Chippewa Valley Folk Arts Festival Features Over 30 Makers, Woodturners

More than 30 artists, vendors and demonstrators gathered at the Chippewa Valley Museum (1204 E. Half Moon Dr., Eau Claire) on Feb. 28 for the museum’s 16th annual Folk Arts Festival, which returned to the Carson Park grounds and ran from 12:00–5:00 p.m., according to the museum’s Instagram post and event coverage. Volume One published a photo-rich recap of the day, and Newsbreak/Leader-Telegram reported on the crafts, music and hands-on displays that lined the festival grounds.

Attendees moved between demonstrations in quilting, woodworking and woodturning, fiber arts including wool spinning, violin restoration, beekeeping and embroidery, with WPR noting new demos this year such as live basket making, intricate beadwork and embedded visual artists. Jeff Goettl of Eau Claire’s Fly Tying Club led fly tying activities, and the Wisconsin Logging Museum hosted fiber arts and doll making tutorials for children and adults, Newsbreak reported. Volume One highlighted culinary programming that included sourdough demonstrations by Jen Monroe of Two Ovens cottage bakery.

Music and participatory sound-making were a prominent thread in WPR’s preview: harpist Bethany Shuda offered opportunities to try her harp collection, Richie Yurkovich and Polkarioty performed high-energy polka, The Ottersons delivered foot-stomping bluegrass, and Peter Phippen brought a world flute collection for visitors to explore. WPR positioned the festival as interactive, noting that “this festival isn’t just for listening, it’s for playing too.”

The Chippewa Valley Woodturners Guild had a visible display of turned wood pieces on site. Guild member Jerry Lilly, who said he started woodturning “about 12 years ago” after entering retirement, described the group’s emphasis on passing along skills: “It seems like wherever we go, there’s people that come and they’re interested, and maybe have tried some turning and had mixed success. After a lot of mentoring and training, that’s where I picked up everything,” Lilly said. “That’s one of the things I appreciate about the group, is there’s a lot of mentoring that goes on, and showing you how to do stuff correctly and safely.” Newsbreak and Volume One confirm the guild’s pieces were on display, though reports do not specify whether live lathe demonstrations took place that day.

Museum educator Karen Jacobson framed the festival’s mission around connection and skill transfer, saying, “The Folk Arts Festival is a way for visitors to not only make connections to newer local businesses and artists, but to inspire those in the Chippewa Valley to cherish arts of the past as well.” Volume One quoted Jacobson adding, “If you are a creative and a maker; if you are at the hobbyist or enthusiast level – there's room during this occasion for all different skill sets,” and noting that the 2026 expansion aims to enhance the experience between attendee and artist while intersecting with the museum’s current exhibit, “Tattoo: Identity Through Ink,” which runs through the rest of March.

Body art offerings included tattoo artist Morse, who posted online, “I’ll be tattooing at the Chippewa Valley Museum this year. I’ll be putting together a sheet or 2 for the occasion. … I’ll have some originals with me to sell, and just choppin’ it,” and henna artists Sabine Stark and Hannah Danovsky offering henna on a donation basis, Volume One reported. Newsbreak also quoted an individual identified only as Bowe saying, “It’s a really cool way to connect back to the land and see how food products can be sustainably made, and to also educate people about indigenous culture,” though the available excerpt did not include Bowe’s affiliation. One Newsbreak line — “On display next to him were oars he handcrafted” — appears in the coverage without an identified antecedent.

Beyond the festival day, Newsbreak noted ongoing CVM programming such as summer programs and the History Book Club that meets every second Tuesday of the month. Coverage across Volume One, WPR and Newsbreak underscored the festival’s mix of hands-on crafts, live music and community teaching, and Volume One’s photos captured many of the interactive moments from the Feb. 28 event.