ARTicipation
Week
August 9-14, 2026
A week of live music & events, workshops, art sales, art camps, dancing, great food, and fun! Join us!
Friday, Aug. 7
Opening for the Exhibit “20 Years of Arts on the Square!”
5 p.m.
Waupaca Public Library Exhibit Room
Free!
The Waupaca Public Library is SO excited to help our great friends at the Waupaca Community Arts Board (WCAB) celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Arts on the Square! Learn about the history of Arts on the Square and the important projects and initiatives it’s brought to our community.
The Waupaca Arts on the Square 20th Anniversary exhibit will be on display August 8 – October 3. Opening ceremony features live music from the Arts Hub’s Ukulele Group “Da Ukers” and a special thank you to Community First Credit Union, plus cookies and lemonade!
Sunday, Aug. 9
Opening Day Celebration!
Enjoy the afternoon on the town square as we open the week of Arts in Waupaca!
Kids Bike Parade
12 p.m. — Bike Decorating!
1 p.m. — Bike Parade!
Waupaca City Square
Kids age 5-12
Free!
Get creative with your bike and join the parade around City Square! Decorate your bicycle using the plastic flowers, crepe paper, balloons, pipe cleaners. yarn, license plates, rubber bands, and fabric which we supply. We also encourage participants to dress up for the event! Do you have a favorite costume? Butterfly wings or a cool cape? This is a fun event so dress up in a fun way. Your parents are welcome to help you. Helmets are strongly encouraged. Rainier will be doing face painting to decorate your face if you choose to do that.
The first 25 participants to sign-up will receive a coupon for an ice cream treat.
Parents & Guardians, click the button under the picture to complete the permission form.
Kids Face Painting
12 - 1 p.m.
Waupaca City Square
Free!
Smiles, sparkles, and a splash of color! Stop by for kids face painting and let your little ones become butterflies, superheroes, or anything they can imagine! Fun for all ages!
Flower Bar with Barnwood Farms
1 - 3 p.m.
Waupaca City Square
Free!
Barnwood Farms is excited to be a part of this year’s flower bar for Opening Day of ARTicipation Week. Create your own complimentary custom bouquet of beautiful flowers from Barnwood Farms, courtesy of generous donations from Friends of WCAB!
Record Spinning with Back to the Vinyl
1 - 3 p.m.
Waupaca City Square
Free!
Join us Sunday afternoon near the Historic Bandstand in downtown Waupaca for live record spinning with Back to the Vinyl. We'll bring a wide selection of family friendly rock, pop, and country across the decades. You can look through the albums and make requests--or bring your own albums to share. Bring a lawn chair or a blanket and enjoy the tunes!
Monday, Aug. 10
Kids Chalking
3 - 5 p.m.
Waupaca City Square
Free!
Hosted by the Waupaca Community Arts Hub
Come and create a masterpiece on the sidewalks of City Hall and the Library! Chalk provided by the Arts Hub! Everyone is welcome!
Kids Open Mic
3 - 5 p.m.
Waupaca City Square
Free!
Hosted by the Waupaca Community Arts Hub
Arts Hub Open mic for all! Bring your instruments and voices to the Third Annual Kids Open Mic in the Historic Bandstand! All ages, share your talent with the community!
Waupaca Story Project
6 - 8 p.m.
Grand National Lounge— 106 W. Union St., Waupaca
Free!
Waupaca Story Project is designed to help us share in the collective human experience through live storytelling.
Live Music: Amelia Ford
7 p.m.
Simpsons Restaurant— 222 S. Main Street, Waupaca
Free!
Nashville recording artist, 12-Time WAMI Finalist, Winner of WI’s Album of the Year (2023) & WI’s Alternative Rock Performer of the Year (2024): Amelia Ford is likened to Alanis Morissette, mixing soft soprano with raw grit in her 50+ original alt-rock songs.
Tuesday, Aug. 11
Sound Bath Experience with Maggie— Singing bowls!
4 - 5 p.m.
First United Methodist Church— 720 Demarest Ave., Waupaca
Free!
A sound bath is a full-body experience where healing sounds and vibrations create a meditative state of deep relaxation. The sound frequencies surpass the intellect and travel to the core of your cellular system, where healing qualities are fully absorbed. Tibetan singing bowls, a gong, chimes, and a Shruti box create frequencies that ‘bathe’ you throughout the session, encouraging the release of tension and stress. This helps to quiet mental chatter, heighten our senses, and relax both the body and the mind.
Please bring items to make you comfortable: a yoga mat, pillow(s), an eye mask, 2 blankets, and a water bottle. If you prefer to sit, there will be chairs available.
Poetry on Demand
5 - 7 p.m.
