What an amazing Theatre in the small town of Menomonie, WI. The decor is exquisite! I would love…read moreto see a production held in this theater.

Historic! As a former UW-Stout alumni, I still take frequent Menomonie trips to check out all the…read morenew and remaining pieces of history and Mable Tainter remains one of the oldest standing buildings built in 1889. Crafted during the grand Victoria era, the interior and exterior boast arches, hand carved details, marble staircases and floors, walnut and oak woodwork and a 261 seat Victorian inspired theater. The craft of the building is breathtaking! Most recently, the former basement used primarily for storage has been converted into a beautiful bar called The Spirit Room. The idea came about during the 2020 pandemic when shows were at a stop for over 500 days. Flash forward to today and the new space boasts warm green tones in the lounge chairs and almost resembles Mancini's (for those who are native to Saint Paul, MN). I have yet to personally sit and enjoy a cocktail and small bite but this is now my second visit to the space and I appreciate what has been done. Additionally, I had the privilege to attend the 2025 Holiday Artisan Market where each vendor was scattered across the building including on stage and on the top level. The arrangement of this market was lovely as it got me more exposed to the theater where I could really appreciate the beauty. I wish the Mable Tainter great success in years to come! What a legacy thus far. Thank you!!

It's the fair. I've been coming here since I was a kid. I love it. Parking is a bit challenging. If…read moreyou don't get there early, but we always make it work. Free admission for veterans and Retired military with ID. always all the animal bars. Cheese curds, french fries, funnel cakes. They always get such awesome musical talent here. The trick there is buy your tickets in November when they first come out. Much cheaper. We saw foreigner last night. I think my tickets are $25. That was such a good van. Styx two years ago, Joan Jett, The Beach Boys, blue oyster cult.

This review covers the Fairgrounds, rather than the Fair itself…read more We were here for Oktoberfest, and we appreciated the cleanliness and spaciousness of the grounds themselves. The layout is sensible and manageable. The facilities and walkways were in good, working condition. Many people were there, but it never felt crowded. People were nice to us as well. Oktoberfest itself is worth going to at least once, especially if you like cheese curds, pretzels, beer, people butchering the German language and culture (j/k!), and music. As for the Fair, whooooo, I'd rather not get in the middle of that gang war between the Northern Wisconsin State Fair (Chippewa Falls) and the (implied Southern) Wisconsin State Fair (Milwaukee/West Allis), no siree!

What a super experience! The Paint Shack is the perfect place for a fun, creative and new…read moreadventure! Cyndi is amazing! She has truly created an atmosphere of taking a beginning artist to a Picasso in 3 hours! Cyndi has many, many designs in which to choose from to paint. Make The Paint Shack your next place for hosting a staff outing, a party or a night out with friends. It truly is so much fun and you get to take your masterpiece home with you. I give Cyndi and The Paint Shack 10+ stars!!! Thank you Cyndi.

Amazing place to have a great time with the family or a date. Provide a full bar with wine room…read moreright below start start painting with your date and head down to the wine room for some nice beverages some fine libations. Family is definitely welcome great paintings for children helping you every step of the way.

I am loving this experience! We traveled from Colorado to get to Wisconsin. This is the first time…read morein this part of the country. The town is beautiful and the people are amazing. Since Static X released Wisconsin Death Trip, I have always imagined the men out here to be big hot dudes with big beards. Turns out, that was factual. The dudes are smoking and extremely nice. The music has been great. We were able to have great views in most of the field. We enjoyed the side stages and the set up for music rotation. The security is super chill. I thought I would be sitting in a grass field all week long. Thankfully we found a store that sells lawn chairs. I never thought we would be able to bring in the chairs. Super cool. We did get that crazy storm. Being from Florida I was thinking there was some over reaction. But, about 15 minutes after we got to our car, I could see the massive storm rolling in. It was smart that the festival organizers gave several updates throughout the day. It made the evacuation feel more real. Once the storm hit and our car was rocking, I was extra happy. Due to the warnings, we did not drive out; instead we stayed in the parking lot. I really look forward to coming back. I am not sure how this year could be surpassed with Static X, Manson, and Rob Zombie playing. But we will see!

A very fun music festival that takes place every July in Caddot, Wisconsin. The festival could…read morereally use some more metal but has picked up on that the past 2 years. Food and beer is very reasonably priced for concert venues - like $5.50 for a 16 oz beer is not bad for a concert. The venue is in the middle of nowhere however so when leaving at night the roads are almost pitch black. For the most part staff is nice and they have their own indoor merch store where you can buy souvenirs and supplies you might want for the day. Variety of vendors and activities to do and pit passes are reasonably priced $10-$20 gets you right up front to your favorite band. Fun experience

I attended the inaugural Eaux Claires Festival, curated by Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, and it has…read morealready earned it spot as an annual must-do event in my book. It was affordable (~$90 for 2 full days), and within a good driving range where you feel like you're embarking out of the Twin Cities, but you're not really going too far. It's a fun state of mind that's easy on the mileage. I'll get right to the point. My favorite sets: Bon Iver, Sylvan Esso, Policia, Doomtree, Lizzo. There were plenty of porta potties, which were also kept clean and stocked. The scenery was just dreamy - rolling hills, trails through the trees, light-up color-changing forests, and cool art installations. Depending on the times of the sets, I was able to grab drinks at the right time without crazy lines. I loved the local artists and stores that were in the "village" there. I think each of my friends and I ended up buying something. Some cons though: the food, or lack there of. There was like 20,000 people and like 10 vendors. Lots of people waited in lines over an hour long, only for the vendors to run out of food. A lot of the merch sold out quick too. And the crowd leaving at the end of the last set was not managed well, because thousands of people were forced down this one narrow roped off path.

