Midwest Mix Magazine

Story and photos by Audrey Kletscher Helbling

A combination of great food, original artwork, good music and ideal weather provided the perfect mix for the first-ever Blue Collar BBQ & Arts Fest in downtown Faribault on a Saturday afternoon.

Although I didn’t make the entire event because I was helping with my son’s Spanish trip car wash fundraiser, I experienced enough of this block party to want more next year.

From the get-go, the “Blue Collar” name given to the Paradise Center for the Arts festival had me hooked. I’ve always considered Faribault mostly a blue collar community and celebrating that seemed appropriate. And heck, blue and white collar workers alike sipped plenty of cold beer, served in plastic cups or in refillable mugs available for purchase from the Paradise.

I arrived too late for the BBQ-cooking contest, which had 16 contestants vying for honors. But I didn’t miss out entirely. I sampled the barbequed chicken wings my husband, Randy, purchased from The Cheese Cave, a downtown retailer for Faribault Dairy Company, producers of cave-aged blue cheeses. Typically I’m not a fan of chicken wings. But I am now.

I opted for a grilled veggie-chicken kabob and sweet corn from Monte’s Steakhouse in Faribault, one of numerous food vendors, most from area restaurants. The kabob was tasty and Randy liked the corn, which I handed to him because I don’t like eating messy sweet corn in public. 

Organizers will need to set up more tables for diners next year as we had to sit on the curb, not all that comfortable or easy when you’re over 50.

Food aside, the art was a major draw for me. I’m no artist, but I appreciate those who are, like Whitney Reuvers, who graduated from Faribault High School in 2006 with my youngest daughter, Miranda. Whitney has a funky, hip sort of style that seems to fit her outgoing personality. Just to look at her acrylic paintings and the colors she chooses, you can see that Whitney paints creatively, with a passion and from her soul. She’s working full-time now, hoping someday to return to art school. In the meantime, Whitney says she’s into recycled art, brushing acrylic onto cardboard.

And then I met Nathan Paulson of Faribault, who’s just a little bit shy, but who is one talented photographer. You can check out his nature photography at digitalagecaptured.blogspot.com.

Shirley Smith of Ostrander (that’s in southeastern Minnesota near the Iowa border) peddled hand-painted glassware like perfume bottles, vases, wine glasses and cheese trays. A self-taught artist of 10 years, Shirley travels to 45 shows annually with her wares. She brushes Pebeo, a French paint, onto glass before baking the pieces in a kiln. Her artwork exudes a certain flair and flourish that’s intriguing and daintily charming.

In contrast, Dominic J. Ledesma and his wife, Lucia, of St. Paul were selling heftier, down-to-earth art from Tonalá, Jalisco in Mexico. Family friends create the plaster, ceramic, wood and red clay products that Dominic terms “organically Mexican.” He says, “It’s like picking fruit straight from the vine and selling it in the marketplace.” From kitschy piggy banks to wooden boxes and some pieces that would make great garden art, this artwork certainly displays native artisanship and craftsmanship. Visit his website at northernsouthern.net.

I could have talked to artisans all day. They—oil painter Barb Bruns, potter Dianne Lockerby, jeweler Joleen Emery,   soy products creator Beth Jewett and many more—are an interesting bunch.

I watched Peggy Osterbauer and Laura J. Grote, Faribault artists who had set up easels to demonstrate their work. Peggy was painting flowers in acrylic (she also does paper botanicals) while Laura, engraved a hummingbird.

And then I came upon Jeff Pridie’s BBQ sauce paintings. Yes, you read that correctly. Pridie, an art teacher and PCA education program coordinator, came up with BBQ painting as a way to meld the food and art aspects of the fest. It was a hit with the younger crowd, as were the chalk drawings, tie dying, face painting, water balloon launching and dunk tanks. I can attest to that as I dodged several water balloons and an errant softball while coming and going from the Central Avenue festival.

Music also played an integral role in Saturday’s block party. I caught the Swamp Kings, a Twin Cities-based country and blues band. Other performers included the local group Jivin’ Ivan and metro bands Moses Oakland, The Copperheads and Trailer Trash.

And just to make my day, one of the Swamp Kings tossed gold Mardi Gras beads my way when I was sitting on a straw bale photographing the band. Surprisingly, I caught the necklace, then flipped it over my head, adding a touch of glittery glam to my 1 ½ inch wide Canon EOS camera strap.

Read more of Kletscher Helbling’s writings on her blog, Minnesota Prairie Roots.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 1st, 2009 at 8:12 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.