Latest News & Updates
To protect the health and safety of our community, The Campanile has suspended public performances for the time being. We appreciate your patience and support of the arts in our community during this challenging time. As the gathering place for our community, we cannot wait to be back hosting the best live performance experiences and once again sharing inspirational moments with you!
The Campanile has put new safety & health protocols in place so that we are able to provide arts instruction. So if you have ever thought that you would like to learn how to play a musical instrument, now would be the time! While we were sad to not have our summer youth theater on our calendar, we know that our caution and extra patience has helped in preventing the spread of COVID-19, keeping our patrons, students and staff healthy.
We are also taking this time to prepare the auditorium for the time when we can safely reopen. You will notice a change in the seating and copious amounts of hand sanitizer. In the meantime, we hope to answer some questions you may have regarding shows at the Campanile.
Campanile Center Parking Lot Sale
You may have heard that the Campanile has accepted an offer from the Town of Minocqua to purchase the Campanile parking lot. We want to let you know why and how the Board of Directors came to that decision.
Since 2007, the Campanile Center for the Arts has been serving the Lakeland area by providing a home to the Lakeland Community Band, Campanile Choir, and providing art and music instruction for hundreds of students ages 4 to 92, as well as numerous other events such as the month long summer youth theater workshop. The Campanile has presented dozens of community productions, student recitals, local performance groups, offered world class entertainment on its stage at affordable prices and served as host to events such as the Ice Cold Beer Festival, Library and Wildlife Center fundraisers, among hundreds of others. Clearly, the Campanile is important to the Lakeland community and has been supported by hundreds of community members who make significant donations to the Campanile to ensure that this institution will remain a permanent part of our cultural landscape. However, what many do not know, is that the Campanile has been operating under a tremendous debt since opening its doors in 2007. That debt load was exacerbated during this pandemic with operational restrictions that keeps our community safe.
The Board of Directors met last summer and concluded that to ensure the Campanile continues to fulfill its mission of developing, promoting and supporting the arts in the Lakeland community, aggressive action needed to be taken and considered selling its property and possible relocation of the Campanile itself. Recently, the Campanile received an offer from the Town of Minocqua to purchase the parking lot. If the Town carries through with its intent to purchase the parking lot, the action will not only preserve precious parking on the island for the public, but will help ensure that the Campanile can continue as an important asset for our community.
Selling the parking lot will help eliminate a large portion of its debt and our focus can turn to much needed capital repairs on our aging facility. Thank you for the role you have played in the development of the Campanile. If you have any questions, or if you would like more information, please feel free to call. (715) 356-9700.
