Finished with Florida

No, this doesn't mean that we're not going back to Florida. It means that I realized I hadn't posted my final thoughts about our time in Florida. So here goes . . .

The Villages, where we stayed,  is located in a part of Florida that wasn't developed until the last part of the nineteenth century. And then it was agriculture, especially cattle-raising. One can still see a number of farms with cattle grazing peacefully in the fields close to The Villages. 

These life-sized sculptures are at the entrance to the Brownwood Paddock Town Square,
one of three town squares in The Villages. An homage to the real history of this area.

The Villages, a "census-designated area" was begun in the 1970s. Harold Schwartz, who was from Michigan, was the developer. He had been selling land tracts in the area via mail order but was put out of business by a federal law that prohibited such commerce. So what was he to do with all that land? Build a mobile home park, of course. In a few years, Schwartz brought in his son, Gary Morse, to help develop the park. Sales improved when amenities and nearby commercial development were offered to the residents. In the 1980s Schwartz began to buy large tracts of land nearby for future expansion. The name of the overall development was changed to The Villages in 1992. 

However, to read plaques at various locations in The Villages you'd think this community would have been here for several hundred years. NOT! 

I guess Schwartz and Morse had a sense of humor as there were lots of smiles to be seen on the faces of people reading these plaques. The history may be fake, but, for the most part, the people are real. We made a number of friends during our 2+ months in The Villages and are looking forward to returning next year to renew those friendships.

During our last two weeks in The Villages, Rick was determined to swim in as many of the nearly 100 pools as he could. He may have dipped his toes in at least one new pool a day during that time and on one occasion, he enjoyed at least two of them in one afternoon.

Each of the villages within The Villages has its own swimming pool and all look pretty much the same.
Some are designated as "family" pools which means children can swim there.  Others 
are adult pools (users have to be over the age of 19). A few are "sport" pools where various 
water-based exercise classes are held. Any resident of The Villages can use any of the pools.

As The Villages expands, the amenities (pools, bocci ball and tennis courts, golf courses, etc.) are installed before the homes are built so that new residents have immediate access to recreational activities when they move in. We've been told that build out will end in about two years because there is no more land available for the developer to buy. We'll wait and see how that claim turns out!

The local food in and near The Villages was great: Oakwood Smokehouse Grill, Gator Joe's (I even had alligator bites for an appetizer), Eaton's Beach Sandbar & Grill (owner is a friend of Aaron Rodgers), Koyame Asian Express, and Fiesta Grande Mexican Grill. We won't be going back to a few of the restaurants (mostly the chains) that we sampled. And there are still many, many more eateries to check out upon our return.

It seems like there is some sort of "festival" or big public gathering on the town squares just about every weekend - Mardi Gras, car shows, craft shows, and one we really enjoyed. It was the Buffalo Pride BBQ Bash. For $5 we sampled delicious pork, beef, and chicken barbecue. The event is one of the most popular during the year and benefits The Villages Charter Schools. Yes, even though it's a retirement community, The Villages has a school - for the children of anyone who works for The Villages or for any of the commercial establishments that are in The Villages. Apparently the school is one of the best in the state. 

Rick commented during our time in Florida that we hadn't seen and heard as much live music in ten years as we experienced during two months. Every town square in The Villages (there are three of them) features live music and dancing every night of the year - holidays included. The only time the squares close down is if the temperature drops below 47 degrees. Only one night was that the case. Yes, it was cool, even in Florida!

Rocky & the Rollers is a very popular band playing lots of classic 1960s and 1970s
songs. The town square was packed with people dancing to the music.

Some of the bands, like Rocky's, have a number of instrumentalists and singers. Others are what I'd call "kicked-up karaoke" where the accompaniment to the vocalists is on an iPad. 

Other music that I particularly enjoyed was a Bruce Springsteen tribute band that played in a 1000-seat sanctuary Methodist Church. Lots of liturgical dance going on that night! We also heard the Singing Servers of the Central Florida Lyric Opera at one of the 12 country clubs in The Villages. In between taking our order and bringing out our food, the waiters performed numbers from well-known operas and musicals. The singers were great, the food was not so great. 

