November 2020 Print by Shepherd Express

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NOVEMBER 2020

THE NUTCRACKER ER NOV

SATURDAY 5:30 PM NCE VIRTUAL PERFOMANCE

Celebrate t he Season WITH FOOD, GIFTS AND THE ARTS

PUBLISHER'S LETTER

These are Not E asy T imes

We are now one down in our trifecta or will soon be once the ballots are all counted. Regarding the other two, we can’t successfully rebuild our economy without first getting the virus under control, so please pay attention to what the scientists are saying. There is pretty much consensus among the worldwide science community. Only a widely available and administered effective vaccine will begin to address our other two stressors. In the meantime, science is telling us what we as individuals can do to protect ourselves and those around us, like mask wearing so we can minimize the spread of this serious virus and the deaths. Following the advice of the science community will help us avoid having to shut down the economy which will have long-term devastating effects. Talk to someone who is a frontline hospital worker treating COVID-19 patients. They are begging us to accept the inconveniences and follow the protocols as they risk their lives every day treating some of the sickest COVID-19

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patients. We have already lost far too many of our fellow citizens, and it’s not a peaceful way to die.

NEXT YEAR AT THIS TIME IT WILL BE DIFFERENT Our economy will come back after we have administered an effective vaccine, but it won’t happen overnight. There will be some changes in our economy, hopefully some good changes, since we have begun to learn some things that will carry on after we return to normalcy. Unfortunately, there will be many small businesses like some of our favorite restaurants or coffeeshops that won’t make it. If we can get another Federal COVID-19 Relief Bill, there will be fewer evictions, suicides, children suffering malnutrition, business closures and additional layoffs. As a former economics professor, I can assure you that our economy can easily handle the additional two trillion dollars for the relief bill. The federal debt is not like debt our households or businesses may have. What we can’t afford is to not provide this assistance. We went into huge debt in World War II and came out with a very strong economy. Government spending went up significantly in the great recession and a 10-year period of growth followed. Hopefully when you pick up a copy of the November Shepherd, a Federal relief bill will have been signed. We will get through this and we will come out stronger if we pull together as a people. America can do amazing things when we come together with a purpose. I think our country has awakened to the fact that there are a lot of our fellow citizens, both rural and urban, who are feeling left behind and it’s not fair, it’s not necessary and it’s weakening us as a country. We have to

quit making everything a partisan issue, actually try to listen to each other, question our sources of news and information, listen to the worldwide scientific consensus and show some compassion for each other.

WE WILL GET THROUGH THIS AND WE WILL COME OUT STRONGER IF WE PULL TOGETHER AS A PEOPLE. AMERICA CAN DO AMAZING THINGS WHEN WE COME TOGETHER WITH A PURPOSE. On a personal level, surveys are showing that over two thirds of us consider ourselves to be highly stressed. We need to understand what we can control and what we can’t, and we need to “cut some slack” for ourselves since these are objectively tough times. Please try to be kinder to yourself and your neighbors. We will get through this, and we can hopefully come out of this much better people. Again, we are all in this together. Louis Fortis Publisher/Editor-on-Chief

Photo by Tyler Nelson

his publication went to the printer on Tuesday, a week before election day, and the printed copies were delivered to us on November 4. The voting is over, but the counting may not be. As we enter this holiday season, which is supposed to be a joyful time, it has instead become a very stressful time for most people. The election was hyper-partisan and divisive, causing many an argument among friends and family that might take months or years to heal. We are in the middle of a lethal pandemic, which is hopefully only about a once in a century phenomenon, and with a pandemic comes a very serious recession. We are experiencing a Super-Stressful Trifecta.

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NEWS 08 The Miracle on Ninth Street 12

Why is Milwaukee a Hub of Human Trafficking?

The Modern World

Kids Are Getting a Better Education than We Ever Did — Taking Liberties

Is Non-Political State Supreme Court Justice Hagedorn a Solid Conservative? Issue of the Month

20 Milwaukee Art Museum Expands Cultural Outreach — Off the Cuff

22 MCW’s Syed Ahmed Partners with the Community to Address More than Symptoms — Hero of the Month

FOOD & DRINK 26 COVID Dining in the Cold Season 28 Restaurants and Grocery Stores Make Holiday Meals Easy 32 Adventures in Baking a Pumpkin Pie Flash in the Pan 34 Is Scotch the World’s Most Miscast Libation? — Beverages

36 Holiday Arts Guide 40 Holiday Gift Guide 48 Small Business Saturday Guide 50 Best of Milwaukee Finalists

CULTURE 62 John Sieger Does Not Believe in Writer’s Block

66 MSO Opens Virtual Season in the New Bradley Symphony Center

LIFESTYLE 72 How Can We Think About Being Thankful? — Out of my Mind 74 Hemp Infuses the Sparkling Water in Untitled Art’s Beverages — Cannabis

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78 Create the Perfect Guest Room Domicile

HEAR ME OUT

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80 Get Your Gobble On and Celebrate Dear Ruthie 82 The First of December Is World AIDS Day — My LGBTQ POV 84 Make Plans for the Progress Awards

ART FOR ART'S SAKE 86 From the City that Always Sweeps

Cover Illustration by Melissa Johnston

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Photo Courtesy of the Medical College of Wisconsin

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80 PUBLISHER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Louis Fortis (ext. 3802) GENERAL MANAGER: Kevin Gardner (ext. 3825)

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November 2020

NEWS

T he Miracle

ON NINTH STREET UCC’S 50 YEARS OF SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY

By David L uhrssen

All photography was taken pre-COVID.

he year 1970 marked a turning point for Latinx Americans. César Chávez’s United Farm Workers marched for the rights of migrant workers, and the Chicano Moratorium, which brought 30,000 protestors to the streets of Los Angeles, focused national attention on discrimination. In Milwaukee, Latinx students occupied the office of UW-Milwaukee’s chancellor. More quietly, on the city’s South Side, a neighborhood center called The Spot provided a haven where teens could gather. A year later, The Spot took the more authoritative name of United Community Center (UCC) and began a process that shows how great things can grow from humble beginnings. Although The Spot originated as a religious outreach program in the 1960s and the United Community Center took its name in 1971, the UCC’s board of directors chose 2020 as its 50th anniversary date and prepared for the celebration. “We had

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Photography by Jill Sanchez

an amazing gala planned out at Northwestern Mutual, a very fancy event—and then COVID hit,” says Executive Director Laura Gutiérrez. “We rescheduled for fall, and as COVID continued, we decided we won’t be able to make it happen.” Instead, UCC streamed a video. “To try to cram all that we do into a 45-minute video was tough, but our team is creative. We went from a large expensive venue to a low-budget movie,” she continues.

GUTIÉRREZ: “WE ARE 100% GENERATED BY THE NEEDS OF THE PEOPLE WE SERVE.” In a way, it was back to UCC’s modest roots, even as those roots continue to support new branches. For Gutiérrez, who started as executive director on May 1, her new job was also a homecoming. She

attended the Guadeloupe School before Milwaukee’s Roman Catholic archdiocese transferred it to UCC. Through her teen years, she took part in the center’s programs, including exercise classes with her mom, and she became assistant principal at one of UCC’s schools. After a stint in state government, Gutiérrez returned as UCC’s associate executive director under her predecessor, Ricardo Diaz. Along with adjusting operations in the face of a pandemic, she supervised the construction of a new UCC facility, the Early Learning Academy at 22nd and Beecher streets, scheduled to open in April 2021. “A Greater Milwaukee Foundation study found no one in that zip code, 53215, with a college degree—and 5,000 kids under the age of five,” she says. “Educating impoverished families is part of our mission.” The heart of UCC is its sprawling campus, occupying entire blocks running east-west

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from South Sixth through South Ninth streets and north-south from West Mineral to West Washington. From a nucleus at 1028 S. Ninth Street, the UCC expanded over the decades like an old growth tree, purchasing properties to make way for a village with preschools, primary and middle schools, a senior center and elder housing, residential treatment for alcohol and drug addiction, an arts center, a restaurant and more.

THE MEANING OF COMMUNITY Asked to define the “community” in the United Community Center, Gutiérrez answers, “It means family. It means coming together even in challenging times to figure out how to render services and support our families. We ask: ‘What do you need, and how can we assist you?’”

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Ninety-seven percent of people served by UCC are Latinx, says Gutiérrez, and 75% are low income. According to VISIT Milwaukee, Latinx make up 10% of metro Milwaukee’s population, which by 2014 numbered 160,000 (compared to only 50,000 in 1970). Forty-one percent of Latinx live in areas of concentrated poverty, Gutiérrez adds. UCC board member José Olivieri explains that, despite the decline in industrial jobs, Milwaukee remains a magnet for immigrants. “It has the advantage of a big city of manageable size. It has the reputation as a good city where you can raise a family,” he says. “We serve over 2,000 people a day, from six weeks old to 106,” Gutiérrez continues, from children enrolled in early learning to seniors benefitting from the Latino Geriatric Center’s menu of health and grooming

services, meals and memory disorder clinic. More than 50 seniors live in apartments on the UCC campus, some in conjunction with the City of Milwaukee Housing Authority. Around 1,700 students are enrolled in kindergarten through eighth grade at the campus’ three schools. The list of UCC’s activities stretches page after page and includes the Neighborhood Development Initiative to encourage homeownership, a health and fitness center, college preparatory programs and more. The Latino Arts series has hosted performers and mounted exhibitions in an auditorium and gallery on Ninth Street. “The vision goes back to Walter Sava,” Gutiérrez says, referring to UCC’s executive director from 1989 through 2002. “He wanted to make sure that culture was embedded in UCC. Part of our job is to foster creativity!”

All photography was taken pre-COVID.

“What don’t you do?” I finally asked Gutiérrez. She laughs. UCC doesn’t operate a hospital but offers dental and health screenings and on-site care for elders, students and their families. Olivieri adds that job training is being done by other local organizations and that UCC has focused on academic education with the goal of seeing greater numbers of Latinx graduate from college.

BUILDING BRIDGES One explanation for UCC’s ascent from storefront to major stakeholder in the community was the willingness to collaborate with other community organizations on an agenda that transcends the conservative-liberal divide. Aside from support from United Way, UCC works on targeted programs with Carrol University, the Sixteenth Street Community Health Center, the Medical College of Wisconsin, UW-Milwaukee, Milwaukee School of Engineering, Marquette University, US Bank and many more. Badger Mutual Insurance sponsors a Wall of Fame honoring UCC’s youth for achievements in academics and leadership. “In a social services landscape littered with well-meaning failures, UCC has succeeded because of its sound and stable leadership, its fundraising expertise and its commitment to a comprehensive vision,” says Milwaukee historian John Gurda. Olivieri agrees. “Ricardo Diaz and Background Image by Arthit_Longwilai/Getty Images

Photography by Jill Sanchez

Walter Sava did an outstanding job of leading and managing. Also, the population has grown so quickly, and the need for services has grown with it.” “We are 100% generated by the needs of the people we serve,” Gutiérrez says. “Let’s see where people are walking before we build the path. With every idea, we ask ourselves, ‘Does it mesh with our mission to improve lives in our community and help people fulfill their potential?’” With education as one of its core values, UCC works with parents to help them pay their children’s tuition at UCC’s schools. Says Gutiérrez, “We educate parents as to assistance that might be available based on their income and situation. We also work to alleviate health disparities. Our nurse practitioners educate parents on immunization. We try to remove barriers for families and help parents be part of their children’s success.”

PANDEMIC PIVOT “Many of our families are essential workers,” Gutiérrez says, commenting on COVID’s impact on low-income families unable to work from home. As much as possible, UCC retained staff and found new tasks for them. Although Café el Sol remains closed to the public, its kitchen is open to staff and residents, and although the adult day care center had to close, the

drivers who brought seniors to the facility deliver meals to them instead. Education continues. Currently, some students are attending classes in distanced settings on campus, and others are learning remotely. Hasn’t remote learning been most adverse for children from low-income families? “We invested in technology,” Gutiérrez says, buying Chromebooks for students and organizing “hot spots” where small groups of kids can gather and study. “We had the dedication and drive to call every family member and ask, ‘What do you need?’ Every child who needed a safe hot spot got a hot spot.” Recently, the UCC remodeled a facility in the Ninth Street basement named The Spot in honor of its roots. It’s a study center with Wi-Fi and access to counselors for answering questions on college admissions, scholarships and more. “Everything started small, but our board had the vision of UCC as a pillar of the Hispanic community,” Gutiérrez concludes. “I’m sure there was trial and error, but they were always about the results—to serve the most needy and transform lives.”