Improvements The first of hopefully many Eaux Claires…read morefestivals, they definitely had some kinks to work out. The first night food ran out and wait lines were 20 minutes or more. Water stations were spaced throughout but only in the main areas and not in the second staging area by the Dells. With some miscommunication on what could be brought into the campsites and festival, lots of folks had to throw out glass bottles and blankets. I hope the communication around camp ground and festival rules is made clear next time. Positives The music itself however was phenomenal. It was amazing having so many folks in one space and a wide variety of music at that. My favorites were Bon Iver, Lizzo, Poliçia, The Staves, and Charles Bradley. I loved the collaborations and how many folks were new to the music festival scene. The bathrooms were also kept extremely clean with the company cleaning bathrooms out at least once a day. A saving grace given the reputation most port-a-potties have. Art installations! Who knew how great they would go with music. Well...the organizers did. It was amazing that the shirt printing was done in Eau Claire and a lot of the artists were Midwest based. I almost wished there had been more art. It was great to see visuals while waiting for the next set to begin. I hope they bring this back for next year. Overall a great lineup and festival. Will attend again if planned.

Eau Claire, Wi. The…read moreBlue Ox people really do a good job attracting top of the line talent and organizing the number of festivarians in a streamlined fashion. They even handle the intense rain storms fairly well. This festival is geared toward making money from reserved camping. It appears that some of these reserved entry people forego their reserved spot and head off to the unreserved sections and rope off an acre of land, denying later participants a chance at any of those sites. The reward for reserving is an entry a day early so you aren't scrambling for a good camp site. The fee for a pre pitched tent is an astounding $1900! I'm one of the common folk who enter with the masses on Thursday. The first thing I noticed after staking a claim to a small parcel of real estate is the huge number of smoldering campfires. Everyone seems to be burning smoky wet wood. The family camp area has the most unhealthy air throughout the festival, and these folks are inviting their children to inhale this crap. Half of the people here smoke cigarettes even in the concert areas. They have no clue or don't care about the affect on others. Of course the butts end up on the grass. There is a designated line for lawn chairs, as In don't go beyond this line. This means nothing, people just plop their chairs down right in front of you even if you're on the line. Why no pizza this year Blue Ox? Porta potties are kept clean throughout the festival. Sound is good except when singers belt out a loud burst and over drive the speakers. If the smoke was not such issue I'd give this festival a 4.5.

This is by far the best music festival I have ever been to in Wisconsin. The staff is great, the…read moregrounds are kept immaculate, the Porta potty's are cleaned three times a day every day!! (Even in the middle of torrential downpours they are out cleaning!) Everyone that comes here is of the same mindset, enjoy some bluegrass - spend time in the woods- And overall be really good to one another. The tickets might be considered a bit pricey compared to other festivals, but the way it's put together is by far worth every penny!

Me and two other of my friends went to country jam. My boyfriend and I won VIP tickets and got…read morewristbands for all three days. The last day was Justin Lynch (one of my favorite artists). My wristband fell off half way through his set, a security guard came up and asked for my wrist band, I showed him my wrist and he said "come with me", I noticed my wristband fell off and told him it did and said it was probably sitting right next to where I was standing (which was 10 ft away) he then said "no it isn't" I kept talking saying that I was being honest and if he checks and it is not there then whatever but he instead escorted me out and flashed another security guard saying "this is another one". Both of my friends got escorted out the other two nights for things they did not do. I am not impressed.

I have attended country jam about 5 times and let me tell you its really been going down hill…read more 1. They dont keep up-to-date acts and if they do they only book 1 or 2 of them and the other head liners are should playing around 7pm. 2. They give away a lot of free tickets when you purchase a case of beer so DO NOT go one of these days because it will be extremely Packed (One year it was so full people were sitting and standing around the vendor) 3. You have to pay $5.00 to park when you have to walk literally a half mile to get to the concert area. 4. This is more of a laid back adult country concert and less of a party. This is still a really good concert but if your looking for a better party, acts, parking, and less crowed i would attend Country Fest.

Ah, Eaux Claires. So much to love. The inaugural lineup was well curated and culminated with a…read morefive-star performance by Bon Iver. There were some cool art installations and vendors, port-a-potties were plentiful, and water bottle filling stations were available, which was crucial in the heat and sun. Attendees seemed to skew late 20s to late 30s, so the crowds were pretty chill and no one was really going bonkers throughout the day. Basically, it was a dream. Since it was their first year, there were some snags here and there, but overall the festival was run well. Items for improvement: - Some sort of shade - the unrelenting sun forced us to go back to our campsite a couple times to take a break from it. - Better food choices - pizza had a 70-minute wait, several vendors sold out before dinner, and the quality of many options was lacking (spongy chicken tenders - barf). - By day two, the water filling stations was a slippery, muddy mess. Related: having a filling station on the stage up the hill would be ideal. Things that surprised me were how efficient the shuttles to and from the campsites were, how easy it was to get in with our wristbands already issued (we got to walk right past the massive line at the fest's start), the fact that the camp port-a-potties were cleaned throughout the day, and the fact it only took about an hour to get on a bus after Bon Iver's set. The camping will be on a new site for 2016 so I'm curious if that will be as seamless as it's not on an established campground but instead in a field. The fest has sent out a couple of feedback surveys and they seem really invested in improving the experience, so I'm really pumped for this year's festival considering how impressed I was with the first year!