Ozaukee Living local
  • Home
  • Stories
  • Events
  • About Oz
  • #EditorOfOzReviews

Once upon a time...
​You can get OLL stories delivered weekly if you subscribe here.
​Photo by Nicole Sova

First Fridays Return for a Third Season at the Cedarburg Cultural Center

9/29/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
Popular Milwaukee cover band, Mic Over Matter, will open the Cedarburg Cultural Center's First Fridays Concert Series on October 7th
PictureMadison Band and WAMI Award-winners, the People Brothers Band, will close the CCC's First Fridays season.

Now in its third season, the First Fridays concert series at the Cedarburg Cultural Center (located at W62 N546 Washington Avenue in downtown Cedarburg) will continue to bring the feel of a summer outdoor concert series indoors for the colder months to audiences of all ages. This series provides an opportunity to fulfill the CCC mission of providing a gathering place for the community, while providing a space to showcase emerging artists, as well as established, WAMI Award-winning bands.  

As the name suggests, the First Friday concert series happens on the first Friday of each month, from October through May, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.  
In the 2016-2017 season, guests will be greeted to a singer-songwriter performance at 6:00 p.m., followed by the featured band at 7:00 p.m.  First Fridays provides a kid’s craft hour and space to hula hoop from 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. In addition, dinner will be available for purchase from featured food trucks. Other activities include a local handmade art show and monthly art exhibit. The lights go down and the party turns up as the headliner takes the stage, and the Center’s full cash bar and dance floor multiply the fun.  

First Fridays will showcase a variety of musical styles, including Americana, Blues, Caribbean, Country, Jam, Funk, Pop, Reggae, Rock, R&B and Soul. The series is free of charge to CCC members and children under 5. Non-member general admission is $5 at the door.   The 2016/17 season includes:


October 7    Mic Over Matter         90’s Pop
November 4    Kyle Feerick Band        Folk Rock
December 2    WhiskeyBelles        Roots Americana
January 6    Alex Wilson Band        Blues
February 3    FM Rodeo            Country
March 3    City Block            Classic Rock
April 7        Kojo                Caribbean & Reggae
May 5        The People Brothers Band    Rhythm & Soul
    
“We are so excited to present First Fridays for third year in a row, and we love to see people of all ages come together for this monthly event. Whether it’s date night or a night out with the kids, First Fridays has a little bit of something for everyone!” said CCC Executive Director, Stephanie Hayes.

The Cedarburg Cultural Center and US Bank present First Fridays, with additional support from Fromm Family Foods, Festivals of Cedarburg, Executive Search Partners-ESP, Visual Image Photography, Olsen’s Piggly Wiggly and, after party sponsor, The Stilt House.

For questions or more information about “First Fridays,” please contact the Cedarburg Cultural Center at 262-375-3676 or visit www.CedarburgCulturalCenter.org.  


​About the Cedarburg Cultural Center:
The CCC is a not-for-profit 501 (c)(3) with a mission to provide a gathering place to celebrate community, the arts and local heritage.  All galleries, classrooms, and restrooms of the Cedarburg Cultural Center are wheelchair accessible.  The CCC is free and open to the public Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., and Sunday 12 – 4 p.m.  The CCC is closed on Monday.  


0 Comments

MAN OF LA MANCHA at The Rep

9/26/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
Milwaukee Repertory Theater presents Man of La Mancha in the Quadracci Powerhouse from September 20 to October 30, 2016. Photo by Michael Brosilow.
PictureMilwaukee Repertory Theater presents Man of La Mancha in the Quadracci Powerhouse from September 20 to October 30, 2016. Featuring Nathaniel Stampley, photo by Michael Brosilow.
Even if you have never read Cervantes' famous novel, Don Quixote, or have never attended a production of the Tony winning musical, Man of La Mancha, written by Dale Wasserman, I promise you will recognize the story, the music, and the lyrics when you hear them. Through the month of October, the Milwaukee Repertory Theater will be performing this most beloved of musicals, and this is one production that is not to be missed.