One singer that Rick has become a fan of - someone he discovered through a vintage trailer podcast - is Antsy McClain. Antsy grew up in a trailer park and his band is the Trailer Park Troubadours. His music is a bit of rockabilly, folk, rock, and just plain fun! I thought at first he would be a great act for The Villages, but then realized that he's too original to be on the docket. Village people like to hear the same familiar songs at the town squares. Songs like "Old Time Rock 'n' Roll" and "YMCA." Cover songs. That's not Antsy's style as you can hear in this video. He was warming up before his performance at Skipper's Smokehouse in Tampa back in March.

Well, that's it from Florida for 2015. Check back early next year for more of our adventures in the Sunshine State.

Tent Show Radio

A few weeks ago, before camping season began, Rick and I spent an enjoyable evening at the Overture Center for the Art's Capitol Theater here on Madison's State Street. We attended a live performance of Tent Show Radio featuring the Blue Canvas Orchestra from Lake Superior Big Top Chautauqua near Bayfield.

The Capitol Theater was originally built in 1928. It became
part of Madison's Civic Center in the 1980s and was known as the
Oscar Mayer Theatre. With the building of the Overture Center,
this stage house reopened as the Capitol Theater once again.

Tent Show Radio weekly concerts feature music from Big Top Chautauqua and monologues by Wisconsin's own Michael Perry who is also a best selling author, humorist, and pig farmer. The show has been broadcast on Wisconsin Public Radio since 1994. In celebration of its 20th anniversary year, Tent Show took to the road with a live show in a variety of communities around the Midwest. 

I probably first heard Tent Show Radio soon after broadcasting began on WPR. I was lucky to get to a Big Top Chautauqua performance soon after. I introduced Rick to this great venue and the terrific performances maybe 10 or 12 years ago. And now BTC is a favorite of his as well.

Before the show began we saw that we fit in perfectly with this audience.
Lots of "mature" adults in the seats.

Given that not many 20- and 30-somethings were in the audience, I had to remark to the young woman who sat next to me that she didn't seem to be the right age to be at the show. She wasn't typical of the crowd in the theater with their white hair and canes. After a bit of chatting she said that she was there with her mom who had taken her to the Big Top when she was a child. It took a little more conversation among the young woman, her mother, and me to realize who we were, but we eventually figured it out. Turned out that this young woman's mother and I had gone to high school together and we were in the same graduating class!

The Blue Canvas Orchestra performed a number of songs from BTC house
musicals. Visuals at the back of the stage complemented the lyrics to many
of the original songs.

If you've never been to Big Top Chautauqua, put it on your bucket list. The Chequamegon Bay area of Wisconsin (Ashland/Washburn/Bayfield) is one of the loveliest in our state. BTC is a great venue and the music under the big blue tent is wonderful. We're excited to be going back in August when Willie Nelson performs. Ballyhoo!

Music Abounds

Saturday night we attended a play presented by The Suncoast Players, a group that performs original plays and music. The play,The Case of the Golden Girl, was a benefit for the Lemon Bay Historical Society and part of the Lemon Bay Fest this past week.

Fictional Englewood FL detective, Billery Dean, has a sister, Hillary, who ends up in Las Vegas and is hired as a security guard at the Golden Girl Casino in 1958. Two chorus girls from the casino are murdered. In between lounge acts (including a "George Burns/Gracie Allen" bit and a You Bet Your Life show episode with "Groucho Marx"), Hillary figures out who the perpetrator is. 

Not only could the cast members sing, but several of them wrote the original music that was performed. The play was funny and even included audience participation. The audience members who ended up on stage had no inhibitions and got into their roles with lots of enthusiasm.

The Suncoast Players is a division of the Suncoast Writers Guild which was organized in 1990. I'm not sure how many writers belong to the Guild, but it looks like a very active group of authors, playwrights, poets, and song writers. In general, this area of Florida seems to have a thriving creative culture. 

And a live music scene. On Sunday afternoon we went to Laishley Park in Punta Gorda for a concert with the Country Express Band sponsored by the local Kiwanis Club. Fortunately, we had camp chairs with us and found a shady spot to sit and enjoy the music. We also met a couple from Indiana and had a nice visit with them. 

I learned from Sandy (the woman from Indiana) that one can substitute the words for Amazing Grace to the melody of The House of the Rising Son. Who knew? And when the band played her House request, I substituted the words. Sure enough, it worked!

A lot of live music venues here and we hope to hear a few more local bands at neat outdoor venues in the next three weeks.

