Current Magazine December 2015

REE

r 2015 | F

Decembe

p24 ten years of music for a cause

p14

Entre SLAM These storytellers mean business

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Winter brews

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Cover photo by Doug Coombe

contents

december 2015 vol. 25/no. 12

p.24 Entre Slam 14

Storytellers and business leaders unite

by M.F. DiBella

beer: Winter Brews 16 What winter beers have to offer

by Zach Marburger

Mittenfest X 19 A talk with the minds behind the Mittenfest festival

by Jeff Milo Photos by Doug Coombe

food: Lai Lai

Hong Kong-style Chinese returns to Ann Arbor

by Joe Saul & Lisa Leutheuser

31 theatre: Holiday shows

Inside two Christmas-themed performances

by Sandor Slomovits

fyi 6

Midnight Madness takes over downtown

green corner 6

UM invests in going green

Baggage-Free Holiday 10

Tips for a sin-free holiday season

by Nan Bauer

online exclusives

ECURRENT.COM

36 art: WSG Gallery Sale

The perfect chance to find that last minute gift

by Louis Meldman

42 PROfile: Gene Dillenburg He watches over the Natural History Museum

by Sue Dise

43 everything else 46 crossword

DECEMBER Nessa remakes celtic music

Music expert Jeff Milo looks into the popular local celtic fusion group

Christmas Cocktails

Looking for a creative concoction this winter? Our Nick Roumel got the inside scoop about holiday cocktail offerings from a slew of local bars and restaurants.

ecurrent.com / december 2015   3

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Adams Street Publishing Co. What’s the weirdest gift you’ve ever received?

Publisher/Editor in Chief

Collette Jacobs (cjacobs@toledocitypaper.com) Can of spay starch

Co-publisher/Chief Financial Officer Mark I. Jacobs (mjacobs@toledocitypaper.com) gas clothes dryer

Editorial

Assignment Editor: Zach Marburger(annarboreditor@adamsstreetpublishing.com) Big head todd Calendar Editor: Marisa Rubin (mrubin@adamsstreetpublishing.com) An Apple Contributing Writers: Nan Bauer, Sandor Slomovits, M.F. DiBella, Joe Saul, Lisa Leutheuser, Jeff Milo, Antonio Cooper, Louis Meldman, Sue Dise, Wendy Ponte

Digital Media

Saul Jacobs (saul@adamsstreetpublishing.com) The Gift of life

Art/Production Senior Designer: Leah Foley (leah@adamsstreetpublishing.com) hand sanitizer Graphic Design: Imani Latief (imani@adamsstreetpublishing.com) “dad gifts” are always weird

 Homes brewery Ann Arbor breweries – that’s what HOMES brewery owner Tommy Kennedy is relying on. The proposed space at 2321 Jackson Avenue will open up alongside Lunch Skate Shop, construction dates are still pending.  Swedish fashion Swedish clothing company Fjallraven has opened on the first floor of the former Falling Water building at 213 S. Main St. The company is Sweden’s biggest outfitter of outdoor gear and apparel.  Scooters Sold The all-electric Mahindra GenZe scooter, built by The Mahindra Group at an Ann Arbor-based facility, has begun selling and shipping scooters. The scooters right now are only available in Michigan, California, and Oregon, and can be ordered online.  Facelift for City Council For the first time in 52 years, the City Council Chambers in Ann Arbor City Hall is going to get a major renovation making the meeting area more accessible to community members with disabilities.

Contributing Designer: Stephanie Austin

Advertising Sales Manager Zack Mintzias (zack@adamsstreetpublishing.com) no comment Sales Coordinator Cassie Haddad (sales@adamsstreetpublishing.com a golden snitch poster Classifieds: Catherine Bohr (calendar@adamsstreetpublishing.com) socks

Administration

Accounting: Robin Armstrong (rarmstrong@toledocitypaper.com) plastic combing brush

© 2015 by Adams Street Publishing Co., All rights reserved.

3003 Washtenaw Ave., Suite 3, Ann Arbor, MI 48104, Phone (734) 668-4044, Fax (734) 668-0555.

First class subscriptions $30 a year. Distributed throughout Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti and neighboring communities.

Member

 Fresh Time Construction is under-way now on Fresh Thyme, the grocery store chain with a farmer’s market vibe. The store, expected to be over 29,000 square-feet, will be located at the former Ypsi-Arbor bowl site on Washtenaw. The store is expected to open in summer 2016.  A Buddha Boutique Catering to everyone who wants to feel comfortable and look stylish while being active, Tiny Buddha Boutique has opened it’s doors at 213 S. State Street. Owner Risa Gotlib, with 17 years of yoga experience, will provide the best fitting clothes for those who love fitness.

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ecurrent.com / december 2015 5

green corner Friday Dec. 4th

fyi

Maize, Blue, and Green The University of Michigan is set to take the lead when it comes to green— thanks to a slew of changes aimed at creating a more sustainable campus. A committee made up of students, faculty, and staff, charged with finding ways to to improve the University’s efforts to reduce waste and greenhouse gas emissions, with an expansion of the school’s food compost program and energy conservation in the health system and athletic facilities.

Experts will design a Zero Waste program for Michigan Stadium that will be tested during a game next year. To achieve these goals, the University says it will invest nearly $100 million to implement the committee’s recommendations.

The biggest impact, however, is expected to come from the installation of additional gas turbine capabilities at the University’s central power plant that, pending Regent approval, may reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 20 percent. More details can be found at ns.umich.edu/new —ZM

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Main Street Madness An annual tradition in downtown Ann Arbor, Midnight Madness offers some of the best discounted shopping, dining, and entertainment options. Shops will be open late, offering big discounts for one night only. While shoppers tend to holiday shopping lists, dance troupes Ann Arbor Morris and Element 1 - University of Michigan’s only breakdancing club - will perform, as will Midnight Blue, UM’s allgirl a cappella octet., with appearances by Santa (the real one), Elvis (a fake one), and Miss Washtenaw County during the evening.

Restaurants will offer food and drink discounts.

A full list of participating businesses and restaurants, as well as store hours, can be found at the Main Street Area Association’s website.

Friday, December 4. Downtown Ann Arbor. 734668-7112. mainstreetannarbor.org Free —ZM

ecurrent.com / december 2015 7

spotted Current staffers and readers spotted these happenings around town Sunday Morning Stroll You were walking down Liberty Street on a Sunday morning, smacking parking meters with your open palm, screaming “I gotta find my bag!”

As you passed, we made eye contact, your eyes were moon-sized saucers. You said, “You lookin’ at me like I’m crazy, but bitch, I am crazy!” You continued down the street, smacking every parking meter: they somehow offended you. I hope you found your bag.

Down and Out You were wearing slacks and a dress shirt, pacing back and forth and throwing a frisbee to yourself in the parking lot by Whole Foods on Washtenaw. As I turned into the parking lot, I saw you reach for a frisbee and twist your ankle. You went down like a wounded deer before limping off and sitting on the curb. I hope you’re ok.

Huckleberry Hipster You were walking down Platt, coming to the Packard intersection, your wool blazer and fedora emanated hipster vibes from a mile away. You had your umbrella slung over your shoulder, a paper Whole Foods bag hung on the handle behind you. A modern day Huck Finn, trekking home after foraging for organic free-range almond milk while your less hip Tom Sawyer walked alongside.

Under the Bridge You and three of your friends were standing under a bridge by the Huron River when I passed you on a late jog. It was obvious you three were enjoying some not-so-legal entertainment. Both of your buddies hid behind a bush as I approached but you looked me over, said “You’re cool,” and went on doing your thing. Thanks for vetting me - and no, I wasn’t going to call the cops on you.

Cookie Monster You were the in line at Insomnia Cookies on South University late, close to 2 a.m., and you were not happy with the cookie selection. You were dressed in classic d-bag attire, right down to the Ed Hardy t-shirt, and you were berating the poor cashier over the lack of double-fudge while your date looked on, embarrassed. If there is any justice, you went home alone - sans cookies and your girl.

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feature

The Baggage-Free Holiday Avoiding the Holiday Trilogy of Vice

By Nan Bauer

A

Google search for “holiday blues” turns up 15,700,000 results in less than a second.

And while tips for beating depression and anxiety in a rational, relatively sane way abound, many turn to the easier and time-honored strategy of vice.

Drink your Santa angst away! If booze isn’t your thing, drown it in a sugar coma. Or just run up a hefty credit card debt. Give yourself something to cry about.

“While it’s true that the holidays are particularly loaded for people with depressive disorders, anyone can get highly triggered in all the seasonal weirdness,” says Ann Arbor psychologist Christine Holowicki. “Skin gets thinner. Everybody’s naked emotionally. If you pour alcohol on all of that, things are going to get primitive.”

Holiday Cheer, Hold the Alchohol However, one can face the season—or any time of year, for that matter—without a heavily spiked eggnog in hand.

“The point of a bar or a party isn’t the drinking,” says Nic Sims, owner of Brillig Dry Bar. “It’s the chance to interact with a community of friends.” Her business, which serves no alcohol, started as a fluke; She and her husband David Myers were looking for a nighttime use for his Mighty Good Coffee café in downtown Ann Arbor. Sims, who hasn’t had a drink since moving to the area from New York City in the ‘90s, had heard about a dry bar in England, and had long wanted to open something similar here. Brillig’s popup status—it only operates once or twice a month—allows her to plan each event as a special experience, with time to innovate in between.

In fact, Brillig’s first outing was on Boxing Day last year, December 26. “We know a lot of people in the recovery community,” said Sims, “and for them, the holidays are very hard times; they can be so fraught with expectation and resentment. The response was incredibly positive.”

Brillig’s hours aren’t regular, and Sims recommends that people who want to celebrate alcohol-free, “find your friends and make your own safe space at home. Choose people who can lift you up. Don’t try to suffer through it alone.” A trained chef, she improvises a steady stream of mocktails for the Brillig menu.

Nic Sims of Brillig’s Dry Bar whips out delicious drinks, minus the alcohol

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See Brillig’s Spiced Pear Cream Soda Recipe on page 12

feature

Julie Rabinovitz of Tasty Bakery

Sugar, Sugar Liquor, alas, is only one form of debauchery as the days shorten. Holiday sugar is possibly more difficult to avoid.

For indulgence that comes gluten, soy, egg, dairy, and refined sugar-free, visit the tiny hidden storefront of Tasty Bakery, located at 416 W. Huron in Ann Arbor.

Begun as a booth at the Ann Arbor Farmers Market by Julie and Ran Rabinovitz in 2009, Tasty’s bricks and mortar store has only been open since May of this year. Julie, who grew up in Grand Ledge near Lansing, has always baked.

When she and Ran, who moved to the area from Israel, decided to relocate to New York for a music industry job, she sampled a flourless cookie from the legendary Baby Cakes bakery.

“I was obsessed,” said Julie. “Hardly anyone was doing gluten-free per se at the time, but this was seriously an amazing cookie.” She began to experiment with every kind of gluten-free baked good. Sugar soon went away as well—“I don’t eat it for health reasons, it just doesn’t make me feel good”— and at this point, most of Tasty’s offerings are vegan.

“We want to give people treats worth putting into your mouth,” said Ran. Ingredients are local and organic as much as possible. The Rabinovitzs’ preferred sweetener is organic coconut sugar, although a few products do use organic cane sugar. The bakery features special holiday offerings including a pumpkin pie with a chestnut crust, and linzer and snowball cookies. Special requests are welcome.

Overspending Of course, one of the most debilitating excesses in the last month of the year is overspending. Consumers spend tens of billions of dollars just during the Black Friday weekend following Thanksgiving. Much of that goes on credit cards, which can provide a nasty shock come January.

Vowing to put some of the time, energy, and dollars spent shopping toward volunteering can provide a new perspective on the season. Eileen Spring, President/ CEO of Food Gatherers, the food rescue and food bank serving Washtenaw County, notes that, “we have a food security rate here of 14.7 percent, which means that 1 in 7 people, about 51,000 of our neighbors, are going hungry, and a lot of them are children.” Food Gatherers offers multiple ways that families and individuals can help, everything from sorting food at its warehouse to helping to prepare and serve meals at the Delonis Center.

People can sign up to volunteer on the Food Gatherers website, but Spring cautions slots can go fast this time of the year. She asks volunteers to consider making a commitment throughout the year. “People are just as hungry in January and February and August as they are on the big food days like Thanksgiving,” she says.

“We can really use help after the holidays.”

The gang at Food Gatherers aims to feed everyone this holiday season

ecurrent.com / december 2015 11

feature Brillig Dry Bar Spiced Pear Cream Soda Recipe provided by Nic Sims of Brillig Dry Bar Ingredients: Pear nectar Cream soda 1/8 t ground allspice 1/8 t ground cinnamon Ground nutmeg and/or star anise for garnish

Eggnog Cocktails?

Y�, p��e!

Let Libbey Glass help you keep the Holiday Cheer flowing!

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Fill a highball-sized glass 1/3 w ice. Half fill with pear nectar. Mix spices w a tablespoon or so of pear nectar so they incorporate more easily into the drink - add to glass. Fill remainder w cream soda. Mix and garnish with a sprinkling of nutmeg and a star anise “flower.”

Enjoy!

EAT. DRINK. shop.

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feature

Entre Slam gives local thought leaders a chance at a $10,000 cash prize

Telling the real story of a business An interview with Entre Slam’s Christa Chambers Price

by M.F. DiBella

Current: How long have you been in Ann Arbor?

Chambers-Price: Pretty much the whole time since I graduated. After graduation, I went to General Motors and did the whole tech writing thing. I didn’t aspire to be a writer, actually I wanted to be a doctor. What’s really interesting is how my career evolved from being a tech writer to a website developer to a marketing strategy guru.

