Six
graduating seniors from Gibraltar High School are showing their
gratitude to the community by performing a benefit concert for the
Scandia Village Capital Funds campaign. The concert will take place on
Wednesday, June 12, 7 p.m at Ephraim Moravian Church, 9970 Moravia
Street, Ephraim, WI.
Last year
around this time we started a Kickstarter campaign to help us renovate
an old storage space into a working theatre. Because of the overwhelming
success of that campaign, we not only met our financial goal, but met
our overall goal of opening our new theatre to the public.
Now
that big storage space is home to a beautiful, 84-seat theatre, and Door
County's newest professional theatre troupe, TAP's Stage Door Theatre
Company.
Our goal this time is a bit more modest, but
nonetheless urgent. We are looking to raise funds to cover costs for
our season opener, THE GLASS MENAGERIE, the great American classic play
by Tennessee Williams, making our Kickstarter donors the major sponsors
for this production.
Midsummer's
Music will host the first Door County concert in the 2013 chamber music
season featuring the world famous Pro Arte Quartet on Thursday, May 9.
The concert will be held at the Ephraim Moravian Church at 7:30 PM. Pro
Arte will delight the audience with a classic repertoire. Tickets are
priced at $25 for adults and $10 for students. Reservations are
recommended, as it is always a popular and often sold out event.
Pro Arte Quartet is the only quartet in the world to have reached
legendary longevity. The ensemble has been in continuous existence since
1911-1912, when its founding students at the Brussels Conservatory in
Belgium organized the group. Two of the current members of the quartet
are also regular members of Midsummer's Music, violinist David Perry and
violist Sally Chisholm. They are joined by violinist Suzanna Beia and
cellist Parry Karp. All hold positions at UW-Madison.
Stage Door Theater Company presents "The Rainmaker".
The Stage
Door Theatre Company continues its series of informal staged readings
of classic and contemporary plays with THE RAINMAKER by N. Richard Nash
on Sunday afternoon, April 7 at 2 pm.
Admission to the readings is free, although donations will be gratefully accepted.
A classic romantic
comedy set against the sweeping landscape of the American West. On her
family's drought-ridden ranch, Lizzie's hopes and dreams have run as dry
as the barren fields. When the irresistible Starbuck arrives in town,
selling the promise of rain, Lizzie must decide: is he a con man, or
does he hold the key to everything she desires?
Welcome to Door County Arts Directory, a Special Section of the Door County Travelers Journal.
Explore
this section to find out about Door County artists and artisans,
gallery events, art news, art shows, and fascinating stories about
artists that find their inspiration on Door County, Wisconsin's magical
peninsula.
Doug
Mancheski and Amy Ensign star in this unique imaginative, and romantic
love story. The play opens Thursday, February 14 in the Studio Theater
at TAP.
LOVE LETTERS centers on the long distance relationship
of Melissa Gardner and Andrew Makepeace Ladd III as seen through 50
years of letters filled with hopes and ambitions, dreams and
disappointments, victories and defeats - that have passed between them
throughout their separated lives.
Door
Community Auditorium’s popular winter event series is well underway and
will continue this weekend with a mainstage Coffeehouse Concert by
acclaimed New York City singer-songwriter Freedy Johnston on Saturday
night, and a lecture about Chinese political trends on Saturday morning.
Lecture: Chinese Politics
On
Saturday, February 9, at 9 a.m., the DCA’s Distinguished Lecture Series
will offer a lecture entitled “Recent Trends in Chinese Politics,”
presented by Dr. Wayne Patterson, professor of history at St. Norbert
College.
Door Community Auditorium
(DCA) has announced the final installments of its popular winter “Movies at the
Door” Series, which will take place three more Friday nights this season:
February 8, February 22, and March 1. Movies at the Door screenings take place
at 7 p.m. and are free to the public; freewill donations are accepted and
encouraged.
On Friday, February 8,
DCA presents Frankenweenie, Tim
Burton’s hit 2012 stop-motion fantasy film. Warmly received by critics and
audiences alike, Frankenweenie is the
story of Victor, a young boy who loses his dog and tries to resurrect him using
the power of science.
“My
favorite part of dance class is dressing up for class. I love dressing
up!” says five year old Sydney Hatton, wearing a kitty cat costume with a
pink tutu. Sydney is a student of the Sturgeon Bay YMCA’s “All-Star
Dance School.”
