Having a gallery on the Grafton Branch site provides a fun opportunity for the branch to support local artists in the community, like Joan Hollnagel. Joan’s work is currently on display in the Stone House Gallery, although it will move to a different location for the art tour.

If you love art and fall colors, you won’t want to miss the Covered Bridge Studio Art Tour, sponsored by North Shore Bank, Oct. 11-13. One of the locations featured on the tour will be the Grafton Branch’s Stone House Gallery, the preserved original home located on the site when the branch was built 15 years ago. The gallery at 2301 Wisconsin Ave. features a local artist each month.

For the Covered Bridge Studio Art Tour, art enthusiasts will enjoy a lovely autumn drive past the farm fields and pumpkin patches of Ozaukee and Washington counties as they travel between galleries and other locations to take in the local art. A historic wooden covered bridge is included in the tour!

Branch Manager Bridget Sobocinski said the tour is a fun annual event the bank sponsors with the Cedarburg Artists Guild. There are 46 locations to visit, with 19 within walking distance in downtown Cedarburg. Fold-out maps of all locations are available so that visitors can plan their stops over the three-day event.

During the month of October and the tour, the Stone House Gallery will feature a few pieces from Renee Schreiner, who will also display her work at stop 2 on the tour in Port Washington.

The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day, with the branch open Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon. Bridget isn’t in immediate need of help at the event, but anyone interested in participating can contact her via email or Jabber. She will look for opportunities for people to help or place them on a backup list.