Traditionally, the business world is a black-and-white realm. Profit margins, sales pitches and other phrases — corporate buzz words that attempt to make the practice more humane. In recent years, there has been a concerted effort by certain business people to bring You write code as well? That’s meaning to their work lives and products. interesting, most writers won’t TED is one such example of successful go anywhere near that. people seeing more than dollar signs as Yes. I always go where most the impetus for work. The TED slogan is people don’t go, that’s what I do.

“Ideas Worth Spreading” which smacks less of the boardroom and more of making So let’s get into the meat of positive contributions to society.

Entre Slam.

There are other, similar organizations It started off following the Moth with lofty aims. One such outfit is Entre model. Eight entrepreneurs would get Slam, which marries TED talks with the up and tell a story around a theme. It popular Moth Story Slam. Incubated in was fun, we were in bars, networking Ann Arbor, venues now extend to the was easy because people were just Detroit area. being who they were, without all Enter long-time Michigan resident the pretense. We launched in 2012, Christa Chambers-Price Christa Chambers-Price, founder of founded Entre Slam to connect but by the end of 2013 I recognized Entre Slam. Born and raised in Virginia, something was missing. Most entrepreneurs to opportunity Christa is a Michigan graduate (‘94), entrepreneurs were giving decent former GM employee and long-time pillar of the Ann presentations, but we weren’t having an impact beyond Arbor community—her Southeast Michigan roots are that night. I shut the events down in the beginning of 2014. established.

That was an opportunity to see that something else was Current sat down with Chambers-Price to discuss the needed, which was help for entrepreneurs in telling their past, present and future of Entre Slam. story. Much harder to do, because that story goes deeper than the (typical TED) origin story. When we relaunched in April of 2014 it was an experiment. It’s scary for these entrepreneurs to step out from behind the product and say this is who I am and connect to people in a whole different way.

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feature Zingerman’s Paul Saginaw shares his story with business leaders

A

NEW

CHOICE IN DIAMONDS LAB GROWN SUPERIOR QUALITY EXCEPTIONAL VALUE

This is a competition. What does the winner get?

The top business storyteller will receive $10,000 dollars. Winners from each of the three events will compete in the finale at The Ark at the end of the year.

This is an Ann Arbor venture, but you’ve made some inroads into Detroit as well. Are you still Ann Arbor-based?

We used a few venues in Detroit, I still work out of Ann Arbor. In 2016, we’ll be in Ann Arbor still, but we have plans for Chicago, Seattle and Ohio.

So the long-term goal is to go national, is this a for-profit enterprise? Five-year plan?

Yes, we are for-profit. By year five we’d like to have 50 events going on at any one time.

The list of speakers for the October event includes the operators of Beezy’s and Urban Ashes. Are the speakers hand-picked or is there an application process?

There’s an application process, once they identify that they want to be a speaker, they go through 3-5 hours of coaching. With each person we have to kind of deconstruct their current pitch.

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The elevator pitch?

You actually get penalized for pitching.

Briefly tell us about judges and how Slammers are scored.

We’ve had judges from the New York Times, Ross Business School, etc.

One-third for clearly stating your purpose, one-third for presentation and the rest for doing it on time (within five minutes).

7-9PM. Monday, December 14. $20 Early Bird, $15 Friends and Family, $5 Social Media Ticket (convince five of your friends to like the Entre Slam Facebook page), $25, door. The Ark, 316 S. Main St. 734-761-1451. entreslam. com/register. theark.org

734.761.8120 215 S. MAIN ANN ARBOR MI. 48104 www.urbanjeweler.com

For the complete interview, head to ecurrent.com ecurrent.com / december 2015 15

brew A Walk Through Winter Brews Winter means snow, sleeping in, and lots of good beer options

By Zach Marburger It comes as no surprise to anyone who’s lived through a long, cold Michigan winter that sometimes a little pickme-up is in order. Luckily, some of the best craft beer in the state can be found right here in the Ann Arbor/ Ypsilanti region.

So if the winter blues have you down, go out and grab a cold beer (pun intended). Here’s just a sip of what local breweries have to offer this season.

Founding partner Mark Zadvinskis surronded by the Salt Springs team

Wolverine State Brewing Company Michigan’s lager-only brewing company has a few selections tailored specifically to the season. The fan favorite, according to Oliver Roberts, Brewmaster, is Shiny New Toy, a copper lager aged in white oak. Wolverine also offers Gulo Cubed, an imperial take on their popular Gulo Gulo India-style Pale Lager, due out sometime after the new year.

But Wolverine’s latest winter-time brew is Vers L’avant, which is French for forward. Roberts has been itching to create this beer for a while now.

“It’s a beer that we’ve been sitting on for a long time,” said Roberts. “One of our suppliers came out with bartlett pear juice and I was like that’s it, that’s the hook. The timing was finally right.”

The European amber lager is brewed with the bartlet pears and aged in white wine barrels, a process Roberts says, “gives it a tartness and a little white wine flavor. The barrels are going to give it a little oak, a little vanilla, and smooth out the body.”

Salt Springs Brewery From Salt Springs Brewery’s Wisconsin-made brewhouse, located in the heart of Saline, comes a variety of beers, all of them “winter-warmers,” according to Mark Zadvinskis, founding partner and brewmaster. But the highlight of their winter-time selection, he adds, is the Breakfast Stout.

“We brew it with ten pounds of coffee, dark baker’s chocolate that our chef selects, and we use a deep roasted malt. It’s pretty popular,” said Zadvinskis. “We might have to re-brew it for the winter-time. If we do I want to use some kentucky bourbon barrels to give it that taste.”

Salt Springs is also offering a doppell beer, a traditional dark German cold-brewed beer, a Belgian Tripel, and a yet to be named lightly-spiced Christmas Ale. Taps are always rotating, and patrons can keep their beer all winter long thanks to Salt Springs’ crowler canning system, which seals beer into two-pint cans that can be stored for much longer than a traditional growler.

Brewmaster Oliver Robers (right) shows off fresh ingredients with a fellow brewer

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Cont’d on p. 18

brew JULY 2015 | FREE

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Beer Guides A listing of all of the local breweries available online at ECURRENT.COM

ecurrent.com / december 2015   17

Cont’d from p. 16

Th Kanaan’s display some of the specialty kombucha brews

Unity Vibration Tarek and Rachel Kanaan, co-founders and owners of Unity Vibration, focus on kombucha - a variety of fermented, sweet effervescent brews and tea, made using a symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast, and usually lightly carbonated.

The Kanaan’s, who have been home-brewing since 2007, founded Unity Vibration in 2009, and have created a variety of distinct and delicious beers with their own unique twist.

The combination of traditional ale and the kombucha style is most apparent in their Cream Ale. A Biere de Garde (a traditional strong french pale ale) that has been lagered with flake maize and aged on its side to capture some of that cork flavor. Unity is also offering, for a limited time, their Citra B.O. Featuring citra hops, Kanaan says, “the flavors are quite unique because of the bitterness that comes from the rinds of the oranges.”

Seasonal and limited beer runs can be found in the Unity Vibration Tap Room at 93 Ecorse Rd. in Ypsilanti and purchased for carry out in growlers.

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food

Lai Lai

4023 Carpenter Rd Ypsilanti, MI 48197 Phone: (734) 677-0790 http://lailaiypsilanti.com

Lai Lai: Hong Kong-style food from a former Great Lake chef

Joe Saul & Lisa Leutheuser For those of us who loved Great Lake Chinese Seafood Restaurant, located on 2910 Carpenter Rd., its passing left a huge hole in the local restaurant scene, and in our hearts.

Fortunately, two of Great Lake’s staff – their head chef and a veteran server – bought Lai Lai and have revived most of Great Lake’s menu. The Hong Kong dishes, inventive Chinese cuisine with an abundance of interesting ingredients, including seafood, unique vegetables and a variety of noodles, are back.

They aren’t doing dim sum, and they aren’t maintaining tanks of live seafood, but the rest of the dishes have triumphantly returned. They’ve repainted their space at the Ann Arbor Square Plaza, but the key is their menu of authentic Hong Kong dishes, done just as they were at Great Lake.

Lai Lai offers the usual range of Americanized Chinese dishes as well – and they might be really good; Great Lake did the best Lemon Chicken we’ve had – but we didn’t review those. We focused on the Hong Kong-style food for which Great Lake was famous, and for which Lai Lai will definitely become known.

Appetizers Rolled Noodles with XO Sauce – thin sheets of tightlyrolled rice noodle dry-fried to a smoky char with XO sauce (a commercial spicy Hong Kong sauce made from dried seafood and chilies, it’s relatively expensive due to its ingredients).

Potstickers – pork-filled dumplings pan-fried to crisp perfection on one side; Lai Lai’s have a thinner noodle wrap than most and great flavor.

Noodles Pan-Fried Noodles – these sound mundane, but they’re

not! It’s a pancake of thin egg noodles that’s been fried in oil, so the edges are crispy and the interior is soft, with whichever topping you order, stir-fried then baptized in an indescribably flavorful brown sauce. It’s available with chicken, beef, seafood, sliced pork, or mixed seafood and meat, all equally excellent.

Braised Noodle – also called long-life noodles (they’re long, and hence symbolic), these are flat egg noodles with a slightly spongy texture, stir-fried in a broth with black mushrooms until the liquid is absorbed. They’re a personal favorite of ours, and were on our wedding banquet menu at Great Lake years ago.

Beef with Rice Noodle and Vegetable – wide, flat rice

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Monday: 11:00 AM - 10:00 PM Tuesday: Closed Wed & Thurs: 11:00 AM - 10:00 PM Fri & Sat: 11:00 AM - 10:30 PM Sunday: 11:30 AM - 10:00 PM noodles are a hallmark of Hong Kong cuisine; in this saucier version of the dish, they’re covered with tender stir-fried beef in a brown sauce and pleasantly crisp Chinese broccoli.

We have friends who order this every time.

Main Dishes Beef Tenderloin with Black Pepper – slices of beef tenderloin, stir fried with onions in a slightly sweet brown sauce flavored strongly with black pepper. A personal favorite of Joe’s.

Pork Ribs in Special Sauce – you may not think of ribs when you think about Chinese cuisine, but here, falling-offthe-bone pork ribs are cooked in a sweet-salty tomato-based sauce with black beans (as in “black bean sauce”) giving it richness. That same “Special Sauce” appears elsewhere on the menu too.

Squid with Spicy Salt – slightly chewy pieces of squid, deep fried in batter and then tossed with finely minced peppers, garlic, onions, and salt, this is not spicy but flavorful.

There are also versions with mixed seafood, shrimp, or egg tofu. Make sure you stir this around, because without the salty-peppery mix, the individual pieces can be bland.

Honey Glazed Walnut Shrimp – deep-fried shrimp in a honey and mayonnaise-based sauce, surrounded by crisp darkly-caramelized sugar-coated walnuts; very tasty and addictive. They will also make this with scallops if you ask.

One of the sweetest dishes on the menu, but great.

Sichuan fish pot – a ubiquitous Sichuan dish in a slightly Hong Kong-ized version; perfectly cooked sliced fish combined with silky tofu chunks in a spicy broth. Less spicy, but somehow richer, than what you’d see at a Sichuan restaurant. Kind of homey, even. A new addition, this is not even on the menu, so you’ll have to ask for it.

Stir-Fried Mixed Seafood, Lotus Root, Chives, Silver Fish with XO Sauce – a complex name for a complex dish,

combining deep-fried bits of seafood tossed with crunchycrisp batons of lotus root, sticks of chive, and little tiny dried fish, flavored with rich, salty XO sauce. This wasn’t on the Great Lake menu, but it’s become a favorite.

Lai Lai isn’t fancy, and it isn’t large, but they can accommodate groups of 8-10 at their round tables. It’s kind of out of the way in the back corner of a strip mall, but people have found it; its small, brightly-painted dining room is packed on weekend nights, and they do a bustling take-out business. Note well, though: the dishes we’ve listed are best eaten hot and fresh!

Ongoing Best of 2015 Tasting with Ari Weinzweig 6:30pm. $45. Zingerman’s Delicatessen, 422 Detroit St. 734-663-3400. zingermansdeli.com

Zingerman’s list of fantastic products that tasted best over the past year. Ari will lead participants through tasting up to 30 of these remarkable items.

It will be a night of storytelling and tastebud euphoria. Runs every Wednesday through December 21.

Wine Wednesdays

5pm. $15. Vinology, 110 S. Main St. 734-222-9841. vinologya2.com

A walk-around wine-tasting event hosted by the experts at Vinology. Every Wednesday.

No event on December 23 due to the holidays.

5 saturday Outline/Flood Cookie Decorating

1pm. Ann Arbor District Library Downtown, 343 S. Fifth Ave. 734-327-4200. aadl.org Free

Ever wonder how bakeries make those awesome sugar cookies that look impossible to pull off? It’s a lot easier than it looks. Learn how to use the outline and flood method of cookie decorating just in time for the holidays.

6 sunday First Sunday Tour

2pm. $10. Zingerman’s Creamery, 3723 Plaza Dr. 734-929-6060. zingermanscreamery.com

Join Zingerman’s cheese and gelato makers for an hour-long adventure as we transform local milk into delicious cheese and gelato. You’ll watch fresh mozzarella stretched into shape, taste cow’s and goat’s milk cheeses while staff explains the cheesemaking process, and sample delicious fresh gelato. After the tour, make time for tasting a selection of American cheeses and provisions, as well as house made gelatos and sorbets.

8 tuesday Oysters & Bubbles

7pm. $95. Zingerman’s Roadhouse, 2501 Jackson Ave. 734-663-3663. zingermansroadhouse.com

Featuring TJ Evans, winemaker from Domaine Carneros. This event will feature a great selection of sparkling wine to compliment Chef Alex’s oyster-centered menu.

9 wednesday Cocktail Class: Jolly Cocktails

7pm. $65. Zingerman’s Cornman Farms, 8540 Island Lake Rd., Dexter.