With 105 students currently enrolled in the
program, the dance school is one of the largest programs at the Sturgeon
Bay Y, and is also a big part of the community.
It’s
“Door County Reads” time again, thanks to support from the Door County
Library Foundation, the Friends of Door County Libraries, library staff
members, volunteers from community organizations and businesses! Start
the year by reading the book that hundreds of others in Door County will
be reading.
Beginning January 2, at your local Door County
Library, pick up a free copy of “The Beekeeper’s Apprentice” by Laurie
R. King as long as supplies last. Extra copies of the book will be
available for check-out through the library catalog at InfoSoup.org.
The
Peninsula Music Festival’s February Fest will take place on two
consecutive Saturdays starting AFTER the Super Bowl. Mark your calendars
for Saturday, February 9 and Saturday, February 16 at 2:00 p.m.
The
concerts will be held at Shepherd of the Bay Lutheran Church on Highway
42 at the top of the Ellison Bay hill.
American Folklore
Theatre (AFT) has announced the release of the 2012 World Premiere,
Victory Farm, album featuring the original cast recorded live in
Peninsula State Park, Fish Creek, Wisconsin.
"The buzz for
Victory Farm was great all summer long and we are so pleased to be able
to offer this CD to our fans." said Holly Feldman, Manager of Marketing
and Audience Development. The Victory Farm CD is currently available for
order on the AFT website at www.FolkloreTheatre.com.
L to R: Isaiah Spetz, Josie Morkin, Andrew Olson, and Becky Thoma rehearse a scene from “The Birds’ Christmas Carol”.
One of
the greatest things about Door County is the many artistic opportunities
available for people of all ages. The Third Avenue Playhouse has
created an opportunity of excellent quality with the addition of the
StageKids theater company.
StageKids is Door County’s newest community
theater company, featuring plays and workshops for children and teens
from the community. It is also a terrific chance for children to be able
to act with more experienced adults.
After
receiving rave reviews for her performance last year at Door Community
Auditorium, powerhouse vocalist Ruthie Foster will bring her
unmistakable brand of fiery blues back to DCA on Saturday, November 24,
at 7 p.m.
The Grammy-nominated Foster weaves the heat of Memphis soul,
the redemption of American gospel, and the groove of southern blues into
a rich musical tapestry that is all her own. The Boston Globe writes,
“When someone with real chops like Ruthie Foster steps up, attention
must be paid.”
American
Folklore Theatre (AFT) has announced its line up for the 2013 Summer and
Fall Seasons in Door County, Wisconsin.
"This is by far the
earliest we have ever had the privilege of announcing our season," said
Artistic Director Jeffrey Herbst. "Because AFT creates new musicals
year after year, our workshop process can sometimes take us well into
January before we can officially put a show on the docket for that
summer."
Planning
for the 2013 season is well underway and we couldn't be more excited for
what's in store for our audiences next summer. Along with the selection
of two plays never performed by Door Shakespeare, we are also
introducing a new model of artistic leadership: bringing multiple
like-minded artists together to create a team of Artistic Associates.
The four actors, directors, and scholars we've assembled represent a
broad spectrum of talent and experience, and all agree that Door
Shakespeare is a place to challenge, engage, and enchant with thrilling,
fresh productions.
Third
Avenue Playhouse will hold its annual fundraising banquet on Friday,
November 30 at the Draft Haus Banquet Hall, Sturgeon Bay, from 5:30 -
10:00 pm.
Join us in celebrating the past year at the Third
Avenue Playhouse, with performances from musicians and actors who have
performed on TAP's stages in the last 12 months. Join the party at 5:30
and mingle at the cash bar.
Bid on dozens of silent auction
items donated by Door County businesses. Enjoy a delicious buffet
dinner, hear a brief update on TAP, then enjoy an evening of
entertainment! Door Prizes will be awarded throughout the evening.
Painters
become tour guides as they direct viewers down visual paths in the
exhibition, "Travels Within the Frame," on display from November 9 -
December 30, at Peninsula School of Art, 3900 County Road F, Fish Creek.
Using both narratives and diagrams placed alongside each of their
paintings, artists demonstrate how they control the movement of a
viewer's eyes through composition, color and value.
