Vergas Art Club leads us down the backroads

Arts | August 19th, 2025

By Sabrina Hornung

2025 marks three years of the Annual Vergas Area Backroads Art Crawl. The art crawl is sponsored by the Vergas Arts Club. The Arts Club also happens to be part of the Vegas Community Club and both are active organizations in the region.

The event will be held Saturday, September 20 from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. In addition to taking in the art, participants can see some beautiful fall foliage along the way. The crawl route can be found on the Vergas Community Club facebook site and website. Each studio or gallery will be marked with an official red and white art crawl sign.

“There's a lot of highfalutin definitions of fine art and I love all of it. But people who make stuff — you know, they're artists” said Carol Schwandt Albright, artist and Vergas Arts Club chairperson. “I mean, they make stuff, and that's what we do. Andy Warhol said ‘art is what you can get away with.’ Out here in Vergas, there's a good community of people who make things and we just thought it would be fun to do a small art crawl that can be completed in one day. There's lots of artists in this lakes area, but we want to keep it small.”

She also mentioned that Park Rapids, and the Otter Tail and Battle Lake area have art crawls as well and are all popular events. Schwandt Albright suggested starting out the day with breakfast at the Loon’s Nest and rounding out the day with supper at Blackboard or Spanky’s.

There's a fantastic array of media on this crawl. Curiosity seekers and art enthusiasts will have the opportunity to visit a cut flower farm at True Blue Flower Co. There’s art inspired by flowers at Leona’s Flowers, which features crepe paper flowers so real you can almost smell them. Then there’s Wildfire Furs, which is a furrier that specializes in custom fur garments and repair. Don Madro of Turning Nature runs a wood lathe. In addition to that, he also has an orchard and there may be an opportunity to purchase fresh fruit onsite. Jody Marquardt specializes in salvaged metal sculpture, Brianna Mae Designs features custom jewelery, Jennifer Ditterich is a 2D artist at the Mercantile and both Carol Schwandt Albright and Lost Highway pottery work with clay.

Another stop on the crawl is the Forest Edge Gallery. It features the work of six artists: Helena Johnson, Marlys Buchholz, Kris Domier, Karla Urbach, Patrick Shannon, and Luke Fugere.

“It's a wonderful gallery out in the woods,” Schwandt Albright said. “That's the only place you won't see a studio, but the artists will be there so you can meet them.”

There’s something for everyone with a variety of demonstrations, processes and price points. Schwandt Albright also mentioned that guests are encouraged to sign up for door prizes at each stop.

YOU SHOULD KNOW:

Vergas Area Backroads Art Crawl

Saturday, September 20, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Check the Vergas Community Club Facebook page for updates!

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