Downtown Waukesha Prepares for Holiday Season

Waukesha Downtown Business Association Members Team Together to Promote the City

The River's End Gallery is a member of the Waukesha Downtown Business Association. Today, the association kicked off its exciting holiday shopping experience in Historic Downtown Waukesha. Beginning with the holiday tree lighting on November 20 and the parade on November 22, the city comes alive with activities planned by the merchants of Downtown Waukesha.

It’s Holiday Time in the City. The atmosphere reminds you of Christmases past. The ambiance includes elaborately decorated store window displays, music in the streets, and horse drawn carriages.

Calling the activities, Silver Bells in Waukesha, the events will be held during the four Saturdays before Christmas (November 28-December 19). You will step back in time to that magical time when life was simple and the holidays were more than commercialism. Adults and children alike will enjoy pictures and breakfast with Santa, an old fashion tree lighting ceremony, music on the streets, live reindeer, and of course, caroling groups strolling the streets.

The horse carriage rides are the city’s answer to old fashioned taxis taking shoppers to their favorite stores. Shoppers will access the carriages at various identified stops throughout the downtown.

List of some 2009 events:
November 20 Hometown Christmas Tree Lighting – Friday, 6:00 p.m.
The lighting is held at the Main Street Plaza mall and there will be caroling, free hot cocoa, and please bring food items for the Salvation Army food pantry.

November 22 Santa Photos – Sunday, 12:00–3:00 p.m.
See Santa before the Parade at Martha Merrell’s Books and Cuddles. Pictures start at $6.00. Personal Cameras are welcome.

November 22 47th Annual Waukesha Christmas Parade – Sunday, 4:00–5:30 p.m.
The Parade is brought to you by our friends at BloodCenter Wisconsin and features local bands, floats, your favorite characters, and Santa.

November 22 Holiday Stroll & Open House – Sunday, 12:00–4:00 p.m.
Don’t forget to visit your local merchants and view their brightly decorated holiday windows prior to the parade.

November 27 Day After Thanksgiving Sale – Friday, 10:00–8:00 p.m.
Most of the shops downtown will be offering specials.

November 29 Photos with Live Reindeer – Saturday
For a really unusual holiday family photo visit the Waukesha Antique Mall’s live reindeer sponsored event in the parking lot.

December 5, 12, & 19 Santa Breakfast Workshop – Saturday, 8:00–10:00 a.m.

Have breakfast with Santa at Martha Merrell’s Books and Cuddles. Breakfast, caroling, cookie decorating, storytelling, etc. will take place. Make sure to tell Santa your Christmas List this year. The breakfast and activities is $15 per person.

December 5, 12, &19 Santa Photos – Saturday, 1:00–3:00 p.m.

Make sure to tell Santa your Christmas List this year. He is happy to talk you and take a picture. Pictures start at $6.00. Personal Cameras are welcome.

December 5 Art Crawl – Sunday, 4:00–10:00 p.m.

Many downtown shops are open late for this annual event. See visiting artists at any downtown galleries. The perfect night to find a special Holiday gift.

December 12 Waukesha Santa Charity 4K Run/Walk – Saturday, 9:00 a.m. preregistration, Saturday, 10:00 a.m. race begins.
Enjoy the bagpipe entertainer and the Santa costumed runners. Registration is open to all. Register at selected local downtown shops.

December 11, 12 & 13 Secret Santa Shopping at Waukesha Downtown shops.

December 18, 19, 20 Christmas Story Telling in selected Waukesha Downtown shops.

Many more information on these and other activities that will be held downtown, please check the calendar at http://www.downtownwaukesha.com/
About the photos:

Photo 1: The Waukesha Downtown Business Association is made up of approximately 60 independent businesses owners who have been meeting to plan the Silver Bells holiday season events since July.

Photo 2: Local show owners have gone all out decorating their store windows for the enjoyment of the holiday shoppers (River’s End Gallery window at 380 W Main Street, Waukesha)

Quality in Art

Our experience in our gallery shows that the most successful artists are devoted to high quality and the value they deliver to the client. They have the ability to step back from their work and look at it through their buyer's eyes and price it accordingly.

Art collectors are picky and want real value. They demand attention to detail in the art and the framing. Don't forget the framing or the overall presentation. Art collectors' homes are immaculate and they expect that the art should be perfect. Artists must create work that will fit seamlessly into their homes.