The
Wisconsin artists include: Terrence Coffman, Emmett Johns, Bonnie Paruch
and Peggy Zalucha. The other featured artists include: Judith Bergerson
(MN), Greg LaRock (CA), and Kathleen Newman (IL).
On
Saturday, October 20, at 7 p.m., the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra will
present a diverse, rousing program of classical music at Door Community
Auditorium. The MSO, which is widely revered as one of the finest
orchestras in the United States, will perform music from Beethoven,
Schumann, Brahms, and Wagner, tracing the profound influence of
Beethoven on the generation of composers that came after him.
Fresh off
of a New York Times-acclaimed performance at Carnegie Hall earlier this
year, the MSO will display the same passion and finesse at DCA that has
characterized their long tenure as an ensemble which, according to the
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, takes its audiences on “a stirring musical
journey.”
Ellison
Bay artists invite you to their Annual Fall Art Crawl on October 20
& 21. Hours are Saturday from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm and Sunday from
10:00 am to 5:00 pm.
Seven galleries and two schools in beautiful Ellison Bay will open
their doors and studios to all. This year we will extend our Saturday
hours into the evening and under the stars and sparkling gallery
light ... please join us in our celebration of creating, learning,
cooking, and living well.
Downtown
Sturgeon Bay’s Third Avenue Playhouse will be a busy place for
entertainment this fall and Holiday season. Theater directors Robert
Boles and James Valcq have announced a variety of new shows for the
coming months.
The romantic comedy “Almost, Maine” runs through
October 14. Then the theater takes a short intermission while brand new
carpeting is installed throughout the entire building. A short
fundraiser conducted via email was held during the month of September.
The 2013
Lakeshore Natural Resources Partnership (LNRP) calendar, produced by the
Water’s Edge Artists (WEA) plein air painting group, will include the
artwork of local Door County artists Madonna Siles and Karen Lee DeNoto.
“Celebrate the Sun” (February), an oil pastel by Siles, and
“Spring has Sprung” (April), an oil painting by DeNoto, will also be on
display at the 5th annual juried Visions of Water exhibit at the
Rahr-West Art Museum, 610 N. 8th St., Manitowoc, WI.
It was a
process of discovery for George Burr to come to the place he now is as a
respected landscape artist and businessman who runs a unique gallery on
the north edge of Ephraim.
Art was his childhood passion and he even started winning awards in 8th
grade, when he got a prize for pastels. He remembers an exciting trip
to Kansas to an art and music camp, and eventually he faced the dilemma:
“What will I do – be a fine artist or go into commercial art (where the
work is by assignment and not highly motivational)?”
At Carroll
College, he carried a triple major – business administration, economics
and chemistry. Then at UW-Madison, he got his MBA in accounting. “All I
took there was an art history class,” he laments. “Every few years I’d
try something (artistically) and it would turn out to be terrible!”
Door County has a very strong United Way program that is well-supported by our community. So it’s no wonder that many other local businesses and organizations get behind the annual fundraising efforts in a big way.
Third Avenue Playhouse is no exception. The theater will host a benefit for our local United Way on Friday, October 5, as part of Sturgeon Bay’s “First Friday” series. This is the first friday of each month during which many city businesses stay open later than usual and often hold a special sale or feature an on-site entertainer, etc. It’s a festive occasion gradually becoming embraced by locals and visitors alike.
The 2011 Iron Pour Benefit furnace crew fill one of many rows of sand molds with molten iron.
All ages
are invited to participate in the festivities of the third annual Iron
Pour Benefit at Peninsula School of Art, 3900 County Road F, Fish Creek,
on Saturday, October 6, from 4-8pm. Proceeds from the Iron Pour will
benefit the art education programs at Peninsula School of Art.
For
a donation of $15, each person may create a 5"x5" iron tile by
scratching into an individual sand mold using simple tools.
John Dietrich "denerding" ... removing sharp bits after firing and before glazing.
Back on Garrett Bay
Road in Ellison Bay, there’s a beautiful little cottage tucked away at
the end of a long, rustic drive where pottery is king – Ellison Bay
Pottery Studios and Gallery.
Potter John Dietrich and his wife Diane McNeil ply their craft and,
although they have different approaches and styles, serve a broad
clientele – as John says, “Those who come here want to be here!”
