June 13, 2016 at 2:11 p.m.
Art fair, car show draw huge crowd to courthouse square
Art fair, car show draw huge crowd to courthouse square
By Kayla Thomason-
The car show is traditionally held on Brown Street but due to the ongoing streetscape construction project the majority of the approximately 150 car vendors occupied the street behind the courthouse.
"I'm really surprised by the turnout especially since it's so hot (approximately 70 degrees at 10 a.m.) out today but being on Baird Avenue this year it's kind of shady by the trees so that's a perk," said Tarsie Goes, co-organizer of the car show.
Goes and other staff members were telling people to visit downtown and that it is still open to foot traffic.
Big Daddy's had creative lunch specials and the Hodag Gridiron Club was taking orders for all the car vendors and running back and forth in a vehicle. With this teamwork Big Daddy's donated 50 percent of the profits back to the Hodag Gridiron Club.
"Not only the whole downtown community - even though (the car show is) not downtown right now - they were huge in supporting us," Goes said. "We have our big title sponsors which was amazing. I mean it doesn't matter if they donated a title sponsor money amount or if they donated a gift certificate for $5, every single thing makes a difference here at the car show."
"It's a really great show," she added. "I'm really happy."
Not all the vendors were from the area, several were from out of state.
"We've got another group of cars that are coming up from New London, we've even got Illinois cars, we've got a lot of people from other areas and other states," said Linda Krebsbach, co-organizer.
For some people, gazing upon the pristine vehicles of years long gone brought back memories.
"It's really interesting, bringing back memories, feeling old," said Lucy Nelson.
She liked the vehicle with the rumble seat, the Corvette and the one with cloth seats.
"I think it's wonderful, (it) brings back a lot of memories for all the people coming here," Nelson said.
After she was done admiring the vehicles she wandered over to the lush green grass of the courthouse to browse around the art show.
Jim McIlnay, vendor with a 1941 Ford convertible super deluxe, has participated in the show three times and enjoys seeing all the vehicles.
"I like them all," he said.
Ron Rogers also enjoyed the car show.
"It's really nice, I've seen maybe half of it so far. I like what I've seen, there's not a bad one in the bunch," he said.
He had a very hard time trying to pick his favorite vehicle at the show but was leaning toward the 1956 Chevrolet convertible.
"I think (the car show is) great, it's really nice and it's free," Rogers said.
Jerry Magayne, who was displaying a 1965 Thunderbird convertible, has been to this car show a few time before and took Best in Show one year.
"People love Thunderbirds, they're unique as far as the styling goes and things like that and this car is a high-option car so it has a lot of equipment on it that people rarely see in a car this vintage," Magayne said. His vehicle has AC, power windows, etc.
He seemed to prefer the Brown Street setup, but thought the organizers did a good job shuffling the show over.
"In lieu of the construction they did a pretty good job," he said. "It would be nice if things were a little bit more centrally located. It's quite a walk all the way down the road but I think in a pinch they did a good job here."
"It's a beautiful show, beautiful day for it," he added.
A few vehicles were parked in one of the courthouse parking lots due to their tires.
"The ice vehicles have to be parked, they can't be on the street," said Krebsbach.
Dick Jennejohn, a Merrill Ice Drag racing member, thought it was an awesome turnout, and he brought his spiked-out truck.
"We have a truck that we drag race on the ice so we've been at (the car show) for the last probably five or six years," Jennejohn said.
The back tires gleamed with 4,300 screws - points out.
"Different people do different things inside of (the tires)," he said. "We actually use a liner and then we use a regular innertube inside of it. Some people just put silicone in there, some people don't do anything at all."
He thought there was a good variety of vehicles and thanked everyone for coming.
The crowds that were attending the car show and Art on the Courthouse Lawn meshed together as people moved from one event to the other.
Lauren Sackett, tourism and event coordinator, thought it was a great day for both shows.
"I think it is phenomenal, the weather is beautiful and working with the car show we've had a really great turnout for both events," she said. "There's lots of people, we're pretty pleased."
Art on the Courthouse Lawn featured about 100 booths, about the same number as years past.
Like the car show, they also had signs up encouraging the public to wander downtown.
As people browsed the ironwork, woodwork, paintings, photography, jewelry, textiles and more, the smell of heavenly food wafted through the air.
The Lions Club had food cooking, another vendor had gyros, and the list goes on. Those who needed to cool down found relief at Fun-Dahs Frozen Treats' window door.
The Rhinelander Community Band played on despite the heat, pleasant tunes carrying and mingling with the chatter of the crowds.
"Thank you to the Community Band for coming out and playing for us this morning," Sackett said. "Hope they had fun."
Kelly Rozelle, vendor of Kelly Rozelle Designs, has had a booth at the fair for years.
"The turnout is really nice today," she said. "We're having a really nice super beautiful day."
She has heard a lot of positive things from the customers about her product.
"A lot of people like the tote bags, like the fabric that I use, like the fact that I make them, that I'm here, like my prices, like the design, the functionality," she said.
Rozelle loves the art show and is looking forward to next year.
"This has always been an excellent addition to the community," she said. "I don't know of any other craft show in the area that is just nice to have it right here in the heart of the city."
Kayla Breese may be reached at [email protected].
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