Explore Drawing Workshop with Michelle Cochran CLASS IS FULL
2025-06-24 17:30 - 19:30 (America/Chicago) | Winona Arts Center, 228 East 5th Street, Winona, MN, 55987, United States
THIS CLASS IS FULL. Check back for future course offerings!
Cost: $25
We will explore drawing simple objects. No experience necessary, just a happy attitude!
Art materials will be provided. Only 12 spots available! Reserve yours today. For more information and to register contact Jen at jsbenson50@gmail.com.

Frozen River Film Festival presents Moonlight
2025-06-27 19:00 - 21:00 (America/Chicago) | Winona Arts Center, 228 East 5th Street, Winona, MN, 55987, United States
Doors open at 6:30pm
Tickets: $10 for Adults | $8 for FRFF Members | FREE for Students
Join us this June for our summer screening series, presenting Unique Perspectives, Shared Pride, with the screening of the film Moonlight!
Moonlight takes a look at three defining chapters in the life of Chiron, a young black man growing up in Miami. His epic journey to manhood is guided by the kindness, support and love of the community that helps raise him. This coming-of-age drama is written and directed by Barry Jenkins, based on Tarell Alvin McCraney’s unpublished semi-autobiographical play In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue.
Presented by the Frozen River Film Festival.

Create a Fish Print with Kayla Ellefson
2025-07-12 10:00 - 12:00 (America/Chicago) | Winona Arts Center, 228 East 5th Street, Winona, MN, 55987, United States
Join us at the Winona Arts Center on Saturday July 12 to make Fish prints with Kayla Ellefson! Drop in between 10am and 12pm for this Free Open House. Prints are made using rubber fish replicas and Tempera paint.
All materials are provided.
All ages are welcome. Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult.
For questions please contact Jen at jsbenson50@gmail.com

Art Explorers at the Winona Arts Center - Art Classes for Children
2025-07-14 10:00 - 12:15, 2025-07-15 10:00 - 12:15, 2025-07-16 10:00 - 12:15 (America/Chicago) | Winona Arts Center, 228 East 5th Street, Winona, MN, 55987, United States
The Winona Arts Center welcomes Kayla Ellefson, Artist and Educator from July 14 to July 18 for children’s classes. She is calling for all Art Explorers to join her during the two time frames listed below:
Classes are held each day of the week:
NOTE: Classes will be held from 10AM – 11AM and All Ages are Welcome!
Cost is $15 per artist per day/class. Contact Jen at jsbenson50@gmail.com with questions and to register! Payments are made to the Winona Arts Center and mailed/dropped at Winona Arts Center 228 East 5th St, Winona, MN

Art Explorers at the Winona Arts Center – Art Classes for Children
2025-07-17 10:00 - 12:15 (America/Chicago) | Winona Arts Center, 228 East 5th Street, Winona, MN, 55987, United States

Art Explorers at the Winona Arts Center – Art Classes for Children
2025-07-18 10:00 - 12:15 (America/Chicago) | Winona Arts Center, 228 East 5th Street, Winona, MN, 55987, United States
The Winona Arts Center welcomes Kayla Ellefson, Artist and Educator from July 14 to July 18 for children’s classes. She is calling for all Art Explorers to join her during the two time frames listed below:
Classes are held each day of the week:
NOTE: Classes will be held from 10AM – 11AM and All Ages are Welcome!
Cost is $15 per artist per day/class. Contact Jen at jsbenson50@gmail.com with questions and to register! Payments are made to the Winona Arts Center and mailed/dropped at Winona Arts Center 228 East 5th St, Winona, MN 55987

Wood Relief Carving with Kevin Ewing
2025-07-23 17:00 - 20:00 (America/Chicago) | Winona Arts Center, 228 East 5th Street, Winona, MN, 55987, United States
Kevin will provide a description of the tools and materials used for relief wood carving. We are then onto carving our own designs out of a flat piece of basswood. Come to class with a design of your own or choose from one of the suggestions available. All materials provided.
–> Class size 10 to 12.–> Age – 16 and older–> No experience necessary–> Class Fee* – $50 for members and $55 for non members.
*Class fee $30 if you attended the previous class and would like to work on your project a bit more.
Reserve your spot and Register today! Contact Jen Benson at jsbenson50@gmail.com.