The story of Don Quixote is referenced so often in modern culture, most people would be surprised to learn that it was written over 400 years ago by Miquel de Cervantes of Spain. Cervantes, a veteran of the Spanish military, was captured by pirates after his service and sold into slavery, where he remained for five years, and struggled financially for the rest of his life.  Despite the novel's popularity, Cervantes never made much money from his great work.  

Interestingly, the tale of Dale Wasserman, the writer of Man of La Mancha, is nearly as fantastic as Cervantes'.  Born in Rhinelander, Wisconsin in 1914, Wasserman was orphaned before he was even 10 years old.  Instead of going to school, he traveled the country from job to job, until he eventually began working in theater as a lighting designer, and then progressed to writing scripts.  He originally wrote a made-for- television play about Cervantes in 1959.  Then, in 1964, he and Director Albert Marre turned the TV play into a stage musical, with composer Mitch Leigh and lyricist Joe Darion to write the music and lyrics.  Not only is Wasserman remembered for Man of La Mancha, which went on to win five Tony awards, he is also known for writing One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

Man of La Mancha is both the story of Don Quixote and of Cervantes (played brilliantly by Milwaukee's own Nathaniel Stampley).  In the musical, Cervantes and his servant have been imprisoned in Seville, and are awaiting their trial by the Spanish Inquisition for their "crimes against the church."  The prisoners, however, have a trial of their own.  They confiscate Cervantes' belongings, including the unfinished manuscript of his novel, Don Quixote.  In his defense, Cervantes presents a play of his manuscript for his fellow prisoners, involving them in the production, and becomes Don Quixote, the Lord of La Mancha, himself; an aging man with a wild imagination, who fancies himself a knight errant, bent on restoring chivalry and righteousness to the world.  His servant becomes Quixote's worthy squire, Sancho Panza (Michael J. Farina). Don Quixote does all for the love of his lady, "Dulcinea," whom he imagines to be the peasant lady, Aldonza (Leenya Rideout). Quixote's family is embarrassed by his behavior, and believe they need to cure him of his delusions but, perhaps, a big imagination isn't such a bad thing, after all?

Directing his seventh musical on the Quadracci Powerhouse stage is The Rep's Artistic Director, Mark Clements, with Musical Direction by Associate Artist, Dan Kazemi.  Besides Stampley, Man of La Mancha features a string of some of Milwaukee's favorite actors, including Jonathan Gillard Daly, Bethany Thomas, Gavin Gregory, Beth Mulkerron, Michael Doherty, and Michael Accardo, as well as Matt Daniels, who is making his Rep debut.

While this 50 year old musical, and the 400 year old story it is inspired by, may seem irrelevant today, there is a reason it has endured:  Quixote's belief.  His belief in his own values; his belief in the good in others, even when they can't see it in themselves.  His ability to not just "see life as it is, but...as it ought to be," and to believe that we can attain that.  In these times, that belief is something we all need.  Man of La Mancha is not only one of the greatest musicals ever written, it is easily the greatest musical I've ever seen The Rep perform, and one of the finest Rep performances I've ever seen, period.  

Man of La Mancha opened Saturday, September 24th and runs through October 30th in the Quadracci Powerhouse Theater.  Tickets can be purchased online at www.milwaukeerep.com, by phone at (414) 224-9490, or in person at the Ticket Office, located at 108 E. Wells Street in Milwaukee.  A variety of events, including Rep-in-Depth, a pre-show conversations with actor Matt Daniels, post-show Talk Backs with the cast and creative team, and Community Conversation Panel Discussions are happening in conjunction with the production, as well as a Singing Workshop on Saturday, October 1st from 2-3 p.m. and a Flamenco Dance Workshop in collaboration with Siempre Flamenco on Saturday, October 15th from 2-3 p.m.  For more information on these events, go to www.milwaukeerep.com/On-Stage/Events/.

