Pics, Pottery, Paintings, & More in Avoca, Macedonia, Neola, & Oakland this weekend!

The Southwest Iowa Arts Tour is coming for you this weekend (September 20, 21, & 22) and we’ve got an Arts Tour t-shirt to give away, too! 

So if you’ve never been, you need to check it out!  12 Towns. 1 weekend!  Of those 12 towns, the 6th Annual Southwest Iowa Arts Tour will offer 5 Pottawattamie County options for you!  The rural towns of Avoca, Macedonia, Neola, and Oakland will all be taking part in the tour, as well as Council Bluffs at the PACE building. And we wholly advocate for you to get to all 12 (we just are focused on Pott. Co. for this)!

How does it work?  Well, it’s a self-guided tour.  Catch as many towns as you want, see as many places as you wish, but all of the spots on the tour have added a little extra incentive to bring you in!  The tour hours run Saturday 10am to 5pm and noon to 4pm on Sunday with a special “sneak peek” in Macedonia on Friday from 1pm to 7pm! 

Need that perfect one-of-a-kind Christmas gift?  Perhaps you’re trying to keep up with the Joneses with that exquisite painting?  Headed on vacation and need the perfect jewelry?  The tour has it all!  There’s paintings, sculptures, fabric art, photography, pottery, wood carvings, jewelry, and mixed media all available throughout the tour! 

As I mentioned, Macedonia is one of only 2 sneak preview spots on the tour and open on Friday!  Be sure to head to The Painted Camel in Donia – you won’t be sorry!  They just did a round of firing last month for Paul’s fabulous pottery and they have all new stuff, plus over 30 artists’ work like Robert DeWaele’s wood sculptures and Marilyn Hackett’s weaving!  As I tell everyone, it is the cutest gallery straight out of the Old Market on Main Street Donia!

On Saturday and Sunday, you can also hit Neola, home of the Christensens’ amazing work!  Penny’s Visions Art Gallery is home to the Russell and Penny Christensen, which you may know as the people behind the bronze eagle statues in every town in Pott. Co!  They have sculptures and paintings and a little of everything.  Penny has even painted amazing scenes on feathers!  No lie!

In Avoca, you can find your way to the historic East Pottawattamie County Courthouse for some mixed medium surprises and check out the pop-up venue, The Latest Thing, on Elm for artists, LuAnn Barrett and Sandy Clemens!  You just never know what will “pop up” there!

Last, but not least, Oakland will also be joining the art tour again this year as Impact Hill (the former Riverside High School building) hosts!  They will not only have local artists (including yours truly, in full disclosure) but they will also welcome the Iowa Western Community Band and the Omaha Weavers and Spinners Guild!  The range of art will be from photography to children’s books to stained glass to garden sculptures to hand-woven baskets!

Let’s just say that a lot of artists have gone to a lot of work to make one-of-a-kind art you thought you could only find in the big metropolitan areas!  Plus, a lot of businesses in the area have gone above and beyond to support arts in Pott. Co. including Mertes Welding, Rolling Hills Bank & Trust, TFS Agronomy, The Bar’N & Grill, Total Farm Solutions, LLC, AgriVision Equipment, Boruff Heating, Macedonia Hamilton Development Corp., Macedonia House Bed and Breakfast, Farmers & Merchants State Bank, D’Angelo Tax & Accounting, Keast Motors, Kum & Go, Arbor Bank, Prairie Crossing Winery, TS Bank, Pottawattamie County Wide Tourism Committee, the Pottawattamie County Community Foundation, and all of it was coordinated by Golden Hills RC&D!  That, my friends, is pretty impressive! 

So whether you’re looking for a birthday card, a picture for your wall, a sculpture for your new reception area, or a piece of jewelry for your mom, you’ll be able to find it this weekend!

#SupportLocal #TheArtsMatter #PottCounty #SmallTownLifeIsTheBestLife #SeeIowa

P.S. – Like the WIDA Facebook page or if you already do, simply share this post for your chance to win a free Arts Tour tee!  And if you need any other information about this weekend, go here!