WORTHINGTON -- The festival's official name details two of its major components: windsurfing and music. But over the years, the Worthington Windsurfing Regatta and Unvarnished Music Festival has grown to encompass other activities, such as creating and displaying art.
Art activities for children, sponsored by Worthington High School's Art-Optimist-Kiwanis Club and the Worthington Optimist Club, have been part of the festival for about eight years, according to Regatta board member and AOK Club adviser Gail Holinka. A variety of activities will be offered from about 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday.
The major undertaking will be a free-standing mural, funded by a grant from Southwest Minnesota Arts & Humanities Council and created with the help of artists Nick and Nicole Fischer, who are coming to Worthington from South Dakota.
"The grant was written to do a back-to-back mural, 8- by 8-foot on both sides with a hinge-type thing," detailed Holinka. "It will be constructed like a mosaic, and each child will do a section of color."
Holinka and the AOK Club have pursued grants for Regatta-art activities in the past, but it had been a couple of years since they had done so. When Holinka mentioned it to the club members, they showed an interest in doing a bigger project once again.
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"Mindy Kuhl -- she's a senior -- helped to write the grant," Holinka explained. "She came to me and said, 'I want to write that grant.'"
Kuhl's efforts resulted in $2,500 in SMAHC funding that will cover costs for the Fischers and materials.
The design details for the mural will be worked out with the Fischers, but Holinka envisions something that relates to the festival and/or Lake Okabena.
In addition to contributing to the mural, youths attending the regatta will have the opportunity to try their hand at other artistic creations, which might include tie-dyed T-shirts, decorated hats or masks.
The kids' art tent will likely be in a different venue this year, due to the laying of new sod at Sailboard Beach, but Holinka said children and parents should look for the white canopy and sign marking the new site.
Once the art activities are concluded, games and contests, such as gunny sack races, a hula hoop contest and maybe a sidewalk chalk contest will round out the kids' events.
At the end, Holinka envisions a parade in which the kids can display their creations and play kazoos that will be distributed by the Comprehensive Arts Planning Program (CAPP), a new organization created to promote local art activities.
While the kids are busy creating and playing, adults can take in their own share of the arts. As in past years, art vendors will be lined up along the Sailboard Beach walkway. Holinka anticipates more than a dozen artisans taking part in Art on the Shore. Registered vendors will sell handcrafted wares including paper pendants, clay pottery, magnetic jewelry, glass, fiber creations and ethnic merchandise.
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"A lot of them come back every year," noted Holinka.