About Milwaukee Repertory Theater
Milwaukee Rep is a nationally-recognized company that presents compelling dramas, powerful classics, award-winning contemporary works, and full-scale musicals, housed in its three unique performance venues:  the Quadracci Powerhouse, Stiemke Studio, and Stackner Cabaret.  The Rep also produces an annual production of A Christmas Carol, featuring a World Premiere of a new adaptation in 2016, at the histroic Pabst Theater. Under the leadership of Artistic Director, Mark Clements, and Managing Director, Chad Bauman, Milwaukee Repertory Theater ignites positive change in the cultural, social, and economic vitality of its community by creating world-class theater experiences that entertain, provoke, and inspire meaningful dialogue among an audience representative of Milwaukee's rich diversity.




0 Comments

Whistle Stop Poems and the Poet of Saukville

9/16/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
This past spring, Saukville Library Director, Jen Gerber, and friends of the Oscar Grady Library, came together to republish a long-lost book by one of its residents, Bill Harrington, who was dubbed "The Poet of Saukville" by the Ozaukee Press, upon Harrington's death on April 1st, 1949.  

The book, entitled Whistle Stop Poems, was written under the name Harrington Williams, and published in 1947 by the Ozaukee Press, where Harrington worked as a Sports Editor, just two years before Harrington died of a sickness he acquired while serving in the Navy in 1921.  

On Saturday, September 24th, at 2:30, the Oscar Grady Public Library invites the public to a poetry reading from Whistle Stop Poems at the Ozaukee County Pioneer Village in Saukville.

Attendees are encouraged to listen to poems, or even to grab the mic and read one themselves.  Light refreshments will be provided. Copies of the book will be available for purchase for $10, with proceeds of the book sale to benefit Saukville’s Oscar Grady Public Library programming.

Born in Milwaukee in 1903, Harrington was the son or Mr. and Mrs. Peter Harrington of Saukville.  He attended Marquette University, but quit his studies to join the U.S. Navy in 1921, where he served in the South West Pacific.  It was while he was doing rescue work during the great Japanese earthquake of 1923 that he was stricken with apoplexy, and was discharged from the service in 1925.  After a long period of hospitalization in Veteran's hospitals, he returned to Saukville and began a career as a sports writer for the Ozaukee Press.

Pioneer Village is located at 4880 County Rd I in Saukville.  For more information, visit 
http://www.oscargradylibrary.org.

0 Comments

44th Annual Wine & Harvest Festival in Cedarburg

9/15/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
The good book says, "To every thing there is a season."  In Cedarburg, to every season there is a festival, and Fall means it's time for Wine & Harvest.  On Saturday, September 17th and Sunday, September 18th, Washington Avenue in downtown Cedarburg will close to traffic and fill up with artists, food, music, and fun of all kinds.

Cedarburg's own Cedar Creek Winery inspired this food and art oriented celebration 44 years ago, and it has grown in popularity each year.  Visitors will find a Farmers Market, hundreds of artisan products for sale, a pumpkin carver, sheep shearing, street performers, hay rides, live music from the likes of Frog Water, Will Pfrang, Stereotype, the Rhythm Kings, and the Whiskeybelles, and all kinds of activities and competitions for all ages.

One of the most popular competitions at the festival is the annual Grape Stomp, a hilarious and action-packed event for both adults and children, which takes place outside the Winery on both days of the festival.  The Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off is a hit, which also includes watermelons and gourds.

Many of the downtown businesses offer raffles, sales, and activities during the festival. Tours of the historic Kuhefuss House Museum are available, and the Cedarburg Art Museum's Beer Garden will be open.  Bounce houses and a barrel train, as well as other activities for children, will be located at Cedar Creek Park.  Outside of downtown, the Wisconsin Museum of Quilts & Fiber Arts will also have  their latest exhibit, Quilt Nihon:  Treasures from Japan.  

