HARVEST MOON BREW FEST 2024!
Great beer, great food, great friends & great music! Get your no-hidden-fee tickets now! Hosted by Glacial Lakes Brewers, organized and managed by Aitkin County Friends of the Arts. Always the first Saturday after Labor Day. Always a blast!

TICKET LEVELS
• VIP Admission: $60
   Beat the crowd! Includes commemorative sample glass, festival entry 1 hour before general
   admission (2-3pm), special VIP brews, and more laid-back one-on-one chats with the brewers, and
   distillers.
• General Admission - Aitkin County Friends of the Arts Member: $30
   Includes festival entry at 3pm & sample glass. 
• General Admission - Aitkin County Friends of the Arts Non-Member: $35
   Includes festival entry at 3pm & sample glass.
• Designated Driver: $15 (same price day of/at the door)
   Includes festival entry at 3pm, 1 meal ticket, and 2 N/A beverage tickets from Block North. 

How do I become a Friends of the Arts member? CLICK HERE

The Aitkin Area Chamber of Commerce Retail Committee, in collaboration with local businesses, is cranking up the summer vibes with Thursday Tunes. It is your new favorite way to kick off the weekend early!

Expect live music that hits just right, fresh local food vendors, and a laid-back, feel-good atmosphere that brings the whole community together.

Free, fun, and family-friendly. Come for the tunes, stay for the magic.

Great music.  Local flavor.  Good vibes.

The Aitkin Area Chamber of Commerce Retail Committee, in collaboration with local businesses, is cranking up the summer vibes with Thursday Tunes. It is your new favorite way to kick off the weekend early!

Expect live music that hits just right, fresh local food vendors, and a laid-back, feel-good atmosphere that brings the whole community together.

Free, fun, and family-friendly. Come for the tunes, stay for the magic.

Great music.  Local flavor.  Good vibes.

Get ready - We are gearing up for our 3rd Annual Car Show here at #AtwaterGM in Aitkin, MN!

Check back sooner to the date with more information. We can't wait to see you all there!

Drew Cooper 7-9pm
Some people love music, and then there are those who live in it. On bad days, I find myself just listening to music and then my problems feel small. And when I play music, it recreates the same moment that saved me. It’s the closest thing to holy as I can get. 

Anyone who has witnessed a performance from Drew Cooper can testify to that sentiment, to experiencing a stirring of the soul kind of sensation as the music washes over. The husky, soul soaked baritone of his voice is no doubt the very foundation his entire sound is built on. It’s a well-worn timbre that in one moment haunts you with the Teddy Pendergrass-esque stylings of old Motown, and the next moment you’re bobbing your head up and down in that involuntary way that only pure rock n roll can invoke. That rock spice is always going to be part of the meal with Cooper having grown up in the Midwest where classic rock dictated pretty music everything, but you are also going to taste a hint of country and, sometimes, the gospel influence of his youth. It’s hard to know what to call this hodge-podge stew of savory sounds, but Cooper serves it up this way. “Americana is the easiest way to explain it, but that’s a blanket statement for those that have their own sound. Am I rock? No. Am I country? No. I just sing it and play it how I feel it.” 

SongBridge 6pm
Local favorites SongBridge will open for Drew. The band is comprised of four musicians who play popular music from the 60s - current day with a focus on harmonization. 

General Admission: $15 members, $20 non-members
Doors open 5pm

The Aitkin Area Chamber of Commerce Retail Committee, in collaboration with local businesses, is cranking up the summer vibes with Thursday Tunes. It is your new favorite way to kick off the weekend early!

Expect live music that hits just right, fresh local food vendors, and a laid-back, feel-good atmosphere that brings the whole community together.

Free, fun, and family-friendly. Come for the tunes, stay for the magic.

Great music.  Local flavor.  Good vibes.

ROGER CLYNE & THE PEACEMAKERS
“Here’s to life!” Fans around the world can be found singing the chorus of the Roger Clyne-penned fan favorite “Mekong” and toasting their glasses in unison to celebrate life through rock-n-roll. But the inspiration for the song dates back to the time Roger went to Taipei, Taiwan, as a college student to teach English during the day and busk with his guitar at night for money.

Clyne continues to transform his life experiences, inspirations, observations and his own muses into timeless music. And whether he’s wearing his Converse high tops, boots or sandals, Clyne’s blend of punk rock, country-western and mariachi influences have made him, drummer PH Naffah, guitarist Jim Dalton and bassist Nick Scropos – collectively known as Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers – one of America’s best live rock-n-roll bands.

Starting with the seminal Tempe quartet, The Refreshments, Clyne and Naffah put the fun in rock during the 90s grunge era with a sense of humor. They also started what would become a trademark sound on all future albums by adding mariachi horns, something Clyne was influenced by while in college studying Cultural Anthropology with an ethnography study of mariachis during a three month immersion stay with a local family in Ensenada, Mexico. 