David Luhrssen is Managing Editor of the Shepherd Express and taught History of Wisconsin at Milwaukee Area Technical College. November 2020

NEWS

WHY IS MILWAUKEE A HUB

FOR HUMAN TRAFFICKING? BY JEAN-GABRIEL FERNANDEZ

THE MAGNITUDE OF THE PROBLEM

he Human Trafficking Institute recently ranked Wisconsin as sixth in the nation for human trafficking cases. This report is just the latest in a long line of studies that determined that the Badger State, and Milwaukee in particular, is a hotspot of human trafficking. As defined in federal law by the Victims of Trafficking Protection Act of 2000, human trafficking involves either sex trafficking—a commercial sex act that is obtained through force, fraud or coercion—or forced labor obtained through similar means. Human trafficking is classified as a felony carries a maximum sentence of 15 years plus 10 years of extended supervision. Trafficking a child carries a maximum sentence of 25 years. “One of the challenges when attempting to quantify the prevalence of human trafficking is that there is more than one definition of human trafficking at play in the criminal justice system. There are federal offenses of human trafficking, state human trafficking offenses, and elements of both that fit additional offense definitions,” reports the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DoJ). Wisconsin law offers a broader definition of human trafficking than federal law. Another problem is recognizing what is or isn’t human trafficking. For many people, the concept of human trafficking is limited to a Hollywoodized concept. “People imagine it’s either something that only hits poor marginalized people, or it's someone getting kidnapped off the streets and flown to other countries, but that’s definitely not the case,” says Kate Knowlton,

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Officially, the Milwaukee District Attorney’s office gets “between 40 and 50 referrals per year” and charges “more than half of them,” according to Karshen. Additionally, federal prosecutors handled 17 active criminal human trafficking cases in Wisconsin in 2019. executive director of Milwaukee’s LOTUS Legal Clinic, which offers free legal services to victims of trafficking. “We don’t want to believe that sex trafficking happens by people who know that kid or are supposed to love that kid, but you've got trafficking inside of families. It happens inside Girl Scout troops and inside church communities,” Knowlton continues. “It happens in plain sight because there are vulnerabilities that are exploited by people in positions of authority and trust.” Human trafficking can look like women openly selling their bodies, but it can also look like a school kid being manipulated by an upperclassman or a young girl under the control of an older relative. Most victims are not kidnapped and forcefully brought out of their homes, but they are taken advantage of for the perpetrator’s profit. “The average age for a child—this is a national statistic, but it is anecdotally pretty consistent with Milwaukee—is about 11 to 13 when they get involved in trafficking,” explains Erin Karshen, Milwaukee County Assistant District Attorney and team captain of the Sensitive Crimes Unit. “Some victims don't see it as trafficking, they don't think that they're being trafficked.”

In what might be the most comprehensive look at human trafficking data yet—although it is limited to minor and young adult victims—the Milwaukee Homicide Review Commission identified 340 individuals confirmed or believed to have been victims of trafficking in Milwaukee from 2013 to 2016. Over that four-year period, on average, one victim of human trafficking, aged 25 or younger, was found in Milwaukee every four days. This doesn’t include older victims or victims that were not identified, meaning that the real number is realistically much higher. “Human trafficking beat out weapons trade in terms of the top three international criminal activities,” Knowlton notes. “It used to be, in order, drugs, guns and people, but it's now: drugs, people and guns. Unlike drugs and guns, people are reusable commodities, so your supply is kind of renewable, despicable as it is.” The vast majority of sex trafficking victims in Milwaukee are women (97% of confirmed cases with demographic information in 2013-2016). Additionally, 65% are black, and 86% interacted with the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) for another incident like sexual assault, domestic violence, drug crimes or missing reports. A geographical look at human trafficking

Photo by qunamax/Getty Images

shows that, among youths trafficked in Milwaukee, 97% were known to last reside in Wisconsin, and 88% lived in the City of Milwaukee itself. In Milwaukee, a majority of the identified victims were trafficked in just six zip codes, including 53206, which has more than 95% of black residents. Black and Hispanic neighborhoods have a higher number of trafficked residents. However, that is not to say that only these areas are at risk: The study identified that certain areas “have characteristics that allow trafficking to flourish.” For instance, the zip code 53207 had a cluster of cases where the victims were trafficked away from their area of residence. The research-

ers offer the explanation that “proximity to the airport and I-94 make it easy to get in and out of these neighborhoods.” “Human trafficking happens in all 72 of Wisconsin counties,” Karshen says. “It happens all over the United States, whether people want to admit it or not, but Milwaukee is absolutely a hotspot for human trafficking. That is based on two things, in my opinion: One is the geographical location; we're 90 miles from Chicago, or two hours from the Dells, and once you go to the Dells, you can go right to Minneapolis and then to North Dakota. That is kind of a super-highway for human trafficking because there are a lot of people working

there away from their families. The second part is that human trafficking is something that has just been around for so long that it is embedded in our community.” Continued Next Month In the December edition of the Shepherd Express magazine, find out what we can do about human trafficking.

Jean-Gabriel Fernandez is a French journalist and graduate from La Sorbonne University. He writes about politics, cannabis and Milwaukee’s rich culture.

November 2020

NEWS TAKING LIBERTIES

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When I think back on all the crap I learned in high school, it’s a wonder I can think at all.” That’s the opening line of “Kodachrome,” a popular song by Paul Simon, that spoke directly to many of us as young adults in 1973 as we were entering what we laughingly called the real world. After decades of hearing rightwing politicians attack public schools, it’s easy to forget that kids today are receiving a much better education than we ever did. There’s a reason why students are way ahead of many adults in recognizing the existential crisis of climate change for the survival of the planet and the threat of political extremism to American democracy. It’s not because they’re being indoctrinated by leftist radicals in our schools and universities. It’s because they’re learning more about the real history of their country instead of being fed fairy tales about how George Washington couldn’t tell a lie when he chopped down that cherry tree. Needless to say, rightwing politicians who built their careers on attacking public education to reduce funding for schools (and their own taxes) aren’t pleased about this tremendous educational improvement. And whenever extremists are angry, President Trump is always eager to inflame their anger further.

MANGLING AMERICAN HISTORY Never mind that there couldn’t be a more unqualified authority on education than Trump. It’s become a highly amusing Fourth of July tradition for Trump to mangle American history on the National Mall. My favorite was in 2019, when Trump described Gen. George Washington’s military genius after he survived the winter in Valley Forge, crossed the Delaware and “took over the airports” from the British in 1776 to win the Revolutionary War. Who can forget the bloody Battle of the Baggage Claim? In another speech on history, Trump cited Christopher Columbus for discovering

Illustrations by Tess Brzycki

America in 1492 after sailing the ocean blue. Actually, Columbus landed in the Bahamas, but he didn’t really discover them since there were already people living there as well as in America. Trump also paid tribute to abolitionist Frederick Douglass as “an example of somebody who’s done an amazing job and is being recognized more and more.” Most amazing, of course, was that Douglass was still doing such a great job at the advanced age of 200. Ignorance about American history hasn’t stopped Trump from promising to create a national commission on education to create “a pro-American curriculum that celebrates the truth about our nation’s great history” so children will no longer be “taught to hate their own country… Many young Americans have been fed lies about America being a wicked nation plagued by racism.” So there goes Black History Month, the shortest month of the year traditionally set aside to teach students that black history has always been part of America’s history. It’s tempting to blame Trump for openly appealing to the virulent racism within the Republican Party but, speaking of history, that’s been an intentional Republican tactic ever since Richard Nixon’s successful Southern Strategy attracted Democratic racists alienated by their party’s embrace of civil rights under President Lyndon Johnson. Trump was simply much cruder and more obvious about it.

SLAVERY, BAD? In 2014, the College Board, administering exams for Advanced Placement high school courses, updated its standards for teaching Advanced Placement U.S. History. The Republican National Committee condemned those changes for including “negative aspects of our nation’s history.” Ben Carson, an African American brain surgeon honing his skills for a second lucrative career as a rightwing motivational speaker, joined the opposition, claiming that, by the

time students finished such a course, “they’d be ready to sign up for ISIS.” Carson, Trump’s kind of African American, is now Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, one of the few black persons in Trump’s entire administration. Carson was upset that Advanced Placement courses included “a whole section of slavery and how evil we are. A whole section about Japanese internment camps. A whole section about how we wiped out American Indians with no mercy.” How many Americans are seriously opposed to students being taught about those egregious violations of everything we’ve always claimed American democracy should be? How can well-educated, responsible citizens avoid repeating the mistakes of the past if they never learn about them? Ever since the U.S. Supreme Court stopped enforcing the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision to racially integrate public schools, many schools have re-segregated. But that hasn’t stopped the U.S. population itself from becoming increasingly racially diverse, even in formerly all-white suburbs and small towns. Education should always teach students about the world around them and how it got that way. That’s why they call it education. Today’s racially diverse students are fortunate to be learning a lot more than we did growing up about how to be active citizens and critical thinkers. We should pay teachers better for their priceless contribution to democracy.

Joel McNally was a critic and columnist for the Milwaukee Journal for 27 years. He has written the weekly Taking Liberties column for the Shepherd Express since 1996.

November 2020

NEWS ISSUE OF THE MONTH

IS NON-POLITICAL STATE SUPREME COURT JUSTICE HAGEDORN

A SOLID CONSERVATIVE? BY ANDREW HYSELL

eople ask whether Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Brian Hagedorn is a conservative judge. Charles Benson from Channel 4 posed the question this way: “What would you say to people who thought, ‘Well gee, I thought he was the conservative judge.’ What's up with Justice Hagedorn?”

Yes, everyone, Justice Hagedorn is a conservative judge. In August, Hagedorn spoke unapologetically to a virtual meeting of attorneys from the progressive-leaning American Constitution Society (ACS). Regarding his judicial philosophy, “I’m an originalist and a textualist,” Hagedorn said. “Textualism means the law means what is says. Originalism points to what it meant when drafted.”

STAY AT HOME? When Hagedorn wrote in support of Governor Evers’ stay-at-home order, former state Representative Adam Jarchow tweeted that “Conservatives have been snookered.” Because the outcome of

Hagedorn’s decision conflicted with the goal of the Republican legislature, he lost his conservative club card. The error with Jarchow’s logic is that it defines the legal reasoning of a decision based upon its political or policy outcome

JUDGES CALLING THEMSELVES TEXTUALISTS AND ORIGINALISTS ARE BOUND TO SAY WHAT THE LAW MEANS WITHIN A RESTRICTED SET OF PARAMETERS. These two theories of legal interpretation come from conservative thinkers. The late conservative lion of the Supreme Court, Justice Antonin Scalia, was a strong proponent of both. Hagedorn’s ideas also square with the judicial philosophy of ACS’s counterpart, the Federalist Society. The conservative legal organization states that courts function properly when they are “applying the law impartially according to its text and original public meaning.” So why are people questioning whether Hagedorn is conservative? The answer is simple. Hagedorn is not a guaranteed vote for the Republican legislature. Therefore, he is not considered a reliable political conservative, regardless of the type of judicial review he applies.

Illustration by Ali Bachmann

November 2020

NEWS ISSUE OF THE MONTH

Photo by mpilecky/Getty Images

rather than the reasoning itself. Ironically, this outcome-based view has been frequently criticized by conservatives in other contexts as “judicial activism,” or when a judge substitute's her or his own opinion for the law to achieve specific political or policy outcomes. Judges calling themselves textualists and originalists are bound to say what the law means within a restricted set of parameters. Neither theory allows casual interpretations of legal text to achieve the pursuit of policy or political agendas. It is therefore entirely possible that a conservative judge could rule against a Republican litigant and do so while being quintessentially “conservative.”

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THE ERROR WITH JARCHOW’S LOGIC IS THAT IT DEFINES THE LEGAL REASONING OF A DECISION BASED UPON ITS POLITICAL OR POLICY OUTCOME RATHER THAN THE REASONING ITSELF. To his credit, Hagedorn’s former boss, Governor Scott Walker, apparently saw the distinction. According to Walker, “Everything I’ve seen in the past is he’s going to be consistently conservative. Not politically. He's going to consistently be in the camp of believing the Constitution is the ultimate guide.”

As Hagedorn continues to “call balls and strikes”—a famous quote of Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts—he seems unphased by the ire directed at him. Maybe Hagedorn just assumes it comes with the territory, calling it as he sees it and letting the judicial chips fall where they may.

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But, no matter what, it is accurate to answer the question and say that, yes, Justice Hagedorn is a conservative judge.

Andrew Hysell is a graduate of Carroll College and Georgetown University Law School and a former Congressional staffer.

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NEWS OFF THE CUFF

M ilwaukee Art Museum

EXPANDS CULTURAL OUTREACH OFF THE CUFF WITH CURATOR OF COMMUNITY DIALOGUE KANTARA SOUFFRANT BY DAVID LUHRSSEN

he Milwaukee Art Museum is no stranger to multicultural programming and has provided educational opportunities and outreach to all Milwaukeeans for many years. However, one of the lessons of Black Lives Matter is that many institutions need to take good intentions—and positive actions—to the next level. With that in mind, the Museum has created a new position, Curator of Community Dialogue, to further expand its engagement with Milwaukeeans and local organizations representing all backgrounds. Off the Cuff interviewed the Museum’s newly hired Curator of Community Dialogue, Kantara Souffrant. She begins work on January 4, 2021. TELL ME ABOUT YOUR BACKGROUND. WHERE DID YOU GROW UP? CAN YOU DESCRIBE THE INFLUENCE OF YOUR HAITIAN HERITAGE ON YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE MEANING OF ART? Being of Haitian ancestry doesn't necessarily change how I interpret art or the meaning of art. However, it does make me more sensitive to the role art can play in representing marginalized people. I was born in Brooklyn, New York, and grew up in New Jersey in a large Haitian community in the 1990s. Stories about Haitian migration, deportations and politics always seemed to be in the news. In my memory, these stories, as well as the representations of Haitian people and culture on television, on the radio and in print, were always negative and one-sided—you rarely heard from Haitian people themselves. I learned not to talk about being Haitian because it led to ridicule in my schools by my peers and adults. Even today, I'm astounded by how often (and quickly) the news, television shows, literature and everyday references to Haiti only discuss Haiti as a place of “negatives.”

