Sheboygan is turning sidewalks into an open poetry book. How the community can participate, plus more news in weekly dose.
SHEBOYGAN - Mead Public Library and City of Sheboygan Public Works Department are soliciting original poetry from local residents as part of the city’s new Sidewalk Poetry Program.
The program will transform city sidewalks into an open poetry book, with original poetry stamped onto public sidewalk squares slated for repair throughout the city.
The goal of the program is to “inspire moments of surprise, reflection, empathy and gratitude as residents and visitors make their way along the streets of Sheboygan,” the library said in a news release.
The first sidewalk poems are slated to be installed in 2023, with annual rounds of submissions and installations in subsequent years as part of the city’s sidewalk maintenance program.
Submissions for 2023 are being accepted online at www.meadpl.org/sidewalk-poetry through Jan. 31, 2023. Paper forms are also available at Mead Library. Winners will be announced in April.
The program is open to City of Sheboygan residents and to Sheboygan Area School District students. Submissions must be original poems written by the entrant. Applicants may submit one poem per year.
Poems must fit within a maximum of 10 lines, including any title, with up to 35 characters per line, including spaces, and 225 characters overall, including spaces.
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Start your week here in weekly dose, a roundup of local community news. Here are more things happening in the Sheboygan County community:
▶ Mark your calendar for Sheboygan's Holiday Parade: Sheboygan’s 30th annual Holiday Parade will step off at 5 p.m. Nov. 27 in downtown Sheboygan.
The parade begins at Center Avenue and Seventh Street, goes north on Seventh Street to Erie Avenue, west on Erie Avenue to Eighth Street, south on Eighth Street and ending at Mead Public Library for a tree-lighting ceremony.
The U.S. Postal Service will be walking in the parade to collect and deliver letters to Santa. Those sending letters should be sure to include their name and address on the letter so Santa can send a response.
Also during the parade, Girl Scouts will be collecting donations of paper supplies and personal hygiene items from spectators along the parade route to be given to Safe Harbor and Bridgeway.
▶ State 57 improvement project focus of Tuesday meeting: Wisconsin Department of Transportation Northeast Region is planning a public involvement meeting for 5 p.m. Tuesday to seek public comment for proposed improvements on 15.9 miles of State 57 between Waldo and the State 57/32 intersection near Milhome in Sheboygan County.
The meeting will begin with a short presentation and be followed by an open house. It will be held at Sheboygan County Transportation Department, W5741 County J, in Plymouth, and attendees are asked to enter through Door 44 on the side of the building facing County J.
Proposed State 57 project improvements include resurfacing in the project limits by milling 2.5 inches and replacing it with 2.5 inches of hot mix asphalt. Four intersection modifications are proposed, including creating a roundabout at State 57 and County J, and creating an RCUT at State 57 and County U. Intersection improvements at State 57 at County C and State 28 are also proposed. The project is scheduled for construction in 2028.
Those unable to attend the meeting can contact Kimberly Slezak, P.E., WisDOT project manager, by mail to 944 Vanderperren Way, Green Bay, WI 54304; phone at 920-492-4131; or email at Kimberly.Slezak@dot.wi.gov. Those who are deaf or hard of hearing and who require an interpreter may request one by contacting Slezak at least three working days prior to the meeting via the Wisconsin Telecommunications Relay System (dial 711).
▶ Sheboygan garden club fundraiser Nov. 19: Town and Country Garden Club of Sheboygan, a Garden Club of America member, is planning its every-other-year luncheon fundraiser for 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Nov. 19 at Pine Hills Country Club.
Titled “Greens, Glitz and Bows,” the fundraiser will feature a holiday luncheon and boutique with seasonal shopping. One item featured in the boutique will be handmade wreaths with all-natural materials that the club said will “sell out quickly.”
The fundraiser aims to raise money for the group’s projects, including planters along Sheboygan’s downtown Eighth Street and South Pier as well as Maywood, Indian Mound Park, Nourish, Bookworm Gardens and more.
Tickets for the fundraiser are $58 and are available by contacting Marilyn VanDerPuy at 920-458-4671.
▶ Fleet Farm brings 'Orange Friday' Nov. 18: “Orange Friday” will be held in all Wisconsin Fleet Farm stores Nov. 18, including the Plymouth store at 3110 Eastern Ave.
Stores open at 6 a.m. that day and aim to be a “one-stop destination for hunters to ensure they are fully equipped for firearm deer hunting season.”
Wisconsin’s nine-day white-tailed deer season starts Nov. 19 and ends Nov. 27.
The first 500 customers through the doors at Fleet Farm on “Orange Friday” will receive a limited-edition Fleet Farm “Orange Friday” blaze-orange hat.
“Orange Friday” will also feature Hunt Week deals. Hunters can save from 6 a.m. to noon with a Big Bucks Scratch-Off Ticket that could mean 10%-50% off their “Orange Friday” purchase.
“Orange Friday” is one of Fleet Farm’s largest — and most popular — events of the year. Hunters can fuel up their trucks, get their hunting licenses, stock up on last-minute gear and buy snacks for the tree stand.
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This article originally appeared on Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter: Sheboygan sidewalk poetry book planned, 2022 holiday parade date set
