RED WING, MN – Hundreds of stoneware and pottery collectors are gearing up for the annual Red Wing Collectors Society (RWCS) MidWinter GetTogether, which will be held at the Isle Resort and Casino in Bettendorf, IA Feb. 22-23. This will be first time a club event will be held in the Quad Cities in the organization’s 42-year history.

Founded in 1977, the RWCS is composed of than 3,000 members worldwide who collect stoneware crocks, jugs, churns, dinnerware and art pottery manufactured in Red Wing from the 1880s to 1960s.

The event, which is focused around on buying, selling, education and fun with old and new friends alike, will kick off with a Friday night social for attendees in the hotel’s Salon B ballroom from 6 to 8 p.m. on Feb. 22. But many attendees will start selling stoneware and pottery from their hotel rooms in the north tower well before that – some starting as early as Tuesday, Feb. 19. A formal Show & Sale will run from 1 to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 23 followed by an auction at 4:30 p.m. – both of which are open to the public. More information about the auction can be found at www.houghtonauctions.com. Whether you’re new to collecting Red Wing or an experienced collector, anyone and everyone is invited to attend this fun event and find a new piece for their collection.

Education is also a major focus of the event. Starting at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 23, collector Danae Quirk Dorr will give a keynote presentation on “Red Wing Clay Industries & Marketing – From Salt and Albany to the Dawn of Zinc”. Danae will cover products produced and sold by Red Wing Stoneware Co., Minnesota Stoneware Co., North Star Stoneware Co., and Union Stoneware Co. through the 1800s. A highly informative and enthusiastic speaker, Danae is vice president of the RWCS Facebook Chapter and a member of the RWCS Foundation Board.

After that, the following hour-long education sessions will begin at 9:30 a.m. and 10:40 a.m., separated by a 10-minute break:

• “Pouring and Glazing Pottery” by Glenn Beall. In addition to being the former RWCS Education Manager, Glenn has been pouring and glazing his own pottery for the past nine years and he’s excited to share the ‘ins and outs’ of pottery production.
• “Salt Glaze Stoneware” by Rick Natynski. Best known for the high quality RWCS Newsletter that he’s produced for the past 12 years, Rick has collected Red Wing salt glaze for nearly 20 years. He’ll share more than 200 photos – many featuring the best pieces Red Wing ever turned out.
• “Auction Grading: Identifying Stoneware Damage, Restorations and Fakes” by Larry Birks. A stoneware collector since the late 1970s, Larry served as RWCS President from 2014 to 2016. In addition to grading items for the RWCS Thursday Night Convention Auction for several years, he has presented seminars on “faked advertising” stoneware to the RWCS, Collectors of Illinois Pottery & Stoneware (COIPS) and the Blue and White Collectors Club. “Knowing what to look for when buying a piece of stoneware will help everyone know whether the ‘value asked is the value bought!’” Larry says.
• “Red Wing Dinnerware” by Terry Moe & Larry Roschen. Experts in the field of Red Wing dinnerware, both Terry and Larry are RWCS Hall of Famers. They have presented countless seminars on the many dinnerware lines produced by the Red Wing Potteries. Their sessions have a loyal following at every RWCS event, which will surely be the case again in 2019.

All activities will be held at the Isle Casino Hotel at 1800 Isle Parkway in Bettendorf, IA. Visit www.erwcs.org to register or learn more about the MidWinter GetTogether.

This event will help tie collectors over until the 42^nd annual Red Wing Collectors Society Summer Convention, which slated for July 12-14 in Red Wing, MN. Annual membership in the RWCS costs only $35 and includes five 16-page full-color newsletters mailed to your home throughout the year. For more information or to become a member, call the RWCS business office at 651-388-4004, e-mail membership@redwingcollectors.org or log on to www.erwcs.org. You can also join the RWCS on Facebook and follow it on Twitter at @RWCollectors

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RED WING, MN – The Red Wing Collectors Society Annual Convention, July 11-13, 2019 will be held all in one place and in a new location at Goodhue County Education District’s (GCED) River Bluff Education Center (RBEC) located adjacent to Red Wing High School in Red Wing, MN.