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These negative representations of Haiti and Haitian people did not match my home and community experience. I grew up surrounded by musicians, dancers, artists and storytellers, people who used their arts to reflect our culture and to tell more holistic stories of the Haitian experience. I grew up with art that celebrated our culture and with art as a tool for challenging negative portrayals of black people, especially Haitians. My Haitian heritage taught me to see art as a tool for telling fuller and more complicated stories than what is popularly presented as the dominant narrative or single story. YOU ARE AN ARTIST AS WELL AS AN ARTS EDUCATOR. TELL ME ABOUT YOUR ART. I consider myself an artist-scholar. Artmaking, research and writing are all critical to my work and life. I combine movement, song, folk stories, interviews and personal narratives to create what I call “embodied storytelling.” Embodied storytelling brings together all the dance and visual art training I’ve received from across the African diaspora. I’ve trained with master artists in their craft from all over the world, including master dancer and cultural historian Adenike Sharpley, with whom I studied Yoruba and Kikongo aesthetics in visual art and dance; The Jaina Family Dancers and Drummers of The Gambia; and Alousane Soumake of the National Ballet of Guinea; and Mestre João Grande of the Capoeira Angola Center, New York; Mestre Renê Bitencourt of the Associação de Capoeira Angola Navio Negreiro, Brazil; and Contra Mestre Erik “Chicago” Murray of the Low Country Capoeira Angola Society, Atlanta. Here in Milwaukee, I briefly trained with the Ko-Thi Dance Company, helmed by

Ferne Yangyeitie Caulker-Bronson. I also can’t forget my storytelling training with Ex Fabula as an Ex Fabula Fellow! All my training places African cosmologies as the foundation of artistry and performance; here, performance, art creation and communal transformation are inseparable. Fundamentally, my art—whether it is an installation or a performance—and my scholarship are ways to encourage dialogue, reflection and change. WHAT ROLE CAN ART PLAY IN SOCIAL PROGRESS? Artists are dreamers, documenters of their contemporary moment and cultural critics. I think art’s role in social progress is to be all of these things. Art helps us dream and conceive new worlds. It documents where we’ve been and where we’re going as a local and global society. Art critiques and challenges us when we, as a society, are not doing enough to ensure the safety and well-being of all people. I also think that art objects themselves can be some of the most democratic spaces for engaging in dialogue. Talking about challenging social concerns such as race or class can be a bit easier when there is a work of art that brings up social problems, and people can use that object to reflect on their own experiences, thoughts and feelings. No approach to looking at a work of art is “wrong,” and, because of this, we can listen to each other more fully when engaging with art. By extension, art advances social progress by reminding us that multiple approaches, experiences and stories can co-exist.

UNTIL RECENTLY, ART HISTORY AS IT WAS TAUGHT IN THE U.S. AND MANY OTHER PLACES OMITTED OR MARGINALIZED MUCH OF THE WORLD. DO YOU THINK THAT MOST PEOPLE TODAY HAVE A BROADER UNDERSTANDING OF CULTURES FROM ACROSS THE WORLD THAN IN THE PAST—AND IF SO, HAS THIS LED TO QUESTIONING RACIST ASSUMPTIONS IN THIS COUNTRY? I don’t think the issue is whether or not individuals are questioning racists assumptions. My experience as an arts educator, museum educator and college professor has taught me that many people are open to questioning their racial assumptions. My experiences have also taught me that many people are not interested in questioning their racial assumptions. The issue isn’t merely about the individual-level challenging of racist beliefs; it is about how public and private institutions maintain and perpetuate these racial assumptions. These institutions include schools, museums, governments and other places of influence. For example, it is hard to make a factual argument about why and how racism physically, emotionally and historically harms people when you have institutions and people in positions of authority who say, “Nothing is wrong. Everyone is fine and happy with how things are right now.”

All I can do and hope for is that my work in the arts and museums helps alter individual assumptions, eventually changing larger institutional assumptions. That’s the exciting thing

about the Curator of Community Dialogue role: collaborating with area partners to create these transformations on an individual and institutional level. CAN YOU DESCRIBE YOUR RESPONSIBILITY AS THE MILWAUKEE ART MUSEUM’S CURATOR OF COMMUNITY DIALOGUE—AND EXPLAIN WHY THE WORD “CURATOR” RATHER THAN “DIRECTOR” WAS CHOSEN FOR THE TITLE? The Curator of Community Dialogue, as the Museum describes the position, is responsible for “developing and implementing a comprehensive plan for adult community engagement, building the institution’s capacity for making art relevant to our community and delivering robust community programming, two key pillars of the Museum’s 2020 Strategic Direction.” The position will ultimately build and oversee the Department of Community Dialogue. In this role, I will also be responsible for organizing (or “curating”) pop-up exhibitions throughout the community, explaining some of why the title is “curator” rather than “director.” Further, a curator often brings together disparate things (be they objects, ideas or people) to tell a story, lend a new perspective, so the title seems fitting. For me, the Curator of Community Dialogue position is fundamentally about aiding the Milwaukee Art Museum in becoming a more accessible, culturally relevant and culturally responsive institution for all of Milwaukee. Nationally, museums are at a turning point: addressing what it means for their establishments to be seen as exclusive—catering predominately to wealthy and exclusively white audiences. As someone who previously worked at the Milwaukee Art Museum, I know the Museum tries to be a welcoming environment regardless of income, racial identity and area zip code. The Curator of Community Dialogue position is an institutional commitment to growing the Museum’s support and welcoming of Black, Latinx and Communities of Color—in our exhibitions, our programming and in the partnerships that we build. The question that drives me in this role is how can the Museum support building a stronger and healthier Milwaukee for all people? Creating new programs and curating exhibitions is one aspect of this work; the other is collaborating and listening to Black, Latinx and People of Color. I'm excited to collaborate and work alongside Milwaukeeans who are already building a vital and inclusive Milwaukee.

David Luhrssen is Managing Editor of the Shepherd Express and was the paper’s Arts and Entertainment Editor from 1994-2015.

Souffrant: “All I can do and hope for is that my work in the arts and museums helps alter individual assumptions, eventually changing larger institutional assumptions.”

Photo Credit by Rosen-Jones Photography Illustration by OvochevaZhanna/Getty Image

November 2020

Photo Courtesy of the Medical College of Wisconsin

NEWS HERO OF THE MONTH

DR. SYED AHMED

MCW’S SYED AHMED

PARTNERS WITH THE COMMUNITY TO ADDRESS MORE THAN SYMPTOMS BY ERIN BLOODGOOD

r. Syed Ahmed is a long-time physician and academic who has dedicated his career to treating patients through community engagement. He takes time to get to know his patients and determines his diagnosis once he understands their daily concerns as well as their symptoms. Based on years of research at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW), he finds it is crucial to learn about his patients’ background and life situation in order to effectively improve their health. Community engagement is a concept that is becoming more widely used in medical institutions around the country. The idea is that institutions can better improve the

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health outcomes of people by actively partnering with the communities they are working with. Academics and doctors tend to be removed from the populations they are treating. “What we do in the hospital system is very important and valuable, but it impacts only 20% of the outcome. Eighty percent of the outcome is connected to where the people are coming from,” says Dr. Ahmed. So, by listening to leaders and organizations in those communities, they can better understand the situations that cause health problems. Rather than treating the symptom, Ahmed and other physicians at MCW are trying to address the underlying problem.

OUR HEALTH GREATLY DEPENDS ON THE ENVIRONMENT WE LIVE IN AND THE SITUATIONS WE DEAL WITH IN OUR EVERYDAY LIVES. Trained in the traditional ways of medical practice, Ahmed was not always attuned to this way of thinking. He had his first eye-opening experience when he moved to a small town in Ohio after finishing his residency. He realized that cardiovascular disease was very common in this town, so he began his own program to try to help

Background Image by Chainarong Prasertthai/Getty Images

the local residents. When bringing up his ideas at a town hall, the only response he received was a question from a woman asking about where to find cheap diapers. It was then that he realized he knew nothing about the people he wanted to help, nor did he talk to any community leaders about the problem. He later found out that the county produced tobacco, which directly related to the cardiovascular problem. “You can’t do a program by yourself,” says Ahmed. “You have to get involved in the communities you are trying to serve.” That lesson led him to develop and eventually lead community engagement programs at medical institutions. He has now been at MCW for about 20 years and is the Senior Associate Dean for the Community Engagement mission.

HELPING VETERANS BEAT ADDICTION One of the ongoing community engagement projects he has helped build at MCW

is a result of partnering with Dry Hootch, an organization serving multiple needs of veterans. This program, called PROMPT (Prevention of Opioid Misuse Through Peer Training), funded through a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, was created to help veterans combat the opioid crisis that is common in their communities. From the beginning, community members were involved and giving input to MCW staff so they could better understand the opioid challenges veterans face. Through the collaboration, MCW, Dry Hootch and a third partner, Mental Health America, created a peer-to-peer training program that teaches veterans how to help friends get through challenging situations by offering social support. The meetings, trainings and support groups are held at their long-standing café on Brady Street, which offers an alcohol- and drug-free space. Our health greatly depends on the environment we live in and the situations we

deal with in our everyday lives. “To make an impact, it is important that we know our communities well—we know their aspirations, we know their problems,” says Ahmed. Our country has massive health disparities that become apparent when we look at someone’s wealth, race and zip code. Ahmed and his team are using their research and work to show us that those disparities can improve if we address health problems by involving the community from the beginning. Learn more about the Medical College of Wisconsin’s Community Engagement work, vist www.mcw.edu/departments/ community-engagement and read about Dry Hootch at www.dryhootch.org.

Erin Bloodgood is a Milwaukee photographer and storyteller. Visit bloodgoodfoto. com to see more of her work.

FOOD & DRINK

Illustration by Ali Bachmann

COVID DINING

IN THE COLD SEASON

HOW MILWAUKEE RESTAURANTS ARE MAKING THE TRANSITION FOR SERVING THEIR GUESTS THIS WINTER BY ALISA MALAVENDA

estaurants are getting creative to increase their capacity during the cold winter months. Under City of Milwaukee Health Department orders, all restaurants and bars that want to continue in-person dining must obtain approval for a safety plan. The Moving Milwaukee Forward Safety Order includes a strenuous 80-point checklist ranging from workplace policies, food safety, staff information, physical distancing and more to implement hygiene, cleaning and protective measures, policies and procedures. The local order also requires businesses to

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ensure that people remain six feet from others whenever possible. The restaurant industry, already operating on small margins, is in danger during the pandemic. Some local restaurants have closed, but many more are fighting to keep their doors open and navigate through the new mandates and guidelines. As a community, we need to support our local restaurants now more than ever, continue to order take out (not through GrubHub or other third parties!), buy gift cards and merchandise, tip the servers well, buy a friend dinner and order that dessert.

ANTIGUA Antigua earned additional revenue for catering but, according to Citlali Mendieta-Ramos, who owns the West Allis restaurant with her husband Nick, most catered events have been postponed to 2021, and those that remained on the schedule were drastically scaled down. “During the past few months, we have faced a significant decline in sales for both the restaurant and the catering,” she says. “At the beginning of the pandemic, our customers were being very supportive, but as the months passed by and the stay-

at-home order got prolonged, people realized that they might be out of a job for good, the sales declined again.” “Aside from the sales, it was very difficult to furlough our staff. We only kept two of our cooks part-time, and everyone else was furloughed. It was heartbreaking. As soon as we got our PPP loan, we brought back most of them; however, we lost three along the way.” The new public safety guidelines posed few problems. “It was rather simple to adjust to the new guidelines on our end,” she says. “Making sure that the staff went through the questionnaire at the beginning of their shift and a temperature check to make sure they are healthy was probably what took more time to get used to. As far as cleaning and sanitizing the place, we had to increase the frequency and make sure we had plenty of hand sanitizer around for our staff and customers. For our staff, the biggest challenge was getting used to wearing a mask for a 4- to 6-hour shift, but everyone got used to it rather quickly. Another challenge was the increase of cost that we faced for PPE Supplies for our staff and customers.” The economic impact of inside-only dining during the cold months? “This is the million-dollar question! Things have been so different this year that it is hard to predict. During the spring and summer months, we were lucky to have a patio for people to seat outside, and we will be losing those customers with the cold weather. However, I'm confident that people will continue to order carryout and delivery.”

BLACK SHOE HOSPITALITY Dan Sidner and Joe Muench, co-owners of Black Shoe Hospitability—which includes Maxie’s, Blue’s Egg and Story Hill BKC— were certified in October. The plexiglass partitions they installed came with a hefty price tag of about $20,000. Muench is at the helm of the kitchen and has implemented new safety and sanitation guidelines. Wearing gloves is only the first step. Amidst the noise of the ticket machine going off and pots and pans rattling, a buzzer sounds at intervals to alert staff to stop and wash their hands. Although they are still faced with challenges of limited seating, he is confident that the changes they have made will make their restaurants a safe environment for customers and staff.

As for next steps, “We are going to be living with this for the next year, and we are already starting to plan ahead and racing to work on additional patio seating for next season,” Sidner said, adding, “Restaurants are the fabric of every community, and this has been a catastrophic hit to the restaurant industry… Full capacity is impossible with the new guidelines, and at best we can achieve 65-70 %.” Muench said staffing is one of the biggest challenges they face. They have lost many valuable employees with most of their turnover in the front of the house. He attributes this to the necessity of childcare, caring for elderly parents or employees with their own health concerns. Black Shoe Hospitality is creatively remodeling its business plan, including an online butcher and bakery that will be available this fall, as well as ordering online a week ahead for pick up at a designated location. At Maxie’s, you can pre-order a build-your-own party box with sides and entrées such as fried chicken, brisket or ribs and jambalaya. Black Shoe has also been supplying Egg and Flour with bakery products, including rolls for their meatball bomber sandwich, and they are in talks with other retailers. Furthermore, they are looking into tent rentals to expand their seating capacity.

SANTINO’S LITTLE ITALY Co-owners Greg Huber and Santo Galati of Santino’s Little Italy in Bay View said how “humbled and blessed” they feel towards the support they received from the community. According to Galati, “During this crisis, we are not trying to make a profit, just survive.” The additional cost of changing and adapting to the new guidelines—from adding more paper products, PPE supplies, paper menus and structural changes— have been a significant investment. “In preparing for more indoor dining, we installed a needlepoint ionization HVAC that eliminates elements such as mold and viruses and cycles through iron grade filters that are to be changed once a month, but for the safety of staff and customers gets changed out every two weeks,” Huber said. The constant changes, both partners agreed, has been their biggest struggle. Huber spoke of staying positive in a time when “nothing is linear and things can change on a dime.” Galati added, “We will do our best, do everything possible, think positive and support other restaurants.”