No Open Studio Today
2025-07-31 16:30 - 20:00 (America/Chicago) | Winona Arts Center, 228 East 5th Street, Winona, MN, 55987, United States

Open Studio
2025-08-07 16:30 - 20:00, 2025-08-14 16:30 - 20:00, 2025-08-21 16:30 - 20:00, 2025-08-28 16:30 - 20:00, 2025-09-11 16:30 - 20:00, 2025-09-18 16:30 - 20:00 (America/Chicago) | Winona Arts Center, 228 East 5th Street, Winona, MN, 55987, United States

Wine & Cheese at the WAC: Winona Arts Center's Annual Meeting
2025-08-20 18:30 - 20:00 (America/Chicago) | Winona Arts Center, 228 East 5th Street, Winona, MN, 55987, United States
Wednesday / August 20 / 6:30pm — 8:00pm
Time for WAC’s annual meeting with wine, cheese & goodies so please join us to hear about all of our activities from this last year and our plans for the coming fall & winter. We’ll be kicking off our membership drive and you’ll also have an opportunity to meet and talk with board members from various committees to learn about volunteer opportunities.

The Return of King Idomeneo
2025-08-23 16:00 - 17:30 (America/Chicago) | Minnesota Conservatory for the Arts, 1164 West Howard Street, Winona, MN, 55987, United States
Saturday / August 23 / 4:00pm — 5:30pm
Location: Minnesota Conservatory for the Arts, 1164 West Howard Street, Winona, MN 55987
Mixed Precipitation celebrates 17 years of outdoor summer fun. This year we’re revisiting one of our favorite productions, The Return of King Idomeneo. First created in 2012, this adaptation of Mozart’s 1781 opera Idomeneo, re di Creta (Idomeneo, King of Crete), was a breakout production for Mixed Precipitation and exemplified our playful and passionate outdoor performance style. Reservations are now open. All performances are offered for a suggested donation ($5 – $45). This performance is fun for all ages. Reserve Your Spot Today!
Learn More about this Event
Winona Arts Center, in partnership with the Minnesota Conservatory for the Arts, presents Mixed Precipitation’s Pickup Truck Opera.

Drawing Workshop with Michelle Cochran
2025-08-26 17:30 - 19:30 (America/Chicago) | Winona Arts Center, 228 East 5th Street, Winona, MN, 55987, United States
Join us at the Winona Arts center for another Drawing Workshop with Michelle Cochran on August 26 from 5:30 to 7:30pm. We will be exploring Shape and Value (dark and light) and review Line as an element of art.
Cost is $25*. No experience necessary!
If you attended the Drawing Workshop on June 24, you have the supplies you need! If this is your first workshop, you can purchase a packet of drawing supplies: a high-quality sketch book, a drawing marker, an Ebony drawing pencil, and an art eraser, from the Winona Arts Center for $25.
Looking forward to another fun workshop!
Questions? Michelle Cochran michelle123.cochran@gmail.com
To Register and order supplies contact Jen jsbenson50@gmail.com Orders need to be placed by August 8.
*Please allow 7 to 10 day lead time for supplies.

Preston Lawing's Spotlight: Lithography
2025-08-27 17:30 - 19:00 (America/Chicago) | Winona Arts Center, 228 East 5th Street, Winona, MN, 55987, United States
On August 27th from 5:30 – 7:00 the Winona Arts Center will begin hosting a series of free lectures on Art history and techniques. This first hourlong lecture will profile Lithography, a printmaking process that uses a smooth Bavarian Limestone block that has been drawn on with a grease pencil.
This series, led by Preston Lawing, Professor Emeritus of the Saint Mary’s University Art and Design department, will cover the history and development of this print form, and will include many samples of original prints, actual stone blocks, drawing tools and photos of presses and historic documents.
This event is Free and Open to the Public.

Boundless Journeys: A Screening of Everything Everywhere All at Once
2025-08-29 19:00 - 21:00 (America/Chicago) | Winona Arts Center, 228 East 5th Street, Winona, MN, 55987, United States
Frozen River Film Festival presents
Boundless Journeys: A Screening of Everything Everywhere All at Once
Doors open at 6:30pm
Tickets: $10 for Adults | $8 for FRFF Members (20% discount) | FREE for Students
Join us for an adventurous screening of Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022). Directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (collectively known as “the Daniels”), Everything Everywhere All at Once took the film world by storm with its bold storytelling, emotional depth, and striking visuals. The film follows Evelyn Wang, a weary laundromat owner, as she’s swept into a wild adventure where she alone can save existence by exploring alternate lives she could have led.
Garnering seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress for Michelle Yeoh, the film is as heartfelt as it is inventive—blending sci-fi, action, and comedy with themes of identity, connection, and the chaos of modern life.
Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022) is rated R due to moments of sexual material, violence, and language.
Concessions and FRFF merchandise will be available for purchase to round out the movie experience.

