by Dennis Dalman
news@thenewsleaders.com
Lively music and a stunning variety of arts and crafts filled Sartell Middle School April 5 during the Pine Groove Art Festival, one of two fundraisers that took place on that day in Sartell for the Sartell Music Association.
The other event was an evening dance with the Andrew Walesch Big Band at the Mulligan Event Center.
“They were very successful,” said Maureen Putnam of Sartell, one of the organizers of the fundraisers. “We did much better than we’ve ever done for an arts event. It was so nice to see arts shared in the community. The Pine Groove Art Festival was a wonderful example of teamwork among the Sartell music faculty and others. They did an outstanding job.”
The evening event was also a success, Putnam noted.
“It was a good audience, a very fun dancing crowd,” she said. “The band was just outstanding, and by the end of the night everybody was on the dance floor, doing a kick-line dance to New York, New York. So many people told me to please offer the same event next year.”
About 30 vendors displayed their arts and crafts at the Pine Groove event. Throughout the day, there were performances by the Sartell High School Jazz Band, the Sartell Middle School Jazz Band and Strings Orchestra, the Sartell Community Band, Sartell musical faculty and many other talents from Sartell and elsewhere.
Thanks to the two fundraisers, the Sartell Music Association raised enough to purchase the following: a piccolo, a percussion stand, ukulele stands, a drum pedal, a new vocal-chord application program for the school’s sound system, sheet music and a bass amplifier.
Major donors included Al’s Instrument and Repair, Bridge of Harmony, Eckroth’s Music, Ham’s Music, Kracker Jack Drum Shop and Riff City. All of those musical businesses, who were vendors at the festival, made possible discounts on musical purchases by the Sartell Music Association. In addition, Mulligan Event Center donated space for the evening big-band event.
The Sartell Music Association is a non-profit group of parents, students and other residents whose mission is to enhance the music curriculum in the Sartell-St. Stephen School District.
The Ragdona String Quartet performs Simon Tov, an Israeli folk song, during the Pine Groove Art Festival April 5 in Sartell. From left to right are Josephine Warmka, and her sister, Amelia, both of Monticello; Chesney Tillemans of Sartell; and Carter Scheele of St. Cloud.
Jan Murch of Sauk Centre admires a vase created by potter Peder Hegland of Sartell at his booth at the Pine Groove Art Festival April 5 in Sartell.
Matthew Kuehn of Big Lake and his two sons, Zachary and Noah, choose hand-crafted Easter eggs April 5 at the Pine Groove Art Festival at Sartell Middle School. The two eggs they boys bought are for their two grandmothers. The eggs were created by Cindy Zimmerman (right) and her mother, both of Hanover.
The St. John’s Boys Choir performs a rousing gospel song at the Pine Groove Art Festival April 5 in Sartell. The choir was one of many musical acts at the festival, which was a fundraiser for the Sartell Music Association.
Joan Rydberg of St. Cloud sculpts dolls, using a special plastic clay, at the doll’s booth at the Pine Groove Art Festival April 5 in Sartell. The whimsical dolls brought smiles to the faces of all the people who stopped at the booth.
Two nuns and several dazzling, dolled-up biddies provide a stunning visual contrast at the Pine Groove Art Festival April 5 in Sartell. The handcrafted dolls are made by a business known as “Wise Women from Wadsworth.”
Siblings Eleanor, Clara and Paul Warmka of Monticello watch a large top spinning at the Pine Groove Art Festival April 5 in Sartell. Larry Merdan of Albany, owner of Wood Creations, displayed his ingenious handcrafted wooden toys and other products at the festival.
Linda Anderson of Clearwater strings beads at her booth at the Pine Groove Art Festival April 5 in Sartell. Anderson is the owner of “Cherry Top Design Co.” in Clearwater.