Santino’s Little Italy’s focus is on ramping up their contactless carry-out service in place since summer. They have also done an outstanding job turning their outdoor bocce court into a spacious seating area with the addition of heaters for cooler nights.

SORELLA According to Paul Damora of Sorella in Bay View, “We’re in a crisis right now and need to immediately change our behavior to save lives.” Damora and co-owner Kyle Toner opened in the midst of COVID, which only added to the challenges of coordinating a new restaurant. “It is so confusing, all the back and forth,” Damora continued, adding that “basic sanitation and cleanliness is all part of the process in operating a restaurant…We are doing everything possible to ensure the safety and well-being of staff and customers.” Sorella is looking into tent rental for their patio to compensate for the indoor capacity limitations. “Our landlord, Charles Bailey, has been so supportive and understanding,” Damora said. They will continue curbside service through the cold months with delicious specials available only as to-go orders. However, Damora hoped his customers will also dine inside, given Sorella’s spaced-out tables, ventilation system, high ceilings and mask mandate. “It’s all about perception” he said of public attitudes toward safely dining out.

Milwaukee writer Alisa Malavenda is a professional chef, culinary instructor, caterer and cookbook author.

November 2020

FOOD & DRINK

RESTAURANTS AND GROCERY STORES

Make Holiday Meals E asy

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By Sheila Julson

THE NUTCRACKER ER NOV

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Illustration by Melissa Johnston

hether you entertain at home or take the family out to dinner for Thanksgiving, holiday celebrations will look different this year as the ongoing pandemic drives us toward smaller, socially distanced gatherings. Some restaurants may not offer their usual Thanksgiving buffets or cannot accommodate large groups while safely adhering to social distancing measures. But you can still support your favorite restaurants during the holidays (and save lots of time in the kitchen!) by getting main dishes and sides to-go.

RESTAURANTS

HONEYPIE 2643 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. | honeypiecafe.com

ALIOTO’S RESTAURANT 3041 N. Mayfair Road | aliotos.net

Let the pie professionals at Honeypie handle dessert for the holidays, with varieties like classic pumpkin, or unique flavors like salted caramel dream or brownie cheesecake.

Alioto’s will offer dine-in or carryout Turkey Day dinners from noon to 4 p.m. Entrées include roasted turkey, tenderloin tips and seafood choices with sides and dessert. Everything that is available on the dine-in menu will be available for carryout. Customers must call ahead and prepay before picking up their orders. CAPITAL GRILLE 310 W. Wisconsin Ave. | thecapitalgrille.com

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Capital Grille will offer Thanksgiving meals Local grocery stores also offer heat-andas a dine-in option only. The full dinner serve Thanksgiving meals and holiday menu will be available all day, along with a menus. Below are just a few of the restauspecial Thanksgiving menu. rants and grocers throughout Milwaukee EMERALD CITY CATERING & EVENTS that will offer ready-made turkeys, hams, 3555 S. 13th St. | emeraldcitycatering.com sides and desserts separately or as whole Emerald City’s heat-and-eat holiday meal packages. Servings, prices andTHE order NUTCRACKER ER meals feature roast turkey breast, with NOV SATURDAY 5:30 PM deadlines vary; some establishments didn’t 28 VIRTUAL PERFOMANCE sideNCE choices such as homemade stuffing, have menus and ordering details finalized sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes with by press time. Contact your favorite restau- turkey gravy, whole-kennel sweet corn, rant or grocer for additional information. green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie and cherry chocolate brownies. Meats and sides are also available separately per pound. All meals are heatand-eat; no hot pickups available.

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OLD TOWN SERBIAN GOURMET RESTAURANT 522 W. Lincoln Ave. | oldtownserbian.com Old Town’s full menu, along with chef’s Thanksgiving specials, will be available for preorder, with pickup on Wednesday, Nov. 25, from 11:30 a.m. until 8 p.m., and on Thanksgiving Day from 11:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. Customers can dine-in on Thanksgiving Day from 3-8 p.m. Roasted turkey dinners come with stuffing and gravy, cranberry sauce, sweet potato, sautéed green beans and buttered mashed potato. Also included is a serving of the popular Serbian appetizer kajmak, an unaged cheese, and ajvar, the roasted red pepper condiment kajmak is usually served with. Options start at $19 for a single entrée; $60 for four people; and $130 for eight. Diners can also find braised goose shank, pumpkin strudel or grand mariner cranberry schaum torte.

PACKING HOUSE 900 E. Layton Ave. packinghousemke.com This famed supper club near General Mitchell International Airport is doing turkey dinners for dine-in and to-go on Thanksgiving. Menus and pricing were not available at press time. SABROSA CAFÉ & GALLEY 3216 S. Howell Ave. sabrosa.cafe Sabrosa will offer a Curbside Thanksgiving Feast with roasted turkey, classic sage and cranberry stuffing, ham and cheese buttermilk biscuit, roasted autumn vegetables, garlic mashed potatoes and sweet potato pie with marshmallows. Meals are $20 per plate and can be reserved by calling Chef Frankie at (773) 485-9975 by Nov. 25. In addition to meals, customers can order desserts and a bottle of Prosecco. Meals can be picked up at Sabrosa on Thanksgiving Day. In addition, Sabrosa is taking orders for their Holiday Tamale Sale. The preorder deadline is December 12. The tamales are $18 for a half-dozen and $30 per dozen. Tamales can be picked up the following weekend, December 19 and 20. WARD’S HOUSE OF PRIME 540 E. Mason St. wardshouseofprime.com Ward’s will offer Thanksgiving meals to go including a turkey dinner for one with mash potatoes, stuffing, corn, gravy and cranberry sauce ($19.99) or a whole turkey ($125) plus rib dinners in many sizes, desserts and additional sides.

GO MEATLESS THIS THANKSGIVING Is turkey not your thing? Sit down to a takeout meatless meal from the following vegan restaurants. CELESTA 1978 N. Farwell Ave. celesta.restaurant Celesta will offer a Harvest Pack fourcourse meal for pickup. Order details will be available online closer to Thanksgiving Day. They also plan to offer Christmas to-go meals. TWISTED PLANTS 4905 S. Packard Ave., Cudahy twistedplants.com Twisted Plants will offer a Thanksgiving meal pack that feeds eight including herb dressing, mixed greens, baked man and cheese, candied yams, choice of pie, garlic mash potatoes and more. Available only by preordering for $175.

FOOD & DRINK

GROCERY STORES

FESTIVAL FOODS multiple locations | festfoods.com

OUTPOST NATURAL FOODS Multiple locations | outpost.coop

BEANS & BARLEY 1901 E. North Ave. | beansandbarley.com

De Pere, Wis.-based Festival Foods has 32 stores in Wisconsin, including one at 5600 S. 108th St., Hales Corners, as well as a new location to open in West Allis. Heat-and-serve holiday dinners will be available from the deli department. Choose from four dinner options: turkey, ham, prime rib or lasagna. Dinners come with side dishes and the option to add desserts like pumpkin, apple, pecan or French silk pie. Dinners are available in small, medium and large sizes. Stop at the Festival Foods deli for more information.

The co-op will again offer fully cooked turkeys and family turkey dinner packages, along with myriad side dishes with vegan and wheat-free options. There’s a berry yam bake, green bean mushroom bake, their popular vegan leek stuffing and classic desserts like apple double-crust pie, vegan or wheat-free pumpkin pie and a new wheat-free apple crumble pie.

Beans & Barley was in the process of updating their Thanksgiving menu at press time, but they will again offer heat and serve takeout dinners. Orders must be placed by 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 21. On December 1, they will start taking orders for Christmas cookies. They are also working on their Holiday Menu. BUNZEL’S OLD FASHIONED MEAT MARKET & CATERING 9015 W. Burleigh St. | bunzels.com Bunzels will offer heat-and-serve homemade turkey dinners with mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, stuffing, cranberry relish, dinner rolls and pumpkin pie. Meals are available in small (serves 4-5; $89.99), medium (serves 6-10; $165.99) and large (serves 12-16; $195.99). Meals must be ordered by Monday, Nov. 23, for pick-up the day before Thanksgiving; Bunzel’s will be closed on Thanksgiving Day.

METCALFE’S 6700 W. State St., Wauwatosa shopmetcalfes.com Complete dinners include a fully cooked Butterball turkey, sides such as Hungarian sausage stuffing, French onion green bean casserole, mashed potatoes and an Elegant Farmer apple pie for dessert. Other sides such as Brussel sprouts with bacon or Metcalfe’s kale and apple salad can be added or exchanged. Gluten-free and vegetarian side options are available. Orders must be placed by Nov. 21 for pickup on Nov. 25; Metcalfe’s is closed Thanksgiving Day.

Orders must be placed by Nov. 21 and paid for at the time of order. Customers can pick up whole dinners and sides Nov. 23-25. All stores are closed on Thanksgiving Day. KROGER PICK ’N SAVE AND METRO MARKETS picknsave.com or metromarket.net Locations throughout the greater Milwaukee area will again offer heat-and-serve holiday turkey or ham dinners with traditional side Sheila Julson writes about cannabis and food for the Shepherd Express.

FOOD & DRINK FLASH IN THE PAN

Adventures in Baking a PUMPKIN PIE By Ari LeVaux

love pumpkin pie, but I hate making crust; and I will gladly spend more time not making a crust than I would have spent making it. I'll make pumpkin souffle, pumpkin pudding cups or some other pumpkin-based alternative. This quirky, non-crusty path has led me to some delicious places. Before we discuss the not-making of crust, a word on pumpkins: They are a type of winter squash, along with acorn and butternut. The big jack-o’-lantern-style pumpkins aren't good to eat, but small “pie pumpkin” or “sugar pumpkin” squash make great pies, as do many other winter squash. In fact, the “pumpkin” in most cans of pie filling is actually a butternut squash variety called Dickinson. Today, I'll use the word “pumpkin” to refer to any winter squash that makes a good pie. As for that crust we are not going to make, it turns out that history is on our side. At the alleged first Thanksgiving feast, nobody— immigrant or local alike—had access to flour, butter or an oven. While there was no crust at our nation's inaugural harvest party, squash were a staple for the Wampanoag tribe that mixed with the Pilgrims, and they were an important part of surviving winter. At the first feast, some historians speculate that a proto-pie, baked in an earthen pit, may have consisted of a hollowed-out pumpkin filled with some kind of honey-sweetened egg custard. I know from experience, however, that if you fill a whole pumpkin with custard and bake it, by the time all of that custard cooks and expands, the pumpkin will have become too soft to contain it. But half a squash, filled

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with custard and baked like a pie, cooks together in harmony with the filling. It's a beautiful and decadent combination. The baked flesh, which has its own custard-like texture, pulls cleanly from the hard skin and is easy to eat with the extra-rich filling. But a friend, trying to be helpful, burst my bubble with a pragmatic question. “Does a soft pumpkin border impart the same satisfaction as a flaky, buttery crust?” I addressed his legitimate concerns, while retaining my dignity and values, with a package of Oreos. I'm not usually an Oreo guy, but I'm so much less of a crust guy that I made an exception. Then, I lined the inside of a half-pumpkin with Oreos, added custard mix, and baked. The improvement was immediately obvious. The Oreos formed a pleasing, cakey layer between custard and squash, and their dark chocolate flavor formed a lovely complement to the pumpkin and custard. Because Oreos are so sweet, I skipped the sugar in the pie filling, and that deconstruction worked perfectly. Eager to explore the possibilities, I then tiled the inside of a pie pan with yet more Oreos, patching the gaps between the discs with crumbled pieces, and filled it with pumpkin pie filling. When baked, the Oreos made it easy to cut and serve the filling, and I was happy to have it. And you are welcome to try it. Just don't call it a crust.

Ari LeVaux has written about food for The Atlantic Online, Outside Online and Alternet.

Photo by bhofack2/Getty Images

Pumpkin Pie

WITH CHOICE OF NON-CRUST

Here is a recipe for a sturdy, custardy pumpkin pie filling that will work with whichever choose-your-own-crustadventure you go with. • 4 eggs • 1 cup heavy cream • 1 ½ cups milk • ¼ tsp salt • 2 teaspoon vanilla • 2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spices • 1⁄3 cup sugar (If baking in a pumpkin, use less sugar. If using Oreos, omit the sugar.) • 2 cups pumpkin flesh Combine all ingredients in a blender. Blend for about 30 seconds, until completely homogenized. Pour into the crust of your choice and bake for 45-60 minutes, until it puffs up and starts to crack and brown on top. Remove from the heat and allow to cool and settle. Serve at room temperature.

Pumpkin Flesh Crust • 1 pie pumpkin or other suitable squash • ¼ teaspoon pumpkin pie spices Cut a pumpkin around the equator into two equal-sized bowls. With a strong spoon, scrape out all of the loose, stringy flesh and seeds from both halves so the meat is clean and ready to eat. (Save the seeds and bake them, with salt and a little oil, along with the pies.) Use a vegetable peeler to trim and tidy the rim. The bottom half of a pie pumpkin sits comfortably on a flat surface, it makes a better pie holder than the upper part. I prefer to bake the upper part unfilled, for use in the next batch of pumpkin pie filling. Sprinkle the bottom half with pie spices, pour in the custard up to the rim, then place in a baking dish or on a cookie sheet. Bake for about an hour, keeping an eye on the custard. It will swell and probably start to crack. When the top starts to brown and the custard moves more like a solid than a liquid, remove from the oven and cool.