Holiday Cheer (with music and food)

One of the best things about the holidays is the music. During December Rick and I heard a terrific concert by Midwest Vocal Express at the Greendale High School auditorium. One of the members of MVE, an all-male a cappella chorus, works with Rick and invited us to attend. Not only did MVE sing great Christmas favorites, but the Milwaukee Handbell Ensemble and the Epix Quartet, a foursome from the Crosstown Harmony women's a cappella chorus, performed a few numbers as well.

The men of Midwest Vocal Express sported red and green ties - appropriate for Christmas.

Handbells are the perfect holiday musical instrument.

This quartet placed 25th in international Sweet Adeline
 (the women's equivalent of a barbershop quartet) competition.

The chorus must have heard my wish because they performed my favorite Christmas carol, Do You Hear What I Hear, as the final number. This brought back memories of singing in my high school chorus.

There were snowflakes both on the inside and the outside of the auditorium that day!

After the show, Rick and I went to Mazos for burgers. It's in a tiny storefront across the street from Leon's Frozen Custard. We were extremely pleased with the great value. For $20 (tip included) we both had burgers, fries, soup, and split a strawberry milkshake made with real strawberries!

We'll definitely return the next time we're on the south side of Milwaukee.

Drive-ins, Diners, and Dives on the Food Network has visited a few places in Wisconsin including Franks Diner in Kenosha. We met our friends, Greg and Laurie, there the weekend before New Year's for a late breakfast. 

That's Rick going in to find our friends.

The food was good, service was fast, and the staff was fun. Even though the line was practically out the door, customers did not have a problem waiting. Everyone was having a good time.

Diners like Franks have a sense of humor.

Customers need to obey the directives on the wall!

After breakfast we ventured to the Civil War Museum. The focus of the permanent exhibit is on the experience of soldiers from the Upper Midwest. Wisconsin sent more than 91,000 troops to fight in the Union Army. They fought in every major battle of the Civil War. Camp Randall (now the location of UW Madison's football stadium) was Wisconsin's major training facility. Confederate prisoners were also housed there. That's why 140 southern soldiers are buried so far north in Madison's Forest Hill Cemetery.

These were the lucky ones who returned to their families.

The Civil War lasted nearly four years to the day it began.
We are in the midst of the sesquicentennial commemoration
of that horrific war. 

Our day in Kenosha ended with a ride on the electric trolley - a loop nearly two miles long. Again we were entertained by a barbershop quartet singing Christmas carols. It was one of our warmer winter days and a splendid way to spend a Saturday afternoon with friends.

The holiday season is over but the memories remain. Happy New Year to my readers and to your families as well. May 2014 be a joyful, prosperous, and successful year!

Holiday Music

We were treated to music from Warren Nelson and his trio on Saturday night at the Schauer Arts & Activities Center in Hartford. Warren is the founder of the Lake Superior Big Top Chautauqua, one of our favorite music venues. His performance was billed as a “folk music holiday.” The set list included a couple of familiar numbers from Big Top shows as well as original tunes.

Rick appreciated that we didn't have to travel 350 miles to Washburn to hear
the trio's music. 

The setting for this musical evening was in the Pikes Peak “cabaret” at the Schauer Center. We couldn’t help but notice that most of the patrons were of our vintage. Our table companions were a couple from Columbus. He had been on the Big Top Chautauqua Board back in the 1980s.

Warren has been writing songs and performing for 45 years! He started when he was a teenager. 

Then on Monday of this week, our Downtown Kiwanis Club, where I’ve been a member for 4 years, carried on our holiday tradition of a joint program with the Downtown Optimists and a performance by the Madrigal Singers from Stoughton High School. These 16 students (8 boys and 8 girls) have amazing voices. Their a capella harmonies are exquisite. Sometimes they are even singing in 8 parts! One of the numbers they sang for us in madrigal style was “Can’t Buy Me Love” by the Beatles. That rendition brought smiles to many of us in the audience who were teens ourselves when the Beatles came to America in the mid-1960s.

The costumes worn by the Madrigal Singers add to the festivities. 

The Stoughton choir will be performing at Madrigal Dinners on December 8, 9, and 10. The evening features a 7-course dinner with the choir as the main attraction.

It's always fun to hear from the singers after their performance. Several of
the seniors will be pursuing their musical interests when they go off to college. 

