Lake Wissota

With the 100 year anniversary of the creation of Lake Wissota comes a play honoring the amazing feat that took place a century ago. Jerry Way, the man behind the production of “Wissota in the Making,” has been working on the play and its music since last August, and hopes to honor the people and hard work that made Lake Wissota possible. “At the time it was completed one hundred years ago, it was the largest earthen dam in the world,” Jerry said. “The skill, muscle, and steam power needed to accomplish the engineering feat is amazing.” The play will consist of spoken narration, and music by The Swampers, a folk band playing all original music composed by Way himself. The band consists of traditional folk instruments and singers with loose folk harmonies in a style that has come to be known as “swampgrass.” Behind the performance will be a series of photographs taken during the construction of the dam, which was under construction from November 1915 through June 1917. It was truly a massive undertaking, and the play intends to pay tribute to the grueling, amazing work that took place. “Everyone who comes to the show will be musically entertained and come away with a new appreciation of the accomplishments of those who came before us,” Jerry said. Performances will take place Thursday and Friday, August 10 and 11 at the Heyde Center for the Arts in Chippewa Falls. 

The Swampers: Wissota In The Making • August 10 and 11 • Heyde Center for the Arts, 3 S. High St., Chippewa Falls • 7:30pm • $11 (adults), $10 (seniors), $5 (youth) • www.cvca.net