In just a few days, highlights of Dunn County’s storied past will be colorfully recreated when Murals in Menomonie, the city’s first-ever large scale public arts festival, kicks off on June 24.

Folks driving through Menomonie’s historic district recently may have noticed that the walls on some of its iconic buildings have been spruced up lately with fresh coats of paint. Nine downtown businesses – along with Dunn County, the Rassbach Museum and two villages – each donated $2,500 for the privilege of having an image painted by an international group of more than 200 professional muralists, sign painters and artists known as The Walldogs.

More than two years ago, Vintage Sign Shop owner and himself a Walldogs’ veteran, Wade Lambrigtsen successfully convinced the city to apply to become a Certified Walldog Community. Explaining the value of hosting Murals in Menomonie, he points out that at an estimated $50,000 each, the retail value of all the murals is around $750,000 – not to mention the economic boost of attracting visitors to the city.

Lambrigtsen notes that the building owners are making the public artwork possible. “They’re the ones who are cleaning up their buildings … doing the tuck-pointing, the painting … which to me is just as important as doing the murals.”

Considerable in-kind donations and months of extensive fundraising by a dedicated executive committee and volunteers have provided the money for materials and other related expenses.

The project leaders – all of whom are also the designers – for each mural are the only ones who receive a modest stipend. “Everybody else is just coming to paint and hang out and have a good time painting murals because that is what they love to do,” Lambrigsten added.

Leaders of the pack

When they arrive on Wednesday, the project leaders will prepare their designated sites, starting with applying the outlines of their designs on walls throughout downtown Menomonie, the Dunn County Rec Park, and four individual panels mounted on easels in Wilson Park.

Under their direction the following day, experienced volunteer Walldogs artists ranging in age from a 9-year-old from Canada to an 83-year-old artist from Park Ridge, Ill. will break out their brushes and get to work.

Rundown of each mural, its description, location and project leader(s):

• Dunn County Fair (17th St. SE): Christopher Lovelady of Vital Signs LLC in Florida. Measuring 42 feet long and 13 feet tall, it’s one of the largest of all the festival’s murals.
• Ludington Guard Band (502 2nd St. W): Jeff Lang of Old Lange Signs in Pennsylvania
• Menomonie Blue Caps (516 Broadway St. S): Niko Alexander from Minneapolis and Amy Zaremba from Madison will be using paper and virtual reality goggles to apply their design.
• Coca-Cola (Broadway): “Queen Walldog” Nancy Bennett will revive the ghost mural on the wall above Stacked Eatery building.
• UW-Stout Polytechnic (712 Broadway): California muralist Tom Seibert will trace the university’s fabled history on the Administration Building overlooking the Clocktower Plaza.
• Swiss Miss (616 3rd St. E): Joy Hernandez Butler of Joy the Stampede Art, Indianapolis, Ind.
• Lumberjacks (400 Main St.): Joe Diaz of Joe Diaz Sign Art, Pontiac, Ill.
• Bolo Inn (710 4th St. E): Joy Kjer of Art on Display, Lincoln, Neb.
• Kraft State Bank Robbery (500 Main St.): Designed by Canadian Elaine Wallis and executed by project leader Kelsey McClellan of Heart and Bone Signs, Chicago – across from the M&I Bank building.
• Menomonie History “What the Land Has Provided” (614 Main St.): This 70-foot long mural will be the swan song for a trio of “old-timers” affectionately known at “The Wingnuts” – Canadians Russell Kelly of TottenHouse Studios and Eric Skinner of Art Function, and Floridian Sonny Franks of Sign Creations.
• Golden Submarine/Harry Miller (Auto Value Building): Kurt Gaber of Gaber Signs from Chippewa Falls, who also hosted both of his city’s 2002 and 2006 Walldogs mural events.

Murals on panels at Wilson Park:

Boyceville Cucumber Fest: Andy Goreski of Custom Murals, Tomahawk, Wis.

Ridgeland Community Fair: Christine Brunk-Deshazo of Spectrum Graphics, Murphysboro, Ill.

Anderson Bros. Cigars: Dan Luckin of Dan’s Handpainted Signs, Chelmsford, England and Phil Schultz of Chicago Sign Systems, Ill.

Hmong Story Quilt: Angelina Yang and Pretti Thao, UW-Stout Polytechnic students and first-time Walldogs. Their mural is destined to be displayed at Menomonie’s Rassbach Museum.

Kids’ activities, food trucks, live music, farmers’ and artisan markets and more can be found in Wilson Park. Festival goers can also observe Mike Meyer, a sign painter from Iowa hard at work nearby in the Auto Value parking lot. He’ll be recreating small versions of long-gone Menomonie landmarks like Marshall’s Drive In and the Bolo Inn to be auctioned off during a Saturday night banquet honoring the Walldogs’ volunteers.

In fact, all the project leaders are making small versions of the murals for the auction. Proceeds will go into a special fund to support the future upkeep of the murals.

The five-day Murals in Menomonie festival runs between June 24 and June 28. For a map and full details, visit muralsinmenomonie.com and Facebook

More info on the Walldogs Mural Project:

• interactive map of the mural locations/names
• Sign-up to volunteer
• Donate to the project

Find more at muralsinmenomonie.com and on Facebook

Barbara Lyon is a freelance writer and retired editor of The Dunn County News