What does a Hayward evening look like in the weeks before Christmas in Hayward lights up Main Street on Thanksgiving weekend, November 27 and 28? There are three weeks between now and then, and they aren't empty.
A short list of places fills them. A volunteer-run movie house on Highway 63 puts on a show every Saturday. The public library on Highway 27 fills the weeknights. And starting this week, the new building at Main Street and Highway 63 has an espresso counter with its own door. Together they make November the stretch of the year when Hayward's calendar is written mostly for residents.
The Saturday Anchor Is a 1948 Movie House Run Entirely by Volunteers
The Park Center at 15791 US-63 opened in 1948. The first film on its fixed screen was "Romance On the High Seas!" The theater was built in what was then called Whitten Park, and its decor was described at the time as "decorative modernism." According to The Park Center's own history, the marquee has been part of Hayward's gateway for more than 60 years. Today the building is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit, "operated and staffed solely by volunteers." It hosts music, theater, film, dance and comedy year-round, with low-priced student tickets and free Quarterly Artist Showcase concerts.
Because volunteers run it, its calendar follows local energy more than visitor counts. This November it books one show per Saturday. All three start at 7 p.m. and run until 9.
| Date | Show | Advance / Door / Students 17 and under |
|---|---|---|
| Saturday, Nov. 7 | Them Coulee Boys | $30 / $35 / $5 |
| Saturday, Nov. 14 | Joyann Parker, "Classic Ladies of Country" | $30 / $35 / $5 |
| Saturday, Nov. 21 | Park Center Chamber Series: Holiday Extravaganza | $25 / $30 / $5 |
Them Coulee Boys open the month with a northern Wisconsin story of their own. Co-founders Soren Staff and Beau Janke met as camp counselors in northern Wisconsin in 2011 and went on to form the folk, rock and Americana band. A week later, Joyann Parker's program pays tribute to the classic female voices of country music.
The third Saturday is where the month starts turning toward the holidays. Downtown Hayward's event calendar calls the Nov. 21 concert the third and final installment of the Park Center Chamber Series: a string quartet plus piano, playing a holiday program. Tickets and prices for all three Saturdays are on the venue's own events page.
Between the Saturdays, the Library Takes the Weeknights
If The Park Center covers Saturday nights, the Sherman & Ruth Weiss Community Library at 10788 WI-27 covers the evenings in between. This month two hikers headline its schedule. According to the Sawyer County Record's November library roundup, Matt Ostrander and Colin Tingo are back from the Continental Divide Trail and the Wisconsin Ice Age Trail, with 3,994 miles between them. Their talks are tied to the library's "2 Trails, 2 Hikers, 1 Fundraiser."
The two talks fall on either side of the Joyann Parker Saturday. That means the middle of the month has something going on Thursday, Saturday and Monday:
- Thursday, Nov. 12, 5:30 p.m. Colin Tingo on the Continental Divide Trail, a thru-hike of more than 2,800 miles from southern New Mexico to the top of Montana. He'll bring his gear and talk through the logistics.
- Monday, Nov. 16, 5:30 p.m. Matt Ostrander on his 1,200-mile walk across Wisconsin on the Ice Age Trail: the historical, cultural and geographic landmarks along the way and the people he met.
The rest of the library's month fills the gaps around those two nights. On Tuesday, Nov. 3, at 5:30 p.m., library clerk Agnes Bearheart teaches bead art at the Craft and Conversation session. The Record notes that beadwork is a traditional art form in the Ojibwe community and that all are welcome to learn. Space is limited to 12 teen and adult participants, and registration is through the front desk or 715-634-2161.
Saturday, Nov. 14, has the same morning-and-evening split as the rest of the month. From 10 a.m. to noon, the library hosts foraged-ornament making with acorns, twigs and pinecones, alongside a dessert-bar "crawl." Bring bite-size bars to share with an ingredient list, or just come to taste. Bars can also be dropped off on Nov. 13. That evening, Joyann Parker plays The Park Center.
Two more dates round it out. Superior Credit Union runs a Scam Slam seminar on Tuesday, Nov. 17, at 1 p.m. Families can come to the Turkey Party with Gobble Bingo and crafts on Tuesday, Nov. 24, at 10:45 a.m. The Fall Into Reading Challenge runs through Nov. 30. Prizes are a $20 Anglers Bar and Grill certificate for adults and a $15 Lynn Marie's Candies certificate for readers under 18.
The Third Room Opens This Week, With Its Own Door on Main
The two rooms above have held Hayward's quiet season for years. The third is brand new. The Lumber Exchange held its grand-opening weekend Oct. 3 and 4 at the corner of Main Street and Highway 63. On Oct. 8, Carson Kipfer gave a history talk there about reclaiming materials from the old Hotel Pion. The building's next step lands the same week this post goes out. The Lumber Exchange's website lists the first week of November for its walk-up espresso bar, which "opens with its own entrance on Main Street." No hours or opening date have been posted yet, so the first cup is a matter of watching the storefront.
The rest of the building already runs on a weekday schedule. A $25 day pass covers 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, with access to the Great Room, the phone booths and bottomless drip coffee. The front doors are on Main Street, with street and public parking nearby.
Until now, the library and The Park Center mostly filled Hayward's evenings and weekends. An espresso counter facing Main gives downtown a weekday morning stop too. Downtown's other new sweet stop is Treats! Sips & Sweets at 15847 W. 2nd St., which held its downtown grand opening this spring.
How the Three Rooms Line Up, Week by Week
Laid out on one calendar, the month has a rhythm. The library holds the weeknights, The Park Center holds Saturday nights, and Main Street adds a morning stop as November goes on.
- Week of Nov. 2. Bead art at the library on Tuesday. The espresso bar is set to open on Main sometime this week. Them Coulee Boys play Saturday.
- Week of Nov. 9. Colin Tingo's Continental Divide talk on Thursday. Ornaments and dessert bars Saturday morning, Joyann Parker Saturday night.
- Week of Nov. 16. Matt Ostrander's Ice Age Trail talk on Monday, then the Scam Slam Tuesday afternoon. The Chamber Series Holiday Extravaganza closes out The Park Center's November on Saturday.
- Week of Nov. 23. The Turkey Party on Tuesday morning. Starting Nov. 24, the Santa mailbox outside the Hayward Info Center takes letters through Dec. 23. Christmas in Hayward opens Friday and Saturday, Nov. 27 and 28.
For the weekly standbys, like Wednesday Night Supper at First Lutheran Church on Main Street or Monday bingo at Riverside Lanes, check the Hayward Area Chamber of Commerce calendar for November dates.
Where November Hands Off to December
After Thanksgiving weekend, the holiday season takes over Main Street. Christmas in Hayward continues Saturdays Dec. 5, 12 and 19, with lights, caroling, hot chocolate, live music and Santa. The Park Center keeps pace. Its Holiday Artist Showcase on Dec. 5 features the house band, A Walk in the Park, led by Sonofmel, and the third annual Christmas at The Park music show follows on Friday, Dec. 11. Both run 7 to 9 p.m.
At McKinney Realty, we live in this corridor year-round, and weeks like these are a big part of why we love it. If you catch us at a Park Center show or in line for that first espresso on Main, come say hello. We're always glad to talk about Hayward with the people who know it best.