734-619-8100. zingermanscornmanfarms.com

Join Cornman Farms to celebrate the holiday season with three distinct cocktails

designed to warm you and spread holiday cheer. Investigate the use of warm winter spices in drinks throughout American history, discuss holiday drinking traditions in the US and around the world (including why we give toasts), and explore sparkling winebased cocktails perfect for ringing in the New Year! Three nights, runs through December 11.

10 thursday Beer Tasting: Holiday Ales 7pm. $25-$30. Arbor Brewing Company Brewpub, 114 E. Washington St. 734-213-1393. arborbrewing.com

Arbor Brewing Company beer tastings feature two dozen or so of the best examples available in the style of the month.

Tis the season for old ales, dopplebocks, Christmas ales and meads. Reservations are strongly recommended.

14 monday Holiday Cocktails

7:30pm. $45. The Last Word, 301 W. Huron St. 734-585-5691. lastwordannarbor.com

Spice up your holiday entertaining with some seasonal cocktails. You’ll create your own house champagne cocktail, explore hot toddies and spiced wine, and sample some unusual and delicious egg nogs. Hosted by The Produce Station.

21 monday Holiday Tamales

6:30pm. $69. Sur La Table, 3050 Washtenaw Ave, Suite 109.

734-531-0304. surlatable.com

In Mexico during the holiday’s everyone, young and old alike, gathers in the kitchen to enjoy each other’s company while assembling a mountain of tamales. This class will teach participants everything they need to know to assemble these treats.

26 saturday Date Night: New Year’s Eve Celebration

food

Feast on menus, guidebooks and books about cooking at UM

Dining out has become a recognized American pastime, and an exhibit at UM’s Hatcher Graduate Library plans to commemorate that fact. Dining Out: Menus, Chefs, Restaurants, Hotels & Guidebooks features a sure-to-make-you-hungry collection from all 50 states, highlighting all eating establishments, from restaurants to clambakes to diners. There are even menus from railroad dining cars and ocean liners. You’ll also see guidebooks from all over the world, including rare guides about where one could eat in ancient Greece and Rome. Free. UM Hatcher Graduate Library, 913 S. University Ave. 734-7640400. www.lib.umich.edu hatcher-graduate-library — WP

eve redux

Inspired A2 chef, Eve Aronoff, is reopening a new version of her beloved restaurant. eve will be housed in the Bell Tower Hotel, featuring a few of the longtime menu favorites, such as Curried Mussels and Macadamia Encrusted Salmon, plus new items, including “seasonal feasts” comprised of ample platters of food for sharing presented with seasonal accompaniments. Aronoff will combine the same passion and attention to detail that she employs in her restaurant, Frita Batidos, with just a bit more formality. The restaurant will be serving dinner, a breakfast buffet and Sunday brunch as well as catering options. eve, Bell Tower Hotel, 300 S. Thayer St. 734-769-3010 —WP

6:30pm. $85. Sur La Table, 3050 Washtenaw Ave, Suite 109.

734-531-0304. surlatable.com

Welcome the new year by sharing a lavish feast with family and friends. Students receive a coupon good for 10 percent off in-store purchases the day of class.

31 thursday Big New Year’s Evening 11am. Paesano Restaurant, 3411 Washtenaw Ave. 734-971-0484. paesanosannarbor.com

Ring in the new year with good food and wine thanks to Paesano’s winter menu; open until midnight for festive celebration.

cont. on page 18 ecurrent.com / december 2015 21

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December 10th is Terra Madre Day, a celebration by Slow Food Huron Valley, a local promoter of culinary artisans and local producers, along with more than 1,000 other communities around the world, of diverse food traditions and production. This year’s celebration will take place at Silvio’s Organic Ristorante. Owner Silvio Medoro, observing his family’s traditions, plans to prepare a fantastic Italian meal, including Heirloom Italian Pumpkin and Chestnut Stew and Ossobucco alla Milanese. For those over 21, there will be a hard cider tasting with Ryan Burke of Virtue Cider and a cash bar. Silvio will have his handmade panettone in stock just in time for the season!

6:30-9pm. Wednesday, December 10. $40 in advance, $55 day of event. Silvio’s Organic Ristorante, 715 N. University Ave. silviosorganicpizza.com —WP

ecurrent.com / december 2015 23

music

mbe g Coo it: Dou d e r c o Phot

Matthew Milla of fan favorite Frontier Ruckus

Folk/pop group Great Lakes Myth Society will be on display

Decade of Mittenfest Benefit for 826Michigan

by Jeff Milo

This might be the first you’ve heard of Mittenfest. If so, then, well, it’s an exciting five-day-long music festival that raises funds for 826 Michigan’s educational endeavors with local students, primarily tutoring expository writing skills along with an overall encouragement of their creative expression (through short stories, poetry, and even songwriting). This is the tenth Mittenfest, which has always been hosted around the holidays, just as the New Year dawns. Mittenfest X will feature several unique Michiganbased bands, spread across five nights at Bona Sera in Ypsilanti (Dec 29-Jan 2).

In honor of ten years, the opening night of year 10 will mirror the lineup of year 1, with Frontier Ruckus, Misty Lyn Bergeron, Matt Jones, and Fred Thomas.

I reached out to several past performers along with the current group of volunteers and 826 staffers who organized Mittenfest X; I’m going to let them take it from here…

The Fest Chris Batghate (Singer/songwriter/frequent Mittenfestperformer): Mittenfest accomplishes something I consider

miraculous. It splices communities together. It provides me with an opportunity to use music to do something other than just get friends in the front row.

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Dina Bankole (Mittenfest co-organizer / Local musician): Last year was my first year in the planning committee and I knew I wanted to help book Mittenfest again as soon as last year’s ended. I definitely brought my “fest philosophy” from having planned the first two Best Friends Forever Fests in Detroit, like always keeping an eye toward diversity, mixing old and new…so I was really excited and ready to join the MIttenfest team.

Linda Jordan (Mittenfest co-organizer):I got involved because Mittenfest highlights the very best of the Michigan music scene, and I have always been inspired by the community’s willingness to come together and volunteer for a good cause.

Matthew Milia (Frontier Ruckus singer/songwriter/ frequent Mittenfest-performer): We were honored to be

asked to headline the first night of this 10th anniversary.

It’s a celebration of what I feel must be one of the most special music scenes in the country: this trans-Michigan network of diverse yt likeminded artists and a rare spirit of good-natured connectedness that has forged over so many years and through so many bands’ lifespans.

Jeremy Peters (Mittenfest co-organizer/Ghostly Intl’s Director of Creative Licensing & Business Affairs): Leaving Ypsi was tough, with the closure of such an important venue in Woodruffs. But, it was nice to engage with the Ann Arbor crowd a bit more, that being said, I’m excited that Bona Sera has welcomed us with open arms for this coming year.

Matt Jones (Singer/songwriter/consistent performer): I’ve played every one and the strange thing is that while I can remember all the antics happening off stage, I can rarely remember anything that actually happened on stage. Off stage is the best part.

music

Ypsilanti-bred singer/songwriter Misty Lyn Bergeron is set to perform at the 20th anniversary of Mittenfest

The Cause Brandan Pierce (826Michigan’s Detroit-based program coordinator): The interactions I’ve had with students,

helping them unleash creativity they didn’t think they had, has been the most rewarding aspect of this work. When a student suggests “…maybe…the world is taken over by unicorns…?” and they hear an adult get super excited about that idea, then you watch a student transform into a well-oiled generator of imagination.

Graham Parsons (singer/songwriter for The Go Rounds):

Jordan: I think the work (of 826Michigan) is invaluable, especially given the deficiencies in our public education system. 826Michigan provides kids in Southeast Michigan an opportunity to be creative and develop their writing skills.

Peters: It is amazing that we’ve raised more than $115,000 to date. That goes a long way to helping students learn that writing doesn’t have to be something you have to bear, it can be fun.

Amanda Uhle (826Michigan Executive Director): Much has changed in ten years, but we’re still offering young people unique opportunities to grow, learn, and create with help from caring adult volunteers. We continue to be committed to helping students succeed in school and in life by way of tutoring, writing workshops, and publishing opportunities.

826Michigan is a tangible, active and important organization and I think raising money for educational efforts through music is undeniably positive.

Pierce: We’re hosting after school tutoring programs four days a week in Ypsilanti & Ann Arbor, along with field trips and tones of other creative writing opportunities for students. We serve over 3,000 students annually! This festival has been a financial asset as much as it’s helped spread the word and gets more people involved. We need help designing chapbooks, assembling robots, putting stickers on envelopes even… If even one person comes to one night of MIttenfest and starts volunteering after, I’ll be ecstatic.

Mittenfest X: Featuring Frontier Ruckus, Fred Thomas and much much more! Hosted Dec 29 through Jan 2 at Bona Sera (200 W. Michigan Ave, Ypsilanti) starting at 7pm each night. For more info, visit 826Michigan.org, and find the full lineup at mittenfest.org

ecurrent.com / december 2015 25

music

Ongoing

Live Music in the Tea Room

8:30pm. Crazy Wisdom Bookstore and Tea Room, 114 S. Main St. 734665-2757. crazywisdom.net

Every Friday and Saturday night Crazy Wisdom invites you to Tea and Tunes. Not a tea drinker? No problem! Crazy Wisdom offer a wide selection of coffee drinks. No show on Christmas.

1 tuesday Mad About Chamber Music

8pm. Kerrytown Concert House, 415 N. Fourth Ave. 734-769-2999. kerrytownconcerthouse.com Free

Select students from the University of Michigan School of Music, Theater and Dance Piano Chamber Music program perform. At-will donations will be accepted at the door.

2 wednesday Takács Quartet

Christmas in Nashville When three acclaimed acts from Nashville join forces to put on the ultimate holiday-themed concert series, they call themselves the Decembersongs, and put on a bluegrass and rock storytelling show specifically designed for the holiday season.

Featuring folk musician and former Shakespearean actress, Amy Speace; Americana duo Doug and Telisha Williams of the Wild Ponies; and prolific writer Rod Picott, who has written songs for artists like Fred Eaglesmith and toured with Alison Krauss, these three separate acts from East Nashville will come together to perform, collaborate, and tell some stories. Join the celebration when this one-ofa-kind tour stops in Ann Arbor.

7:30/doors, 8:00/show. Tuesday, December 8. $20. The Ark, 316 S. Main St. 734-761-1800. theark.org -—ZM

7:30pm. $26-$52. Rackham Auditorium, 915 E. Washington St. 734-7642538. ums.org

Recognized as one of the world’s great chamber ensembles, the Takács Quartet plays with a unique blend of drama, warmth, and humor, combining four distinct musical personalities to bring fresh insights to the string quartet repertoire.

What The Sound Presents: Beat Connection 9pm. $10/advance, $12/door. Blind Pig, 208 S. First St. 734-996-8555. blindpigmusic.com

Beat Connection is Reed Juenger, Tom Eddy, Jarred Katz and Mark Hunter. Formed in 2010, they bridge the gap between the mundane and the transcendent, the pop and the avant-garde. Expect something new at every turn.

3 thursday Nessa CD release show

8pm. $15. The Ark, 316 S. Main St. 734-761-1800. theark.org

This Ann Arbor-based Celtic fusion band is led by multi-instrumentalist/vocalist, Kelly McDermott, known for her flute technique and soulful voice. She is joined by co-founder/multiinstrumentalist Rob Crozier, who researches and arranges the music.

4 friday Chelsea Common Chords Concert 7pm. Chelsea District Library, 221 S. Main St., Chelsea. 734-475-8732. chelseamich.com Free

The Common Chords handbell choir will be returning for its 6th year to help celebrate the start of Chelsea’s Hometown Holiday. After enjoying a heartwarming performance, the audience will be invited to try playing the bells themselves.

Peter Mulvey

8pm. $15. The Ark, 316 S. Main St. 734-761-1800. theark.org

The folk singer/songwriter who spent time performing in Boston’s subway system before gaining a national following brings his wry, goodnatured lyricism and his distinctive percussive guitar style to Ann Arbor.

5 saturday Alberto Nacif & Aguankó

7pm. $30. Kerrytown Concert House, 415 N. Fourth Ave. 734-769-2999. kerrytownconcerthouse.com

Aguanko will perform original Latin Jazz from their critically acclaimed releases Elemental (2013) and Invisible (2015), as well as fresh material from their upcoming Christmas Latin Jazz recording.

Dick Siegel

8pm. $20. The Ark, 316 S. Main St. 734-761-1800. theark.org

A member of the Detroit Music Hall of Fame, Dick Siegel has been a mainstay of the jazzblues circuit in Ann Arbor for years. His music has been featured on National Public Radio and has taught songwriting at the University of Michigan.

Britishmania: A Beatles Tribute

7pm. $10-$30. Pease Auditorium, 494 College Pl., Ypsilanti. 734-487-2282. emutix.com

Britishmania Beatles Tribute invites you to take a memorable trip back to the 1960’s to experience the wonderful sound and stage persona of The Beatles!

Re-live what it was like to see them during the epic periods of their career.

6 sunday BeauSoleil

7:30pm. $25-$50. The Ark, 316 S. Main St. 734-761-1800. theark.org

Over nearly four decades of exploring the panorama of Louisiana music, BeauSoleil and band leader Michael Doucet have re-defined a culture and become its musical ambassadors.

more events updated daily at

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8 tuesday Get Wet with Juicy J

9pm. $38-$88. Michigan Theater, 603 E. Liberty St. 734-668-8397. michtheater.org

Rap artist Juicy J is best known as one of the founding members of Southern hip hop group Three 6 Mafia. All proceeds benefit charity. Presented by Delta Kappa Epsilon.

9 wednesday Over the Rhine

8pm. $30. The Ark, 316 S. Main St. 734-761-1800. theark.org

Named for a tough but enduringly creative neighborhood north of downtown Cincinnati, Over the Rhine is the duo of Linford Detweiler and Karin Bergquist. Their ethereal sounds - dreamy, sweeping, highly literate and melancholy have drawn comparisons to the likes of Cowboy Junkies.

