Villa Louis Art in the Evening, Cannons & Redcoats, Quilt Show

Prairie du Chien

An evening tour will take an intimate look at treasures from the Villa Louis’ extensive art collection.  Reservations are required.    The historic Villa Louis mansion is the centerpiece of a grand Victorian estate built by the family of Hercules Dousman, a frontier entrepreneur who amassed a fortune in the fur trade and other frontier investments. The mansion has just undergone a top-to-bottom documentary restoration that has returned the Dousman home to the splendor of its 1890s heyday.

The Prairie du Chien Museum at Fort Crawford will again host Cannons and Redcoats.  The event is a popular living history reenactment of frontier life in Prairie du Chien at the time of the War of 1812 under the British.  Additionally, the Downtown will sponsor a Quilt Show, as businesses along Blackhawk Avenue will have quilts displayed in their windows on Friday, Saturday & Sunday. 

Sponsored by:

Classic Car Rally

River Front Park, Wauzeka

The first-annual Wauzeka Classic Car Rally will feature classic automobiles of various vintage and models.  A showing of all cars will take place at the River Front Park in Wauzeka between 11 am and 1 pm.  Door prizes given to entrants and the Wauzeka Lion’s Club will have a food and beverage stand for participants and spectators.  A Classic Car tour of Crawford County will begin at 1 pm, featuring a tour through the Driftless region to other events around the County.

Sponsored by:

Amish Market in the Park

Sugar Creek Park, Ferryville

The market offers Amish craft items such as baskets, quilts, small furniture, throw rugs, toys, baked goods; and other products such as garden plants, nursery items, home made preserves, and flea market items.  The event will also feature a storyteller, music, and food.  The Amish Market is an expanded version of the Market in the Park held each Saturday from May through October in Sugar Creek Park.

Sponsored by:

PRAIRIE READY MIX

Cosponsored by:

Ferryville Vision &

Promotion Board

4-Rivers Realty

River Bank

Saturday, Sept 19

Kickapoo BRAVE Ride and Harvest Dinner

Riverside Park, Gays Mills

The Kickapoo BRAVE Ride (Bluffs, Rivers, And Valley Event) will feature bicycle rides coursing through the scenic landscapes of the Driftless area in Crawford County.  The Ride will offer both the physical challenge of climbing the numerous hills of Crawford County; and the visual rewards of cresting a hill or coasting along the river valleys.  The Ride will include two options: a shorter 20-mile route in the valley to the Driftless Area Art Festival in Soldiers Grove and back; and a 100-kilometer route that takes riders out of the valley and along the ridge tops to the Mississippi River, including the Amish Market in the Park at Ferryville.

Registration and more information

Saturday evening, the County will celebrate a Harvest Dinner in Gays Mills, a benefit for the Crawford County Farm to School Program.  The dinner, offering locally grown and produced foods, begins at 4:30 pm at the riverfront park, giving Brave Ride participants an opportunity to dine after completing their ride.  The dinner menu will feature fresh, seasonal foods grown by family farmers and catered by the Driftless Cafe, as well as breads, deserts, and wines from around the Driftless region. Live entertainment will begin at 6:30 pm.

Sponsored by:

Co-Sponsored by:

Prairie du Chien

Memorial Hospital

and

Eastman Locker

Saturday, Sept 19

Driftless Area Art Festival

Beauford T. Anderson Park, Soldiers Grove

The Driftless area, a unique region that escaped the glaciers of the ice age, is an inspirational setting to many talented artists and artisans.  Its hills and valleys are home to painters and potters, woodworkers and weavers, musicians and metalsmiths. 

To see the breadth and variety of their creations, you usually have to visit studios, stores and galleries across the area.  But once a year in September, these artists gather together in Crawford County, Wisconsin, at the Driftless Area Art Festival.

 www.driftlessareaartfestival.com

Presenting Partner:

Performing Arts Partner:

Reception Partners:

Village of Soldiers Grove

and

Soldiers Grove

Community

Development 

Corporation

Saturday, Sept 19

10:00am - 12:00pm

Kickapoo Valley Chautauqua

12:30 pm - 2:00pm

Andreas Transo

3:00pm - 5:00pm

Sobrevida

Sunday, Sept 20

10:00am

Festival Grounds Open

10:00am - 12:30 pm

Music by Paul Fairchild

Readings by John Motoviloff

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Front cover and majority of photos throughout this site - courtesy of Larry Knutson Photography. Bicycling photos courtesy of Jerry Quebe, Diane Craig, Mark Drake, and Patti Wacker.  Gays Mills Orchard photo - courtesy of Marlene Meyer. Kickapoo Cavern photo - courtesy of Delores Gaidowski. Log Cabin-Heritage Park photo - courtesy of Betty France, while other photos are unknown.