Oh man – Winona’s been a frenzy of good energy lately! I spent Easter Sunday with some of my favorite people on earth in the backyard of the bar (I started bartending at Eds [No Name]) and a handful of us pulled together a most fantastic brunch and played Kubb.

Ed let me put my photos and paintings up all over the walls of the bar for April and May – it’s cool to see them adorning my favorite establishment in town, and even cooler to get to have conversations with customers about them while I’m working. I get a lot of great feedback. Then this past weekend we hosted the Mid West Music Fest down here in Winona — a huge festival spanning 3 days and 15 venues. We brought in some big names like Charlie Parr, Tapes n’ Tapes, Kimya Dawson, 4onthefloor, and Greg Brown. Ed’s was celebrating 5 years in town as well, so we hosted a big block party on Friday – we smashed record sales and filled to capacity and overflowed out into the yard and street. If I hadn’t been so busy working I’d have tried to snag some shots of the scene, but I’m sure others managed to capture the madness. I’ve never seen Winona so alive, or had such a great time. We were pooped by the end of the weekend but I’d gladly do it all over again!

The Wisconsin based “People Brothers Band” came to Ed’s last night – the show was incredible, the crowd fantastic and the dance floor packed. I’ll be looking forward to seeing more of them, be sure to check them out if you get a chance!!

 

I took the weekend and went up to Minneapolis to see friends and family. As always, I remembered my love of it all and felt renewed by the little vacation. While only 2 hours from here, it feels like an entirely different world. Winona feels like home but I can definitely see myself living in the cities someday soon.