10 thursday Iris DeMent

7:30pm. $35. The Ark, 316 S. Main St. 734-761-1800. theark.org

The youngest of 14 children, Iris DeMent was born in Paragould, Arkansas, and moved to California with her devoutly religious family when she was three. As a teenager she absorbed the country music of Loretta Lynn, Merle Haggard, and Johnny Cash, as well as the folk classics of Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell. She comes to Michigan with a brand-new album, The Trackless Woods.

The Sword with Royal Thunder

9pm. $20. Blind Pig, 208 S. First St. 734-996-8555. blindpigmusic.com

Influenced by Black Sabbath, The Sword are a doom-metal foursome out of Austin, Texas.

Their latest album reached number 30 on the US Billboard 200. 18 and older.

SNAILS

10pm. $15-$30. Necto Nightclub, 516 E. Liberty St. 734-994-5835. necto.com

SNAILS is a Montreal-based producer and DJ who pushes a forward-thinking brand of dance music combining hip-hop rhythms, dirty bass lines and off-kilter sound design. His latest original tracks that have all gone viral, “Dirty Raxxx”, “KRMT” and “RUBBR” blend hypnotic melodies, huge drops and mind-bending sample manipulation into a tight, dancefloor friendly package.

11 friday The Ragbirds Present— Ebird and Friends Holiday Show 8pm. $20. The Ark, 316 S. Main St. 734-761-1800. theark.org

Smith (of The Appleseed Collective), Jen Sygit, Mark Lavengood (of Lindsay Lou & the Flatbellys), Brennan Andes & Ross Huff (of The Macpodz), Rachel Mazer, Bethanni Grecynski (of Rhyta), and more! Two nights, runs through Saturday.

music

Desmond Jones with Earphorik and Stormy Chromer

9:30pm. $7/under 21, $10/general admission. Blind Pig, 208 S. First St. 734-996-8555. blindpigmusic.com

Desmond Jones is a five-piece funk/rock/jazz fusion band from Lansing, Michigan. With original music written to complement the group’s sound as a whole, the music is centered around melodic guitar riffs, smooth bass lines, funky drum beats, and soulful saxophone.

Zen Banditos with Wizard Union, Seritas and Man At Arms

9:30pm. Crossroads Bar and Grill, 517 W. Cross St. 734-340-5597. crossroadsypsi.com

Ann Arbor based stoner groups join forces for this all-night rock extravaganza. Traveling rock n’ roll flea market Rock N Rummage will be there with merchandise.

12 saturday Peaberry After Hours

8pm. Peaberry Bean and Beats Cafe, 152 Barker Rd., Whitmore Lake. 734945-2532. thepeaberrybean.com Free

Join the good folks at Peaberry Beans and Beats for the last live acoustic music night performance of the year.

Iggy Shevak and Dragon Wagon

9:30pm. $10. Blind Pig, 208 S. First St. 734-996-8555. blindpigmusic.com

Iggy Shevak spans all music genres - It’s a mix of a little bit of everything but it’s been reviewed as Bob Dylan meets Beck. Opener Dragon Wagon is Michigan roots music at its finest. Each performance is built on originality, fun, and expert musicianship, quickly making the band one of Michigan’s premier bluegrass outfits.

Punks Feeling Lucky Fresh off the release of their new EP Small Victories, Detroit-based quintet Flint Eastwood are bringing their brand of bluesy, soulful pop-music to Ann Arbor. Fronted by multi-talented artist Jax Anderson (pictured), the music is a product of her Detroit upbringing and the creativity that has blossomed from the city’s ongoing revitalization. Weaned on her mother’s love of Motown, Anderson spent time in Georgia as a young adult, absorbing blues, pop, and country music, before moving on to Los Angeles. There, she combined her interests in multi-media art and music, creating a style of performance that is as visually stimulating as the music is heart-pumping. On their latest EP, recorded in Detroit, Anderson takes the listener on a journey through her mother’s illness and passing, as well as the passion that keeps her striving forward musically. Valley Hush and Air is the Arche open.

9pm. Thursday, October 3. $10/advance, $12/ day of. Blind Pig, 208 S. State St. 734-996-8555. blindpigmusic.com —ZM

13 sunday All About the Trio: All Things Vibes

2pm. $5/student, $10/general admission, $15-$25/assigned seating.

Kerrytown Concert House, 415 N. Fourth Ave. 734-769-2999. kerrytownconcerthouse.com

An education in the fundamentals of jazz. The trio of Ellen Rowe, Paul Keller, and Pete Siers will revisit the music of George Shearing, Milt Jackson, and The Modern Jazz Quartet with guest Cary Kocher.

This year’s show features The Ragbirds, The Accidentals, Jill Jack, Andrew Brown & Brandon

ecurrent.com / december 2015 27

music 14 monday University Philharmonia Orchestra

8pm. Hill Auditorium, 825 N. University Ave. 734-763-3333. music.umich. edu Free

Performing music by four composers with Hungarian connections, the concert opens with the intense and haunting Symphony No. 39 by Franz Joseph Haydn, who from 1761 until 1790 worked for the Hungarian noble family of the Esterhazy.

An Afternoon with The Blue Water Ramblers

A Choir Classic A holiday tradition dating back to 1879, the University Musical Society Choral Union at University of Michigan presents Handel’s Messiah.

Originally composed in 1741 by George Frideric Handel, this oratorio has grown to become one of the most popular choral works in the world. A classic composition that always signals the start of the holiday season in Ann Arbor, see the past and present collide with this concert that pulls from the King James Bible and other sources to reflect on Jesus Christ as the messiah. Also featuring the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra.

8pm Saturday, December 5 and 2pm Sunday, December 6. $10-$36. Hill Auditorium, 825 N. University Ave. 734-763-3333. ums.org —ZM

2pm. Ann Arbor District Library Downtown, 343 S. Fifth Ave. 734-3274200. aadl.org

The Blue Water Ramblers’ repertoire comes right out of Michigan life experiences and the history of the Great Lakes region.

18 friday Katie Geddes and Friends 8pm. $15. First United Methodist Church Green Wood, 1001 Green Rd. 734-665-8558. greenwoodcoffeehouse.org

Katie Geddes sings traditional and contemporary folk, countryfolk, and folk-pop tunes. A deft interpreter of beloved songs, her captivating voice and velvety-smooth delivery bring new life to the compositions of writers such as John Prine, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Michael Nesmith and Lennon and McCartney.

Part of the Green Wood Coffee House Series. Reservations are highly recommended.

more events updated daily at

19 saturday Blackthorn

8pm. $20. The Ark, 316 S. Main St. 734-761-1800. theark.org

Let Philadelphia’s favorite Irish band - now a mainstay in the community for over 20 years - take you on a tour through Ireland.

20 sunday Jorma Kaukonen

7pm. $30. The Ark, 316 S. Main St. 734-761-1800. theark.org

Jorma Kaukonen is one of the most important guitarists of our time with a body of work that has grown over four decades now. His brilliant finger-picked fretwork and songwriting, blending rock, blues, folk and country influences, helped make stars out of Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna. Now the California rock legend returns to his folk roots.

26 saturday Crossroads Ceili

7pm. $15. The Ark, 316 S. Main St. 734-761-1800. theark.org

The annual Crossroads Ceili is a great way to mark the turning of the year. It’s a gathering of local Celtic-oriented singers, instrumentalists, and dancers, all sharing the stage with nationally known headliners. Two nights, runs through Sunday.

30 wednesday Greensky Bluegrass

8pm. $25/per night. Royal Oak Music Theatre. 318 W. Fourth St., Royal Oak. 248-399-2980. royaloakmusictheatre. com

Greensky Bluegrass is tapped into the heart of bluegrass music, and they’re also known to throw a great party. This end of the year show features Nicki Bluhm and The Gramblers. Two nights, runs through Thursday.

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theater

Traditional Christmas stories will be shown in new light with two shows by local theater groups.

Christmas times two Have some theater with your holidays

by Sandor Slomovits

The Performance Network Theatre and Theatre Nova will each offer holiday themed shows this Christmas season. Both productions will open on November 27 and run through December 20.

Performance Network Theatre Performance Network Theatre will present a new adaptation of the classic Dickens tale, A Christmas Carol.

Their version is titled, An A Capella Carol, and PNT Artistic Director, Suzi Regan told us about it.

“Our Executive Director, John Manfredi wrote this adaptation. It’s going to be a radio play, like A Prairie Home Companion. We’ve got a reader who will read the Dickens adapted text and we’ve got four singer actors who will be doing all the singing and all the sound effects. We’ll be watching the radio play happening.”

The music They’re all familiar standard carols, but who knows, once we go into rehearsal maybe we’ll find an opportunity to write something new. We’re using the three weeks of rehearsal to flesh out the script and to play with it, making it a theatrical event. There will be no instruments; we’re not going to have pre-show music or any sort of canned sound effects. We’ll do it all on stage. For instance a doorknocker will be a doorknocker on stage. I’ve always found it really cool to watch sound designers discover ways of creating amazing sound effects using ordinary materials.

It’s a classic but we’re excited too because a lot of people are used to watching A Christmas Carol on stage, fully realized with costumes and sets and props, just the largeness of it all, all the dots connected. Instead, we’re going for the simple storytelling, which is fun as well, being able to see the pictures in your mind. This way it’ll be a completely different experience An A Capella Choir: November 27-December 20. $24-34. Performance Network Theatre, 120 E. Huron St. 734-663-0681. pntheatre.org

Theatre Nova Theatre Nova will also present a British inspired play, but with an American twist. An Almost British Christmas is a takeoff on the traditional British Pantomime. Theatre Nova’s founder, Carla Milarch explained.

“Pantomime doesn’t mean the same thing in England as it does here. When we think of pantomime we think of guys with white makeup, berets and striped shirts, but it’s nothing like that at all. Panto is much more like vaudeville meets melodrama meets comedia dell’arte. It’s a mash up of audience participation, standup comedy, musical performance and stock characters. There is the comic lead who is the narrator and comes in and welcomes the audience and throws candy at the kids.”

You’re creating your own version, not reproducing a British production.

No. A Panto is very much like sketch comedy, vignettes that string together along an existing storyline. Becky Fox, Russ Schwartz and I are writing it, and then we’ll take it into rehearsal and improvise along with the cast. Ryan Mackenzie-Lewis, who is a composer and music director, and has done Panto before, is writing all the music and songs, including crazy lyrics.

The other thing about Pantos are that they are very much community events. You involve the community in the production, which is one of the things that drew me.

We’re bringing in student choirs from local schools, and the Children’s Creative Center, we’re bringing in local celebrities and each show will have a different celebrity, Santa Claus may show up, and people can check our website to see who is coming when.

An Almost British Christmas: November 27-December 20. $20, suggested ticket price. Theatre Nova, 416 W. Huron St. 734-635-8450. theatrenova.org

ecurrent.com / december 2015 31

theater Henry IV, Part 1

7:30pm Thursday, 8pm Friday and Saturday, 2pm Sunday. $12/students, $22-$28/general admission. Power Center for the Performing Arts, 121 Fletcher St. 734-763-3333. music. umich.edu

Not your typical family Christmas From Barefoot Productions comes Christmas Belles, a comedy by Hope, Jones, and Wooten. It’s the Holiday season, but for the Futrelle sisters, Frankie, Twink, and Honey Raye, Christmas cheer is hard to come by. Frankie is pregnant with twins, Twink has burned down half the town, and Honey Raye is trying to keep the production of the Tabernacle of the Lamb’s Christmas Program on track despite an exdirector’s attempts at sabotage, Santa suffering from kidney stones, and the rest of the cast contracting food poisoning. On top of all that, Frankie lets slip an ancient family secret that has the potential to derail Christmas for good. They come together to save the holiday show and entertain the town. This irreverent play is sure to make audiences thankful for their own families. Runs through December 13.

8pm Fridays and Saturdays, 2pm Sundays. $15/presale, $17/door. Barefoot Productions, 240 N. Main St., Plymouth. 734-404-6889. justgobarefoot.com — ZM

3 thursday Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Claus

7:30pm December 3 and 4, 1pm and 3pm December 5, 3pm December 6. $5. Fifth Corner, 211 Willis Rd., Saline.

734-755-6983. salineareaplayers.org

Two compelling stories come together in this heartwarming play inspired by the famous editorial of the same title, brought to life by the Saline Area Players. On Christmas Eve, 1897, in NYC, 8 yearold Virginia is left pondering whether or not Santa really exists after a series of unhappy events. Meanwhile, a young newspaper editor also struggles against tough holiday times as he is faced with losing his job if he can’t find his writer’s voice by morning. Even though they don’t know each other, the spirit of Christmas is about to bring these people together.

Written in Sand

5:10pm. Michigan Theater, 603 E. Liberty St. 734-668-8397. michtheater.org Free

Part of the Penny Stamps Lecture Series.

Karen Finley is a New Yorkbased performance artist, musician and poet, whose raw and transgressive work on sexuality and disenfranchisement has provoked controversy and debate for over three decades.

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4 friday Dance and Related Arts Annual Show

8pm. $7. Betty Pease Studio Theatre, 1310 University Ct. 734-764-0583. music.umich.edu

The Annual Dance and Related Arts Concert showcases the projects of semester-long collaborations between students from the School of Music, Theater, and Dance. Runs through December 5.

Cinderella Ballet

7:30pm. $10. Pease Auditorium, 494 College Pl., Ypsilanti.

734-487-2282. emutix.com

The classic ballet composed by master Sergei Prokofiev is presented by the Eastern Michigan University Department of Music and Dance.

10 thursday The Light in the Piazza

7:30pm Thursday, 8pm Friday and Saturday, 2pm Saturday and Sunday. $12/student, $18/general admission.

Arthur Miller Theatre, 1226 Murfin Ave. 734-764-0583. music.umich.edu

A charming mother/daughter holiday in Tuscany brings romance and exposes secrets.

Directed by Brian Hill with music direction from Catherine Walker. Presented by the Department of Musical Theatre Studio.