Waupaca Public Library Lawn— 107 S. Main St., Waupaca
Join in the energy of live art with Poetry on Demand in front of the Waupaca Public Library. Members of the Waupaca Community Arts Board Poetry Committee will craft you a “poem on demand”, right there on the spot!
The poets may ask you a few questions, or you can request a specific topic. Then they will whip a poem together for you or share a themed poem just for you. Take the poem home with you and save the day’s memory.
Live Music: Bomber & Red
7 - 9 p.m.
Grand National Lounge— 106 W. Union St., Waupaca
Free!
This is the story of 2 songwriters and their friends.
Formed in 2019 when Laura Bomber and (Red) Ben Lila began writing and performing together, the band grew its earthy, heartfelt sound over years of collaboration before expanding in 2024 with the addition of Paul Bannach and Sheilagh Dandy Lyon.
Bomber & Red delivers powerhouse vocal harmonies, skillful musicianship, and resonant lyricism—music that draws you in and sends chills up your spine. Their performances blend folk, Americana, and soulful storytelling into a sound that lingers long after the final chord fades, leaving audiences with a deeply personal connection.
From theaters to vineyards to bluegrass festivals such as Mile of Music, Ice Dance, and Jackpine, Bomber & Red is steadily finding its place in the national Americana-folk scene.
Associated Acts: Valley Fox, The Missing Miles, Dandelion Delivery Service.
Wednesday, Aug. 12
Yoga with Janet Heiner
9 - 10 a.m.
Waupaca Public Library Lawn— 107 S. Main Street, Waupaca
Free!
Find your flow under the open sky! Join us for yoga, where breath, movement, and nature come together for a peaceful start to your day. We hope to see you relax and take a moment for yourself. All levels welcome—just bring your mat!
Kids Art Camp — An Expressive Arts Experience
Aug. 12 - 14
1 - 4 p.m.
Ages: 8-13
The Arts Hub — 515 School Street, Waupaca
Cost: $100, $0, this camp is free due to the generosity of Waupaca Community Arts Board Friends, and Community Donors.
Join us for an exciting, imagination-filled camp leading up to Arts on the Square! In celebration of Waupaca’s vibrant art fair, campers will draw inspiration from Waupaca Community Arts Board’s community project, “Hats Off to 20 Years of Arts on the Square.”
Throughout the camp, we’ll explore creativity in motion: putting things on, taking things off, building, designing, and bringing our ideas to life. It’s all about playful exploration, imaginative thinking, and hands-on creation!
Registration for the Art Camp begins on July 15th and ends on July 28th.
Check out our classes at the Waupaca Community Arts Hub
Vinyl Crafting Night with Back to the Vinyl
5:30 - 7 p.m.
Back to the Vinyl— 201 N. Main Street, Waupaca
Free!
Give some beat up vinyl records a second life! Paint, make collages with album covers, and let your inspiration lead you as we craft with old records. We'll provide basic supplies, records, and music to craft to, but you're encouraged to bring whichever medium you'd like to work with.
Live Music: Eddie Danger
7 p.m.
Empty Barrel Distillery— 219 N. Main Street, Waupaca
Free!
They don’t call him Eddie Careful! Eddie Danger is a singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, educator, author, playwright, festival and parade organizer, storyteller, sound and lighting tech, stage manager, master of ceremonies, actor, blogger, puppeteer and entrepreneur.
Eddie Danger is inspired by the great storytellers of the indie-folk music tradition of young and old. He is among the likes of Utah Phillips, Todd Snider, Arlo Guthrie, Steve Poltz, and John Craigie.
Eddie Danger started his career in music as an alto sax player in the 5th grade. In the 9th grade he was kicked out of the jazz band and stopped playing music for about 4 years. At age 18 an enlightening experience in the parking lot of a Grateful Dead concert reintroduced Ed’s Love of music and he started frequenting drum circles.
Thursday, Aug. 13
Waupaca Public Library Craft
2 - 4 p.m.
Waupaca Public Library Lawn, 107 S. Main St., Waupaca
Join the Waupaca Area Public Library on the front lawn to tie-dye bandanas! We provide everything but suggest you come in old clothes or dark colors to prevent stains. the Waupaca Library basement meeting rooms as a rain location.
Kids Art Camp — An Expressive Arts Experience
Aug. 12 - 14
1 - 4 p.m.
Ages: 8-13
The Arts Hub — 515 School Street, Waupaca
Cost: $100, $0, this camp is free due to the generosity of Waupaca Community Arts Board Friends, and Community Donors.
Join us for an exciting, imagination-filled camp leading up to Arts on the Square! In celebration of Waupaca’s vibrant art fair, campers will draw inspiration from Waupaca Community Arts Board’s community project, “Hats Off to 20 Years of Arts on the Square.”
