I mentioned last week that Arts Midwest sent out a year in review newsletter recently. In addition to the laundromat turned laundrobar in Columbus, OH that has taken a place in that city’s music scene, they mentioned they got a lot of positive reactions on stories about Midwest quirk. (And by the way, the Midwest doesn’t have a lock on such things. Three-four blocks from my apartment is a barber shop with a speakeasy in the bock.)

There is a lot to love about these Midwest stories. Duluth, MN has a smelt parade complete with fish head, erm headgear, and fish puppets. It is worth following the link just for the pictures.

A couple friends in Madison, WI teamed up and bought vending machines which they placed around town to dispense art by various artist partners, all for under $20.

And in Milwaukee, another group leaned into that state’s cheese heritage to help fund artists. The Grilled Cheese grant program invites people to have a community meal and then the attendees vote for the project the proceeds of that meal will fund.

Finally, in Iowa a woman’s first attempt at documentary film making celebrates pie culture in that state with the appropriately titled film Pieowa

I had to leave this one to last because readers will probably hop up from their computers in search of pie after seeing this trailer.