Oil Painting 101 with Casey Wicka
2025-09-02 10:00 - 12:00 (America/Chicago) | Winona Arts Center, 228 East 5th Street, Winona, MN, 55987, United States
Learn how to paint a meadow scene in oils with a palette knife on September 2 with Casey Wicka!
Join artist Casey Wicka for a brand-new weekly series exploring oil painting techniques and materials. No experience necessary! Each Tuesday morning from 10:00am to 12:00pm, Casey will guide participants through a different oil painting theme.
September 2 – November 18, Every Tuesday. New themes each week!
10:00am – 12:00pm

All supplies provided
No paint thinners, turpentine, or mineral spirits used
Open to adults 18+
Cost: $25/class for members | $30/class for non-members

Reserve your spot by the Monday before each class by emailing Jen at jsbenson50@gmail.com

Open Studio
2025-09-04 16:30 - 20:00 (America/Chicago) | Winona Arts Center, 228 East 5th Street, Winona, MN, 55987, United States
Beginning October 2025 Open Studio will be held the 1st & 3rd Thursdays of the month from 4:30pm – 8:00pm!

The Open Studio is designed for those who are interested in printmaking and for those who need space to work on their own art projects. Your first visit is free of charge!

After Your First Visit:
o Drop-in Fee: $8 per visit
o Studio Pass: $35 for 5 visits
o No fee for participants who bring their own art supplies

Space will be limited to 12 people per Thursday so please make your reservation ahead of time.

For more information and to register please contact Jen at jsbenson@gmail.com

Rachael Kilgour
2025-09-07 14:00 - 15:30 (America/Chicago) | Winona Arts Center, 228 East 5th Street, Winona, MN, 55987, United States
Sunday / September 7 / 2:00pm
$10 (+processing fees) in Advance / $15 at the Door
Tickets will be available at Music Mart (formerly Hardt’s Music) until 4pm September 5th and on Eventbrite until 11am September 7. Note: Music Mart now accepts credit cards and checks made out to Music Mart.
Buy tickets now
Doors open at 1:30pm.
Performance at 2:00pm
Minnesota based Canadian-American songwriter Rachael Kilgour presents her heartfelt new release, My Father Loved Me, produced by JUNO-award winning and Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Rose Cousins.
In the spare and often gutting language for which she is known, Kilgour poses questions about belonging, inheritance, and grief and triumphantly affirms the value of one ordinary working man’s life.
On stage Kilgour expertly balances her poignant, literate songs with a quick wit, landing somewhere between a comedy special and a funeral. Listeners can expect to laugh, weep, and reflect on their own complicated relationships with fatherhood

Oil Painting 101 with Casy Wicka
2025-09-09 10:00 - 12:00 (America/Chicago) | Winona Arts Center, 228 East 5th Street, Winona, MN, 55987, United States
Join artist Casey Wicka for a brand-new weekly series exploring oil painting techniques and materials. No experience necessary! Each Tuesday morning from 10:00am to 12:00pm, Casey will guide participants through a different oil painting theme.
September 2 – November 18, Every Tuesday. New themes each week!
10:00am – 12:00pm

All supplies provided
No paint thinners, turpentine, or mineral spirits used
Open to adults 18+
Cost: $25/class for members | $30/class for non-members

Reserve your spot by the Monday before each class by emailing Jen at jsbenson50@gmail.com

Exploring Kitchen Lithography: Technique and Expression
2025-09-10 17:30 - 19:30 (America/Chicago) | Winona Arts Center, 228 East 5th Street, Winona, MN, 55987, United States
Preston Lawing, an award winning professor and collaborative printmaker, continues his Printmaking workshops at the Winona Arts with a workshop, Exploring Kitchen Lithography: Technique and Expression, on Wednesdays, September 10, 17, 24 from 5:30pm – 7:30pm.
This three week workshop will introduce participants to the exciting technique of lithographic printing, using household materials…and NO PRESS! Participants do not need to have strong drawing skills, but a willingness to explore different marking choices should provide lifelong joy of this simple, but elegant process.
The workshops are open to students over 18, and are suitable of students of any level.
Cost is $150.
Register today with Jen at jsbenson50@gmail.com.
To ensure classes are affordable to all, scholarships are available. Please contact Jen at jsbenson50@gmail.com for more information.

