The 9th Annual Fish House Festival on Friday, July 7, 2023 was a grand success! It was a beautiful day of artists painting, creating, and selling in the street, along with games, food, live music and fun, plus a gallery reception, fish cookies, and kids art inside the Center.
The weather held for our 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. event and much fun was had by all, including artists and visitors of all ages. We had high hopes for a successful raffle and live auction at 6:30 p.m. … and then the rains came! As the crowd dwindled, we made the decision to POSTPONE both the raffle drawing and the live auction to Friday, July 21, 2023.
The Live Auction is now ONLINE! Auction will end on Friday, July 21, 2023 at 2:00 p.m. CST. Items are also available for viewing and bidding at the Cultural Center. Open Hours are Wednesdays & Thursdays 10AM-7PM, Fridays 10AM-5PM, and Saturdays 10AM-3PM. Bid online ANYTIME by clicking below!
BID NOW in the Online Auction! >
Currently, raffle tickets are still available for sale! $10 each, with only 220 tickets sold.
2023 Raffle Ticket Prizes:
- Grand Prize: Custom-Built Artist-Painted Spear House
- 2nd Prize: Half-Day Guided Fishing Trip with PT’s Guide Service
- 3rd Prize: John Peeters Fish Painting on Wood Slab
- 4th Prize: $50 Overflow Creative gift certificate (towards photo session or graphic design work)
- 5th Prize: Lund Boats gear
To purchase tickets, stop by the Cultural Center (24 N Main Ave, NYM), Farmers & Merchants State Bank (11 N Walker Ave, NYM), call 218-385-3339, or click below:
Click to buy Raffle Tickets ONLINE >
Fish House Festival Artists
Artists make the Fish House Festival happen! We would like to thank and recognize all of the talented artists we have worked with over the years, including this list of 2023 Fish House Festival Artists:
- Shirlee Aho Daulton, Ottertail, MN
- Cheryl Bannes, Wadena, MN
- Matt Clementson, Park Rapids, MN
- Tom Dimock, Minneapolis, MN
- Olivia Hoppe
- Lindsay Kennedy, Perham, MN
- Wayne Leaderbrand, New York Mills, MN
- Julie McClellan
- Noah Noffsinger, Moorhead, MN
- John Peeters, New York Mills, MN
- Howard Pfeil, Little Falls, MN
- Sandy Reed, Little Falls, MN
- Greysen Saewert, New York Mills, MN
- Paul Sparks, Wadena, MN
- Nancy Valentine, Underwood, MN
- Patricia Ann Wahl, Fergus Falls, MN
- The Painted Turtle, Perham, MN
A special thanks goes out to Ron Hamm, who custom-built nearly 20 spear houses for this event over the first eight years of the Fish House Festival. Not only did he build great spear houses, he made and donated custom spears, and always showed up with a smile on his face. Ron was unable to attend this year’s Festival, and he and his handiwork were greatly missed.
Another thanks goes out to Rod Osvold, our primary partner and the original mastermind behind the Fish House Festival 9 years ago! Rod has helped us develop relationships with decoy artists and engage with new organizations and artists in our region and beyond. Rod is always full of great ideas and we thank him for sharing his energy and hard work with us over the years. Rod was unable to attend this year’s Festival and he was greatly missed.
Thanks to East Otter Tail Darkhouse & Angling Association for their sponsorship support of Youth Decoy Painting! Learn more at http://mndarkhouse.org/
Thanks to the National Fish Decoy Association, Decoy Education, and Rod Osvold for their invaluable partnership in producing this community event and connecting us with the country’s best decoy artists.
Thanks also to the following sponsors for helping to make the Fish House Festival a success: Lund Boats, Lumber Depot, PT’s Guide Service, and EOT Darkhouse & Angling Association. Additional sponsors welcome! Contact betsy@kulcher.org or 218-385-3339. Please support these generous local businesses/organizations!