Once a large apple orchard, the property that John bought in 1974
included ten acres and a barn, where, today, functional stoneware and
pit-fired ceramics are created in a studio originally built by German
POWs in 1943. After buying his land, John worked constantly, remodeling
and eventually putting in plumbing and electricity.
Door
Shakespeare is pleased to announce the play selections for its 2013
summer season. For the first time in the company’s history, the company
will present William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” and “Love’s Labours Lost”
in the Garden at Bjorklunden.
Managing Director Amy J. Ludwigsen made the announcement and said
“Macbeth and Love’s Labours Lost are contrasting works filled with
romance, violence, villains, fools, heroines, sword fights, and
poetry…there really is something for everyone.
Hideously stained carpet in the hallway to the beautiful new 84-seat Studio Theater.
A very
generous donor has established a matching fund to replace TAP's worn
out, stained carpet. Floormart of Sturgeon Bay has given us a very low
price of $6000 to re-carpet the entire building. In order to make this
happen, we need to raise $3000 by September 30th in order to take
advantage of this dollar for dollar match.
If you've visited TAP recently (and we certainly hope you have) you
can't help but have noticed the eyesore beneath your feet which no
amount of vacuuming or cleaning can correct. The current carpet
has been in place over a decade and has seen its share of people walking
over it through those years. Time has definitely taken its toll, and
it's long overdue for replacement.
In 1992, American Folklore Theatre (AFT) first presented And If Elected,
a romp through US presidential campaigns from George Washington to the
first George Bush. Since then, three more Chief Executives have joined
the pantheon.
And If Elected returns to the 2012 fall line up in anticipation of yet another humdinger election cycle.
"I
always get a little over-excited about this particular show. I just
can't help myself since I'm a confessed presidential trivia junkie,"
said, Jeffrey Herbst, AFT's Artistic Director. Herbst's life-long
passion for presidential trivia comes alive in the production.
Third
Avenue Playhouse in downtown Sturgeon Bay will open its fourth play of
the inaugural season for the new 84-seat Studio Theater with a special
opening night benefit for the GO BO Fund. The date is Thursday,
September 20 and showtime is 7:30 pm, with doors open for general
seating at 7:00 pm. The play is Almost, Maine, written by John Cariani
and directed by James Valcq. It stars Door County actors Amy Ensign,
Anne St. Henry, Chad Luberger and Ryan Patrick Shaw.
Bo Johnson is the 13-year old Sister Bay boy who has been battling a
rare form of childhood leukemia for the better part of a year.
Tremendous community support has been an inspiration to him and his Mom,
Annika Johnson, daughter of the late Al Johnson and part owner of Al
Johnson’s Swedish Restaurant in Sister Bay. Now Sturgeon Bay joins the
entire county for a special GO BO evening.
The Door
County Art League (DCAL) Gallery, Fish Creek, is featuring the art of
Bonnie Sandstrom, artist of the week, September 2 - 9.
Primarily
a pastel and watercolor artist, Bonnie also enjoys creating mixed media
collages. Her favorite subjects are nature and the people she
encounters in Door County and her travels. She is grateful for the
support and encouragement she has received from the local art community,
especially her teachers: Mary Bosman, Ed Fenendael and Jan Forkart.
The Door County Art
League Gallery is located at the Top of the Hill Shops off Hwy. 42 in
Fish Creek. Open daily, 10 a.m.- 5 p.m., it features the work of 30
artists.
Agatha
Christie’s “Murder on the Nile” is set to sail at Peninsula Players
Theatre for three weeks, August 15 through September 2, 2012. Cruising
under the blazing Egyptian sun, a river steamer makes its way up the
Nile in 1947, carrying stylish honeymooners who find themselves immersed
in blackmail, bullets and dead bodies.
Aboard the steamer is Kay Mostyn, a spoiled, newlywed socialite, and
her potentially gold-digging new husband, Simon; the society-minded,
self-absorbed Miss ffoliot-ffoulkes and her dutiful niece Christina
Gant; a cool, jaded yet charming William Smith; a dubious German doctor;
the somewhat shifty clergyman Pennefather; and a crazed stalker
Jacqueline de Severac.
The
Village of Egg Harbor is proud to unveil the seventh piece of public art
to be installed within the Village in the past twelve months.