2015 / ecurrent.com

Oft called Shakespeare’s greatest history play, Henry IV, Part 1 is an intriguing look at a country and family in turmoil featuring one of Shakespeare’s most unforgettable personalities, Falstaff. Featuring Professor John Neville-Andrews as Falstaff.

Directed by Priscilla Lindsay & Robert Najarian.

12 saturday Opera Studio Scenes

5pm Saturday and 7:30pm Sunday.

Earl V. Moore Building, 1100 Baits Dr. 734-764-0583. music.umich.edu Free

University of Michigan undergraduate students of Professor Kay Castaldo present scenes from Le Nozze di Figaro, The Magic Flute, and other operas.

15 tuesday The Moth StorySLAM: Joy

6pm/door, 7:30/show. $8. The Circus, 210 S. First St. 734-764-5118. circusbarannarbor.com

This monthly story contest is presented by The Moth, a NYC-based non-profit. This month, come prepared with a story about experience that brought you utter delight, or a time you were able to provide it for somebody else.

31 thursday Boogie Stomp! the Play

6pm and 9pm. $35/6pm, $60/9pm.

Performance Network Theatre, 120 E. Huron St. 723-663-0681. pntheatre.org.

Two Pianos. One stage. 100 years of American piano music.

This stage-play tells the largely untold story of how boogiewoogie shaped popular American music. Starring Bob Baldori and Arthur Migliazza.

1 thursday Why Not Me? A Sammy Davis Jr. Story -

Tuesdays-Sundays through December 19. $24-$34. Performance Network Theatre, 120 E. Huron St. 734-663-0681. pntheatre.org

Ann Arbor’s Performance Network Theatre original production has received critical acclaim.

Directed and written by Tim Rhoze and starring Sean Blake, the play reflects on the milestones of the life of Davis Jr.

2 wednesday Casting Sessions -

Wednesday-Sundays through December 19. Times, dates and prices vary, visit online for more information. The Purple Rose Theatre, 137 Park St., Chelsea, MI. 734-433-7673. purplerosetheatre.org

The story of two middle-aged actors competing for the same NYC roles will make its premier at Jeff Daniels’ own Purple Rose Theatre, which the actor founded in 1991 to provide a training ground for professional actors and playwrights.

Dickens: An A Capella Carol

Wednesday-Sundays through December 20. $24-$34. Performance Network Theatre, 120 East Huron St. 734-663-0681. pntheatre.org

Enjoy Dicken’s infamous A Christmas Carol in a way you never have before. Directed

by John Manfredi, a quartet of carolers present the timeless tale of Scrooge’s transformation from anger to appreciation.

3 thursday The Wizard of Oz

Thursday-Sundays through December 23. $24-$34. The Encore Musical Theatre Company, 3126 Broad St #A, Dexter. 734-268-6200. theencoretheatre.org

Head “Over the Rainbow” during the classic Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg’s musical adaption of The Wizard of Oz. Follow Dorothy through director Thalia Schramm’s production of one of America’s most popular fantasy stories.

An Almost British Christmas 7:30pm Thursday-Saturdays, 2pm

Sundays. Pay-What-You-Can, with $20 suggested price. Theatre Nova, 416 W. Huron St. 734-635-8450. theatrenova.org

Enjoy an original holiday story, inspired by the British tradition of Pantomime theater. This Christmas mash up of musical comedy, vaudeville, and old-fashioned drama results in a family friendly evening of entertainment— full of audience participation. Through December 20.

4 friday Anne of Green Gables

7pm, Thursdays-Saturdays. 2pm, Sundays. December 4-6, 10-13. $15/ general, $12/students and seniors, $7/ ages 12 and under. Eastern Michigan University Quirk Theatre, 124 Quirk Hall, Ypsilanti. 734-487-1220. emutix. com

Eastern Michigan University drama professor Christine Tanner directs EMU drama students in the beloved 1908 novel about an adventurous redhead orphan.

This classic tail is a breath of fresh air, showing off the meaning of family and love.

film

The line between fact and fiction are bent to create an entertaining biopic.

Finding Truth

Based on the true story that ended Dan Rather’s CBS career, “Truth” stretches the facts to remain entertaining

By Antonio Cooper Truth, directed and produced by James Vanderbilt, is focused on the Killian documents controversy, which ended celebrated anchor Dan Rather’s career at CBS, an entertaining take that will hook viewers.

Based on television news producer Mary Mapes’ memoir, Truth and Duty: The Press, the President and the Privilege of Power, the film depicts Mapes (Cate Blanchett) and her team, heavy hitting, truth-seeking journalists, against the Bush administration and the rest of the journalistic world by discrediting President George W. Bush’s time in the National Guard.

Truth illustrates great acting paired with great writing, regardless of how biased the telling of the story may be. Painting the careers of Mapes, and Rather (Robert Redford) as journalistic saviors, the acting and writing throughout the film is top notch. The movie attempts to force the viewer to see Mapes as the “good guy” instead of telling the complete story. Showing in great detail the falsifying of a document from the 1970’s used by Mapes in her investigation, the film demonstrates how she made mistakes that anybody could make— instead of placing responsibility on the experienced journalist.

An excellent story that allows the viewers to become attached to each of the characters, it suffers from overdramatization and a biased point of view, depicting everyone not working for CBS as second-rate journalists looking to destroy CBS’s credibility. CBS has released a statement saying, “It’s astounding how little truth there is in Truth.”

Blanchett puts on a stellar performance offering a solid depiction of Mapes’ thought process. Alongside her is Redford, who portrays Rather as a suave father figure, powerful but confusing at times. Rather and Mapes are often portrayed as underdogs despite Rather being the face of journalistic integrity at that time.

Unfortunately, the rest of a stellar cast are relegated to largely forgettable roles. Elisabeth Moss and Dennis Quaid are reduced to wasted roles after passionate introductions into the story. The likes of Mike Smith (Topher Grace) has to force his way into the story to gain the viewer’s attention.

Truth provides its own brand of veracity, leaving the viewer to decide if what’s presented is an accurate representation of what occurred.

Truth is now playing at Michigan Theater, Quality 16 Theater, and Rave Cinemas.

DESSANGE PA R I S

ANN ARBOR

Have A Beautiful Holiday Season 734.996.5585 206 S. 5th Ave. - Suite 300 Ann Arbor, MI 48104 dessange-international.com

ecurrent.com / december 2015 33

film

1 tuesday TCM presents Roman Holiday

2pm, 7pm. $6.75-$8. Rave Cinemas, 4100 Carpenter Rd., Ypsilanti. 734973-8424. cinemark.com

Fun in the Snow From Warren Miller Entertainment, the company responsible for pushing skiing and snowboarding into the mainstream, comes Warren Miller’s Chasing Shadows, the 66th film in the company’s expansive catalogue. The film will take viewers into the world of the United States Freestyle team and provide glimpses into lesser-known snowsport disciplines like monoskiing, powsurfing, and speed riding. Miller’s films are always a visual spectacle that remind audiences to pursue their passions and to value fun and friendship.

Friday, December 12. 7:30pm. $12/children 12 and under, $15/adult. Michigan Theater, 603 E. Liberty St. 734-668-8397. michtheater.org — ZM

FOR MORE INFORMATION & REGISTRATION PLEASE GO TO WWW.A2YOGA.NET

TCM presents the classic romance starring Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn, for which she won an Academy award for best-actress.

2 wednesday Met Opera: Lulu Encore

6:30pm. $19-$21. Rave Cinemas, 4100 Carpenter Rd., Ypsilanti. 734-9738424. cinemark.com

Acclaimed artist and director William Kentridge (The Nose) applies his unique theatrical vision to Berg’s notorious femme fatale, who shatters lives, including her own.

3 thursday Lusophone Film Festival: Tattoo (Tatuagem)

7pm. State Theater, 223 S. State St. 734-761-8667. michtheater.org Free By the mid 1970s it was possible for an anarchist theatre group to emerge in suburban Recife and put on subversive, queer, avant-garde cabaret shows, just so long as it stayed underground and criticism of the military remained implicit.

4 friday LIVING THE LIGHT WITHIN™

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A2 Yoga cherishes the awareness of vital energy within to inspire you to promote healthy habits through out this holiday season and New Year

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Labyrinth of Lies

Noon. Ticket prices TBA. Michigan Theater, 603 E. Liberty St. 734-668-TIME. michtheater.org Upon learning that many former Nazis returned to their pre-war lives with no penalty, an ambitious German prosecutor (Alexander Fehling) vows to bring them to justice.

6 sunday The Muppets Christmas Carol

1:30pm. Michigan Theater, 603 E. Liberty St. 734-668-8397. michtheater. org Free

The Muppets perform the classic Dickens holiday tale, with Kermit the Frog playing Bob Cratchit, the put-upon clerk of stingy Ebenezer Scrooge (Michael Caine). Other Muppets — Miss Piggy, Gonzo, Fozzie Bear and Sam the Eagle — weave in and out of the story, while Scrooge receives visits from spirits of three Christmases — past, present and future.

9 wednesday “Yours Truly, John Waters” Film Series”: Cecil B. Demented 7pm. $10/adult, $8/student, senior, child under 12, Veterans. State Theater, 223 S. State St. 734-761-8667. michtheater.org

An insane action-comedy about a young lunatic director (Ste-

phen Dorff) and his devoted cult of cinema terrorists who kidnap a movie goddess (Melanie Griffith) and force her to star in their underground movie.

Vowing to punish the crass sins of commercial cinema, fueled by revolutionary zeal and their self-imposed sexual frustration, Cecil B. DeMented and his guerrilla production crew invade the streets of Baltimore to shoot their no-budget epic.

When Cecil says “Action,” he means action! Nothing is going to stand in his way.

11 friday Where Hope Grows

6:30pm. Dexter District Library, 3255 Alpine St., Dexter. dexter.lib.mi.us Free

Starring Kristoffer Polaha, David DeSanctis and Danica McKellar.

A Detroit Tigers baseball player whose professional career was cut short is suddenly awakened and invigorated by a young man with Down syndrome, who works at the local grocery store.

Rated PG-13.

Warren Miller’s Chasing Shadows

7pm. $15. Michigan Theater, 603 E. Liberty St. 734-668-TIME. michtheater. org

Warren Miller once said, “A pair of skis are the ultimate transportation to freedom,” and this year, Michigan Theater is chasing storms, snow, lines and freedom. Take a glimpse into the world of the U.S. freestyle team and the dynamics of snowsports that live on the fringe.

12 saturday Die Hard

11:59pm (midnight screening). $8.

State Theater, 223 S. State St. 734761-8667. michtheater.org

A New York City policeman John McClane (Bruce Willis) single-handedly takes on a group of terrorists that have interrupted the holiday party in the headquarters of the Japaneseowned business she works for by taking over the exclusive high-rise, and everyone in it.

14 monday Monday Night Movies

6:30pm. Ypsilanti District Library, 5577 Whittaker Rd., Ypsilanti. 734-482-4110. ypsilibrary.org Free

This fascinating documentary explores the genesis of one of cinema’s greatest epics that never was: cult filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi classic Dune, whose cast would have included such icons as Salvador Dali, Orson Welles and Mick Jagger.

GATHR: Consumed

7pm. $10. Michigan Theater, 603 E. Liberty St. 734-668-TIME. michtheater. org

Consumed is a dramatic thriller set in the complex world of

Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). The story is anchored by a working-class, single Mother who goes on a journey to uncover the cause of her son’s mysterious illness.

Interwoven are the stories of an Organic farmer in danger of losing his farm, the CEO of a biotechnology corporation trying to save the world, two Scientists on the verge of a major discovery, and an ex-Cop caught in the middle of it all. Note: GathrÂŽ screenings can only happen if a minimum number of people reserve tickets before a screening request expires.

18 friday Muffins-N-Movies

2pm. Dexter District Library, 3255 Alpine St., Dexter. dexter.lib.mi.us Free

The Shop Around the Corner, starring Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart and Frank Morgan. This 1940’s favorite was the original version of the Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan hit, “You’ve Got Mail.� Two gift shop employees, who can barely stand one another, unknowingly end up anonymous pen pals.

the eternally-in-debt guiding force of a bank in the typical American small town of Bedford Falls.

film

21 saturday Winter Break Movies and More

2pm. Ypsilanti District Library, 5577 Whittaker Rd., Ypsilanti. 734-482-4110. ypsilibrary.org Free

Break the winter monotony with a bunch of movie screenings from the Ypsilanti District Library. Free popcorn provided.

Runs Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday through December 30.

25 friday Temple Beth Emeth presents Big

10:30am. $7/advance, $10/door.

Michigan Theater, 603 E. Liberty St. 734-668-8397. michtheater.org Free

Presented by Temple Beth Emeth, come see Tom Hanks’ biggest movie - the 1988 classic Big! Come spend the morning with family and community.

117 N First St, Ann Arbor, MI 48103 (734) 623-1951 relaxstation.com

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20 sunday It’s a Wonderful Life

1:30pm. Michigan Theater, 603 E. Liberty St. 734-668-8397. Free

The holiday classic! Director Frank Capra‘s classic bittersweet comedy/drama about George Bailey (Jimmy Stewart),

VISIT ANNARBORTORTILLA.COM TO SEE WHERE YOU CAN FIND OUR PRODUCTS

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ecurrent.com / december 2015  35

art Christmas Sale at the WSG

The WSG’s Annual Gallery Show is the perfect time to find that last-minute holiday gift

By Louis Meldman The WSG Gallery on Main Street is holding its “WSG 2015 Annual Holiday Show” from December 1 through January 2. This annual sale is a great opportunity for art lovers to find a perfect holiday gift. The gallery is transformed into a gift market and includes sixteen artist partners, eleven current visiting artists, and seventeen invited artists. The festive result is a Santa’s sleigh of original art: paintings, jewelry, metal, photography, handmade books and cards, glass, ceramics and fiber art.