For the past two years, the Red Wing Collectors Society’s (RWCS) Convention has been held in two venues the Minnesota State College Southeast’s Red Wing Campus and the Red Wing National Guard Armory. Prior to that, the Convention was held at the Red Wing High School.

With more time to plan for 2019, the RWCS conducted an attendee survey during the 2018 Convention. The survey indicated that while members enjoyed the College’s compact facility layout and the adult friendly furnishings, many respondents said that they were unhappy traveling to a second venue without air conditioning for the Auction and Show & Sale. With this member feedback, the RWCS Board of Directors formed a committee to review any site in the Red Wing area. The committee focused on two main features for a facility. One, it had the compact feel of the College and two, large enough to hold all the Convention events with special consideration that the room used for Auction and Show & Sale would have air conditioning.

“The committee’s objective was to leave no stone unturned when seeking the right place to hold the 2019 Convention activities like Chapter meetings, educational seminars, display, Auction, and Show & Sale.” stated Paul Wichert, RWCS President.

This past fall, the committee researched nearly 20 different venue options and toured many of them. The River Bluff facility had been on the RWCS short list two years ago, but time constraints in 2017 made a full evaluation of the facility difficult. As the committee began to narrow down the list, River Bluff once again bubbled to the top as an all-inclusive location with the small venue feel of the College and Armory. Stacy Wegner, RWCS Executive Director, and the committee approached Cherie Johnson, Executive Director at the River Bluff Education Center. Working closely with Cherie, the committee, and several key RWCS members, the River Bluff facility would be a fit for the 2019 Convention. The facility had a compact layout, enough rooms for all events, and the gym has air conditioning.

“We are very excited to host the RWCS Convention 2019” said Cherie Johnson, Executive Director, RBEC. “As director of the GCED I spearheaded the build of River Bluff and I kept the RWCS Convention in the back of my mind when Goodhue County began the building process. I knew our school would be a fit, we just needed more time to plan the Convention within the building.”

River Bluff Education Center (RBEC) opened its doors in the fall of 2015 and is part of the Goodhue County Education District. The GCED is a group of six districts in southeastern Minnesota that work together to provide educational services and funding for a variety of special education programs, staff development, and alternative school services.

The RWCS can’t thank Minnesota State College and the Red Wing National Guard Armory enough for their warm hospitality and support these past two years. Both facilities and their staffs were a pleasure to work with.

River Bluff’s new construction will serve as an excellent venue for all the 2019 Convention events. Stacy Wegner, RWCS Executive Director, along with other key managers, position chairs, and volunteers have already begun laying the ground work for the move to River Bluff.

“I am excited to be working with Cherie and her staff to make the smooth transition to River Bluff for the 2019 Convention. The school’s compact layout will keep the feeling of the college, but bring all the convention events into one building. Cherie’s an RWCS member too, so her Convention attendee experience will be a key piece in planning for the Convention.” said Stacy Wegner, Executive Director, RWCS.

RWCS members are encouraged to attend MidWinter, February 22-24, 2019 in Bettendorf, IA at the Isle of Capri to get all the latest information on Convention! Wegner will share more details about the 2019 Convention during the event’s Welcome Session slated for Saturday, February 23, 2019.

Annual membership in the Red Wing Collectors Society costs only $35 and includes six 16-page full-color newsletters mailed to your home throughout the year. The RWCS was founded in 1977 in Red Wing and there are more than 3,000 members worldwide. For more information or to become a member, call the RWCS business office at 651-388-4004, e-mail director@redwingcollectors.org or log on to www.redwingcollectors.org. You can also follow the RWCS on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RedWingCollectorsSociety and Twitter at @RWCollectors.