Waupaca to host four upcoming events

By Angie Landsverk

After this past weekend’s Arts on the Square, the city of Waupaca is preparing for another four events on the city square within the next month.

The events are the Spudder Mini Open, Oktoberfest, Farm to Table Dinner and Sleep Out.

The Waupaca Common Council approved street closures or the use of the lawn in front of city hall and the public library for the different events.

The Spudder
The second annual Spudder Mini-Open is being held from 2-10 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 25.

It is the second of three Downtown on Main events coordinated and co-sponsored by the city, Waupaca Area Chamber of Commerce and the retailer group Waupaca, King and In Between.

The block of Main Street, between Fulton and Union streets, is being blocked off for the mini-golf event.

It includes a mini-golf course on Main Street which spells out the letters W-A-U-P-A-C-A-W-I and is free of charge to all ages.
This year’s event includes expanded hours and a “Glo” golfing from 8-10 p.m.

Refreshments will be available for sale near the bandstand, which is also where the band “Old Time Sounds” will play from 5-8 p.m.

The four-member band plays throughout the area, has 50-plus years of experience and plays a variety of music, including polkas, old country and musics of the ‘40s and ‘50s.

Downtown restaurants – Paca Pub, Simpson’s, Little Fat Gretchen’s, T-Dubs and Weasels – will feature potato-themed entrée specials.
Participating businesses will have potato dish recipes to collect.

The Wisconsin Spudmobile will be in Waupaca from 2-6 p.m. and will be parked on East Fulton Street.

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Waupaca was known as “The Potato Capitol of the World.”

Oktoberfest
The Waupaca Breakfast Rotary Club is moving its annual Oktoberfest to downtown Waupaca this year.

Previously held at the Waupaca Ale House, this year’s event will be held from 4:30-11 p.m. Friday, Sept. 2, under a tent on East Fulton Street.

As part of the admission price, those who attend will be able to sample 16 different craft beers, or an optional wine sampling.

This is the eighth year the club is sponsoring the event, and food will also be available.

All proceeds from the event will go toward the Waupaca Breakfast Rotary Club.

The club uses the funds it raises for scholarships, teacher-sponsored grants, an annual contribution to Waupaca High School’s music program, international student exchanges and other international projects.

“We really expect and hope to double the event by holding it downtown. We think we will have people walking to the event that we didn’t have in the past,” Rotary member Charlie Justmann told the common council.

Farm to Table
The Waupaca Community Health Action Team is bringing the first Farm to Table Dinner to Waupaca.

The group is made up of people from throughout the community who work together to understand local health issues.

The Farm to Table Dinner is an initiative of its healthy living work group.

The dinner will be held from 4-30-6:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 11, under a tent on East Fulton Street.

It is limited to 60 people, and tickets are $20 per person.

Tickets are available at the Waupaca Area Chamber of Commerce for cash only.

The dinner will celebrate the locally grown food of area farmers – prepared by Waupaca restaurants.

Cronies will make the appetizers, Simpson’s Restaurant will make the salad, Green Fountain Inn will make the entrée, and Little Fat Gretchen’s will make the dessert.

Sleep Out
Several weeks later, Foundations For Living will host a Sleep Out on the lawn in front of the library and city hall.

It will begin at 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 23, and end at 8 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 24.

The nonprofit, which organized to increase awareness about homelessness in Waupaca County, wants to give people an opportunity to experience what it is like to be homeless.

The event will also raise funds for the organization’s warming center and transitional living housing programs.

Participants will be responsible for bringing their own sleeping material, such as cardboard boxes, sleeping bags, plastic ground cover and warm clothing.

Sleeping in tents and vehicles will be prohibited.

Preregistration will be required in order to participate in the Sleep Out.

People may receive more information by calling Foundations For Living at 715-942-2725.