The 44th Annual Wine & Harvest Festival runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.  For more information, visit the Festivals of Cedarburg website:  http://www.cedarburgfestival.org/, or their Facebook page.
0 Comments

Riveredge Nature Center expands Family Nature Clubs to Bring Outdoors Directly to Communities

9/7/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
By Matt Gaboury

Outdoor families are happier families, a new study from the University of Illinois shows. Spending time in nature as a family has numerous health, behavioral, and bonding benefits, but finding time to get outside together can be tough, and knowing what to do once there can be even tougher. That's why Riveredge Nature Center is starting brand new Family Nature Clubs in Ozaukee, Washington, and Sheboygan Counties. 

Family Nature Clubs meet once a month, and are organized by experienced leaders who take charge of coordinating activities for the group. They will introduce families to new natural areas in their own communities, and provide families a dedicated time each month to focus on connecting with each other and their communities. The expansion of the clubs follows a successful pilot year at Riveredge Nature Center. 

"We have made the conscious effort to expand family nature clubs throughout Southeastern Wisconsin in order to meet families where they are. By providing a loose structure and guidance of a naturalist, we hope to help parents build confidence taking their children outdoors, while inspiring the whole family to seek out the natural spaces in their very own backyard. Nature is all around us, sometimes we just need a little help to experience it," Cassie Bauer, Family and Community Programs Manager at Riveredge explains. 

Clubs start in September. The Ozaukee County chapter's first meeting is at the Feith Family YMCA in Port Washington on September 8th from 6 to 7:30 PM, the Washington County club meets at the West Bend School District Outdoor Classroom on September 15th from 6 to 7:30 PM, the Riveredge club meets for it's second year at the nature center starting September 20th from 5:30 to 7 PM, and the Sheboygan County chapter meets at Bookworm Gardens in Sheboygan on September 27th from 5 to 6:30 PM. More details, the full club schedule, and information on RSVPing can be found at riveredgenaturecenter.org/family-nature-clubs/. 



About Riveredge Nature Center
For nearly fifty years, Riveredge Nature Center has been a pioneer in engaging people with the natural world. Its 379 acres of restored wild Wisconsin ecosystems, 10 miles of trails for adventuring, and a legacy of hundreds of thousands of kids transformed by a deeply intimate interaction with nature are a testament to Riveredge's passion for this cause. That passion continues today through the building of a movement to bring the great outdoors to families, schools and neighborhoods.
0 Comments

Wisconsin Singer Songwriter Series Opens 25th Season in Mequon

9/6/2016

1 Comment

 
Picture
Picture

As a kid growing up on the south side of Chicago, Joe DeLucia experienced the music industry first-hand.  His father, an Italian immigrant, had his own record label in 1955, recording rock bands, blues singers, songwriters, big bands, and country singers.  "I remember driving many miles with him as we delivered the records (45 rpm vinyl) to radio stations across Illinois, Michigan, and Indiana. His biggest 'hit' was a recording of Edgar Allen Poe's Annabel Lee put to music and sung by The Coeds. It rose to #21 on WLS's Silver Dollar Survey!" 

When DeLucia arrived in Wisconsin in 1975, he started a music career of his own.  "It started at the Sunday open mic at the  Gasthaus in the basement of the student union at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. As I got more confident, I got paid gigs at such places as the Blue River Cafe, the 19th Street Coffeehouse, Numero Uno's on Oakland, Prima's on Downer (where I first started promoting local musicians), Marquette University and UW Milwaukee. I made a recording in 1979, a 45 rpm record, and received airplay in Milwaukee."

A wife, kids, and home put his music career on the back burner for many years, until 1991, when DeLucia moved his father in with his family, rediscovering all of those old 45 records, and realized how important music was to him.  With many of his old haunts gone, DeLucia decided that he would have to create a place for singers and songwriters on his own.  

In 1992, with the help of musician friends, DeLucia started the Wisconsin Singer Songwriter Series in a partnership with the Cedarburg Cultural Center, where it remained for 16 years until, for financial reasons, the concert series was moved to the Unitarian Church North in Mequon, where it continues today.  

