillip’s “Sea of
Love” (later covered by Robert Plant of Led Zepplin fame).
There were also rockers, such as Frankie Ford’s “Sea Cruise”, Bobby Charles’ “See You Later Alligator” and Randy and the
Rocket’s “Let’s Do the Cajun Twist”. And a swamp popper might even bring in a Cajun accordion for a solo on Johnnie
Allan’s cover of a Chuck Berry song, “The Promised Land”.
The new genre absorbed other regional styles such Tex Mex, Tejano, and Norteno from East Texas. Freddy Fender had a
Swamp Pop hit with “Wasted Days and Wasted Nights”. Los Lobos has covered the Swamp Pop hit “I Got Loaded”,
originally by Lil’ Bob and the Lollipops.
A lot of influences came from nearby New Orleans. The city is known for its classic R & B and early Rock’n’roll along with
Second Line marching bands and Dixieland. The Soul Queen of New Orleans, Irma Thomas, had Swamp Pop hits with
“It’s Raining” and “Time Is on My Side”.
Swamp Pop music has evolved over the years. New styles appear and hit the airwaves. Then Swamp Pop absorbs them
into the catalog. Country and Western star, Johnny Horton has a hit with “North to Alaska”, Johnnie Allan answers with
“South to Louisiana. An old hillbilly song, “The Prisoner’s Song” from the 1920’s was turned into a hit by Warren Storm in
1958. Psychedelic music becomes popular and John Fred and the Playboy Band have a hit with “Judy in Disguise (with
Glasses)”. Mix Swamp Pop and Hip Hop and you get Cypress City’s “Cajun Rap Song” and “Hot Boudin”.
Karl Smelker, the founder of the Swamp Poppas, shared a Louisiana music show on the local community radio station,
KFAI. While the show mainly featured Cajun and Zydeco, Karl started playing Swamp Pop records he had picked up on his
travels south. He found several of the other DJs on the station also were Swamp Pop fans. They got together and would
do an annual 4-to-5-hour radio show called the Swamp Pop Extravaganza. As the annual show grew in popularity Karl
also found a bunch of musicians from Twin Cities bands who also loved Swamp Pop. While they loved the music, they
felt there might not be a large audience for a Louisiana music sub-genre here in the Frozen North.
Eventually they threw caution to the wind held a benefit for the Second Harvest food shelf. In 2007 the first Swamp Pop
Extravaganza Show raised a bunch of cash and food for Second Harvest. It also gathered musicians from several bands;
the Rockin’ Pinecones, the Swamp Sextet and Jumbo Ya Ya to form a core band. The band played Swamp Pop tunes and
provided backing for several guest artists like Becky Thompson, Tom Lieberman, Lucinda Plaisance, Jon Rodine, and Bill
Batson.
The Swamp Pop Extravaganzas continued raising money and food for Second Harvest over the years. Covid put the full
extravaganza on hiatus. But the core musicians found an audience in Minnesota and have been playing Swamp Pop ever
since as the Swamp Poppas.

Dreamtime by Dan Eastman Show Opening and Artist Talk
2024-04-28 13:00 - 16:00
Opening Reception: Sunday / April 28, 2024 / 1:00-4:00pm / Artist Talk 1:00pm
Exhibit Dates: April 28 – June 9, 2024
Artist Statement:
The mysteries of dreaming reside in the proliferation of unpredictable sequences. For this exhibition, I have gathered such newfound paths where dreams meander by transcending far-traveled certainties with an expanding array of echoes passing both strange and wonderful. Should you find any of these diamond-shaped dream collages adhering to your dream destinies, then you may take them for your own — free as indicated at the desk. Thank you, and welcome to an entwined dreamtime where each dreams of the other.
During normal Gallery hours, gallery attendees will be encouraged to choose one of the 60 pieces on the tables in the exhibit and they are all free; we are accepting donations only, not doing sales.
The other 30 pieces on the wall will remain on the wall through the entire exhibit. These pieces are donated without prices as well, and gallery attendees can select a piece, yet leave it on the wall until the end of the exhibit.

Mother's Day Free Ink
2024-05-04 10:00 - 16:30
2 Sessions
Families & Children 10am – 1pm
Adults Only 1:30pm – 4:30pm
All are welcome to attend our Free Ink event to make one of a kind Mother’s Day monoprints for Mom, family and friends. This is a great opportunity to get instruction on printing on the press and to make some cards. All stencils and other materials are provided and No Experience Is Necessary! No need to register, just drop in when it works for you.
Please note that we have divided up the day for families & children in the morning until 1:00 and then for adults who want a bit of a quieter experience in the afternoon.
This event is made possible through funding from the Altra Federal Credit Union.
For more information contact Jen Benson jsbenson50@gmail.com.

A Visit from Will Dilg
2024-05-04 19:00 - 21:00
Tickets $10 in advance at Music Mart (formerly Hardt’s Music) until May 3 at 5:00pm or Eventbrite until May 4 at 3:00pm.
Coffeehouse & gallery open at 6:30pm
Buy Tickets Online
Steven Marking plays Will Dilg in an inspiring multimedia presentation, A Visit From Will Dilg. In the early 1920’s Will Dilg’s only son drowned in the Mississippi River. Dilg rose up from the depths of depression and mourning to become a tireless, fanatic firebrand – leading an extraordinary national crusade to form the Izaak Walton League and save a 261 mile stretch of Mississippi River Backwaters we now know as the Upper Mississippi National Wildlife and Fish Refuge. While his life was cut short, his accomplishments are still legendary, and we all will benefit by hearing from him on the 100th Anniversary of the Refuge, which is in 2024.
A Visit From Will Dilg was created by Steven Marking for the Centennial celebration of our Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge. The script relies heavily on Dilg’s own published words. Images and film clips of the glories of the refuge are the stars of the show. As the story unfolds as told by Dilg, we are constantly reminded of the things that were saved – the plants, the animals, the birds, the fish, and the scenery.
By the 1020’s river land reclamation, or the filling in of floodplain wetlands, was at its peak in our countries history. Ground zero for the battle was the Winneshiek Bottoms near Lansing, Iowa, which was already legally permitted to be leveed off, drained and filled to create farmlands. Dilg took the loss of wetlands and the fish and wildlife that went with it personally and started the battle against reclamation by forming a national coalition of outdoorsmen called The Izaak Walton League. In less than one year they pushed federal legislation through congress to form the Upper Mississippi National Wildlife and Fish Refuge. This saved a large portion of our Upper Mississippi River lands from development, and more than 4 million people visit and enjoy the refuge every year today. It is the largest contiguous floodplain habitat in our nation.
Winona Arts Center activities are made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Southeast Minnesota Arts Council thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

Estro-Jam Session
2024-05-12 16:00 - 18:00
Women of all ages are invited to join in the Estro-Jam sessions on the 2nd and 4th Sunday of the month from 4 pm to 6 pm in the gallery of the Winona Arts Center. Bring your instrument and gather with other musicians for some spontaneous musical collaboration. For more information, contact Kristen Young at kristendyoung@comcast.net.
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Southeast Minnesota Arts Council thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