Oreo Crust • Oreos (or store brand sandwich cookies) Place the Oreos along the inside a pie pan or pumpkin. First, line the bottom then the side of the baking pan or pumpkin with more Oreos. If you wish, fill in the gaps between Oreos with crumbled Oreos. Make sure some edges protrude above the rim. Fill with custard and bake as above.

Photo by Lynne Mitchell/Getty Images Vector Art by Yulia_Malinovskaya/Getty Images

November 2020

FOOD & DRINK BEVERAGES

IS SCOTCH THE WORLD’S

MOST MISCAST LIBATION By Gaetano Marangelli

n his novels, Ian Fleming cast James Bond as a Scotch drinker. In their scripts and stories, Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett’s hardboiled detectives consumed tumblers of Scotch. In his movies and his life, Humphrey Bogart drank Scotch. We’ve got an image of the classic Scotch Whisky drinker. We see a man. He likes danger. He doesn’t say please. He probably leaves the toilet seat up. We call his machismo old fashioned. Or is it just old? But Katherine Hepburn was a Scotch drinker. So was Dorothy Parker. And Igor Stravinsky, Winston Churchill, Dylan Thomas and Truman Capote. And in a famous scene from Fleabag, Phoebe WallerBridge turns her charismatic title character into a Scotch drinker, too. Maybe Scotch Whisky isn’t what we think it is. What we get when we ask for a Scotch at our neighborhood bar is actually Blended Scotch Whisky—a mix of malt and grain whiskies from a mix of Scottish distilleries. Malt whiskies are whiskies made from malted barley. Grain whiskies are whiskies made from corn, wheat or rye. These are the bottles on the railing beneath the counter of the bar. There are good roles for Blended Scotch in drinks with colleagues after work, or family at a barbecue, or friends at a house party. There are better roles for Single Malt Scotch, as a glass to accompany a conversation with a good friend or a femme fatale. Single Malt Scotch Whisky is malted barley whisky made from a single distillery and

Shepherd Express

aged for a minimum of three years. They’re the great whiskies of Scotland. They’re the bottles on the shelves behind the bar.

Highlands: The largest geographical region, with a vast variety of styles, from light and subtle to rich and fruity.

Scotch Whisky distilleries are separated into six geographical regions, every region with attributes, characteristics and styles. The regions are, from south to north, Lowlands, Campbeltown, Islay, Highlands, Speyside and Islands.

Islay: The southern island of the Inner Hebrides. Intense and smoky whiskies with rich, heavy flavors of peat, iodine and seaweed.

Lowlands: The region just over the border from England. These whiskies are gently malty, with flavors of grass, ginger, cinnamon and toffee. Campbeltown: At the southern tip of the Scottish peninsula. Salty, sweet and smoky Single Malts, with flavors of dried fruit and vanilla.

Speyside: In the northeast of the Highlands. More than half of Scotland’s distilleries are located in the region. Its Single Malts are fruity, nutty, elegant and mildly peaty. Islands: The islands around the north, west and south of the mainland. The styles of these whiskies vary from island to island, from peaty and smoky, to flowery and sweet.

SCOTTISH WHISKY DISTILLERY REGIONS HIGHLANDS

ISLANDS

ISLAY

LOWLANDS

CAMPBELTOWN

SIDEBAR Single Malt Scotch Whisky isn’t inexpensive but it’s worth exploring. The whiskies on this list are representative of their distilleries and their regions, and they offer good values for their prices. (The age stated for a whisky means the youngest whisky in the bottle is a minimum of that age.) Lowlands Auchentoshan 12 Year Old, about $55; Glenkinchie 12 Year Old, about $75. Campbeltown Springbank 10 Year Old, about $70; Hazelburn 10 Year Old, about $85. Islay Ardbeg 10 Year Old, about $50; Bowmore 12 Year Old, about $55. Highlands Oban 14 Year Old, about $70; Dalwhinnie 15 Year Old, about $75; Clynelish 14 Year Old, about $75. Speyside Benromach 10 Year Old, about $45; Cragganmore 12 Year Old, about $70. Islands Highland Park 12 Year Old, about $55; Talisker 10 year Old, about $70.

While Scotch Whiskies and their regions are analogous to fine wines and their terroirs, the two can’t exactly be compared. The flavors of a Scotch Whisky owe primarily to the house style of its distillery—the way a distillery malts its barley and ferments, distills and ages its whisky. The best way to cast your own image of Scotch Whisky is to try a Single Malt from a good distillery in every region. Pour your Single Malt into a tulip-shaped glass. Add a couple of drops of water. Shoogle the glass gently. Study the whisky’s color. Part your lips. Nose the whisky. Taste the whisky. Savor its alchemy. Your new image of Scotch

Whisky won’t be what it is now. It’ll be more complicated than that. Less Humphrey Bogart, more Katherine Hepburn. Less Dashiell Hammett, more Dorothy Parker. Less James Bond, more Fleabag.

Gaetano Marangelli is a sommelier and playwright. He was the managing director of a wine import and distribution company in New York and beverage director for restaurants and retailers in New York and Chicago before moving to Wauwatosa.

SPECIAL HOLIDAY ARTS GUIDE

Holiday ARTS GUIDE 2020

MILWAUKEE BALLET - 2019 NUTCRACKER PERFORMANCE

ACACIA THEATRE COMPANY acaciatheatre.com No events scheduled. ALFONS GALLERY alfonsgallery.org No events scheduled. ALL IN PRODUCTIONS allin-mke.com No events scheduled. APERI ANIMAM aperianimam.com No events scheduled. ART GALLERY AT CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY WISCONSIN cuw.edu No events scheduled. ARTS @ LARGE artsatlargeinc.org No events scheduled. AURA THEATRE COLLECTIVE auratheatre.com No events scheduled.

CHARLES ALLIS ART MUSEUM charlesallis.org “Milwaukee Women's Art Library,” Visual art exhibit, through December 27. COMEDYSPORTZ MILWAUKEE cszmke.com Virtual ComedySportz season, through December 20. THE COMPANY OF STRANGERS THEATER thecompanyofstrangerstheater.com No events scheduled. CONCORD CHAMBER ORCHESTRA concordorchestra.org No events scheduled. COOPERATIVE PERFORMANCE cooperativeperformance.org Embodied Truth: Finding Ways to Move Together, Novembert 13-February 2021. DANCECIRCUS dancecircus.org No events scheduled.

GALLERY 218 gallery218.com “Christmas in the Ward,” December 5. GREENDALE COMMUNITY THEATRE greendaletheatre.org No events scheduled. GROHMANN MUSEUM msoe.edu/grohmann-museum “Two Edmunds: Fitzgerald and Lewandowski—Their Mark on Milwaukee,” Visual art exhibit, through December 20. GROVE GALLERY gallerygrove.com No events scheduled. HAGGERTY MUSEUM OF ART marquette.edu/haggerty-museum “The Greater Milwaukee Foundation's Mary L. Nohl Fund Fellowships for Individual Artists 2019,” Visual art exhibit, through December 20. H. F. JOHNSON GALLERY OF ART carthage.edu/art-gallery No events scheduled.

BACH CHAMBER CHOIR bachchoirmilwaukee.com No events scheduled.

DANCEWORKS PERFORMANCE COMPANY danceworksmke.org No events scheduled.

BEL CANTO CHORUS belcanto.org Virtual holiday concert TBA.

DEAD MANS CARNIVAL facebook.com/Dead-Mans-Carnival No events scheduled.

IRISH CULTURAL AND HERITAGE CENTER ichc.net No events scheduled.

BLACK ARTS MKE marcuscenter.org/series/black-arts-mke No events scheduled.

EARLY MUSIC NOW earlymusicnow.org Concert, November 14.

JEWISH MUSEUM MILWAUKEE jewishmuseummilwaukee.org No events scheduled.

BOULEVARD THEATRE milwaukeeboulevardtheatre.com No events scheduled.

EX FABULA exfabula.org No events scheduled.

BREW CITY OPERA brewcityopera.wixsite.com No events scheduled.

FALLS PATIO PLAYERS fallspatioplayers.com Christmas Carol, December 4-6.

JOHN MICHAEL KOHLER ARTS CENTER jmkac.org/home.html “On Being Here (and There),” virtual art exhibit, through January, 2021.

BRONZEVILLE ARTS ENSEMBLE facebook.com/BronzevilleArtsEnsemble No events scheduled.

FESTIVAL CITY SYMPHONY festivalcitysymphony.org No events scheduled.

CABARET MILWAUKEE facebook.com/cabmke No events scheduled.

FIRST STAGE firststage.org The Quest for Solomon’s Treasure, virtual play, through November 15.

CADANCE COLLECTIVE cadancecollective.com No events scheduled. CATEY OTT DANCE COLLECTIVE cateyott.com No events scheduled. CEDARBURG CULTURAL CENTER cedarburgculturalcenter.org “Happiness,” Visual art exhibit, through November 22. CEDARBURG PERFORMING ARTS CENTER cedarburgpac.com No events scheduled. CHANT CLAIRE CHAMBER CHOIR chantclaire.org No events scheduled.

The Girl Who Swallowed a Cactus, virtual play, November 2-22. She Kills Monsters: Virtual Realms, virtual play, November 13-22. The Two Gentlemen of Verona, virtual play, December 4-14. FRANK JUAREZ GALLERY fjgmke.com “INDIANA GREEN,” Visual art exhibit, through December 5. FRANKLY MUSIC franklymusic.org Season TBA. GALLERY 207 gallery2o7.com No events scheduled.

HYPERLOCAL MKE hyperlocalmke.com No events scheduled.

“Collection Highlights: Hmong Textiles,” virtual art exhibit, through January, 2021. “The Shallow Act of Seeing,” virtual art exhibit, December 13-May, 2021. JOHNSON CREEK CLAY STUDIO rickhintzepottery.com No events scheduled. KACM THEATRICAL PRODUCTIONS kacmtheatrical.weebly.com No events scheduled. KETTLE MORAINE SYMPHONY kmsymphony.org Give Us Peace Concert, November 6. KO-THI DANCE COMPANY ko-thi.org No events scheduled. LATINO ARTS, INC. latinoartsinc.org “Dia de Los Muertos Ofrendas,” art exhibit, through November 20. “Los Rostros Ocultos/The Hidden Faces,” art exhibit, December 4-February, 2021. LILY PAD GALLERY WEST lilypadgallery.com No events scheduled.

Photo Courtesy of the Milwaukee Ballet

November 2020

SPECIAL HOLIDAY ARTS GUIDE

LYNDEN SCULPTURE GARDEN lyndensculpturegarden.org “Ariana Vaeth: New Work,” through December 23.

MILWAUKEE BALLET milwaukeeballet.org The Nutcracker, Opens December 12 for a limited run.

Birding with Poet Chuck Stebelton, November 8 and December 13.

MILWAUKEE CHAMBER THEATRE milwaukeechambertheatre.org The Thanksgiving Play, virtual play, date TBA.

HOME: Conversations on Black Lives Matter, virtual event, November 14. MARCUS PERFORMING ARTS CENTER marcuscenter.org Jim Brickman—Comfort & Joy At Home!, virtual event, December 6. George Winston 2020 concert, December 15. MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY THEATRE marquette.edu/communication/ theatre-arts.php Dead Man’s Cell Phone, virtual play, November 13-22. MASTER SINGERS OF MILWAUKEE mastersingersofmilwaukee.org No events scheduled. MATERIAL STUDIOS + GALLERY materialstudiosandgallery.com No events scheduled. MEMORIES DINNER THEATRE memoriesballroom.com Deer Camp, November 6-15. Another Night Before Christmas, December 4-13. MILLER HIGH LIFE THEATRE millerhighlifetheatre.com No events scheduled. MILWAUKEE ART MUSEUM mam.org No events scheduled.

A Moon for the Misbegotten, date TBA. Indecent, date TBA. MILWAUKEE CHILDREN'S CHOIR milwaukeechildrenschoir.org MCC concert, virtual concert, December 12. MILWAUKEE COMEDY milwaukeecomedy.com The Twisted Laugh Comedy Show, November 4. MILWAUKEE ENTERTAINMENT GROUP milwaukeeentertainmentgroup.com No events scheduled. MILWAUKEE FESTIVAL BRASS mfbrass.org No events scheduled. MILWAUKEE INSTITUTE OF ART & DESIGN miad.edu “Veterans Print Project,” through December 4. MILWAUKEE MAKERS MARKET milwaukeemakersmarket.com Shop Small Saturday at Discovery World, November 28. Holiday Pop Up at Discovery World, December 20. MILWAUKEE MUSAIK milwaukeemusaik.org No events scheduled.

MILWAUKEE OPERA THEATRE milwaukeeoperatheatre.org No events scheduled.

OVER OUR HEAD PLAYERS overourheadplayers.org No events scheduled.

MILWAUKEE PUBLIC THEATRE milwaukeepublictheatre.org No events scheduled.

PABST THEATER pabsttheater.org Lost Dog Street Band, December 12.

MILWAUKEE REPERTORY THEATER milwaukeerep.com Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol, December 1-24. MILWAUKEE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA mso.org No events scheduled. MILWAUKEE YOUTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA myso.org No events scheduled. MUSEUM OF WISCONSIN ART wisconsinart.org “Wisconsin Funnies: Fifty Years of Comics,” through November 22. “2020 Members’ Show,” November 21-January, 2021. NEXT ACT THEATRE nextact.org The Christians, virtual play, November 23-December 13. NORTH SHORE ACADEMY OF THE ARTS facebook.com/ northshoreacademyofthearts No events scheduled. OIL GALLERY MILWAUKEE oilmilwaukee.com No events scheduled. OPTIMIST THEATRE optimisttheatre.org No events scheduled. OUTSKIRTS THEATRE facebook.com/outskirtstheatre No events scheduled.

Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker Christmas Stream, virtual event, December 19. PORTRAIT SOCIETY GALLERY portraitsocietygallery.com No events scheduled. PRESENT MUSIC presentmusic.org Thanksgiving: Wherein Lies the Good, virtual concert, November 22. RACINE ART MUSEUM ramart.org “Open Storage: RAM Showcases Glass Archives,” through January, 2021. “Expect the Unexpected: Unusual Materials in Contemporary Art,” through January, 2021. “Collection Focus: Mary Giles,” through January, 2021. “In Stitches: Contemporary Approaches to Needlework,” through February, 2021. “Someone’s Cup of Tea: Contemporary Teapots from RAM’s Collection,” through July, 2021. RACINE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA racinesymphony.org No events scheduled. RENAISSANCE THEATERWORKS r-t-w.com No events scheduled. SADLER GALLERY sadlergallery.net No events scheduled. SAFI STUDIOS facebook.com/SAFIStudios-131592873590442/ No events scheduled. SKYLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE skylightmusictheatre.org Being Earnest, virtual play, date TBA. Little Shop of Horrors, November 13-December 27. SOUTH MILWAUKEE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER southmilwaukeepac.org Marshall Charloff: Piano and My Voice, November 5. An Evening With Sherlock Holmes, November 13-14.

Swing Explosion: We've Got a World That Swings, November 21.

Sounds of the Season Choral Concert, December 12.

The Flamenco Nutcracker, December 5.

UW-WHITEWATER uww.edu “Haunted! Flute and Friends,” virtual performance, November 9-23.

It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play by Joe Landry, December 11-12. THEATRE GIGANTE theatregigante.org No events scheduled. THEATRICAL TENDENCIES theatricaltendencies.com No events scheduled. TIMO GALLERY facebook.com/pages/category/Artist/ Timo-Gallery-WorkspaceShowca se-151322358243630/ No events scheduled. TORY FOLLIARD GALLERY toryfolliard.com No events scheduled. UW-MILWAUKEE PECK SCHOOL OF THE ARTS uwm.edu/arts Twelfth Night, or What You Will, November 18-22. Working: The Musical, November 19-22. The Day the Music Came Back, December 9-13.

“Jazz—A Tribute to Charlie ‘Yardbird’ Parker,” virtual performance, December 1-15. Whitewater Symphony Orchestra concert, virtual concert, November 23-December 7. Symphonic Wind Ensemble concert, virtual concert, November 23-December 7.

WAUKESHA CIVIC THEATRE waukeshacivictheatre.org Sweet Dreams & Honky Tonks, November 11-12. It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, December 3-20. Joel Kopischke’s I Got Yule, Babe, December 16-17. WEST BEND THEATRE COMPANY wbtheatreco.com A Christmas Carol, virtual play, date TBA.

Le Misanthrope, virtual play, November 24-29.

WILD SPACE DANCE wildspacedance.org No events scheduled.

VAR GALLERY & STUDIOS vargallery.com No events scheduled.

WINDFALL THEATRE windfalltheatre.com No events scheduled.

VILLA TERRACE DECORATIVE ARTS MUSEUM villaterrace.org No events scheduled.

WISCONSIN LUTHERAN COLLEGE wlc.edu No events scheduled.

WALKER'S POINT CENTER FOR THE ARTS wpca-milwaukee.org No events scheduled.

WISCONSIN PHILHARMONIC wisphil.org No events scheduled.

WARTBURG THEATRE carthage.edu No events scheduled.

WOODLAND PATTERN BOOK CENTER woodlandpattern.org No events scheduled.

SPECIAL HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

2020

HOLIDAY

Illustrations by T. A. McKay/Getty Images

Gift Guide

November 2020

SPECIAL HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

ALLWRITERS’ WORKPLACE & WORKSHOP LLC

COMMUNITY BAKERS

262-446-0284 WWW.ALLWRITERSWORKSHOP.COM

COMMUNITY-BAKERS@ATT.NET

So, you’re giving the writer on your Christmas list another inspirational notebook. And you’re sticking a new pen in that stocking. Really? How about giving your writer the gift of community? Or guidance from working writers. Support and education! A gift certificate from AllWriters’ Workplace & Workshop is what every writer wants, whether they’re on their first page or publishing their fourth book. Call or log on to our website to purchase your gift certificate!

BREW CITY BRAND

Gluten-Free Baking Mixes! Made in Riverwest, baked in your kitchen: Deep Chocolate Mocha Crinkle Cookie Mix, Sunrise Lemon Cranberry Muffin Mix, Tuscan Rosemary Focaccia Mix, Northwoods Skillet Cornbread Mix, Carrot Cake. Community Bakers is your home for practical, tasty and creative glutenfree baking mixes. All their fine, gluten-free mixes are manufactured in their own, State-licensed, gluten, soy, dairy and nut free facility. Visit their website to order and schedule a pick-up.

WWW.BREWCITYONLINE.COM

Brew City Brand is the Original Milwaukee Store! Established in 1986 and family-owned, they create Incredibly Local Milwaukee products from their Third Ward print shop—creating, designing and printing by hand. Their hometown clothing is guaranteed to be “Tavern-Tested,” straight from The Good Land. They have locations at the Milwaukee Public Market, Mitchell International Airport and their website. Cheers from Brew City!

C3 DESIGNS 2110 10TH AVE. SOUTH MILWAUKEE 414-764-3892 C3-DESIGNS.COM

A fabulous jewelry store located in South Milwaukee where you can find that one-of-a-kind bauble your heart desires. Store owner, Chris Jensen, has won numerous local and national design awards for his unique jewelry creations. His expert staff will put you at ease as they assist you in creating a special jewelry piece that you can treasure for a lifetime.

CLOCKTOWER ANTIQUES 1134 S. 1ST ST. MILWAUKEE 414-252-0011 CLOCKTOWERANTIQUES.COM

Where can you find Milwaukee’s newest antique destination? Clocktower Antiques is in the heart of Walker’s Point under the shadow of the iconic Allen Bradley clocktower. The unique shop offers a wide variety of Mid-Century furniture, lighting, artwork, decor, vintage jewelry, clothing and Christmas decorations; along with an impressive vinyl LP selection. Not to mention glassware, barware, breweriana and other curiosities. Find a treasure for yourself or anyone on your holiday gift list! Check out their website!

Shepherd Express

FISCHBERGER’S VARIETY 2445 N. HOLTON ST. MILWAUKEE 414-263-1991 FISCHBERGERS.COM

Fischberger's Variety is your place for unique gifts including toys, books, home goods, accessories, yarn and fabric--cool stuff guaranteed! Three ways to stay safe and shop this year: in-store hours (4 shoppers at a time,) call for your own personal shopping time or shop online at FISCHBERGERS.COM.

GALLERY 218 207 E. BUFFALO ST., STE. 218 MILWAUKEE 414-643-1732 GALLERY218.COM

Gallery 218, celebrating 30 years, is showcasing its award-winning artists. Purchase art and support local artists this holiday season. Special hours include BLACK FRIDAY November 27, 12pm-6pm, SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY, November 28, 10am to 6pm, Christmas in the Ward Hours: December 5, 6, 12, 13, 19, and 20. Fridays 4-8pm and Saturdays 11am-6pm. Masks required. Live jazz by Elevator Trio. Inquire about renting the gallery for a small holiday gathering. Visit www.gallery218.com, call 414-643-1732 for details.

November 2020

SPECIAL HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

MILWAUKEE MAKERS MARKET HOLIDAY SHOPPING IN GRANVILLE 8211 WEST BROWN DEER ROAD

Granville is proud to present My City My Biz Wisconsin, the 11th Annual Expo (pop-up edition), offering more than 40 local businesses for your holiday shopping. Support Small Business Saturday, November 28, from noon-4 p.m. Presented by Entrepreneur’s Society.

THE JEWELERS GUILD 2408 E. ST. FRANCIS AVE. ST. FRANCIS 414-488-2727 JEWELERSGUILD.BIZ

Located in South Bay View just off KK on St, Francis Ave., The Jewelers Guild does custom design, repairs, appraisals, as well as very special Make Your Own Wedding Rings along with classes and workbench rentals. Offering a selection of beautiful bespoke jewelry. More information and pix on their IG @jewelersguild, online or phone.

KNUCKLEHEADS 2949 N. OAKLAND AVE. MILWAUKEE 414-962-3052 KNUCKLEHEADSCBD.COM

Stop by Knuckleheads and check out their large variety of CBD Wellness products! An updated product menu is available on their website. Visit on a Saturday or Sunday and enjoy discounted CBD products! Discover why Knuckleheads was voted “Best of Milwaukee” Best Head Shop, Vape Shop and CBD Shop in 2019!

LAKE GENEVA ZIPLINES & ADVENTURES N3232 CO RD H LAKE GENEVA 262-248-9271 LAKEGENEVAADVENTRUES.COM

Lake Geneva Ziplines & Adventures offers a world of outdoor adventure less than an hour from Milwaukee. Our zipline tours offer a fully guided experience with 9 ziplines, 5 skybridges and 4 spiral staircases that traverses the treetop canopy of our 100-acre property. For a more physically challenging experience you can head into the trees on our 16 element high ropes course. We also offer 12 miles of single-track mountain biking/hiking trails.

Shepherd Express

MILWAUKEEMAKERSMARKET.COM

Home to your one-stop-shop local experience! The local Makers gather to bring you amazing art, gifts, clothes, jewelry, soaps, candles, goodies, and more! Shop Small Saturday, November 28 with us. The final Market for the Holiday Pop-Up Shop is December 20. Both events at Discovery World. Admission to the market is FREE.

MKB JEWELRY W63N671 WASHINGTON AVE. CEDARBURG 262-352-5661 WWW.MKBDIAMONDS.COM MATTHEW@MKBDIAMONDS.COM

MKB believes shopping for jewelry should be fun, comfortable, and honest. Our award-winning design team is passionate about creating custom made fine jewelry tailored to your specific needs. MKB specializes in diamonds and gemstones, offering decades of experience, and competitive pricing so you can find the perfect piece for all of life's special moments. Contact us today to set up a free consultation and let us make your jewelry dreams a reality.

PIZZA MAN PIZZAMANWI.COM LOCATIONS IN MILWAUKEE, MEQUON, OAK CREEK & WAUWATOSA

Santa is not the only one who delivers! Pizza Man knows that a pizza is on everyone's list. This year give the ones you love a Pizza Man pizza! For every $50 in Pizza Man gift cards you purchase during November and December, you get a $10 holiday bonus coupon! Keep it for your own stocking or give it to someone else! Happy holidays from Pizza Man!

RAISING GOOD MILWAUKEE WWW.RAISINGGOODSHOP.COM INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT: @RAISINGGOODSHOP

Raising Good is a Milwaukee-based family apparel brand. It is women-owned and family operated. From local pride to new parent excitement, there is something for everyone to wear from this shop. Home of the My First Fish Fry bib & Milwaukee Mama gear, you are sure to find something that fits perfect!

November 2020

SPECIAL HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

SPARROW COLLECTIVE

VERDANT

2224 S. KINNICKINNIC AVE. BAY VIEW 414-747-9229 SPARROWCOLLECTIVE.COM

2680 S. KINNICKINNIC AVE. MILWAUKEE 414-763-3762 VERDANTCBD.COM

SPARROW BOUTIQUE

Founded by a family with an extensive background in the Health Care Industry, Verdant CBD is dedicated to providing only the highest quality CBD products for health and wellness on the market. Each of our hemp-based CBD products undergo stringent testing for quality, so you can be assured that you’re buying products you can trust. As CBD is awaiting FDA approval, many reputable clinical publications have published findings that indicate CBD relieves pain, combats anxiety and depression, alleviates cancer-related symptoms, reduce risk of diabetes, treats sleep issues, has antiseizure properties, lowers blood pressure, and has anti-inflammatory properties. There’s no better time than now to try CBD! Free shipping always when you visit us 24/7 at VERDANTCBD.com.

2260 KINNICKINNIC AVE. BAY VIEW SPARROWBOUTIQUEMKE.COM

Brick-and-mortar boutique and gift shops featuring contemporary clothing and artisan goods. Their local gallery sells handcrafted items such as printed tees, jewelry, accessories, bath and home goods, candles, gifts and so much more.

THE TOOL SHED: AN EROTIC BOUTIQUE 2427 N. MURRAY AVE. MILWAUKEE 414-906-5304 TOOLSHEDTOYS.COM

The Tool Shed believes that loving our bodies is a revolutionary act, and that sexuality, pleasure, and intimacy are central to human well-being and health. Our shop offers a curated selection of quality sex toys, lubes, body products, books, and gifts in a welcoming atmosphere. Questions? Our friendly staff of sexuality educators is available to help. Staying safer at home? We ship and offer curbside pickup at toolshedtoys.com!

TRALEE IRISH IMPORTS 5423 W. VLIET ST. MILWAUKEE 414-940-8070 TRALEEIRISHIMPORTS.COM

Located just West of Wauwatosa on Vliet Street, Tralee brings you every food item from the Emerald Isle and the United Kingdom that you’ll ever want. From candy and potato chips to sausage and breads, Tralee offers the widest selection of Irish foods in Wisconsin. In addition, Tralee offers a selection of gifts. From pottery and music books to birdhouses and artwork. Stop in today for the leprechaun on your list or just treat yourself to the many selections of candy!

WONDERLAND OF LIGHTS AT RACINE ZOO 200 GOOLD ST. RACINE RACINEZOO.ORG

Wonderland of Lights is coming to Racine Zoo November 18 through January 3! Marvel at the sight of dazzling illuminations from the safety and comfort of your own vehicle! Drive through enchanting light displays with holiday charms perfect for guests of all ages. Only $5 per person and free for ages 2 years and younger at the gate only. Open Wednesdays through Sundays, 5pm to 9pm. Open Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. Learn more at racinezoo.org!

