GATHER: A Lanesboro Arts Fundraiser & Celebration of 25 Years of Artist Residencies

You're invited to help Lanesboro Arts celebrate vital community arts offerings and 25 years of our artist residency programs! At GATHER: A Lanesboro Arts Fundraiser & Celebration of 25 Years of Artist Residencies, community members, artists, and Lanesboro Arts Staff will come together to share deeply impactful stories, locally sourced food, craft beverages, live music, and connection. Tickets to this event are on sale now for $50. Admission includes dinner, drinks, art activities, and live music. Children ages 12 and under are welcome and encouraged to attend this event for free! A reduced price $10 children's meal ticket is also available. Join us at Blossom Hill Orchard on Saturday, September 12, 2026 from 5 to 8 pm. Enjoy maker stations hosted by returning artists in residence, local food made well, and artist talks, followed by live music until the end of the evening. Lanesboro Arts started hosting artist residencies 25 years ago. This event will celebrate and uplift the artists in that quarter century who have not only helped our community to blossom and grow, but also highlight the fact that artists return again and again to activate local spaces. We look forward to welcoming former residency artists back again to celebrate this milestone with us! At the core of our residency programs are two tenets: community connection, and exchange of ideas. When we exchange perspectives and learn something from a new angle, we deepen our curiosity and build reciprocal, meaningful relationships. And from this important relational work, the connections we build collectively grow and care for the community we are rooted in. Help us celebrate and honor this long-standing aspect of Lanesboro Arts programming and the artists who have participated all along the way. The metaphors of rootedness, growth, and cross pollination will be beautifully illustrated by our hosts, Blossom Hill Orchard in Preston, MN. Blossom Hill will also provide the locally sourced, delicious food they are known for, including some apple-based delights! Located just outside of Preston, Minnesota in the heart of the Driftless Region, Blossom Hill is a small, family owned farm that strives to grow the tastiest, most nutritious apples using the most sustainable methods available. The creative impact of 25 years of residencies will be echoed by free creative makers' stations during the event, hosted by former artists-in-residence. Guests are invited to embrace their artistic side, creating mementos of the evening alongside friends, neighbors, and artists. About the Residency Programs: 25 years ago, Lanesboro Arts started hosting artist residencies. Through the development and growth of the residency programs, some foundational aspects have stayed the same: artists make our community shine, and artists belong in Lanesboro. Since 2001, the Lanesboro Artist Residency Program has welcomed early career artists of all disciplines to live, work and create in the rural context of the greater Lanesboro community. Supported through 2027 by the Jerome Foundation, the Lanesboro Early Career Artist Residency Program awards two to three residencies per year to early career artists with projects that activate the people & places of Lanesboro while instigating positive change. The program's place-based and community-engaged focus is geared toward early career artists that are driven to explore ways in which their work can be applied to the community and how Lanesboro's rural community can inform their work. Artist Residents utilize a dynamic and compelling array of community assets as a catalytic vehicle for engagement and artistic experimentation, while benefiting from dedicated live/work space and ample time to create. Since its beginning Lanesboro has hosted 63 artists through the Early Career Artist Residency Program. In addition, Lanesboro Arts hosts a BIPOC residency program specifically uplifting black, indigenous, and people of color. This program is a restorative residency and does not require artists to host workshops or events. Since its launch in 2022, the organization has welcomed 24 artists who have brightened our community and found respite in having time to dedicate towards their art practices. This makes a total of 87 artists over the course of 25 years! --