It wouldn’t be the holidays if we didn’t have music. We like to take advantage of concerts. Or we'll stop and listen to the occasional carolers who turn up at the town square or even at the mall.

BRUUUUCE!

Bruce Springsteen is the BEST! And for the all the young people who were at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul on Sunday night, that concert will be the BEST they'll ever see in their lives. Unless, of course, they have the opportunity to go to another Springsteen concert in the future.

Once again, Bruce proved it all night with another fabulous concert!

I'm a groupie. But just an average groupie. Ten Springsteen concerts in almost 35 years isn't all that many. Unless I can count the 20 minutes he performed in Madison last week, the day before the election, as one more. For that one I stood for about the same amount of time that I would have for a regular concert from The Boss. On Sunday night Bruce and his E Street Band played for three hours. In Madison I stood for four hours! 

I was a block and a half away from the main stage in Madison and
a traffic light stood in the way of the screen. But Bruce was there and
the outdoor sound was decent. The Boss performed four songs,
with only his guitar and harmonica to accompany him.

My friend, Ramona, is a fan, too. She answered my Facebook request last summer when I was looking for someone to go with me to St. Paul for the concert. This was her second concert in nearly 30 years. Bruce did not disappoint. We were thrilled, even though our seats were behind the stage.

Anticipation.......

The rigging is incredible. How long does set-up take?

The lights went up for the encore. Usually there's a break between
the regular set and the encore set - not in this case. Bruce's energy
is amazing! He moved into the crowd during his third number,
appropriately, Out in the Street. He was crowd surfacing during
Hungry Heart. And to think he's a mere six days younger than me! 

A change in Springsteen concerts that I've noticed since 1978 is that The Boss is much more well spoken. And he doesn't pull the good-looking young women (e.g., Courtney Cox during Dancing in the Dark) onto the stage these days. On Sunday night it was an 88-year-old great-grandmother who experienced the fun of dancing with Bruce and Stevie Van Zandt!

Another change is the technology. Big screens project images
of Bruce and the band.

The last number of the night, Tenth Avenue Freeze Out, featured a moving video tribute to the late Clarence Clemons who played sax with the E Street Band. Jake Clemons, Clarence's nephew, now plays sax with the band.

We decided to spend Sunday night in Eau Claire rather than attempt to drive back to Madison after the concert. It was a good choice, especially since I had scored a Groupon deal for the Metropolis Resort. 

What should I find at the resort's "Action City" but a vintage trailer! Right there next to the largest indoor go-kart track in the Midwest. It was a decoration – a simulation of a bygone era when travel trailer parks were next to the busy highway.

My excitement upon seeing this trailer is a sure sign that I've definitely been bitten
by the vintage camping trailer bug.

All in all, a marvelous weekend. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Bruce Springsteen will be back on the road in the not too distance future. I'll be there, too.

Last Earth Day at Lambeau - Mash-up

For fear of being labeled a heretic, I have to admit that I’m really not a genuine fan of the Green Bay Packers. Rick, on the other hand, is a true fan and has been all his life. I don’t remember watching football games with my parents and sisters when I was growing up. Being a Packer fan wasn’t something ingrained in me.

Image from the Last Day at Lambeau poster
at the entrance to the theater.

Even though I watch Packer games with Rick and possess a Packer t-shirt, my take-away after seeing Last Day at Lambeau at the recent Wisconsin Film Festival here in Madison was the realization that I lack real fan status. From my perspective, football is just a game, not a matter of life and death. If I miss a game, it's no big deal. However, that’s not to say this wasn’t a good documentary. I enjoyed it – perhaps more as a character study than as a film about one particular former Green Bay Packer and his fans.

The film’s director, co-writer, and editor, Michael Neelson, documents the demise of Brett Favre through his eyes – a Packer fan who idolized Favre like so many did throughout their youth. In fact, the film ends with a picture of Neelson, his dad Dave (the film’s producer), and Favre taken when Neelson was a young boy.

The film covered the time between Favre’s “divorce” from the Packers in 2008 and his last game at Lambeau Field on October 24, 2010, as a Minnesota Viking. Neelson’s documentary included football game footage which was cheered by the audience at the screening, interviews with sportswriters who covered the Packers for years, and discussions with fans who both adored and scorned Favre. All in all, Neelson handled the story in a fair minded way.