Small Business Saturday

Illustration by SHIROKUMA DESIGN/Getty Images

SHOP SMALL AND LOCAL

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT ART GALLERY (NONMUSEUM) Dream Lab Inspiration Studios James Steeno Gallery Saint Kate – The Arts Hotel ART MUSEUM Haggerty Museum of Art Museum of Wisconsin Art Milwaukee Art Museum Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum ART & CRAFT FAIR/ MAKERS MARKET East Side Makers Market Holy Hill Art Farm Milwaukee Makers Market Washington Heights Artists Front Yard Pop-Up CHORAL GROUP Aperi Animam Bach Chamber Choir of Milwaukee Kids From Wisconsin Master Singers of Milwaukee CHURCH FESTIVAL St. Romans Annual Festival St. Gregory the Great Parish Festival Greek Fest (Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church) St. Matthias Parish Festival CLASSICAL MUSIC ENSEMBLE Aperi Animam Concord Chamber Orchestra Master Singers of Milwaukee Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

MILWAUKEE AUTHOR David Luhrssen John Gurda Mikey Cody Apollo Tea Krulos MOVIE THEATER Avalon Atmospheric Theater Marcus Majestic Cinema Marcus Ridge Cinema (New Berlin) Oriental Theatre The Times Cinema MUSEUM (NON-ART) Chudnow Museum of Yesteryear Discovery World Jewish Museum Milwaukee Milwaukee Public Museum MUSIC EDUCATION Milwaukee Jazz Institute Music Together North Shore Sound Check Studios Wisconsin Conservatory of Music OUTDOOR FESTIVAL Bastille Days Milwaukee Irish Fest Milwaukee Summerfest Wisconsin State Fair RADIO STATION 88Nine Radio Milwaukee WYMS-FM Milwaukee’s Hometown Rock 96.5 WKLH-FM Milwaukee's NPR 89.7 WUWM-FM WMSE 91.7 FM STAGE ACTOR Andrew Varella Anthony Crivello James Pickering John McGivern

COMEDIAN Charlie Berens Dana Ehrmann John McGivern Pat McCurdy

STAGE ACTRESS Laura Gordon Megan Rose Miller Rana Roman Tami Workentin

DANCE COMPANY Catey Ott Dance Collective Danceworks, Inc. Milwaukee Ballet Wild Space Dance Co.

THEATER COMPANY Milwaukee Repertory Theater Next Act Theatre Skylight Music Theatre Village Playhouse

LOCAL RADIO PERSONALITY Dori Zori (88.9FM) Mandy Scott (106.9FM) Reggie Brown (100.7FM) Sandy Maxx (96.5FM) LOCAL TV PERSONALITY Carole Meekins (TMJ4) John McGivern (Milwaukee PBS) Mark Baden (WISN-12) Sandy Maxx (Milwaukee PBS) Shawn Gallagher (TMJ4) Sheldon Dutes (WISN-12) Ted Perry (FOX6)

BODY, MIND & SPIRIT ACUPUNCTURIST Heaven and Earth Acupuncture and Wellness Milwaukee Community Acupuncture MKE MindBody Wellness Orchid Chinese Medicine & Acupuncture ALTERNATIVE MEDICAL CLINIC HoneyBee Sage Wellness & Apothecary

Lakeside Natural Medicine MKE MindBody Wellness Zuza's Way Integrative Care BOUTIQUE FITNESS Iron Fist Fitness, LLC MKE Yoga Social Peak Physique Personal Training Shred415 East Side CROSSFIT-STYLE GYM BrewCity CrossFit Orange Theory Shred415 East Side Stallis Strong Fitness GYM BrewCity CrossFit THE GYM WB Shred415 East Side Wisconsin Athletic Club MASSAGE THERAPIST Alyssa Stabenaw Jay by the Bay Massage and Wellness MKE MindBody Wellness Originails Salon and Spa Shay Vetterman LLC PERSONAL TRAINER Jorge Valle (Xperience Fitness) Katy Alexander (Legacy Gym MKE) Margaux Chandler (Shred415 East Side) Mira Beaudoin (MKE FIT) PILATES STUDIO Club Pilates East Side Pilates Flying Squirrel Pilates IMX Pilates & Fitness REIKI STUDIO Creating Wellness Center Milwaukee Reiki, LLC MKE MindBody Wellness Your Siesta Wellness Center SPA Illume Cosmetic Surgery & MedSpa Lula Mae Aesthetic Boutique Originails Salon and Spa Well Spa + Salon (Pfister Hotel) YOGA STUDIO Embody Yoga Healium Hot Yoga MKE Yoga Social Tosa Yoga Center

BOUGHT & SOLD ADULT RETAIL STORE After Hours Lingerie & Gifts Bedroom Secrets City News & Video Temptations The Tool Shed ANTIQUE STORE Antiques On Pierce BC Modern

Clocktower Antiques Dandy - Midventurous Modern AUTO DEALERSHIP – DOMESTIC Ewald's Venus Ford Holz Motors Lake Ford Soerens Ford, Inc. AUTO DEALERSHIP – IMPORT Andrew Toyota David Hobbs Honda Reina International Auto Schlossmann Honda City AUTO DEALERSHIP – PREOWNED All Star Honda David Hobbs Honda Ewald's Venus Ford Lake Auto Group BIKE SHOP Emerys Cycling, Triathlon & Fitness ERIK'S - Bike Board Ski South Shore Cyclery Wheel & Sprocket BOOKSTORE Boswell Book Company Downtown Books Bought & Sold Half Price Books Voyageur Book Shop BOUTIQUE CLOTHING Haus of Oge JazzyRae' Jewels and Accessories Sparrow Boutique + Gift Yellow Wood CAMPING EQUIPMENT Cabela's REI Sherper's Yellow Wood CARPET/FINE RUGS Carpetland USA West Allis Kerns Carpet One Shabahang Rug Gallery, Persian and Oriental Carpets (Waukesha) Shabahang and Sons Persian Carpets (Milwaukee) CBD RETAIL SHOP Beyond Full Spectrum Canni Hemp Co Kind Oasis Knuckleheads CBD & Vapes TerraSol CBD Dispensary CLOTHING - CHILDREN'S BlackBear Children's Boutique Little Monsters Raising Good Sparrow Collective CLOTHING - MEN'S Beard MKE Haus of Oge MILWORKS Yellow Wood

November 2020

SPECIAL BEST OF MILWAUKEE

CLOTHING - WOMEN'S Haus of Oge SHOP Sparrow Boutique + Gift Yellow Wood

HEAD SHOP Blue on Greenfield Knuckleheads CBD & Vapes Pipe Dreams LLC Smokin’ Glass

COMIC BOOK STORE Collector's Edge Comics North Collector's Edge Comics South Lions Tooth Lost World of Wonders

LIGHTING SHOWROOM BBC Lighting Elektra Lights & Fans Ferguson Bath, Kitchen & Lighting Gallery LUCE Lighting & Design, LLC.

EYEWEAR Be Spectacled Bronze Optical Metro Eye Warby Parker FASHION ACCESSORIES Beard MKE The Bronzeville Collective MKE J. Riley Ramie and Co The Waxwing FINE JEWELRY STORE Gold'n Treasures Ltd The Jewelry Center MKB Jewelry Tobin Jewelers Inc FLORIST 414loral Alfa Flower & Wedding Shop Belle Fiori, Ltd. Flowers for Dreams FURNITURE – NEW BILTRITE Furniture-LeatherMattresses Colder’s Furniture, Appliances, and Mattresses Matthew Gramling Woodworks Penny Mustard Furnishings Steinhafels Warren Barnett Interiors

MATTRESS STORE BILTRITE Furniture-LeatherMattresses IKEA Steinhafels Verlo Mattress of Greenfield MOTORCYCLE DEALERSHIP House of Harley-Davidson Sportland 2 Inc Suburban Motors HarleyDavidson Wisconsin Harley-Davidson MUSICAL INSTRUMENT STORE Brass Bell Music Store Cream City Music Dave's Guitar Shop Wade's Guitar Shop NEW RETAIL STORE (OPENED IN (2020) Clocktower Antiques The Glass Pantry Kind Oasis Sparrow Boutique + Gift PET RETAIL STORE Bark N Scratch Outpost Bentley's Pet Stuff Mac's PET DEPOT Barkery Pet Supplies Plus

FURNITURE – RESTORED Brew City Salvage Cream City Restoration Greg’s Refinishing Mid Century Meow

RECORD STORE Acme Records The Exclusive Company Record Head Rush-Mor Ltd Music & Video

GARDEN CENTER Bayside Garden Center Minor's Garden Center, Inc. Plant Land Stein's Garden & Home

SHOE STORE DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse Shoo Inc Stan's Fit for Your Feet Yellow Wood

GIFT SHOP Beard MKE KitscheCoo Unique Gifts & Classes Sparrow Collective The Waxwing HARDWARE STORE Bliffert Hardware Elliott Ace Hardware Greg's True Value Village Ace Hardware

Shepherd Express

TOBACCO SHOP Knuckleheads CBD & Vapes Pipe Dreams LLC Tobacco World LTD Uhle Tobacco Company VAPE SHOP Erth Dispensary Kind Oasis Knuckleheads CBD & Vapes Pipe Dreams LLC

VINTAGE/THRIFT STORE BC Modern Goodwill Store & Donation Center Plume Value Village

CITY CONFIDENTIAL BEST ORGANIZATION SUPPORTING VETERANS Dryhootch Coffeehouse Float Milwaukee Stars and Stripes Honor Flight Wisconsin Veterans Chamber of Commerce LOCAL ACTIVIST Dr. Monique Liston Frank Nitty Markasa Tucker Vaun Mayes LOCAL CHARACTER Flannery Pendergast JMatt John McGivern Milverine LOCAL ENTREPRENEUR Geoff Hoen (Beard MKE) Jamie Andrzejewski (Nourish Natural Products) Lilo Allen (The Bronzeville Collective MKE) Ryan Laessig (Milwaukee Makers Market) MILWAUKEE ALDERPERSON Marina Dimitrijevic Michael Murphy Milele Coggs Nik Kovac MILWAUKEE COUNTY SUPERVISOR David Bowen Marcelia Nicholson Ryan Clancy Sequanna Taylor MILWAUKEEAN OF THE YEAR Derek Mosley Frank Nitty Jamaal Napoleon Shavonda Sisson MOST BELOVED POLITICIAN Gwen Moore Mandela Barnes Tammy Baldwin Tom Barrett MOST DESPISED POLITICIAN Robin Vos Ron Johnson Scott Walker Tony Evers MOST TRUSTED PUBLIC OFFICIAL David Bowen David Crowley

Gwen Moore Tony Evers NON-PROFIT/HUMAN SERVICES ORGANIZATION Courage MKE Ignite the Spirit Leukemia & Lymphoma Society - Wisconsin Chapter Love on Black Women PHILANTHROPIST Herb Kohl Les Weil Sean Lowe Shavonda Sisson PLACE TO PICK UP THE SHEPHERD EXPRESS Beans & Barley Metro Market Outpost Natural Foods Pick 'n Save PLACE TO WORK FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE Black Leaders Organizing For Communities Leaders Igniting Transformation UBUNTU Research & Evaluation Voces de la Frontera PLACE TO WORK FOR ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE Milwaukee Riverkeeper Urban Ecology Center Walnut Way Conservation Corp. Wisconsin Conservation Voters RISING STAR IN POLITICS David Bowen Mandela Barnes Marcelia Nicholson Ryan Clancy STATE LEGISLATOR Chris Larson David Bowen JoCasta Zamarripa Jonathan Brostoff

DINING OUT AFRICAN RESTAURANT Alem Ethiopian Village Blue Star Café Ethiopian Cottage Restaurant Immy's African Cuisine BAR FOOD Brass Monkey Pub Camino Miller Time Pub & Grill The Saucy Swine BARBECUE Ashley's Bar-B-Que Double B's BBQ Restaurant Heaven's Table BBQ Iron Grate BBQ Co. The Saucy Swine

BREAKFAST Allie Boy’s Bagelry & Luncheonette Blue's Egg Mad Rooster Café Uncle Wolfie's Breakfast Tavern BREW PUB Good City Brewing Eagle Park Brewing & Distilling The Explorium Brewpub Lakefront Brewery BRUNCH Allie Boy’s Bagelry & Luncheonette Blue's Egg Mimosa Uncle Wolfie's Breakfast Tavern BUFFET Alem Ethiopian Village Fushimi India Garden Maharaja BURGERS Crafty Cow Kopp's Frozen Custard Miller Time Pub & Grill Oscar's Pub & Grill BURRITO Café Corazón El Beso Mexican Restaurante & Cantina Guanajuato Mexican Restaurant Luna's Mexican Restaurant Tavos Signature Cuisine CARIBBEAN RESTAURANT Island Jam Mangos Cafe East Sabor Tropical Uppa Yard CENTRAL/SOUTH AMERICAN RESTAURANT C-viche Chef Paz Restaurant La Masa Empanada Bar Triciclo Peru CHEAP EATS Conejitos Place George Webb Restaurant Ian's Pizza Ma Fischer's CHEF Adam Pawlak (Egg & Flour) Gregory Leon (Amilinda) Mark Timber (Double B's BBQ) Matt Nuetzel (The Saucy Swine) CHICKEN WINGS Double B's BBQ Restaurant Limanski's Pub Points East Pub The Saucy Swine TomKen's Bar & Grill

