Downtown gears up for the annual

ATV Pull & Pub Crawl

by Dick Timmons 

The second annual ATV Pull will be held in downtown Rhinelander on Sat., Aug. 17, on Brown Street. Ed Orlikowski, General Manager of The Claridge Motor Inn is chair of the event.

In 2012 more than 450 people came downtown to enjoy this activity. That year it was held on Anderson Street. This year the contest will be right in the middle of Rhinelander's main downtown street, starting approximately at Bucket Heads. There will also be a pub crawl, and there will be seating provided on both sides of Brown Street. 

This year's Pull starts at noon. There will be three judges.  Orlikowski expects success building upon last year's event. It is expected to bring even more folks into Downtown Rhinelander. 

The ATV Pull is sponsored by Central Wisconsin Pullers, Inc, Stratford, Wis.  The contest is open to all, and there are still opportunities to participate.   

Contacts: Glenn Grassel 715-652-3270; 

"Volunteering for the community is not only a lot of fun, but you meet new people and make good friends," says Ray Burgan, and lately, he has been giving himself plenty of opportunity to experience these benefits.

Currently, Ray serves on the DRI board as its treasurer and as head of the promotions committee. He also is a member of the School District of Rhinelander board, and is on the St. Mary's Hospital board.

Ray recently retired from his position of manager-owner of Enterprise Wood Products, a business he had operated since 2007. When not volunteering, he likes to fish, golf and cross-country ski, and spend time with his wife Ellen, son Christopher and daughter Jamie.

"The DRI board is a hard-working group," Ray says. "The members have the downtown's best interests in mind. The board has three big goals: to preserve the downtown area by decreasing the vacancy rate, so eventually there are no empty buildings; to improve the appearance of our facades so they look new and fresh; and to hold interesting events that will draw people to the downtown."

Ray was involved in the recent DRI-sponsored annual Car Show, held June 29 on Brown Street. "I think we had a great event," Ray says. "We made money, and everyone had a good time." The promotions committee is actively planning for the upcoming events: the Oneida County Fair, where DRI hosts its popular Beer Tent; Redikulus Dae on Aug. 7; and the annual ATV Pull & Pub Crawl on Aug. 17.

On Aug. 31 will take place a destined-to-become Rhinelander signature event: the first-ever PotatoFest.

"This idea has been kicked around for a long time," Ray says. "It's always been a question of how do you do it. How do you attract 10,000 people to the downtown? This year we decided to just take it on. It'll be a big celebration of Rhinelander."

"We've learned that events are what people like," Ray adds. "They're telling us it's fun again to be downtown."

At the top of Ray's wishlist for DRI is the desire for more volunteers. "We're always in need of volunteers to serve on the board, for our events, for the flower basket maintenance, you name it. I'd love to see more people participate in this great revitalization of our downtown."

Ray urges anyone interested in volunteering to call Director Maggie Steffens at 715-362-7374, or  visit the website and fill out the contact form.

If you ever planned a party of any kind you know how much work it is. All of DRI's events could not happen without the support of our community. Thank you to our sponsors, our hard-working and dedicated volunteers, and you participants for the support you give. Should even one of these components not exist, the downtown, and in turn the community, would not be the strong unit it is. Thank you all.

See you Downtown,

Maggie Steffen

Executive Director

Downtown Rhinelander Inc.