The Meander Art Crawl draws eventgoers from near and far. According to a survey, 61% of people who attend the event come from outside the five-county area that houses the 32 artist studios. While attendees have the opportunity to visit art studios throughout the day during the weekend, they also are entertained with Meander-sponsored events in the evenings. This year, these events will be held in Granite Falls on Friday night, September 30, and Dawson on Saturday night, October 1.
In downtown Granite Falls on September 30th from 6-10pm, all are welcome to come to the second annual Light Up the River event. Many businesses in downtown Granite will stay open late, and have been invited to illuminate their windows with kits provided for the event. Everyone is welcome at a riverside family friendly happy hour from 6-8pm. Throughout the evening, guests will be able to meander along Prentice Street, Granite Falls’s main drag, and enter local shops with beverages in hand while also enjoying the various bonfires and acoustic musicians performing along the street. Following happy hour, head to the Bluenose Gopher at 8pm for the Get Lit! after party with DJ Ndpth spinning tunes.
On Saturday night of Meander, art crawlers can head to Dawson to be serenaded by an award-winning and worldwide renowned a capella band. The Six Appeal Vocal Band will perform at the Dawson-Boyd Arts Association Memorial Auditorium at 7pm. After getting together in 2006 at Concordia College as students, Six Appeal has since won the National Harmony Sweepstakes Champions and two grand prizes at the world’s largest a capella competition in Moscow in 2018 and 2019. Tickets ($15 for adults, $5 for students) are at dawsonboydartsmn.org; more info and song samples about Six Appeal Vocal Band can be found at sixappealvocalband.com.
Enjoy these events while you meander through art studios and galleries around the Upper Minnesota River Valley. Studio doors will be open to the public from 12pm-6pm on Friday, September 30; 9am-6pm on Saturday, October 1; and 9am-4pm on Sunday, October 2. To learn more about the many artists displaying and selling works over the weekend, visit artsmeander.com, where a downloadable, printable version of the brochure is available. More information can also be found on the Meander’s Facebook page (MeanderArtCrawl) or by calling 1-866-866-5432.