Headline... WLDY invaded by TOAD

Karen Ek was my guest on the radio version of Bringing Up Baby this morning. As usual, Bufo was curious about the proceedings. At first he tried a sip of Karen's coffee. 

Then he listened carefully to what Karen had to say about the Ladysmith Enrichment Fund. He was particularly interested in the Philanthropic Toad project with the artists of the Rusk Area Arts Alliance. It seems artists will be painting large three dimensional toads that will later be auctioned. The money from the toad auction will double with the generous gift from the Gulstad's, former owners of the paper mill in Ladysmith.

After his excitement over the Philanthropic Toad project he was pretty wired (perhaps it was the caffeine?) and thought he would try to take over the morning show from Bob Krejcarek, but he was not in good voice. Too much late night croaking, I would guess.

Suddenly he was picked and kissed!!!

Now who would kiss a toad? 

SNEAK PEEK FUN!!!

We had a Sneak Peek at Toad House on the Saturday of Mardi-Gras.  Some of the events included a gallery show of Janelle Thompson's TOADS originals from the picture book, musical events all day, a dedication of the Stevenson Art Museum, treats to enjoy, and a preview of "Toadally Artsy Kids' Events" with a fingerpainting activity.

The Toad and I are very grateful for all the help we had,–– musicians, bakers, servers, artists.  Even Bufo deserves a pat on the head.

Here are a few of the photos from the day:

Bufo was a little shy at first, hiding in the flowers as Nancy and Karen prepared the lemonade.

We will have Toadally Artsy Kid's Events on most Saturdays. Andrea made the cute sign.

This is one serious ground artist!

Siblings get into the paints at the table while a cousin looks on.

These two siblings are new to our area. If you sign up for some of our Toadally Artsy Kids' Events you will meet them!

Andrea and Krista with their little ones doing more 'hands on the ground' art.

It looks like this dad could really get into art with his kids! Both children stayed with the project for a long time and created gorgeous fingerprint masterpieces.

The Before Photograph

Last week the toads sadly acknowledged that the Ellingboe Gallery Floor sanding project was beyond their ability and the capability of the equipment they were renting.

To the rescue, Jarod Eich, from Chippewa Falls came with a big, powerful sander.
Bufo, of course, had to check it all out. When Jarod went out to locate his ear protection gear, Bufo thought he would give it his best shot.

No, no Bufo, this is not your job!

Portrait on a gourd

Bufo rarely shows any emotion. However, this morning as he approached the door of Toad House, he saw himself in a gorgeous, huge gourd. The gourd was grown by our flooring specialist extraordinaire, Chuck Rogers.

 Andrea Korpinen designed and painted the gourd. We think the work was commissioned by Walt Disney for a new rendition of Beauty and the Beast, inspired by the thought that magic happens when you kiss a toad.

(Bufo is a little miffed at being thought of as a beast.)