Wisconsin Arts & Peony Festival

Beaver Dam will be celebrating and hosting its 3rd year of the Wisconsin Arts & Peony Festival, which will include fun, creative, and educational art events, and activities for the whole family at both the Ovans Peony Farm and at downtown local businesses and art market. 

ON THE FARM

Ovans Peony Farm is the largest stem cut peony farm in the state of Wisconsin and currently has over 1500 plants of different peony varieties which will all be in bloom the weekend of the festival. The farm will be open for tours during the festival. Be sure to bring your camera to capture the beauty of the different colors, styles, and types of peony blossoms. Visit the Peony Boutique to purchase fresh stem cut peonies, aprons, soaps, and more, participate in their yoga in the peony’s classes, sign up for peony design classes, and enjoy great food, beverage, and music at their 'Picnic in the Peonies' event. 

DOWNTOWN BEAVER DAM

Just a short drive away, Downtown Beaver Dam has a variety of activities and events including their art market featuring talented area artists offering a variety of handcrafted items for purchase. We have strong roots in fiber arts as Nancy Zieman, from PBS's longest-running series 'Sewing with Nancy,' is from Beaver Dam. Her legacy retail shop Nancy Zieman Sewing Studio, along with Mill House Quilts and FireFly Fibers (natural yarn), gives us a trifecta of fiber arts shops with demonstrations, take and makes, and promotions. 

DODGE COUNTY CENTER FOR THE ARTS

Visit the Dodge County Center for the Arts who will be hosting 100 Years of Art Deco Special Quilt Challenge Exhibit by The Great Wisconsin Quilt Show presented by PBS Wisconsin and Nancy Zieman Productions. Each year, The Great Wisconsin Quilt Show hosts a themed quilt challenge. This year’s 100 Years of Art Deco Quilt Challenge Exhibit includes twenty-seven 30” wide x 40” long quilts, all incorporating an Art Deco theme. Get lost in the decadent details found in quilts made from fabrics that represent the Art Deco theme, which includes geometric forms, bold outlines, zigzags and more! 

Mill House Quilts will host a 'bed turning' at the DCCA on Saturday, June 10th as stories are told about the quilts that are layered and removed on a bed. 

COMMUNITY MURAL PAINTING

Festival attendees also have a unique opportunity to paint one-foot square aluminum tiles to help make the 12-foot by 12-foot mosaic mural at the Beaver Dam Area Community Theater featuring this year’s “hometown hero” and distinguished artist and actor, Eric Kalkhurst. These community mosaic murals are led by world-renowned portrait Artist Stephen Bennett, who now has a studio in Beaver Dam, WI. 

Three other mosaic murals done in the past are of Nancy Zieman, fiber artist and national sewing educator, illustrator and author of many popular children’s books including “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom” and “Color Zoo” Lois Ehlert, and most recently Broadway, film, and TV actor and singer Fred MacMurray, best known for his roles including “The Absent-Minded Professor,” “The Happiest Millionaire”, “The Shaggy Dog”, and “My Three Sons.” 

EVENTS & ACTIVITIES AT OVANS PEONY FARM 

ELEVATED YOGA
MONDAY, JUNE 5TH
5:30 PM:  Vinyasa Yoga in the Peonies
6:45 PM:  Nidra Yoga in the Peonies 

PLAY IN THE PEONIES DESIGN CLASSES
FRIDAY, JUNE 9TH  | 6 PM - 9 PM
TUESDAY, JUNE 13TH | 10 AM – NOON
LEARN MORE

EVENTS & ACTIVITIES, AND HAPPENINGS DOWNTOWN BEAVER DAM 

ART MARKET
SATURDAY, JUNE 10TH | 10 AM – 5 PM
Interested in becoming a vendor?
LEARN MORE

BRUNCH & BLOSSOMS
FRIDAY, JUNE 9TH 10 AM - 3 PM
SATURDAY, JUNE 10TH | 10 AM – 3 PM
Limited Tickets! Cost and Link to purchase: TBA

Join us for our Blossoms & Brunch downtown crawl on Friday and Saturday and “Build Your Bouquet” while visiting local participating restaurants and retailers! Your ticket includes a goodie bag with crawl map, sticker, and special peony promotions at participating retailers. Be sure to get your map stamped at one restaurant and 7 retailers to receive your peony bouquet! 

DODGE COUNTY CENTER FOR THE ARTS
THURSDAY, MAY 18TH – TUESDAY, JUNE 13TH  | 10 AM – 5 PM

100 Years of Art Deco Special Quilt Challenge Exhibit by The Great Wisconsin Quilt Show presented by PBS Wisconsin and Nancy Zieman Productions. (see more info above) 

NANCY ZIEMAN SEWING STUDIO
FRIDAY, JUNE 9TH | 9 AM - 4 PM
SATURDAY, JUNE 10TH | 9 AM – 4 PM

Featuring a variety of Peony fabrics for purchase and Peony embroidery demonstrations. 

DODGE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Lawn Party and Storytelling

FRIDAY, JUNE 9th | 7:30 PM – 9 PM: Ghost Stories from five professional storytellers from Beaver Dam.
SATURDAY, JUNE 10th | 10 AM – 3 PM:  Lawn party with live music, activities, walking city tour (1 PM), root beer floats, and open museum. 

ART ON THE TOWN - WISCONSIN THE STUDIO
ART CLASSES

For more activities and events, visitbeaverdam.com