This
latest artistic creation, named “Sunset Melody” took over nine months
to complete. The piece was created by four Egg Harbor artists and graces
the west walls of the Peg Egan Performing Arts Center.
The collaborative project is the creative expression of Reneé Schwaller, Cynthia Board, Angela Lensch and Kathy Mand Beck.
Those of us, who paint plein air, pursue this path for the love of it.
Painting and sketching on location in the “open air” is foremost an
affair of the heart. The quick sketch an artist designs to gather
information for a personal painting is not usually a “Quick paint” in a
park. The plein air sketch may be a finished piece or it may serve as a
means to an end which is only present in the mind’s eye of the artist.
I’ve participated in several invitational Plein air painting events since the late 90’s.
Angela Lensch in her studio at Plum Bottom Pottery in Egg Harbor.
When you
have an opportunity to travel locally or abroad, it’s fun to look for
people and places a little off the tourist track.
Wouldn’t you like to know the baker behind the window or the plein air
painter on the dock? How about that lone writer sitting at the corner
table or that woman weaving yarn? Because you are reading Door County
Travelers Journal, it’s likely that you are seeking out your own
personal experience while visiting the Peninsula.
Angela Lensch is a local jewelry designer at Plum Bottom Pottery in Egg Harbor.
The
premiere season of Sturgeon Bay's new Studio Theater is almost half
over. With every performance, however, excitement is building for this
little gem, cleverly tucked away in a magic place on Sturgeon Bay's
historic 3rd Avenue.
Housed within the Third Avenue Playhouse,
the new 84-seat "black box" performance space has greeted several
hundred theater lovers in its debut season. "The Subject Was Roses" and
now "Souvenir" have been performed every night except Saturdays to often
standing ovations.
The Door
County Art League (DCAL) Gallery, Fish Creek, is spotlighting the
artwork of Keith and Sherry Mutchler — artists of the week for August 5 -
11.
Keith Mutchler creates figurative sculptures in clay. For
inspiration, he draws on a family ancestry that included homesteaders
and cowboys, his childhood experiences growing up in South Dakota, and
memories of simpler times.
Keith's work at the gallery features cowboys and horses. He studied with Bren Sibilski.
Plein air
or outdoor painting is big in Door County. Last week artists from all
over the country arrived in the area to focus on our undeniably
beautiful scenery and to paint diligently for a week.
Paintings will be
exhibited through August 18th at the Guenzel Gallery at The Peninsula
School of Art, the event sponsor. The Festival, in its sixth year, gains
in popularity with each presentation.
Claire Morkin as Florence Foster Jenkins in "Souvenir".
The
origins of the term camp – so bad it’s entertaining, if not good – may
be lodged in some arcane recess of collective mythology, along with the
works of Ed Wood and homicidal tomatoes. Surely the word did not in
exist in 1868, when Florence Foster Jenkins’ first wail assaulted the
air, but no one could be a stronger contender for the definition of its
archetype and progenitor.
The
astonishing career of this baffling lady is the subject of Souvenir: a
Fantasia on the Life of Florence Foster Jenkins, the second production
by the professional Stage Door Theater Company at the newly-minted
Studio Theatre at the Third Avenue Playhouse in downtown Sturgeon Bay.
Jeanne Kuhns has a new CD and a new art gallery in Egg Harbor.
An extraordinary talent exists in Door County among an
eclectic group of performers and artists. If you’ve never heard Jeanne Kuhns
sing, you owe it to yourself to experience that treat. She is about to release
her fourth CD, Beautifully Strange.
It describes the creative personality, she says. “Most who do creative
endeavors color outside of the lines, we are all ‘beautifully strange.’”Aside from a stunning vocal range and the accompanying
musical magic, the haunting lyrics of a whimsical poet knock on the doors of
personal memory.
Updated constantly ... What's going on in Door County
Welcome to DoorCountyTravelersJournal.com!
If you are looking for interesting places to visit and things to do, you're in the right place. This online magazine features articles that help you get the most out of your vacation in Wisconsin's magical Door Peninsula. Get useful visitor information and be sure to check out our Kids Edition to find places that children like to go. The opinions and recommendations herein are solely those of our contributing writers. Event information subject to change without notice.
We also publish articles of interest to local residents. Submissions and story ideas are welcome.