On December 4 at 7pm is the annual WSG gala holiday party. It’s a great time to meet the artists and raise a glass of cheer and it coincides with Ann Arbor’s Midnight Madness festivities. The stores stay open late and street performers entertain all comers. This year’s entertainment includes young Elvis impersonator, Chris Solano; Element 1, The University of Michigan’s only breakdancing club; vocal jazz octet, Midnight Blue, who sing pop, hip-hop, sha-doowop, tragic ballads and genuinely funny parody numbers.

Last, but not least is Ann Arbor Morris. Ann Arbor Morris is not a street guy like the late Ann Arbor fixture, Shakin’ Jake. Morris’s dancing is a form of ritual folk dancing dating from Elizabethan England and it’s nothing but fun.

Impressive roster As always, the roster of visiting artists is outstanding and draws from throughout Southeast Michigan. It includes Detroit-based glass artist, Janet Kelman. Kelman has been working for more than four decades in blown, lamp-worked, and fused glass. She began by making paperweights, plates and bowls, perfume bottles, jewelry and mosaics.

Today she sandblasts on glass to create doors, windows, screens, and mirrors for residential and commercial architectural locations. Her love of scuba diving led to my favorite of her genres, animones, which capture the color and irides-

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cence of underwater flora and fauna. One thing she brings to all her work: beauty. Other visiting artists include Kristin Hermanson, Maria Ruggiero, Marlee Hoffman, Martha Ceccio, Martha Keller, Nora Venturelli, Peter Gooch, Ruth Crowe, Elaine Headly and Idelle Hammond-Sass.

Locally superb And as always, the invited include superb local artists, many of whom show at other galleries in town or in private studios, and they have come together for this special holiday show. Take couturière Rebecca Lambers, Ann Arbor’s leading maker of one-of-a-kind, hand-madeto-order women’s clothing. Her work was showcased at the Detroit Institute of Arts in conjunction with the major exhibition on the fashion photographer, Richard Avedon.

Lambers is an avid gardener and realized a few years ago she could use her love of nature as inspiration. The idea blossomed into exquisite silk flowers, each handmade and of the finest materials in alluring colors. They are sometimes outsized or arranged in large installments, often hanging. They look like they’re floating.

Or take Carol Furtado, fiber artist extraordinaire and long-time creator of wearable art. Rich, pure color is her signature. She was a painter and earned her Bachelor of Fine Art degree from the University of Michigan School of Art and Design. But she found that she could get even better color and texture by weaving. She has a large and loyal following for her hand-woven hats, berets, scarves, jackets and shawls, as well as her beaded and embroidered pins. All of her pieces are feminine, distinctive, and lovely.

There has to be a Christmas gift or two in there! Other invited artists include Sarah Bearup-Neal, Jane Brown, Alvey Jones, Anne Harlow, Chris Reising, Michelina Risbeck, Jaime Salm, Andrew Sell, Marian Short, Mike Sivak, Keith Maquire, Mike Moridian, Collin O’Brien, Marcia Pollenberg and Jimmy Wigglesworth.

WSG Gallery, 306 S. Main St. 734-761-2287. wsg-art.com

Ongoing

Exhibition:Exhibit: Women in Science 9am. $6/suggested donation. Alexander G. Ruthven Museum Building, 1109 Geddes Ave. 734-764-0478. lsa. umich.edu/ummnh

Colorful comic book graphics in this panel exhibit invite young U-M Museum of Natural History visitors from every background to see themselves working in STEM fields and changing the world. Developed by Ann Marie Macara, a fifth-year graduate student in the U-M Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, the exhibit features four women scientists whose work had a major impact in their fields. Through December 31.

Michigan Artists

9:30am-5pm Monday-Friday. Kerrytown Concert House, 415 N. Fourth Ave. 734-769-2999. kerrytownconcerthouse.com Free

Michigan Artists is a group of local painters, digital artists, and photographers whose common denominator is Patrick Young.

They have all had their works either photographed or printed

by Patrick. The 35+ artists in this exhibition are displaying inkjet (giclée) reproduction prints of their work on archival hot or cold press rag paper. Through December 31.

The Art of Tyree Guyton: A Thirty-Year Journey 11am Tuesday-Saturday, noon Sunday. $10/suggested donation.

University of Michigan Museum of Art, 525 S. State St. 734-764-0395. umma.umich.edu

Occupying more than two blocks along Heidelberg Street on Detroit’s East Side, the Heidelberg Project project has transformed its neighborhood, covering abandoned houses, the street, and the surrounding area with collections of found objects and vividly rendered paintings. The process of its construction can be viewed on the Heidelberg television monitor in the gallery. Through January 3.

Come as You Are: Art of the 1990s

11am Tuesday-Saturday, noon Sunday. $10/suggested donation.

University of Michigan Museum of Art, 525 S. State St. 734-764-0395. umma.umich.edu

The first major museum survey to examine the art of this pivotal decade in its historical context, showcases over 64 works by 46 artists born or practicing in the United States. The exhibition, focuses on three principal themes-debates over “identity politics,” the digital revolution, and globalization. Through January 31.

3 thursday 2015 Holiday Sale

7pm. Two Twelve Arts Center, 216 W. Michigan Ave. 734-944-2787. twotwelvearts.org Free

Two Twelve affiliated artists will offer a variety of original work for sale. Find a unique gift for everyone the shopping list.

Pottery, jewelry, painting and fiber art will be available. Prices to match all budgets. Through December 12.

5 saturday Potters Guild Winter Sale

10am. Potters Guild, 201 Hill St. 734-663-4970. pottersguild. net. Free Treat yourself and your friends to functional and decorative ceramic works by over 40 Guild artists. Specially priced table for children under 12.

Westside Neighborhood Art Hop

11am. Westside Neighborhood, 700 Mt Vernon Ave. 734-757-3717. westsidearthop.wordpress.com Free

Enjoy browsing art, crafts, jewelry, textiles and more, for sale by local artists from around the neighborhood.

6 sunday

Put selfies to good use

art

Detroit-based artist and teacher Chazz Miller has an ambitious project and to complete it, he needs plenty of people to chip in— one million people, as a matter of fact. The project is a mural entitled Unity in Our Global Community that is set to go up on the side of the International Institute of Metropolitan Detroit. Inspired by a poem, Immigrant’s Journey, by the Institute’s current president Stan Wheeler, Miller has expanded the theme to highlight the numerous ways the immigrant experience has shaped Southeast Michigan. Miller focuses on milestones from Detroit’s history that are visually stimulating and representative of the immigrant experience: the suffrage movement, DTE Energy’s impact on Detroit, and that moment in time in 1936 when Detroit held every sports championship in North America. Miller’s own original painting will make up 90 percent of the mural, with plans to include one million digitized back-lit selfies in the work. Miller is still collecting selfies, in addition to funding. Links to both options can be found on his website, 1millionselfiemural.com.

—ZM

Winter Watercolors

2pm. Ann Arbor District Library Downtown, 343 S. Fifth Ave. 734-3274200. aadl.org Free

No art skills? No problem. Art and teaching experts will walk you through how to paint a winter scene, step-by-step.

11 friday Annual Holiday Sale

5pm. Yourist Studio Gallery, 1133 Broadway St. 734-662-4914. youristpottery.com Free

Drawing in Color

The sale will feature ceramic works by Community Studio Resident Artists and select students, opens with a gala preview with refreshments and holiday cheer. Sale runs through December 14.

Create beautiful art from the point of a pencil while you experience the rich textures, sharp values and vivid compositions possible through the dynamic medium of colored pencils.

Classes taught by instructor Barbara Goodsitt.

Tiny Expo: Indie Arts and Crafts Fair

8 tuesday 1pm. $85. Eberbach Cultural Arts Building, 1220 S. Forest Ave. 734-9942900. barbaragoodsittstudio.com

9 wednesday Copper Wire Jewelry

6:30pm. Ann Arbor District Library Pittsfield Branch, 2359 Oak Valley Dr. 734-327-4200. aadl.org Free

Get creative with some simple wire wrapped jewelry techniques using copper wire to twist and twirl your way to some beautiful creations. Local crafter Beth Battey returns for this workshop.

12 saturday 11am. Ann Arbor District Library Downtown, 343 S. Fifth Ave. 734-3274200. aadl.org Free

Shop local and handmade as artists and crafters sell their wares in a festive library space

13 sunday Make a Holiday Centerpiece

2pm. Ypsilanti District Library, 5577 Whittaker Rd., Ypsilanti. 734-4824110. ypsilibrary.org Free

Create a beautiful fresh evergreen and candle centerpiece with Carol Brodbeck of Expressively Yours. All materials will be provided.

16 wednesday Art Meets Business

6:30pm. Saline District Library, 555 N. Maple Rd., Saline. 734-429-5450.

salinelibrary.org Free

Wish you knew more about doing business as an artist? Each program will feature speakers on business topics of interest to entrepreneurs. This month’s topic is “Continuity and Change in Contemporary Art Galleries” by River Gallery (Chelsea) owners Patti Schwarz and Deb Greer. Sponsored by Two Twelve Arts Center, Art Meets Business and Saline District Library.

18 friday Wall Vases

6pm. $35. Ann Arbor Art Center, 117 W. Liberty St. 734-994-8004. annarborartcenter.org

Give indoor plants a place to hang this winter. An instructor will guide you through the process of making a series of three colorful wall vases in the Art Center’s ceramic studio. No experience necessary and all materials will be provided.

28 monday Frosty Willow

7pm. $35. Paint and Pour, 220 S. Main St. 734-720-9777. thepaintandpour. com

The entertainer/instructor will guide participants through an evening of painting and wine.

Artists will create a frosty willow scene perfect for the season.

ecurrent.com / december 2015 37

sports

Derby Dimes bond through bruises Ann Arbor Derby Dimes take women

from all walks and bring them together— in a rough way

by Zach Marburger

There’s an ambulance parked out in front of the skating rink as I pull into the parking lot at Buhr Park for the A2 Derby Dimes season finale match against the Killamazoo Kill Stars. A promising sign for an entertaining evening of roller derby, if an ominous one for the wellbeing of the participants.

Inside is chaos. Women on roller skates fly around the rink, colliding at high speeds, in formations closer to a mosh pit than an organized sport. A skater - my program lists her nickname as Michelle O’BombYa - hip-checks a Kill Star, sending her flying to the concrete.

The action is difficult to follow, but my guide for the evening, nicknamed Susan B. Slamthony, is happy to give me a crash course.

Each team fields five players. Four of those players are “blockers.” Their job is to simultaneously free up space for their “jammer,” the fifth woman on the rink, and block the opposing squad’s jammer. Jammer’s score points by lapping opposing players.

“Who are these women?” I ask Slamthony. She points out specific women on the court - “She’s a doctor, there’s a nanny, she’s a masseuse. It’s really women from all walks of life that come together.”

The first match winds down, and the players circle the rink, high-fiving fans. The Derby Dimes have won, 220124. The EMT’s, thank goodness, remain on the sidelines, checking their phones and looking bored.

Fresh meat The next morning I head to the Derby Dimes Boot Camp, where members of the team train recruits who are labelled Fresh Meat. The lead trainer, Skim Milf (real name Becky Weeks), takes about 14 girls through a series of drills - how to turn their hips to change direction quickly, how to jump and land, etc.

The skaters here are a far cry from what I saw the previous evening - timid, like newborn deer trying to rise. It’s hard to see them withstanding a bullrush from the women I saw the night before.

Their lack of experience is no problem, Weeks tells me. The goal of Boot Camp isn’t to become the best player around, but simply

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to be safe on skates. Around half of these women, Skim says, won’t be here at the end of the program anyway.

Weeks echoes those thoughts, and adds that the camaraderie is what makes the pain worth it.

“What tends to happen is about halfway through Boot Camp we get into contact,” said Skim. “It’s a full-contact sport. Some people realize that this isn’t for them. You have to judge if your life can accommodate this sport. People fall in love with it, and they can’t imagine life without it.”

“Your stressful job or your stressful kid or your financial problems - you can let go of all of that stuff and have fun. You meet so many different people that you would otherwise never become friends with. You probably wouldn’t meet them at all. But somehow you all come together and you just find your people.”

Sitting with us is a woman named Chelsea. She’s trying to decide whether or not to join up, despite having little experience on skates. I ask her why the sport caught her eye.

By the time I leave, Chelsea is hooked. She’s ready to join, but mentions that she doesn’t have any gear.

“I really like the culture around it and I like that it is empowering women and teaching women to be tough and be strong. Just because you’re a girl doesn’t mean that you only have to play a certain subset of sports.”

“That’s ok,” says Weeks. “We’ve got everything you need.”

The A2 Derby Dimes open their 2016 regular season next March and are always looking for Fresh Meat, as well as referees. Information on matches and how to join can be found on a2derbydimes.org. All home matches are located at Buhr Park.

for you and your friends

at Ann Arbor’s Premiere Woman’s Clothing Boutique

Extended Holiday Hours!

Serving Ann Arbor’s Beautiful Women Since 1977

734.995.4222 | 303 DETROIT ST. SUITE 107, ANN ARBOR | CollectedWorksAnnArbor.com

ecurrent.com / december 2015 39

books 2 wednesday

Feminist Book Club

7pm. Literati Bookstore, 124 E. Washington St. 734-585-5567. literatibookstore.com Free

Attendees will discuss Jonathan Eig’s The Birth of the Pill, the story of how the birth control pill was invented and the rebels who turned it into a revolution. Participants who purchase the book from Literati and mention the book club will receive a 15 percent discount at check-out.

Tarfia Faizullah

7pm. Crazy Wisdom Bookstore and Tea room, 114 S. Main St. 734-665-2757 crazywisdom.net Free

Tarfia Faizullah, who teaches creative writing at the University of Michigan and is the winner of the Crab Orchard Series in Poetry First Book Award for Seam, leads the Crazy Wisdom Poetry Series.