While fans feel close to their heroes in any number of sports and even regard them as family, the athletes may not care as much for them. That certainly seemed to be the case with Favre. His job was a player for the Packers and when there was a falling out with the boss, he left - eventually. And so when Favre returned to Lambeau as a Minnesota Viking, archenemy of the Packers, many fans would boo him as he ran onto the field. The more reasonable ones, however, recognized that the man was a great player no matter what the color of his jersey.

The Q & A session following the screening was quite fascinating. Neelson said he made the documentary because he wanted to explore his own emotions about the events in the Favre saga. However, as he got into the nuts and bolts of editing, Neelson told us he was able to put emotion aside to tell the story. John "St. Vince" O'Neill, a Packer super fan featured in the documentary, was on hand to answer questions, too.

St. Vince spoke about Bart Starr, a former Packer,
 who values his fans as shown by his support
for the Green Bay community to this day.

Another fan at the documentary's screening.

Earlier in the day, we stopped to smell the roses (actually, just the early spring flowers) at the Allen Centennial Gardens, a botanic garden that serves as a free outdoor public garden and teaching garden for the Horticulture Department on the UW-Madison campus. Maybe not much of a way to commemorate Earth Day but, nonetheless, a lovely interlude that afternoon. 

Music on Stage

Two Saturdays ago, we saw Guys on Ice at the Overture Center in Madison. It's a production of the American Folklore Theater out of Door County. We had seen two previous AFT shows and had heard good things about this one. We weren't disappointed. Marvin and Lloyd, the two main characters of the musical, shared their philosophy of life with us in comedy and song. Since I've never been ice fishing, I can only assume that these guys are typical of ice fishermen everywhere. Or, at least Wisconsin ice fishermen, in particular, with all the references to the Green Bay Packers. (Side note: too bad about Sunday's loss!)

This past Saturday we were entertained by more music and song at the Shauer Arts & Activities Center in Hartford where we were treated to a Blue Canvas Christmas Tour. The Blue Canvas Orchestra is made up of the house musicians of the Big Top Chautauqua out of Washburn WI. What we especially enjoyed about this concert was that the band didn't perform typical Christmas carols that one can hear on at least one radio station per market that has been playing them since practically after Halloween! For an encore number, the band invited the audience to sing along to Silent Night. Afterward several of the members of the band told us that this audience was one of the best on the tour in terms of singing along. 

We are fortunate that we have such talented musicians, singers, and actors here in Wisconsin who travel around the state delighting young and old alike with their brand of regional lore, humor, and original music.  

Check out both of these groups for their performance schedules next summer. We plan to wander to their home stages once again when the 2012 camping season commences. 

Historic Theaters

Before there was radio, movies, television, or YouTube, people were entertained by live performances in local theaters. We are fortunate that many Wisconsinites launched campaigns to make sure these wonderful places are still with us today.

The Isle Theater in Cumberland is a great community venue open for not only first run movies but favorites of the past as well. If you want good food before or after your movie, or any other time, check out Nezzy’s Sports Bar & Grill which is adjacent to the theatre at the back-side of the building.

Ceiling in the Isle Theater.

About an hour south of Cumberland is the Mabel Tainter Center for the Arts in Menomonie.  A full performing arts season is offered in this beautiful space. The Theater is the centerpiece of the complex. And the gift shop is quite nice!

Box seats along the side of the Mabel Tainter Theater. 

The Al. Ringling Theater is located on the square in Baraboo. This theater was featured on an episode of PBS’s History Detectives. Elyse Luray proved that while the theater doesn’t qualify as a “movie palace” (it’s too small), it probably served as inspiration for architects who designed the movie palaces of the early 20^th century.

Mural on the inside of the theater.

Mural on the ceiling of the theater's lobby.

The Stoughton Opera House, to the south of Madison, is another great example of the community rallying around this grand place to restore it to its splendor of the past and equipping it to serve the patrons of the future.

From the floor looking up at the box seats. 

One more historic theater where we’ve been is the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee. The Pabst is a National Historic Landmark recognized for the important role it has played in the cultural life of Milwaukee.

Outside view of the Pabst (photo from Wisconsin Historical Society).

You’ll have to visit these theaters to see how beautiful they are since my pictures, only snap shots, just don’t do justice to the grandeur of the spaces.