by Jody Kuchar for Lakeshore Artists Guild
Art Slam is held on Saturday, September 21. More details on the event can be found HERE
Members of the Lakeshore Artists Guild really amped up the entertainment for 2019 Art Slam. In addition to entertainers on the street and in Washington Park, and, demonstrating artists, puppets, children’s activities and a new public mural, Art Slam introduces The Art Trolley! The Art Trolley is a Tour of city murals, public sculpture, architecture and history hosted and narrated by Jason Prigge of The Coolest Coast.
The Art Trolley will depart from Washington Park at 9:30am, 11:30am, and 1:30pm. The entire trip will take approximately 1 hour and is free to the public. At the end of the tour, it will return to Washington Park.
The Art Trolley will visit the historic Courthouse; the “Farmers Market” mural at Washington and 9th Street; the “Budweiser Tower”: mural; the “Manitowoc Postcard” mural; “Maritime Triptych” mural; the “Wave” mural; and the “Geometric Sunrise” mural. The Art Trolley will then travel to Red Arrow Park and view murals there. Heading back north, the Trolley will ‘wave’ at the S.S.Badger, and continue on to the Farmers Market and the “Bookshelf Classics” crosswalk. Next begins the sculpture tour beginning with “Bellboy” on 8th Street, and, on to Rahr West to see the “Biker” and the “Community Clay Discs”. From 8th and Park, the Trolley will head up the lakeshore which is rich with sculptures by Carl Vanderheyden, Jim Dehne and others. The last stop for the Trolley will be “Spirit of The Rivers”, by R.T. ‘Skip’ Wallen, which was installed and dedicated last year.
The “Spirit of the Rivers” sculpture celebrates the culture and history of the area’s earliest inhabitants. The monument serves to remind us that people lived on this shore for countless generations before the first axe struck timber to develop our present cities. The birch bark canoe, held aloft upon the shoulders of the portager, stands as a tribute to the first vessels to ply these waters as it foreshadows our rich maritime history.
Jason Prigge, along with his wife Tina, are co-owners of The Coolest Coast which has a rich online presence. The #CoolestCoast movement is passionate about creating positive self-talk within the Manitowoc community and contributing to an overall positive community dialogue and image.