Mystery Lovers Book Group 2pm. Ypsilanti District Library, 5577 Whittaker Rd., Ypsilanti.

734-482-4110. ypsilibrary.org Free

Come for a lively discussion of this month’s selection, The Devotion of Suspect X, by Keigo Higashino.

3 thursday

Thursday Morning Book Group

10:30am. Ypsilanti District Library, 5577 Whittaker Rd., Ypsilanti.

734-482-4110. ypsilibrary.org Free

This month’s book selection is Kathleen Finn’s Burnt Toast Makes You Sing Good. Come for prepared for debate and discussion.

5 saturday

Robert Larivee Sr.

3pm. Barnes and Noble Booksellers, 3235 Washtenaw Ave. 734-973-0846. barnesandnoble.com Free

Author Robert Larivee Sr. discusses his book Hot Rod Detroit, a complete history of hot rodding in Detroit including car clubs, race tracks, builders, speed shops and Autorama. A signing will follow.

6 sunday

NaNoWriMo: I Wrote a Novel, Now What?

2pm. Ann Arbor District Library Traverwood Branch, 3333 Traverwood Dr. 734-327-4200. aadl.org Free

Calling all writers! Whether you participated in this year’s National Novel Writing Month or you just love to write, come hear a published author’s take on revising your work and getting published.

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Local Reads 7 monday

Cookbook Club with Chef Nathan Brand 7pm. Literati Bookstore, 124 E. Washington St. 734-585-5567. literatibookstore.com Free

Literati Bookstore presents the second installment of the Cookbook Club with host Nathan Brand. This time around, participants will discuss Sea and Smoke by James Beard Award-winning chef Blaine Wetzel and journalist Joe Ray. Sea and Smoke is a travelogue chronicling the plucky ambition of a young chef determined to create a world class dining destination in an unlikely place.

RSVP required.

10 thursday

Open Mic and Share Poetry Series with Tung-Hui Hu 7pm. BookBound, 1729 Plymouth Rd. 734-369-4345. bookboundbookstore.com Free

The event begins with an Open Mic session when area poets can read their own work or share a favorite poem by another author. Our featured poet, Tung-Hui Hu, is the author of three books of poetry including Greenhouses, Lighthouses (Copper Canyon Press, 2013), as well as a study of digital culture, A Prehistory of the Cloud (MIT Press, 2015). Hu teaches poetry and digital studies at the University of Michigan, where he is an assistant professor of English.

Signing to follow.

12 saturday

John U. Bacon

1pm. Barnes and Noble, 3235 Washtenaw Ave. 734-973-0846. barnesandnoble.com Free

University of Michigan teacher and best-selling author John U.Bacon discusses his book The End Zone: The Rise, Fall, and Return of Michigan Football. A signing will follow.

Christmas Party

Noon-2pm. Aunt Agatha’s Bookstore, 213 S. Fourth Ave. 734-769-1114. auntagathas.com Free

Aunt Agatha’s Bookstore will host a Christmas Party with authors Jane Cleland (Ornaments of Death) and D.E. Ireland (Move Your Blooming Corpse). Cookies and discounts available.

15 tuesday

Skazat! Poetry Series at Sweetwaters

7pm. Sweetwaters Coffee and Tea, 123 W. Washington St. 734-769-2331. sweetwaterscafe.com Free

An open mike kicks off this event, followed by Detroit Poet Tommye Blount, a Cave Canem fellow and graduate of Warren Wilson College’s MFA Program for Writers.

2015 / ecurrent.com

Michigan Football Comes Alive

Top-notch football is back at the Big House, and now there is a great opportunity to relive U of M’s glory years. From the Michigan History Project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing the history of Michigan into the present, comes a new book aimed at the college football lover; WOLVERINE: A Photographic History of Michigan Football. Bringing the inside history of Michigan football to life with over 1,000 photographs, many never publically released before, the book goes in depth on five historic seasons, including Bo Schembechler’s first incredible year as coach (1969) and Charles Woodson’s Heisman Trophy-winning junior season that ended in a national championship (1997).

The book examines the history of Michigan football off the field as well, with photos of fans, coaches, and cheerleaders. With text from University of Michigan graduate Mike Rosenbaum and a foreward from former Wolverine quarterback and current NFL player Denard Robinson, this book will make the perfect holiday gift for all of those who can’t get enough Michigan football.

Reading 7pm, Tuesday, December 1. Ann Arbor District Library Downtown, 343 S. Fifth Ave. 734-327-4200. aadl.org Free—ZM 18 friday

22 tuesday

7:30pm. Crazy Wisdom Bookstore and Tea room, 114 S. Main St. 734-665-2757 crazywisdom.net Free

7:30pm. Barnes and Noble Booksellers, 17111 Haggerty Rd., Northville.

248-348-0696. barnesandnoble.com Free

Crazy Wisdom Monthly Book Discussion

Author Sera Beak offers a provocative and intimate view of what it means to get up close and personal with the divine in modern times in Red Hot and Holy: A Heretic’s Love Story.

20 sunday

Poetry Slam

8pm. Silvio’s Organic Pizza, 715 N. University Ave. 734-214-6666. silvosorganicpizza.com Free

The program begins with a open mic before all poets compete in a slam event with a panel of judges chosen from the audience.

Mystery Book Group

Newcomers are always welcome.

Join the mystery book group club to discuss a christmas-themed story, Jane and the Twelve Days of Christmas by Francine Mathews.

23 wednesday

Crazy Wisdom Poetry Series

7pm. Crazy Wisdom Bookstore and Tea room, 114 S. Main St. 734-665-2757 crazywisdom.net Free

Hosted by Joe Kelty and Ed Morin, all writers are welcome to share and discuss their poetry and short fiction. Sign up for new participants begins 15 minutes early.

insight

Performance Network Searches for an Angel A plea, from John Manfredi, executive director of the Performance Network Theatre

by John Manfredi

Recently I had the honor of directing the first show of the 30th anniversary season at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. ASF is one of our Nations’ premier regional theatres and is considered the state theatre of Alabama. I was asked to direct a production of Driving Miss Daisy, which we opened our 2014-2015 season with here in Ann Arbor to critical acclaim. The ASF Company is housed in a large complex located on a massive state park, it holds two theatre spaces and has over 100 staff members, not including the acting company.

Compare ASF with PNT Here at Performance Network, although we’ve been around four years longer, we have a staff of three full and part-time employees, two apprentices and one 150 seat theatre. Comparing PNT to the Alabama theatre, we are both professional theatres governed by the same union with the same requirements for work and payroll conditions. Our salaries are considerably less, obviously, but we are both bonded, both required to carry liability and workman’s compensation insurance. We both also had similar beginnings as a collaborative ensemble without a permanent home and serious financial troubles. The difference is 30 years ago ASF received a gift of over $20 million dollars to put them on their path. Performance Network has never received a gift approaching even 1/20th of that amount and therefore our path has been considerably different.

Our financial struggles are well documented, and our team took over a little over a year ago knowing full well that the Network had a reputation for not paying its bills. We were determined to change that, but the hole we found was far deeper than we originally understood. The good news is we did pay our current bills,

John Manfredi. executive director of PNT, needs your help

but the bad news is we are still struggling to climb the mountain of past debt. As we worked to keep our heads above water this first season we reached out to development people and fundraisers, we talked to other arts organizations and non-profits. The answers are always the same “you need an angel” or “you need corporate support”— well we know this, we’ve been looking and asking.

Community theatre; Buying local We talk about the benefit to our community of having a producing regional theatre located so centrally — we are a farm to table company. We are the arts’ answer to buying locally. We do not bring in shows or “star vehicles”- there are plenty of places in SE Michigan that provide spaces for people from other states or countries to perform. There are ample venues for people who want to see the latest touring show or hot musical act. We grow plays from scratch right here in Michigan, for Michigan.

The quality of our work is on par with any you will see on any stage in the country— ask around and people that know professional theatre will tell you Performance Network is a jewel.

So taking the advice of those we’ve spoken to and using the examples of ASF and other successful arts organizations, we are seeking an angel to help us on our path.

We just happen to think Ann Arbor is OUR angel.

Want to help? pntheatre.org/donate or 734-663-0681.

ecurrent.com / december 2015 41

PROfile

Old Bones and New Digs

Gene Dillenburg, keeper of dinosaurs at UM Museum of Natural History

Gene Dillenburg took a childhood passion and made it a career

by Sue Dise

Gene Dillenburg is clear about who he is; “I’m basically an 8-year-old-boy who fell in love with dinosaurs and never grew out of it.” So it’s fortunate that rather than going into estate planning or bounty-hunting, his career path steered him to his current position as Assistant Director of Exhibits at the University of Michigan Museum of Natural History.

It’s a mammoth gig, in more ways than one. At the same time that Dillenburg was about to step into the job four years ago, a new Biological Science Building was being constructed to house research labs, offices, and classrooms and to incorporate the museum collections into the new structure. “We want to integrate ourselves more with the faculty, with the educational mission of the university.

We want to support students who are learning science, who want to learn how to present their science, because that’s going to be very important in the future,” Dillenburg explains. The museum’s goal is to work more closely with faculty and students who wish to present exhibits of their work, as well as to help students in museum studies develop professional skills. Dillenburg hopes to develop, “a teaching and learning museum, on the model of a teaching hospital.”

Advertisement for science

“As much as I’d like to be king of the world, I actually see myself as more of a funnel. Taking a lot of ideas...and filtering them through the 25 years of experience that I had at these other places and saying OK, here’s a real thing we can do.”

Old with the new The UM Museum of Natural History occupies a warm space in the memories of countless residents of southeastern Michigan, but with that nostalgia comes a bit of trepidation about the upcoming changes. Some of the old dioramas will make the move, as will the legendary pumas which guard the entrance. “We want to have some link to our past,” Dillenburg assures, while promising an even more illuminating experience with galleries, “designed to be updated every few years. We’re building components in each gallery which will change, so when you come with your children or grandchildren they will see something different every time.” Faculty research outposts will be integrated throughout the exhibit space. “One of the major thrusts of the building project from the beginning has been to blur the boundaries between the public and the back-of-house, to let people see science on display,” said Dillenburg.

So how did this Chicago native land this challenging assignment? Dillenburg’s educational background is in advertising. “Basically, it’s communication, and I view exhibits as a big advertisement for science,” he observes.

“You’re just doing it through a three dimensional medium with objects as opposed to text or pictures or music.”

It’s that ‘back-of-house’ access that is the best part of Dillenburg’s job. He enthuses about being in the mammal specimen storage area, measuring squirrels, “which sounds very boring, until you open up the drawer of Costa Rican squirrels. Oh my god, they’re enormous, and they’re all kinds of colors. I had never seen them before. Every drawer you open is a new surprise.”

After stints at the Chicago’s famed Shedd Aquarium and Field Museum of Natural History, he was ready for the demands of creating a new exhibition space in Ann Arbor. His current job requires him to work with a number of contractors, consultants, and designers, as well as to administrate current museum operations and, when needed, help design and install exhibits. He compares himself to an art director. “It’s a creative process, everyone has ideas; we try not to be too hierarchical about it.” Dillenburg admits,

Speaking of surprises, what are the plans for the recently donated Chelsea mammoth remains? “No decisions have been made. We are looking into options to get the bones displayed here,” says Dillenburg, but he’s unsure how it might be incorporated into the new building. “The design is pretty far along. We have a few ideas where we might be able to put a mammoth, but I am so up to my eyeballs in the other stuff, I really didn’t need an earth-shattering breakthrough to happen this week!

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1 tuesday Career Fair Prep Workshops

10am. Washtenaw Community College, 4800 E. Huron River Dr. 734-677-5155. wccnet.edu Free

This workshop highlights the steps you need to take to be a professional and effective job seeker at any career or job fair.

These sessions are conducted for WCC students and alumni.

Each workshop is free of charge and last approximately one hour. Registration required.

3 thursday Nate Fridson

8pm. $12. Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase, 212 S. Fourth Ave. 734-996-9080. aacomedy.com

Nate Fridson is a fast rising star out of the rich comedy scene of Detroit. Nate has performed at the Laughing Skull Comedy Festival in Atlanta, was a semi-finalist at the New York Comedy Contest, and recently traveled to Japan to perform for the US Troops stationed on Okinawa.

Brick and Mortar Collective Fundraiser

7pm. Literati Bookstore, 124 E. Washington St. 734-585-5567. literatibookstore.com Free

Literati is pleased to open our event space to the Brick and Mortar Collective, a Detroitbased housing cooperative, for a fundraising event. There will be a presentation on the mission of this Detroit based housing cooperative, a Q & A with the Brick & Mortar members, and the sale and auction of arts and services

4 wednesday Chelsea Tree Lighting Ceremony

6pm. Pierce Park, 901 S. Main St., Chelsea. 734-475-1145. chelseamich.com Free

The Rotary Club will kick off this event with a re-dedication of the Pierce Park Gazebo that was built by the Chelsea Rotary Club 25 years ago. Sounds of the holiday season will be performed by members of the Chelsea High School Choir followed by the Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony and a visit from our 2014 Chelsea Fair Queen.

5 thursday

6 sunday Midget Wrestling

8pm. $10-$13. The Token Lounge, 28949 Joy Rd., Westland.

734-513-5030 thetokenlounge.com

everything else

It’s a no-holds-barred match between athletes once the bell drops. Advanced ticket purchases are encouraged.

18 friday Country Christmas

10am. Three Cedars Farm, 7897 Six Mile Rd., Northville. 248-437-8200. threecedarsfarm.org Free

With Christmas trees, wreaths, hot cocoa, and of course Santa Claus, you can be certain that there will something for everyone.

19 saturday Choose and Cut your own Christmas Tree

10am. Hillside Christmas Tree Farm, 14745 Sharon Hollow Rd., Manchester. 517-456-7233. hillsidechristmastreefarm.com

Wander the fields at Hillside Christmas tree Farm and find that perfect Christmas tree.