The Refreshments’ debut album, “Fizzy, Fuzzy, Big & Buzzy,” became a cult classic. It produced the alternative radio hit “Banditos” which also had significant airplay on MTV and earned The Freshies an appearance on The Conan O’Brien Show. Clyne then penned and performed the theme song for the Mike Judge animated TV series, King of Hill. In 2017, Here’s to Life: The story of The Refreshments, was released. The feature-length documentary was a hit with fans and critics alike.

The Terrace is Aitkin's newest venue. It's a non-profit, outdoor performance venue operated by Aitkin County Friends of the Arts. The space is also a place for community gatherings. When there are no scheduled events, The Terrace is a welcoming place for the community to gather, share meals and stories, play card games, or just relax. 

The Aitkin Area Chamber of Commerce Retail Committee, in collaboration with local businesses, is cranking up the summer vibes with Thursday Tunes. It is your new favorite way to kick off the weekend early!

Expect live music that hits just right, fresh local food vendors, and a laid-back, feel-good atmosphere that brings the whole community together.

Free, fun, and family-friendly. Come for the tunes, stay for the magic.

Great music.  Local flavor.  Good vibes.

Mid Minnesota Federal Credit Union is keeping you safe from identity theft with a Community Shred Day.

Have your personal documents shredded in a Paper Storm mobile document shredding truck for free.

Shred Day will take place rain or shine. There's no charge for this service, however, please limit yourself to three boxes of documents per person.

Please remain in your vehicle. Staff will instruct you on what to do when it is your turn.

Event Details

The story of Midnight River Choir is proof that sometimes great bands just happen. One night, four strangers ended up on a late night float trip down the Guadalupe River. As they made their way down the river singing songs, the beautiful harmonies floated into the heads of sleeping campers. The next morning, the boys overheard a man telling a friend that he was “awakened by a midnight river choir.” That was all it took. The boys realized the magic of their combined talents and began writing and performing together under that River-God given name. The formation of Midnight River Choir was nothing short of a force of nature that now translates seamlessly during their live shows. This band needs no labels or comparisons. Their music speaks volumes about who and what they are. Their lives have been woven together by a strong thread of raw energy both on and off stage. They believe that what you get is what you give and they give everything they have to their crowds. When that kind of energy lands back at the feet of the boys it is something of supreme intensity.

And no one ever forgets it.

Eric Middleton: Guitar, Lead Vocals
Bob Driver III: Bass, Vocals
Blake Bentley: Piano, Vocals
George Talbert: Drums, Vocals

Video Sample 

General Admission: $15 members, $20 non-members

Your purchase toward any Aitkin County Friends of the Arts concert directly sustains & supports the future of performing arts in Aitkin County. Your purchase matters! Thank you! 

Join us for a family-friendly evening at Paradigm Automotive as we host this month’s Business After Hours event!

 Enjoy delicious food
 Enter giveaways & win great prizes
 Connect with fellow community members & business owners
 Bring the whole family!

This is a great chance to tour the shop, meet the Paradigm team, and unwind with food and friendly faces. Whether you're new to the area or a longtime local, we’d love to see you there!

FREE AND OPEN TO EVERYONE!

The Nature Arts Village is an artist-led, vibrant space for you to create and experience art by and with talented local artists. You'll find a wide variety of art, including art for kids with a special emphasis on connecting nature with art. Though the Nature Arts Village will be associated with the Nature Rocks Concert for Conservation, it will be accessible to everyone – not just people who buy concert tickets.​

Let’s Go Girls – Ladies Night Out
Downtown Aitkin, MN
Thursday, June 19 | 4:00 – 7:00 PM

Let’s go girls! Grab your crew and head downtown for an evening of fun, music, and local shopping at Aitkin’s Ladies Night Out—with a cowgirl twist!

Here’s what’s happening:
Live Music to keep the good vibes going
Great Deals at your favorite local shops
Bar Service to toast to a night out
Prizes & Giveaways you won’t want to miss

Pull on your boots, bring your best gals, and enjoy a night made for kickin’ back and having a blast. It’s all about good times, local love, and letting loose—let’s go girls!

Prizes and drawings will be announced at 7PM

The Aitkin Area Chamber of Commerce Retail Committee, in collaboration with local businesses, is cranking up the summer vibes with Thursday Tunes. It is your new favorite way to kick off the weekend early!

Expect live music that hits just right, fresh local food vendors, and a laid-back, feel-good atmosphere that brings the whole community together.

Free, fun, and family-friendly. Come for the tunes, stay for the magic.

Great music.  Local flavor.  Good vibes.

Rivers & Lakes Fair Mission (RALF) Statement:

The Rivers and Lakes Fair of Aitkin County, Minnesota provides information and education on natural resources, for children and adults, within a stimulating and enjoyable setting.

The purpose of the fair is to: 

• Bring individuals and resource specialists together;

• Create a respect and concern for our natural resources

• Promote stewardship through wise management of natural resources.