A few updates this week!

Kathleen Marihart stopped in the office for a few minutes (I love my new location downtown where people can easily stop in!) and I asked her how the opening was coming between the two buildings – I am behind the times!  The door is in!  So, I stopped down this afternoon to take a couple of pictures.  Kathleen owns The Smallest Art Gallery in downtown Ortonville and recently purchased the building next door so that she could expand her space.  She plans to use the new portion for her personal gallery and classes and the original portion of her business for Artist Receptions, Exhibits, and Classes.  You can see from the photos that she is preparing for a class and also, her sister and local artist, Edie Barrett, is preparing for a project day with a group of regional friends – they get together about every seven weeks or so and this gathering is in Ortonville.  To Ortonville’s benefit, these two sisters have settled, invested and provided new opportunities for residents and visitors to the area!

Kathleen’s classes have been enjoyed by so many – young and older!  Her receptions and exhibits provide an opportunity for artists to show their work and connect with those that stop in to see the work and meet the artist.  One in particular that I attended last summer was Corina Kell’s conceptual photography show.  Her photography is very interesting and the work that she does through her photography is amazing –  check out the link to my blog post on MNbump 

Edie has invited “us all” to follow along and be part of her work and education as she attends The Humphrey School of Public Affairs (part of the University of Minnesota) in pursuit of a Master Degree in Public Affairs.  Check out this link for details – there will be more exciting updates posted soon on this topic – the link also includes a little background on Edie’s work beyond this project.

Edie has also invested in a beautiful short-term rental property which is located on the northern end of our downtown businesses district – with a view of Big Stone Lake and a short walk to our coffee shops, eateries and shopping.  The home is complete with regional artwork throughout – and a very fun “changing of the art” party is held each year (I’ve included a video below at the end of this post from one of the art change events – the video will give a great feel for the house and a peek in at local friendships and art.  You can find information on the VRBO site for The GuestHouse to check availability on the beautiful lodging option here, in Ortonville.

We are fortunate to have these two creative and community-involved sisters in Ortonville!

Now, I started this blog post out as a quick update on a few things… and I easily float off focus when I start writing about the amazing people that fill our downtown (and beyond) businesses.  Thankfully a friend stopped by just to say hi and to drop off a white chocolate mocha from 2nd Street Cafe & Coffeehouse (which was perfect in case you were wondering!)

The official “ice out” on Big Stone Lake was Sunday – that was just two days ago and already our City Crew was down putting the docks in.  Their speed and attention are awesome – but considering that the lake level is up and the docks will need to be lowered again soon… this was especially nice that they took the time to do this twice.  The locals (my husband included) enjoys casting a few times off the docks to see if they’re biting (Walleyes – in the evening  just before/as sundown, he loves it when I share fishing spots in online posts! ha)

4/23/2019, putting in the docks

Our electrical department was also out today checking connections and prepping for the summer season throughout our parks and of course our small city campground that sits at the foot of Big Stone Lake along with the start of the Minnesota River.  If primitive camping is not what you are looking for, we have some pretty awesome options along Big Stone Lake  (Lakeshore RV Park, Rustling Elms Resort, DNA Guide Service (hunting, lodging & RV sites), and on the South Dakota side there is Schmidt’s Landing 

City Campground, primitive

And… after quite the snow struggles this spring, it was great to see the school golf teams out on the course this afternoon enjoying some real play outdoors!

The ‘Changing of the Art’ event at The GuestHouse – enjoy!