First Things

Something Musical

Stulberg Competition to be held virtually

For the 46th year, talented young string musicians will compete in the Stulberg International String Competition for monetary awards and opportunities to perform with symphony orchestras. But for the second year, due to Covid-19, the competition will be conducted online instead of in person at its usual location at Western Michigan University’s Dalton Center Recital Hall.

Beginning at noon May 22, the competition judges will view submitted digital videos from the 12 semifinalists and decide the winners of this prestigious competition. Audience members at home will be able to see and hear all 12 of these young artists compete and hear the winner announced. On May 23, the public will be able to observe master classes.

To view this livestreamed event, visit stulberg.org for details.

Something Fun

Event celebrates WMed’s first decade

This is good medicine: The WMU Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine will celebrate its first 10 years and the retirement of its founding dean, Hal B. Jenson, in a live virtual gala starting at 3:30 p.m. May 27.

The event will feature special guests, including Dr. Mehmet Oz, TV host Tom Bergeron and Grammy Award-winning artists Paula Abdul and Ne-Yo. The event, hosted by Kalamazoo philanthropists William D. Johnston, Ronda E. Stryker and William and Barbara Parfet, will also feature speeches by internationally recognized medical professionals as well as Kalamazoo business, civic and philanthropic leaders.

To join the virtual event, register at med.wmich. edu/WMedLive2021. No tickets are being sold, but donations are being accepted at registration.

Something Vintage

Rally features vintage travel trailers

If you are a Tin Can Tourist or just dream of being one, you can check out restored and retro vintage campers at the Vintage Travel Trailer Rally from 9 a.m.–4 p.m. May 15 at the Gilmore Car Museum.

Those with retro trailers that are 25 years or older are invited to display them and camp overnight on the main show fields at the museum. (On-site camping for those with modern trailers and RVs will also be available in a separate area on the Gilmore grounds.) In addition, vendors specializing in vintage campers will be part of the rally.

The rally coincides with the outdoor Corks & Crafts Wine and Beer Festival, which will also be held on the museum grounds and will feature wine and beer sampling, food and live music.

To register or purchase tickets for these events or for more information, visit gilmorecarmuseum.org.

Something Fresh

Farmers markets open

Get your baskets and eco-friendly bags ready because the area’s outdoor farmers markets open for business this month.

The Kalamazoo Farmers Market, which begins its season May 1, will be held at a new temporary location, Mayors’ Riverfront Park, 251 Mills St. The market’s usual location, on Bank Street, is undergoing a major renovation, which is expected to last the duration of the 2021 season. The market will be open from 7 a.m.–2 p.m. Saturdays, and the layout will be similar to that of the Bank Street location but have room for 30 additional vendors. Starting in June, it will also be open 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesdays and noon-5 p.m. Thursdays. The popular night market, held the third Thursday of the month, will also begin in June at the new location. For more information, visit pfcmarkets.com.

The “Fresh on Q” Farmers Market in Texas Corners begins its season May 8 at 7110 West Q Ave. The market is open from 8 a.m.–noon Saturdays through Oct. 16 and 4–7 p.m. Tuesdays from June 1–Aug. 3.

The Portage Farmers Market will open for the season on May 9 at Portage City Hall, 7900 S. Westnedge Ave. The market is open from 10 a.m.–2 p.m. every Sunday until Oct. 24.

All three markets will be taking precautions to prevent the spread of Covid-19, including requiring masks, providing hand sanitizer at entry points and practicing social distancing.

Those who’ve been missing live theater will be glad to know the actors at the Civic Theatre are treading back onto the boards with two livestreamed plays.

Performances of Almost, Maine, which began April 30, run through May 6. The play, by John Cariana, explores love and loss in a remote, mythical town through nine loosely connected stories. Show times this month are 7:30 p.m. May 1, 5 and 6 and 2 p.m. May 2.

Later in the month, you can romp along with Robin Hood and the Heroes of Sherwood Forest, as the Civic Youth Theatre presents three livestreamed performances, at 7:30 p.m. May 14 and 2 p.m. May 15 and 16. This Randy Wyatt adaptation of the well-known story combines characters and elements from several medieval texts and gives them a modern twist.

Tickets for each play are on a name-your-price basis, beginning at $5. For tickets or more information, visit kazoocivic.com.

Something Delicious

Virtual Baking Show to raises funds for scholarships

Dough won’t be the only thing getting raised in Kalamazoo Valley Community College’s Virtual Baking Show May 13. The online program will also raise funds for student scholarships at KVCC.

Chef Cory Barrett, co-director of KVCC’s culinary arts and the 2019 Food Network Spring Baking Champion, and KVCC President L. Marshall Washington are teaming up to make a chocolate sweet potato tart during the 30-minute baking demonstration. The program will also include messages from past scholarship recipients and members of the KVCC Foundation Board.

The show begins at 7 p.m. Tickets are $40 and can be purchased at kvcc. edu/foundation.