An artist's medium doesn't matter - sculpture, jewelry, paintings, or ceramics - the presentation must be flawless. Each artist must think of each work he or she creates as a masterpiece and should treat it as such. One small thing to improve the quality of an artist's work is to invite someone he or she trusts to evaluate the quality of the art. An objective observer will see the art in a way the artist never could. Repeat this process every 1-2 years and make a commitment to constantly improve your quality. The River's End Gallery offers suggestions to its artists to help them sell. Our gallery is focused on the artist / gallery partnership.

Allure

It's the stillness on a starry night; the busy wildlife scurrying about; the changing colors and moods of the lake; that drew me to live on a lake in Oconomowoc.

My drive from the house in Oconomowoc to the gallery in Historic Downtown Waukesha is wonderful with the changing colors of the trees in October. This drive has inspired me to put more fall colors in the landscape I am currently painting.

When I am not painting, I am adding into the inventory all the new and varied jewelry that arrived this week. Sometimes display space is a problem, but somehow we find a way to display the jewelry. Today, I added a new display of Amber, Antique Roman Glass in Sterling Silver, and some rings. I can't wait to work on the other jewelry we got in this week.

As a Child, the Month of October Held Significance To Me

As a child, October held significance to me for two reasons, one, I was given the opportunity to run around the neighborhood collecting copious amounts of candy and the other was my birthday. For Halloween I was dressed up in some outrageous costume, one of which continues to haunt me to this day. Well, I have nothing against loads of candy and dressing as my alter ego for a night. And, I love my birthdays, but now as an adult with an art gallery in Waukesha, October carries a different kind of weight in my eyes.

This month, Waukesha finally sheds its summer malaise and we see clients who are getting ready for the holiday gift and decorating season. On October 3, which a this Saturday, we will see hundreds of art lovers in the gallery. To please these visitors, we have added many new artists and and wonderful new art pieces to enjoy.

We are making another change this month. Rather than providing meats and cheeses to snack on, we are going to offer an array of cakes and cookies to enjoy. The city now has so many wonderful restaurants and our visitors are enjoying the new eateries, so we thought that sweets would be a nice change and would top off the evening. What could be better than cookies and art?

Art Crawl - October 3, 2009

Now is the time to visit the gallery. We have just brought in many new artists and new types of art gifts for the holidays. There are too many to describe, so come on October 3 from 4pm-10pm and enjoy the new finds.

Hidden River Art Festival Begins Friday, 9/18 4pm

We hope that all of the River's End Gallery friends visit us at the Hidden River Art Festival on Friday - Sunday (9/18-9/20/09). We are exhibiting in the Grand Hall, just as you enter the main building.

We have 20 feet of space and will be showing a medley of works from our Wisconsin artists.

We will be showing new jewelry as well as paintings, glass, and ceramics.

See you there.

Visit the Hidden River Art Festival

Held: September 18 -20, 2009
Friday 5pm-7pm
Saturday 10am-6pm
Sunday 11am-4pm

The Hidden River Art Festival is held on the grounds of the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts, and rivals any art festival in the state. That is the reason the River's End Gallery is a sponsor of the festival and you can find us displaying our Wisconsin artists inside in the Grand Hall.



Hidden River distinguishes itself as one of the few festivals to feature only Wisconsin artists from all over the state—18 counties are represented from the juried pool of 80 painters, potters, printmakers, photographers, glass and fiber artists, and jewelers. Spend a beautiful morning or afternoon in Brookfield’s Mitchell Park, browse the made-in-Wisconsin art, take home an original piece of work, and take pride in the collective talent of the artists in your state.

For a complete list of 2009 Hidden River artists, their medium, and a sample of their work, click here.

Public Hours: Fri 5–7, Sat 10–6, and Sun 11–4BackStage Member free admission: Fri 4–7
Tickets are $5 in advance/$7 at the door. Children 12 and younger are free. Purchase tickets online or by phone (262) 781-9520.

Presented by: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; Title Sponsor: Northwestern Mutual Foundation; Supporting Sponsor: Greater Milwaukee Foundation Mary L. Nohl Fund; Contributing Sponsors: Holly and Jon Sorenson, Johnson Bank, US Bank, Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare—Elmbrook Memorial; Media Sponsor: M Magazine; Gallery Sponsors: River's End Gallery, Lyle Husar Designs