Community Arts Base Events & Projects

Annual Spring Gala

Each Spring CAB hosts our Annual Gala, a very popular event as well as our primary fundraiser of the year. Offering an evening of dancing to live big band music, elegant hors d'oeuvres, cash bar, raffle, and silent art auction, this event is always a great success. Many local artists and businesses donate their work and services to the raffle and auction, resulting in a rich and diverse representation of the community. The River Falls Golf Course graciously donates the space for the evening and board member and volunteers make sure everything runs smoothly. Tickets sales for the Gala go to cover the food and entertainment for the evening with the remainder, along with raffle and auction proceeds, going to help fund CAB events and operations throughout the year.

Music in the Park

Music in the Park is an annual summertime series running from June to August that features live music performances every Friday evening in Veterans Park in downtown River Falls. The newly renovated park offers a beautiful and centrally located setting for folks of all ages to gather and listen to a diverse range of live entertainment. Local businesses help to fund the event by signing up to sponsor a particular Friday concert and volunteers from CAB sell light refreshments during the event with any proceeds going to support the series. This series is CAB's longest running event with it's beginnings predating the existence of CAB. The 2008 Music in the Park season is listed below.

• June 20th - Riverside Swing Band
• June 27th - Brian Wickland w/Clint Hoover
• July 4th - Ed Danger's Dangergrass
• July 11th - River Falls Days
• July 18th - Emily Huppert & Tim Caswell
• July 25th - The Blues Dogs
• August 1st - Wolf River
• August 8th - Youth Band Showcase
• August 15th - The Danger Rangers
• August 22nd - Chris Silver
• Aug 29th - Dakota Dave Hull & Pop Wagner

Poetry on the River

The Poetry on the River children's poetry project, held in June, was originally inspired by a generous donation from a local community member. Middle school students from the ages of 12-14 participate in the week long event that offers hands-on poetry writing exercises, lessons on the ecology of the Kinnickinnic River, and song writing activities. The project culminates with a "Poetry Launch" event where the participants read their poems aloud and awards are given for a variety of achievements. The 2007 event featured poet and writer, Freya Manfred, teacher Brian Mulrooney, and singer/songwriter Thea Ennen. Best overall poem awards were given out to students Madison Probst, Anna Wittig, and Aaron Kuesel. The poem to the right is one of the winning poems from the project.

Art on the Kinni

This year marks the 13th annual Art on the Kinni, a juried art fair held the weekend after Labor Day along the Kinnikinnic River. The event features over 40 artists and 10 musical performances and draws attendance from around the region. Encompassing Veterans Park, Heritage Park, and the White Pathway along the Kinni, this event is centrally located in downtown River Falls and offers a beautiful stroll along the river that is interspersed with wonderful art, live music, and a variety of food. Any artist or musician interested in participating in this annual event should email us at artonthekinni@sbcglobal.net or visit our site at www.pressenter.com/~artkinni/

Community Barn Dances

Each October through April, CAB, along with the River Falls Park and Recreation and the Whole Earth Grocery, co-sponsors a series of barn dances on each second Saturday of the month. These dances are are a wonderful success and draw community members young and old to dance the night away to live music. The dances start at 7PM and are held in the gymnasium of the River Falls Academy. This year's schedule of performances includes the Rush River Ramblers, Barn Cats, Poor Benny, and Duck for the Oyster. Dates are as follows:

River Dazzle Art Crawl

CAB is pleased to sponsor the annual River Dazzle Art Crawl the weekend following Thanksgiving. Organized to draw holiday shoppers downtown River Falls, this event is a collaborative effort by local artists and businesses to offer the community an alternative to leaving town to do their shopping. Participants are encouraged to visit each business and sponsored artist along the route, and drawings and prizes are awarded to those who complete the crawl. The backdrop of the weekend's River Dazzle events add to the festive spirit of this event and it is a wonderful opportunity for the community to experience the best of what downtown River Falls has to offer.

Veterans Park Sculpture Project

The Veterans Park Sculpture Project was a collaborative effort of CAB, the River Falls Park Board, the River Way Park Partnership, and the city of River Falls to erect a permanent sculpture in Veterans Park. The project was designed to enhance the newly renovated Veterans Park with a public sculpture that would reflect the community of River Falls and its connection to the Kinnickinnic River. The committee selected sculptor, Richard Taylor of Milwaukee, WI, from the pool of entries to receive the $25,000 commission for the project and through fund raising and member support, we were able to successfully unveil a fine piece of public art in late November, 2007.

"The Choice Between Life and Death"

Live or die? That is the question

I ask myself

When I'm young

And have no one to look to

So again you ask yourself

Live or die?

In that old brown house

There is hardship

But no one's there to help

So I fall to the floor crying

Angering the one I despise

And because of that

I am told to leave.

And you know they mean it

Because they said it in that voice

I know very well.

So I leave knowing

You are left out

And as I enter that empty room

I cry again

But this time an echo makes it worse

And again I ask myself

Live or die?

I come back to that dirty room

Where he sits

Drunk and dumb as can be.

So I leave that old brown house

Not ever wanting to come back

But as I walk down

that dark and vacant road

I wonder

Live or die?

I ask myself

Why me?

Why did you choose him?

So I decide to run away

And never come back.

But I think to myself

"If I leave, I will never survive."

So I return to that

Dirty brown house

Knowing in my heart

I want to stay

But my mind strongly begs to differ

So again why me?

Why did you choose him?

Now I have to choose

Life or Death.

                                 -Aaron Kuesel