Something Theatrical

Civic offers livestreamed performances

Something to Crow About

Encore stories, photos win MPA awards

The Father of

Legal Pot

20 | ENCORE Helen and Bob Coleman, of Portage, encourage togetherness. When Encore photographer Brian K. Powers saw an item on the national television news about a Wisconsin photographer taking porch portraits during the COVID-19 stay-athome restrictions, he knew he wanted to do the same thing in our community. He immediately set up a Facebook page and website, invited his friends to be photographed and asked them to invite others. He expected a dozen or two to take him up on it. Instead, he shot more than 130 portraits in two weeks. For The Porch Portrait Project, Powers offered to take pictures of families or individuals on the front porches of their homes. He asked the subjects to make signs with messages to hold, and he photographed them holding the signs. Once the picture with the signs was taken, he had the subjects drop the signs, posed them and created a more traditional family portrait. Powers says he shot all of the photos with a long lens so that he could stay 20 feet away from the subjects. “It was a very safe distance,” he says. “There was no physical contact whatsoever between the subjects and me.” Powers encouraged people from multiple houses in various neighborhoods to take advantage of his offer, and many did. “I would take a portrait, jump in the car, drive to the next house, take the portrait, and jump in the car to go to the next house,” he says. Powers ended up taking shots of people from all over Kalamazoo and Portage and from all walks of life. He didn’t take the photos for profit. Instead, he gave all of the participants the digital images for free. But when more strict stay-at-home orders were issued on March 23, Powers put the project on hold, but says when the order is lifted, he will complete the project and take portraits of the remaining registered families. “It is so fun to do,” Powers says. “People were loving it, and I loved it. It just felt good to bring them some joy during this time.” To see more of Powers’ portraits, visit The Porch Project Group on Facebook at bit.ly/2VLpvb5. Porch Portraits FEBRUARY 2020 by CHRIS KILLIAN Martin Chilcutt helped make marijuana mainstream Under cover of darkness on a Sunday evening, when police presence was at its lowest, Martin Chilcutt pulled his car into a North Denver shopping center parking lot, turned off the engine and waited for his contact to arrive. When he did, the man told Chilcutt to give him his keys and then instructed him to head inside the store for at least a half hour — to buy a few things, pretend to browse, anything really, as long as he didn't draw attention to himself. Chilcutt emerged from the store at the agreed-upon time, took back his keys, started the engine and drove into the night — carefully. Martin Chilcutt on the deck of his Kalamazoo home.

Brian Powers

www.encorekalamazoo.com | 21

‘We’re Still Recognition of Kalamazoo’s indigenous roots has been ‘a long time coming’HERE’ Traveling west on Whites Road past the Kalamazoo Country Club, the road veers left, splitting into a triangular intersection. Whites Road continues straight ahead, ending at Oakland Drive, while back at the intersection the main road becomes Parkview Avenue, which straightens out after the curve and continues in a neat line to Oshtemo Township. Those unfamiliar with historic documents may think little of this switch in roads, but there’s a story behind the concrete. Parkview Avenue follows Kalamazoo’s original boundary line, while Whites Road was once the boundary line of a reservation that belonged to the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians, otherwise known as the Gun Lake Tribe, which is now located less than 30 miles away. by KARA NORMAN www.encorekalamazoo.com | 21 Encore was the recipient of several awards in the Michigan Press Association’s 2020 Better Newspaper Contest, including four first-place honors. The contest recognizes quality journalism by media across the state. As a monthly magazine, Encore competes in the Class D category Members of the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of the Pottawatomi Indians, also known as the Gun Lake Tribe, pictured here at the tribe's annual pow wow, are descendants of the original indigenous people who lived in Southwest Michigan. Courtesy photo. for weekly news media. www.encorekalamazoo.com | 25 In the Feature Story category, writer 24 | ENCORE NOVEMBER 2019 Chris Killian took home first place for “The Father of Legal

Pot,” which explored Martin Chilcutt’s lifelong effort to legalize marijuana. It was published in the February 2020 issue. Kara Norman earned third-place honors for her piece “‘We’re

Still Here,’” which looked at Kalamazoo’s indigenous roots. It was published in November 2019. Photographer Brian K. Powers’ poignant “Porch Portraits” of families during the

Covid-19 lockdown in the spring of 2020 nabbed first place in the Photo Story category. It was featured in Encore’s May 2020 issue. The Homefront: Confronting Kalamazoo’s

Homelessness Crisis, a deep-dive, solutions-oriented journalistic collaboration of Encore and Now Kalamazoo, won several top awards as well. With reporting by Ben

Lando, Chris Killian and Miranda Drake, The Homefront won first place in the Special Section category, first place for News Enterprise Reporting, and third place for

Government and Education Reporting. The Homefront even did well competing with the state’s major media, including the Detroit Free Press and MLive, snagging an honorable mention in the Public Service Award

Open Class. Lando was the lead editor and publisher on the project, with Encore providing photography, design, editing and production as well as initially hosting the content on encorekalamazoo.com (it can also be found at nowkalamazoo.com/the-homefront). The Michigan Press Association has 320 members, including print and digital media outlets across the state. The 2020 Better Newspaper Contest recognized work published between August 2019 and July 2020. You can find Encore’s winning stories at encorekalamazoo.com.

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