Events

This year marks the 21st anniversary of Holiday Lights for Helping Services and Decorah Rotary is excited to participate, not only by providing volunteers for the event, but also by displaying the lighted Rotary wheel again this year.

Every night, visitors come from near and far to see the wonder of the holiday displays. These bigger than life depictions of Santa, elves, snowmen, and reindeer can range in size from 5 to 25 feet tall.

They fill the night with blinking lights and charming animations, capturing the wonder of the couples, friends, and family that travel through.

Every event of this type needs a feature display, and for Holiday Lights, it is the Tunnel of Lights. Consisting of eight rings, the lights are synchronized to light in order from first ring to last, making an exciting drive-through experience.

DRC Sponsor: Ron Snell

Bob Rotach hails from Waukon and is the organizer and leader of Wednesday Night Riders, a motorcycle and converible group of enthusiasts with rider participation from Allamakee and Winneshiek counties. He will visit our club to talk about the group and several of community outreach activities they support.

Bob was raised in Manchester, graduating from West Delaware High in 1964. He attended State College of Iowa (later known as the University of Northern Iowa) where he played baseball. After graduation in 1968, he began teaching at St. Patrick Catholic School in Waukon where he coached baseball, basketball, and cross country. After closure of that school he transitioned to the MFL MarMac McGregor Center. He joined Farm Bureau Insurance in 1982 as an agent and a commercial specialist. Bob has a long record of community service including the Waukon City Council, the Veterans Memorial Hospital Board of Directors, Helping Services for Youth & Families mentoring, and contributing his time to many other local organizations. He has been married for 56 years and has children and grandchildren in Denver. He covers approximately 20,000 miles per year on his motorcycle, much of it associated with Wednesday Night Riders.

To see the record of Wednesday Night Riders activities visit their website at https://wednightriders.blogspot.com.

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**Please complete your noon meal sign-up prior to the meeting, preferably not later than close of business Monday. Our face-to-face meeting will be hosted at the VFW. The meal sign-up, meeting announcment, and any other logistical information will be distributed in advace to all members by email.

DRC Sponsor: Alan Lerstrom

Oneota Film Festival Board of Directors President Nancy Sojka will join our meeting to deliver information and early insights into the 2026 Oneota Film Festival, scheduled for March 5-8. Following her presentation, Luther College Professor of Communication Studies Thomas C. Johnson will provide us with a preview his short production of The Girl's Race. 

Held annually among the rivers and bluffs of the Driftless Region, the Oneota Film Festival brings compelling, innovative, and inspiring films and filmmakers to Decorah from around the globe. Through films that illuminate the human condition, the Festival aims to engage a large and diverse audience in the critical issues of our time. Screenings and discussions take place in various venues throughout the downtown Decorah business district. The Festival series was initiated by the creative energy of Luther College alumnus Walter Ordway, a world traveler, photographer, and filmmaker; and by photographer and filmmaker Kyrl Henderson.

Professor Johnson is an award-winning filmmaker, his directorial credits including Ironhead, Marieke, and Love & Sugar. His latest film, the documentary short The Girls Race, depicts the power and authenticity of cross country through 39 schools and 242 girls as they compete at the Johnson-Olson High School Girls Varsity 5K, a race held as part of Luther College’s 50th All-American Invitational. The Girls Race is free of narration, interviews, and non-diegetic sound (sound which the audience hears but not the performers). Professor Johnson aims to present genuine moments and poignant stories, thereby drawing rightful attention to the virtues of girls sports, broadly, and girls cross country, specifically.

Nancy Sojka is a retired art teacher from the North Winneshiek School District. In addition to her tireless support of the Oneota Film Festival, she is the co-founder of the Northeast Iowa Quilters Guild and has been active in the group since its inception in 1982. She is also an avid cyclist and might be encountered during one of her many circumnavigations of the Trout Run Trail.

Details on the 2026 Festival will be coming soon to their website, accessible at https://www.oneotafilmfestival.org.

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**Please complete your noon meal sign-up prior to the meeting, preferably not later than close of business Monday. Our face-to-face meeting will be hosted at the VFW. The meal sign-up, meeting announcment, and any other logistical information will be distributed in advace to all members by email.

Hosted at Rubaiyat Restaurant. Additional details TBA.