Bow Valley Dance Hall is getting a facelift
BOW VALLEY — Renovations and updates are taking place on the Bow Valley Dance Hall.
The project is expected to cost $140,000 and will replace all the tin on the outside of the building, will add a cold storage expansion to the north side, and a new sign on the south side.
The entire project began last summer when a tornado went through the Bow Valley area, causing four trees to be uprooted and bending all of the tin on the outside of the building.
“It was one of those freak storms that just hit a small area,” said Dance Hall President Tom Wiebelhaus. “We had the insurance company come out. They looked at the building and adjusted it, saying every piece of metal was bent on it, and we lost a couple of windows on the northwest side. So they wanted us to replace all of the tin on the building and then we explored what it was going to cost. It was $93-94,000 to replace the tin as it was, so they wrote us a check for that amount. Then we explored adding on some cold storage to the north side for chairs and tables.”
The goal is to have this project done by Memorial Day, but Wiebelhaus said he is flexible because of the size of the project.
The Bow Valley Park Association runs the Bow Valley Dance Hall, with Tom Wiebelhaus, Roger Lange, Terry Korth, John Lange and Randy Noecker overseeing the day-to-day operations of the building.
The men had been discussing a cold storage expansion for awhile, and replacing the tin gave them the perfect reason to move forward on the project.
“The cold storage idea we have been kicking around for four or five years, and the thing that got it off the ground or changed our mind to do what we did was the tornado and having the funds to replace all the tin,” said Wiebelhaus. “So while you are replacing all the tin why wouldn’t you do an addition and make the building look new again?”
Wiebelhaus said the insurance money came in last year, so at January’s Bow Valley Park Association annual meeting, Wiebelhaus and the other members pitched the idea of the expansion project of a cold storage room and a new storefront. The idea came across very well and received a unanimous vote for approval.
“The building is not going to look like it has been added on to when it’s done,” said Wiebelhaus. “It will have a smooth look, and we will have a business front look by the road on the south side. We are just adding to an already great hall. Just two years ago we redid the ceiling with new LED lights and fans, along with a bluetooth sound system. So we are just trying to stay with the times and give our customers a better building.”
The old sign for the Bow Valley Dance Hall was 5x5 feet. Wiebelhaus says they are looking to build a much bigger 20x20 foot sign that may even be lit up to help attract people.
The insurance company provided around $94,000 to replace the tin on the outside, but that leaves another $46,000 for the project. There will be some fund raising efforts, but Wiebelhaus said they will wait until the project is complete to start any fund raising ventures.
“We do need a little fund raising activity,” said Wiebelhaus. “We don’t know how we are going to approach that yet. We want to get the project done and then have an open house or something like that to show the building off.”
The first goal for this project is to have it done by Memorial Day, but there are a few big events approaching that the Committee wants the Dance Hall fully renovated by. This summer, there will be a 125th birthday for the Bow Valley Dance Hall building, and in 2020 there will be Scheutzenfest, a two-day event that is one of two shooting contests in the United States.
The event stems from a festival that is customary in both Germany and Switzerland. It is a marksmen shooting contest, and the winner is named “King of Marksmen” until the next year’s competition. The Schuetzenfest at the Bow Valley Dance Hall will be the first weekend of August 2020.