Opposable Thumbs
2025-09-12 19:00 - 21:00 UTC | Winona Arts Center, 228 East 5th Street, Winona, MN, 55987, United States
Friday / September 12 / 7:00pm
$15 (+processing fees) in Advance / $20 at the Door
Tickets will be available at Music Mart (formerly Hardt’s Music) and Eventbrite until September 12 at 4:00pm. Note: Music Mart now accepts credit cards and checks made out to Music Mart.
Coffeehouse & gallery open at 6:00pm. Cash bar for wine & beer.
Performance at 7:00pm
Opposable Thumbs is a four-piece string band that performs originals and progressive string band music. This band first performed in the 90’s. After about 20 years, they started meeting weekly, reviving past repertoire, and adding some new material. With original members Wayne Beezley; mandolin and octave mandolin, Rick Sampson; banjo, guitar and mandolin, Betsy Neil; fiddle, they added a new bass player, Larry Dalton, and continued honing their skills.
Wayne Beezley, landed in Winona after performing with the notable Bluegrass band, Monroe Doctrine, which was based in Colorado. Wayne’s time with Monroe Doctrine took him to major festivals, college campuses, and other popular venues across the country. This band was cutting edge Progressive Bluegrass and influenced many young musicians, bringing this style of bluegrass music to the Midwest in the ‘70’s. He currently performs locally with The Bus Boys and String Ties.
Since 1977, Rick Sampson has been delighting audiences with his innovative banjo playing with a variety of bands including The Riverbenders, Traveling Kind, and Suite Grass. He has worked with a variety of bands including a Scottish Rock group, Peter Ostroushko, Kate Mackenzie, Chris Silver, Brian Wicklund, and jazz violinist Randy Sabien, to name a few. He placed second at the Telluride festival in the banjo competition two years in a row. Also, after attending the Red Wing Technical College, he started making banjo bridges that are sold internationally and used by prominent musicians worldwide. He has crafted and sold wooden flutes and flat picks as well.
Betsy Neil began learning music on violin and piano as a child. As a young adult she continued to perform in symphonies, string quartets and theater pits, but soon became interested in swinging her bow in a different direction. In the mid-seventies she developed a strong interest in fiddling and studied a variety of styles including Bluegrass, Appalachian old time, Swing, Celtic, and Cajun. She has performed in numerous string bands, the most notable being, The Buffalo Gals. Currently she performs with the Twin Cities based Cajun band, Roux La La and Winona Symphony, as well as anything else that calls for a violin or fiddle.
Rich Casey, first performed with Opposable Thumbs about 20 years ago. Rich is a musical man about town who, in addition to providing a solid musical foundation to the High 48s’ hard‐driving bluegrass sound, keeps a busy performance schedule lending his doghouse skills to a wide range of musical situations.
This performance is made possible in part thanks to the generous support of Merchants Bank, Dahl Auto, and Affinity Plus.

Oil Painting 101 with Casey Wicka
2025-09-16 10:00 - 12:00 (America/Chicago) | Winona Arts Center, 228 East 5th Street, Winona, MN, 55987, United States

Drawing Workshop with Michelle Cochran
2025-09-16 17:30 - 19:30 (America/Chicago) | Winona Arts Center, 228 East 5th Street, Winona, MN, 55987, United States
Join us at the Winona Arts center for a Drawing Workshop with Michelle Cochran on September 16 from 5:30 to 7:30pm. We will work on drawing 3-dimensional shapes from life using graphite pencils and erasers.
Cost is $25*.
No experience necessary!
*If you attended one of the other classes bring your supplies. To register and to purchase supplies, contact Jen jsbenson50@gmail.com.

Exploring Kitchen Lithography: Technique and Expression
2025-09-17 17:30 - 19:30 (America/Chicago) | Winona Arts Center, 228 East 5th Street, Winona, MN, 55987, United States
Preston Lawing, an award winning professor and collaborative printmaker, continues his Printmaking workshops at the Winona Arts with a workshop, Exploring Kitchen Lithography: Technique and Expression, on Wednesdays, September 10, 17, 24 from 5:30pm – 7:30pm.
This three week workshop will introduce participants to the exciting technique of lithographic printing, using household materials…and NO PRESS! Participants do not need to have strong drawing skills, but a willingness to explore different marking choices should provide lifelong joy of this simple, but elegant process.
The workshops are open to students over 18, and are suitable of students of any level.
Cost is $150.
Register today with Jen at jsbenson50@gmail.com.