While here take a wagon ride, walk, or drive out to our Christmas tree fields and cut your own tree down. After this is done you can conclude your day in our warm Christmas Barn where we offer a hot meal, Holiday Crafts, and Christmas Sing-A-Long. Pricing depends on tree type and size.

Art for the Holidays

It’s tough to find that perfect gift for loved ones during the holidays - especially if at the last minute.

The Holiday Art Fair, presented by The Guild of Artists & Artisans, is the perfect chance to find that carefully selected gift for the holidays. Supporting Michigan-based artists, over 100 jury-selected crafters— specializing in a wide variety of materials, from photography and pottery to jewelry, painting, fiber-work and more— will make their wares available for purchase. A special exhibit will feature work from Eastern Michigan University’s Art Student Center. Organizers have set up a gift-making station for kids, in addition to other holiday-themed activities. Don’t miss this chance to grab a homemade holiday gift for someone special, or just come browse and support local artists.

10am-6pm/Saturday, December 12 and 11am-5pm/Sunday, December 13. $5, Free/children 12 & under. Eastern Michigan University Convocation Center, 799 N. Hewitt Rd., Ypsilanti. 734-662-3382. theguild.org —ZM

22 tuesday Live Reindeer Outside the Library

11:30am. Dexter District Library, 3255 Alpine St., Dexter. 734-426-4477. dexter.lib.mi.us Free

Come learn about and meet real life reindeer - just in time to catch them before they get busy this season.

29 tuesday Make a New Year Journal 2pm. Ann Arbor District Library Downtown, 343 S. Fifth Ave. 734-327-4200. aadl.org Free

Learn some basic bookbinding stitches and create your own journal for 2016! You’ll learn how to bind pages with needle and thread using Japanese stab binding techniques. There will be a Kelsey Excelsior letterpress set up and ready to go to add some decorative flourishes to your covers.

2015 Annual Chelsea Light Parade

6pm. Main St., Chelsea.

734-474-9178. chelseamich.com Free

10th annual parade featuring dozens of lighted floats and vehicles, marching bands, and the big guy himself, Santa!

Parade starts at Chelsea State Bank’s south-end lot and proceeds down Main St. toward the Clocktower.

Searchable lists updated daily at ecurrent.com ecurrent.com / december 2015 43

everything else

road trip A Trailer Park Christmas

Dip-see Ypsilanti is a creative place and the bi-annual DIYPSI (pronounced Dipsee) Indie Art Fair celebrates what makes Ypsilanti a unique place to live, work, and create. Since 2010, the or ganizers have hosted a collection of the best artists from around the county with both summer and winter shows. This shopping experience not only offers original work in a variety of mediums, but also keeps dollars in the local community. Window-shoppers won’t go home with an empty stomach - hand-crafted food will be available, in addition to live music performances.

11am-7pm December 12, noon-6pm December 13.Riverside Arts Center, 76 N. Huron St., Ypsilanti.

734-480-2787. diypsi.com Free — ZM

The raunchiest group of friends ever to come out of Canada are back, and best of all, their antics can be seen live and in the flesh. Ricky, Julian, and Bubbles better known as the Trailer Park Boys are the stars of the original Canadian mockumentary series of the same name, as well as three subsequent movies.

Now they’re coming to Detroit as part of the Dear Santa Claus, Go F**k Yourself tour. The original series focused on growing up together in a fictional trailer park in Nova Scotia, drinking too much and doing drugs while hatching get rich quick schemes that usually ended badly. Expect more of the same at this live event where they try to spread the true meaning of Christmas. It can’t get any more irreverent than this.

7pm Saturday, December 12. $29.50-$59.50.

Masonic Temple, 500 Temple St., Detroit.

313-832-7100. themasonic.com —ZM

1 tuesday Re-imagining Historic Sites at the National Trust

For all you who celebrate $ISJTUNBT BU 5IBOLTHJWJOH Boyds is ready.

954 Phillips Ave., Toledo Oh 419-720-7387 www.boydsretrocandy.com Mon-Thurs: 11am-7pm Fri: 11am-8pm 4BU BN QN t $MPTFE 4VOEBZ

6:30pm. University of Michigan Museum of Art, 525 S. State St. 734936-6678. ummsp.rackham.umich. edu Free

This presentation will explore challenges faced by historic sites and how the National Trust for Historic Preservation is working to develop new operations and partnerships related to the arts and social justice to embrace the strengths and expand the relevance and public benefit provided by such sites.

2 wednesday Marketing Your Small Business With Social Media, with Kim Kachadoorian 6pm. Washtenaw Community College, 4800 E. Huron River Dr. 734677-5155. wccnet.edu Free

3 thursday Brick and Mortar Collective Fundraiser

7pm. Literati Bookstore, 124 E. Washington St. 734-585-5567. literatibookstore.com Free

Literati is pleased to open our event space to the Brick and Mortar Collective, a Detroitbased housing cooperative, for a fundraising event. There will be a presentation on the mission of this Detroit based housing cooperative, a Q & A with the Brick & Mortar members, and the sale and auction of arts and services

Library Lab: The Water Cycle

6:30pm. Ypsilanti District Library, 5577 Whittaker Rd., Ypsilanti. 734-4824110. ems.ypsilibrary.org Free

Learn all about water and the weather through STEAM (science, technology,

Social media is a great way to attract new customers and retain customers you already have. Learn how to use simple tools and discover which social media is right for your business.

Searchable lists updated daily at ecurrent.com

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health

health events Ongoing

The Gift of Nature - Ten Plants that Changed the World

10am. Matthaei Botanical Gardens, 1610 Washington Hts. 734-998-9540. lsa.umich.edu Free

The Gift of Nature features plants in the conservatory at Matthaei that have benefited humans in important ways, including medicine, tools, technology, food, religion, economy, and more.

Community CrossFit Class 10am. Huron River CrossFit, 4477 Jackson Rd. 734-367-4585. huronrivercrossfit.com Free

Ever been interested in CrossFit but unsure if it’s right for you? Now is your chance to try out the fitness sensation that has become a hit across the country for free. All ages and fitness levels are welcome. Every Saturday.

1 tuesday

Gluten Free Holiday Treats

6pm. $12-$18. Chestnut Room, 46000 Summit Pkwy., Canton.

734-394.5460. apm.activecommunities.com

Learn how to make delicious holiday treats that are gluten free. This class will demonstrate five different to-die-for recipes that will please even those who do not require a gluten free diet. Students will also get to take home a variety pack of freshly baked treats.

$5 of every entry goes to charity.

Get Healthy Together: A Breast and Prostate Cancer Educational Event

10am. Washtenaw Community College Morris Lawrence Building, 4800 E. Huron River Dr. 734973-3300. mcancer.org Free

Begin with light breakfast from followed by talks on prostate and breast cancer, sexuality and intimacy issues, and an “urban dance sampler session” to get us moving. Our event will include door prizes, special end-of-the-year giveaways, educational brochures, and more. Sponsored by The University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Community Outreach Program.

19 saturday

Community Vinyasa Yoga

10am. Ann Arbor District Library Pittsfield Branch, 2359 Oak Valley Dr. 734-327-4200. aadl.org Free

Yoga is a fun way to gain strength, flexibility and balance, while decreasing stress and tension. Come learn some of the basics of the Vinyasa style of yoga, which integrates breath with movement. Certified yoga instructor Raina LaGrand of A2 Yoga and Amandla Energy Works, will be teaching. All levels welcome, but participants should be able to move comfortably from the floor to standing.

5 saturday

22 tuesday

9am-4pm. $30/suggested donation. Michigan Friends Center, 500 Long Lake Rd., Chelsea. 734-4750942. mfcenter.org

10:55am. The Community Room, St. Joseph Mercy Saline, 400 W. Russell St., Saline. 734-276-7707. mindfulnessmeditationmichigan. weebly.com Free

A Day of Solitude and Meditation Practice

An opportunity to enjoy the quiet of the country while practicing sitting and walking meditation. This day is appropriate for anyone interested in meditation: beginners will have breakout instruction; experienced meditators can be in silence all day; those in-between can practice and have their questions answered. These retreats are fundraisers for the benefit of Michigan Friends Center. Pre-registration requested

12 saturday

Holiday Hustle 5K

4:30pm. $40. Monument Park, Baker Rd. at Main St., Dexter.

734-929-9027. runholiday5k.com

Naughty or nice, walker or runner, come breathe in the December night air, burn a few holiday calories, and give back to others.

A silly, hilly out and back course that will take in the neighborhood light displays.

Presented by Running Fit.

Open Meditation

There are two 20 minute sits, the first guided and the second silent, with discussion and questions in between. They are currently discussing readings from Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Wherever You Go There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life. No need to buy the book. Appropriate for beginners and experts alike.

28 monday

Stretch Buddies

5:15pm. Ringstar Studio, 3907 Varsity Dr. 585-307-0402. a2ringstar. com Free

Lifting weights is all well and good, but without proper stretching, the body get’s thrown all out whack. This 45-minute class is primarily focused on group stretches, designed to increase flexibility in a relaxed and collaborative atmosphere.

New app makes biking even better Biking is not only eco-friendly, but it’s often the best way to get around Ann Arbor. Thanks to a partnership between My City Bikes and bike shops, Midwest Bike & Tandems and Transition Rack, ditching the car has never been easier. A new app, My City Bikes Ann Arbor, can be downloaded for free on Apple or Android devices with the best cycling routes organized into categories like quickest commute, best sightseeing, fitness rides, or just plain old fun. The app will also provide information on basic bike maintenance and advice from local biking experts, from shopping tips to up-to-date trail news. For more information about the app, or to download, visit mycitybikes.org/ michigan. — ZM

2 wednesday

Health Insurance Options for Michiganders 7pm. Ann Arbor District Library Downtown, 343 S. Fifth Ave. 734-327-4200. aadl.org Free Come learn more about your health insurance options at this event, led by representatives of the Washtenaw Health Initiative. This session will provide information about health insurance options and will also provide information to refer community members to services that can directly enroll people into the coverage they’re eligible for.

8 tuesday

Grief 101 7pm. Ann Arbor District Library Pittsfield Branch, 2359 Oak Valley Dr. 734-327-4200. aadl.org Free The session will help examine what is normal during the grief process, strategies for coping, suggestions for self-care, and what support is available.

14 monday Cold Weather Biking 7pm. Ypsilanti District Library, 5577 Whittaker Rd. 734-4824110. ems.ypsilibrary.org Free We will also discuss indoor cycling, using your own bicycle on a wind trainer, and tips for riding at night. Sponsored by the City of Ypsilanti Non-Motorized Advisory Committee.

15 tuesday

Relapse Prevention 7:30pm. St. Joseph Mercy Hospital Education Center, 5305 Elliott Dr. 734-4858725. dawnfarm.org Free This program will discuss the dynamics of relapse, factors that contribute to relapse, signs that may forewarn of relapse, how to develop a relapse prevention plan and creative, effective strategies to handle both everyday and high-risk situations.

26 saturday

Aerobic Dance 9:30am. St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, 5301 McAuley Dr. 734-668-7260. stjoeshealth. org Free Jacki Sorenson Aerobic Dance offers a complete and safe workout including stretching, floor work, flexibility, 30 minutes of sustained aerobic activity and cool down.

Searchable lists updated daily at ecurrent.com

ecurrent.com / december 2015 45

GAME SHOW Across 1. Fell off 6. “A Visit From the Goon Squad” author Jennifer 10. Nigerian prince’s offering, e.g.

14. Notorious R.B.G. colleague 15. Clue weapon 16. “Or ___ what?”

17. Herman Hesse novel that takes place in India 19. Turned on the waterworks 20. Bad news for an article with a clickbait headline 22. Broadcast 23. Place to pick up a bouquet 26. Thing passed around at a party 28. “My Fair Lady” composer Frederick 30. Modern pentathlon weapons 31. “The body is a temple” philosopher 37. Office drone 38. Spot in the laundry room 39. You shouldn’t lie under it 43. Wired subject?

46. When Ophelia dies, in “Hamlet” 49. Camera setting 50. Louis Prima standard covered by David Lee Roth 56. “You got it, cap’n” 57. Popular frightwig 58. Drink often served with a lime 59. Bone: Pref.

61. Indie band that took its name from a Robert De Niro film ... and a hint to this puzzle’s theme 67. See 3-Down 68. Broadway’s Prof. ‘iggins 69. Warfare tactic 70. “Divergent” hero ___ Prior 71. ___ majesté 72. Mobil’s partner

6. Flub 7. Mopey kids dressed in black 8. Ladybug’s prey 9. “Ni-i-i-ice” 10. Put into stitches 11. Chop in two 12. Strive toward 13. Oxford lengths 18. Dish ___-look pass 21. Taken in 23. Go head over heels 24. Heavy reading?

25. Band’s first recording 26. Egg producer 27. Throw casually 29. Question after “I was going to throw this away” 32. Pac-12 school 33. Biblical ending 34. French film composer Francis 35. Family 36. “You were saying?”

40. “___ girl” 41. “The Iliad” setting 42. PR agent’s job 44. FEMA mission, briefly 45. Locale for some anal probes 46. First four-time Indianapolis 500 winner 47. Pointer on a laptop 48. 2005 Best Foreign Language Film from South Africa

Down 1. Limp Bizkit guitarist Borland 2. Fighter with the career stat 56-5 3. With 67-Across, Royals manager 4. Termination 5. Dash, syllable-wise

46

december

2015 / ecurrent.com

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30 32

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36 39

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57 59

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51. “Incompleteness theorem” mathematician Kurt 52. 2011 hurricane 53. Attendees 54. Deli order 55. ___-di-dah 60. 45-Down operators 62. Wear and tear 63. Strike from the record 64. Person from Pasadena, familiarly

63

64

65. Thing that can be bruised and stroked 66. “The Force Awakens” character Kylo ___

for crossword answers, go to ecurrent.com

©2015 By Brendan Emmett Quigley (www.brendanemmettquigley.com)

crossword

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