For twenty-five years, WSSS has been a successful, non-profit, volunteer-driven organization, with all of the proceeds of the event going to the artist fees and operating expenses.  The small army of loyal volunteers, along with sponsorship from North Shore Bank, the law firm of DeWitt, Ross & Stevens, and Muermann Engineering, as well as DeLucia's passion for original, lyrical oriented music, has made WSSS an incredibly popular indoor concert series; so much so that DeLucia no longer has to find artists to perform; instead, they come to him, and the hardest part is choosing who gets in.  

The concerts are held throughout the fall, winter, and spring at the Unitarian Church North (13800 N. Port Washington Road) in Mequon.  The doors always open at 7 p.m., and the music begins at 7:30; soda, coffee, and homemade treats are available for purchase. Ticket prices vary (student prices are $10 at all times), but are less expensive if bought in advance, and season passes and mini-package deals are available for purchase through September 24th.

WSSS just released their 25th Season Line-up:  

Saturday, September 24 - Reggie Harris & David Roth - advance/at the door $17/$21 

Friday, October 7- Ronnie Cox & Band - advance/at the door $18/$22

Saturday, October 22 - Anne Hills - advance/at the door - $16/$20

Friday, November 4 - WSSS Song Contest - admission $5 anytime

Saturday, Nov. 5 - Michael Hough, David Tamulevich, Jan Krist & Matt Wattroba - advance/ door $17/$21 

Saturday, November 19 -Julie Rust - advance/at the door $15/$19

Friday, December 9 -Jon Vezner & Don Henry - advance/at the door $17/$21 

Saturday, January 21 - Bonnie Koloc - advance/at the door $18/$22 

Friday, February 10 - Dan Navarro - advance/at the door $15/$19

Friday, March 3 - Brother Sun - advance/at the door $18/$22

Friday, April 7 - Joe Crookston - advance/at the door $15/$19 

Saturday, April 29 - Johnsmith w/ Dan Sebranek - advance/at the door $16/$20

Friday, May 5 - Claudia Schmidt & Sally Rodgers - advance/at the door $17/$21

If you are a music lover, the WSSS is the place to be.  "Our venue is a listening room, and is casual and family friendly. It is also a wonderful opportunity to purchase CD's of artists that you would normally not find at the stores," says DeLucia.  "For these past 25 years, I have met musicians/songwriters of such rare quality and character, who share the same mission:  to share the love of lyrics and music with everyone!"

​For more information, visit the Wisconsin Singer Songwriter Series Facebook Page.

1 Comment

    Archives

    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    July 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    March 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    April 2014

    Categories

    All
    Art
    Ballet
    Beer Garden
    Belgium
    Camps For Kids
    Cedarburg
    Citizen Action
    Classes
    Classes For Kids
    Coffee
    Community Events
    Concert
    Concert Series
    Dance
    Dinner
    Fall Fun
    Family Fun
    Farmers Market
    Farms
    Festival
    Fireworks
    Fish Fry
    Fundraiser
    Grafton
    Health
    History
    Holidays
    Lake Michigan
    Live Music
    Local Food
    Mequon
    Milwaukee
    Milwaukee River
    Newburg
    Night Life
    Open Mic
    Orchestra
    Outdoors
    OzEats
    Pancake Breakfast
    Parade
    People In Our Neighborhood
    Port Washington
    Reading
    Recipes
    Restaurant
    Run/Walk
    Saukville
    Sheboygan
    Shop Local
    Storytime
    Survey
    Theatre
    Thiensville
    Waukesha
    Workshop

    RSS Feed

Published By:

Picture

Ozaukee Living Local
A Community Supported Publication

OLL is always looking for Contributing Writers and Photography, which is an excellent way to highlight what your business or organization is doing in Oz.  Not a writer but have a Story Idea or Event Submission?  Just contact us at:
 mary@ozaukeelivinglocal.com  

Contact Us

mary@ozaukeelivinglocal.com

Join our mailing list today!  One email newsletter a week, every Friday, with everything you need to know about what's happening in Oz.  
Subscribe Now
  • Home
  • Stories
  • Events
  • About Oz
  • #EditorOfOzReviews