Throughout the camp, we’ll explore creativity in motion: putting things on, taking things off, building, designing, and bringing our ideas to life. It’s all about playful exploration, imaginative thinking, and hands-on creation!
Registration for the Art Camp begins on July 15th and ends on July 28th.
Check out our classes at the Waupaca Community Arts Hub
Waupaca Local Live: Heart and Soul
4 p.m.
Lower Level— Waupaca City Hall, 111 S Main St., Waupaca
Waupaca Local Live featuring the Arts Hub’s Heart and Soul Club! Come to the studio or watch live on Facebook, as Arts Hub music students of all ages play the age old 1950’s Hoagie Carmichael classic piece “Heart and Soul!” Generations have been playing this “play by ear” piano piece, and Hubsters will give you their best rendition, on many instruments! Learn about this famous “50’s Chord Progression” as we have fun on the radio!
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story at Back to the Vinyl
5:30 - 7 p.m.
Back to the Vinyl— 201 N. Main Street, Waupaca
Free!
It's getting weird! Come enjoy this (definitely 100% accurate) biopic of parody great, Weird Al Yankovic. We'll have snacks from Main Street Popcorn to enjoy while we watch. Please bring your own chair. Movie is rated PG-13 for mild violence, profanity, and drug use.
Live Music: Electric Sheep
7 p.m.
HH HINDER BREWING CO.— 804 Churchill Street, Waupaca
Free!
The Electric Sheep were begot from the minds of two guitarist/songwriters; Waupaca’s Zack Bartel (Ho Malone, Half Pants, The Fridge Magnets, Uskaba, Hot Tractor and Scandinavia/Black Earth’s Josh Youngblood (Punch & Pie, Wrenclaw, Staff Infection, Moonhouse), Together they stirred the song list soup to create a vehicle to acoustically perform songs that shaped their musical identity. Drummer, percussionist, harmonicist Kevin Knopp was added to the mix (Band Orphans, Snack Bar Flamingos, 3 Clowns/No Circus, Rooster and the Blues Healers, the Dum Perfessors) as well as bassist Gordon Kirchoff (A.K.A. Odin of Odin & Freja’s Place; who has performed with Milwaukee’s Take Four Jazz Quartet, Boogie Sauce, the Kirk Tatnall Band, Dick Buckles and the Pressure and Three Eyed Shmelts). Together, this quartet interprets iconic songs from the great English language song book. With musicality, verve and sonic diversity they perform the music of a diverse array of songwriters and groups. Wilco, Warren Zevon, Jenny Lewis, Todd Snider, Drivin’ N Cryin’ and Johnny Paycheck are but a few of the artists included in their eclectic repertoire.
Friday, Aug. 14
Kids Art Camp — An Expressive Arts Experience
Aug. 12 - 14
1 - 4 p.m.
Ages: 8-13
The Arts Hub — 515 School Street, Waupaca
Cost: $100, $0, this camp is free due to the generosity of Waupaca Community Arts Board Friends, and Community Donors.
Join us for an exciting, imagination-filled camp leading up to Arts on the Square! In celebration of Waupaca’s vibrant art fair, campers will draw inspiration from Waupaca Community Arts Board’s community project, “Hats Off to 20 Years of Arts on the Square.”
Throughout the camp, we’ll explore creativity in motion: putting things on, taking things off, building, designing, and bringing our ideas to life. It’s all about playful exploration, imaginative thinking, and hands-on creation!
Registration for the Art Camp begins on July 15th and ends on July 28th.
Check out our classes at the Waupaca Community Arts Hub
Friday Night Street Dance
6 - 10:30 p.m.
Main Stage — East Fulton Street, next to the Waupaca Public Library
The Jimmys take the stage at 7 p.m.! Food trucks and the beverage tent open at 6 p.m.!
Plan to join us for tasty food truck fare, a delicious cold beverage, and a night of dancing. Gather your friends and enjoy an evening filled with great music, community spirit, and plenty of fun in downtown Waupaca.
The excitement doesn't stop with the music! During the evening, we will also draw the winning ticket for the summer-long e-bike raffle. One lucky winner will ride away on a brand-new e-bike, generously donated by Adventure Outfitters. If you've purchased raffle tickets throughout the summer, this is the moment you've been waiting for!
Whether you're coming for the music, the food, the raffle drawing, or simply a chance to connect with friends and neighbors, this is an event you won't want to miss. Come celebrate summer, support the arts, and enjoy a fantastic night with The Jimmys and the Waupaca community!
Thank you for your generous support:
Title Sponsor:
Primary Sponsors:
Friends of Waupaca Community Arts Board
Caroyl and John Hart
Kempfert Foundation
Thrivent