CHINESE RESTAURANT DanDan Emperor of China Jing's Sze Chuan Restaurant COFFEE SHOP Anodyne Coffee Roasting Co. Colectivo Coffee Stone Creek Coffee Valentine Coffee Co. DONUTS Aggie's Bakery & Cake Shop Cranky Al's Donut Squad Grebe's Bakery Holey Moley Doughnuts & Coffee FAMILY FRIENDLY RESTAURANT Landmark Family Restaurant Ma Fischer's Papa Luigi's Pizza Saz's State House FARM-TO-TABLE RESTAURANT Braise Restaurant Odd Duck Parkside 23 Story Hill BKC Wild Roots Restaurant FISH FRY Kegel's Inn The Packing House Papa Luigi's Pizza The Saucy Swine FRENCH RESTAURANT Fauntleroy MKE Lake Park Bistro Le Reve Pâtisserie & Café Pastiche Brown Deer FRIED CHEESE CURDS Camino Cousins Subs Culver's Lakefront Brewery Miller Time Pub & Grill FROZEN YOGURT SHOP Daddy Yo's Frozen Yogurt Yo Factory Yo Mama! YoFresh Yogurt Cafe GELATO SHOP Cold Spoons Gelato Divino Gelato Cafe Ltd Glorioso's Italian Market Fazio's Chocolate GERMAN RESTAURANT The Bavarian Bierhaus Jack Pandl's Whitefish Bay Inn Kegel's Inn Mader's Restaurant Wegner's St Martins Inn

GLUTEN-FREE/FRIENDLY RESTAURANT Beerline Café Cafe Manna Celesta Lazy Susan MKE

KITCHEN OPEN AFTER 10 P.M. Camino Goodkind Ma Fischer's The Vanguard

GOURMET RESTAURANT Ardent Lake Park Bistro Odd Duck Sanford Restaurant

KOREAN RESTAURANT Char'd Merge Seoul Restaurant Stone Bowl Grill

GREEK RESTAURANT Apollo Café Cosmos Café Gyro Palace Oakland Gyros

LOUISIANA/SOUTHERN RESTAURANT Belli’s Bistro & Spirits Crawdaddy's on Greenfield Maxie's Nino's Southern Sides

HOT DOG The Dogg Haus Martino's Italian Beef and Hot Dogs Portillo's Hot Dogs The Vanguard HOTEL RESTAURANT Ash (The Iron Horse Hotel) Café At The Plaza Mason Street Grill Tre Rivali ICE CREAM/FROZEN CUSTARD STAND Gilles Frozen Custard Kopp's Frozen Custard Leon's Frozen Custard Purple Door Ice Cream INDIAN/PAKISTANI RESTAURANT Cafe India (Bay View) Cafe India (Walker’s Point) India Garden Maharaja IRISH RESTAURANT County Clare Irish Inn & Pub Mo's Irish Pub (Wauwatosa) Mulligans Irish Pub & Grill O'Lydia's Bar and Grill

MEDITERRANEAN RESTAURANT Casablanca Mistral Pita Palace Mediterranean Cuisine Shawarma House MEXICAN RESTAURANT Botanas Restaurant Botanas Mexican Restaurant II Café Corazón Guanajuato Mexican Restaurant MIDDLE EASTERN RESTAURANT Casablanca Damascus Gate Restaurant Holy Land Grocery & Bakery Shahrazad Persian / Middle Eastern Cuisine NEW RESTAURANT (OPENED IN 2020) Allie Boy’s Bagelry & Luncheonette Egg & Flour Bayview Pete's Pub Twisted Plants

ITALIAN RESTAURANT Papa Luigi's Pizza SALA - Modern Sicilian Dining Tenuta's Italian Restaurant That's Amore

OUTDOOR DINING Barnacle Bud's Bass Bay Brewhouse Sandras On The Park South Shore Terrace Kitchen & Beer Garden

JAPANESE RESTAURANT Fujiyama Hungry Sumo Kawa Ramen and Sushi Kyoto

PIZZERIA - DEEP DISH Fixture Pizza Pub Jet's Pizza Pizza Man Tenuta's Italian Restaurant

JEWISH/KOSHER-STYLE RESTAURANT Allie Boy’s Bagelry & Luncheonette Benji's Deli Ferrantes at the JCC Jake's Deli North

PIZZERIA - THIN CRUST Balistreri's Italian-American Ristorante Papa Luigi's Pizza Pizza Man Zaffiro's Pizza & Bar

November 2020

SPECIAL BEST OF MILWAUKEE

PIZZERIA WOOD-FIRED OVEN Anodyne Coffee Roasting Co. San Giorgio Pizzeria Napoletana Santino's Little Italy Wy'east Pizza PLACE TO EAT ALONE Beerline Café George Webb Restaurant Lucky Ginger Pete's Pub RAMEN Hungry Sumo Kawa Ramen and Sushi Red Light Ramen Tanpopo Ramen & Sushi Restaurant RESTAURANT OPEN ON CHRISTMAS DAY East Garden Chinese Restaurant Emperor of China Fortune Restaurant The Packing House RESTAURANT SERVICE Ardent Papa Luigi's Pizza Sanford Restaurant Tavos Signature Cuisine RESTAURANT WITH A VIEW Bass Bay Brewhouse Harbor House Lake Park Bistro VIEW MKE RIBS Double B's BBQ Restaurant Sandras On The Park The Saucy Swine Saz's State House ROMANTIC RESTAURANT Lake Park Bistro The Pasta Tree Restaurant & Wine Bar SALA - Modern Sicilian Dining Sanford Restaurant SANDWICH Allie Boy’s Bagelry & Luncheonette Boo Boo's Sandwich Shop The Saucy Swine West Allis Cheese & Sausage Shoppe SEAFOOD RESTAURANT Barnacle Bud's Harbor House St. Paul Fish Company Third Coast Provisions SOUL FOOD Arlanderz Soul Food Daddy's Soul Food & Grille Maxie's Tandem

Shepherd Express

SOUPS Cafe Zupas Soup Bros The Soup Market Soup Otzie's STEAKHOUSE Carnevor Five O'Clock Steakhouse Mason Street Grill The Packing House STREET FOOD VENDOR Foxfire Food Truck Mazorca Tacos Meat on the Street Milk Can Hamburgers SUB SANDWICH The Chocolate Factory Cousins Subs Goldcoast Subs Suburpia SUPPER CLUB Bass Bay Brewhouse Five O'Clock Steakhouse Joey Gerard's - A Bartolotta Supper Club The Packing House Sandras On The Park SUSHI Hungry Sumo Kawa Ramen and Sushi Kyoto Rice N Roll Bistro Screaming Tuna Milwaukee TACO BelAir Cantina (Wauwatosa) Café Corazón The Laughing Taco Mazorca Tacos Tavos Signature Cuisine TAKEOUT/CURBSIDE PICKUP Allie Boy’s Bagelry & Luncheonette Papa Luigi's Pizza The Saucy Swine Sticky Rice TAPAS (SMALL PLATES) Balzac La Merenda Movida at Hotel Madrid Odd Duck THAI RESTAURANT EE-Sane Thai-Lao Cuisine Lucky Ginger Singha Thai Restaurant Thai-namite VEGAN-FRIENDLY RESTAURANT Beerline Café Cafe Manna Celesta Twisted Plants

VEGETARIAN-FRIENDLY RESTAURANT Beans & Barley Beerline Café Cafe Manna Twisted Plants VIETNAMESE RESTAURANT Hue Vietnamese Restaurant Lucky Ginger Pho Viet Vientiane Noodle Shop WINE LIST Balzac Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurant Story Hill BKC Thief Wine Shop & Bar

HOME IMPROVEMENT ARCHITECT Design Group Three Logic Design & Architecture, Inc. Racinowski Design Studio RINKA BASEMENT/REC ROOM REMODELER C. Y. Tri-County Construction LLC Design Group Three Design Tech Remodeling Sazama Design Build Remodel LLC BATHROOM REMODELER C. Y. Tri-County Construction LLC Design Group Three Design Tech Remodeling Refined Renovations The Tile Kings CLOSET DESIGN California Closets Closet Concepts COR Improvements Design Group Three ELECTRICIAN Current Electric Co KWK Electric Inc Roman Electric, Plumbing, Heating & Cooling Simons Electrical Systems HOME BUILDER Bielinski Homes C. Y. Tri-County Construction LLC John Sauermilch Jr Gen Contractor Lakeside Development Co HOME REMODELING C. Y. Tri-County Construction LLC Design Group Three

Design Tech Remodeling Refined Renovations KITCHEN REMODELER C. Y. Tri-County Construction LLC Design Group Three Design Tech Remodeling Refined Renovations LANDSCAPER/LAWN MAINTENANCE Bluemel's Garden & Landscape Center C. Y. Tri-County Construction LLC Flagstone Landscape Design Goodland Property Services PLUMBER Borth-Wilson Plumbing Joe DeBelak Plumbing & Heating Co Inc Schoofs Plumbing Co Inc Viking Plumbing ROOFER Allrite Home & Remodeling Community Roofing & Restoration Rob's Roofing LLC Weather Tight Corporation WINDOW & SIDING Abby Windows Allrite Home & Remodeling Lisbon Storm, Screen & Door Weather Tight Corporation

LGBTQ DRAG SHOW D.I.X. Hamburger Mary's Milwaukee LaCage NiteClub This is it! LGBTQ ADVOCATE Elle Halo Jinx Oge Luke Olson Michael Damian LGBTQ EVENT Courage Gala I Matter Ball March With Pride For Black Lives Milwaukee PrideFest LGBTQ-FRIENDLY BUSINESS Beard MKE Hangout MKE Cafe & Lounge Co. Health Connections Inc. Isharai Artist Management

LOCALLY-OWNED RETAIL FOOD & DRINK BAKERY Aggie's Bakery & Cake Shop Grebe's Bakery

Jen's Sweet Treats Rocket Baby Bakery BEER SELECTION Avenue Wine & Liquor Inc Discount Liquor Inc Otto's Wine & Spirits Ray's Wine & Spirits BUTCHER SHOP Becher Meats Bunzel's Meat Market Kettle Range Meat Company Ray's Butcher Shoppe CHEESE SELECTION Glorioso's Italian Market Sendik's Food Market West Allis Cheese & Sausage Shoppe Wisconsin Cheese Mart CHOCOLATIER Burke Candy Indulgence Chocolatiers Tabal Chocolate Ultimate Confections FARMERS MARKET Fondy Farmers Market Greenfield Farmers Market South Shore Farmers Market West Allis Farmers Market GROCERY - ALL PURPOSE Metcalfe's Market Outpost Natural Foods Sendik's Food Market Woodman's Food Market GROCERY – ETHNIC Cermak Fresh Market El Rey G. Groppi Food Market Glorioso's Italian Market Parthenon Foods - European Market GROCERY – GOURMET 5ive Seasons Farm G. Groppi Food Market Glorioso's Italian Market Sendik's Food Market GROCERY – ORGANIC Fresh Thyme Market Good Harvest Market Outpost Natural Foods Whole Foods Market LIQUOR STORE Avenue Wine & Liquor Inc Bert's Beer & Liquor Discount Liquor Inc Otto's Wine and Spirits Ray's Wine & Spirits MEAT SELECTION Becher Meats Bunzel's Meat Market Kettle Range Meat Company Ray's Butcher Shoppe

SAUSAGE SHOP Bunzel's Meat Market G. Groppi Food Market Ray's Butcher Shoppe Usinger's Famous Sausage TAKE-OUT DELI Beans & Barley Benji's Deli Bunzel's Meat Market Glorioso's Italian Market WINE SELECTION Discount Liquor Inc Nonfiction Natural Wines Ray's Wine & Spirits Thief Wine Shop & Bar

MEDICAL AESTHETICIAN epic MedSpa Illume Cosmetic Surgery & MedSpa Originails Salon and Spa Susan Schmidt Skincare Savant ALCOHOL & DRUG REHAB CENTER Dewey Center Meta House Rogers Behavioral Health Serenity Inns Inc. CHIROPRACTOR Alive Chiropractic Chiropractic Company • Greenfield Strive Chiropractic Shorewood Family Chiropractic COSMETIC DENTIST Dental Associates Eastside Dental Modern Touch DentalWhitefish Stephanie Murphy DDS COSMETIC SURGEON Christopher Hussussian, MD Lorelle L. Kramer, MD Mark Blake, MD Thomas G. Korkos, MD DENTIST Dental Associates The Dentists South Shore Shorewood Dental LLC Stephanie Murphy DDS

HOSPITAL Children's Hospital Of Wisconsin Froedtert Hospital ProHealth Waukesha Memorial Hospital West Allis Memorial Hospital LASIK SURGEON DeCarlo Eye Center The LASIK Vision Institute LasikPlus Milwaukee Eye Care ORTHODONTIST Barden Orthodontics Bell Orthodontic Solutions Dental Associates Holzhauer, Hewett & Barta Orthodontics PERIODONTIST Cynthia T. Jarzembinski, DDS Dale A. Newman DDS, SC Dental Associates Eddie Morales, DDS PHYSICAL THERAPIST Evolv Physical Therapy & Performance Geromove Physical Therapy INVIVO Wisconsin Orthopedic Physical Therapy PSYCHIATRIST / PSYCHOLOGIST A Deeper Well Counseling Carlyle H. Chan, MD Integrative Psyche Milwaukee Counselor TELEMEDICINE PROVIDER Envision ADHD Muslim Community and Health Center Thrive Holistic Medicine Thrive Massage & Wellness WOMEN'S MEDICAL SERVICES Ascension Columbia St. Mary's Hospital Milwaukee Aurora West Allis Medical Center Moreland OB-GYN Associates, S.C. Planned Parenthood Milwaukee-Water Street Health Center

MILWAUKEE MUSIC

BLUEGRASS BAND Chicken Wire Empire The MilBillies Sawdust Symphony Whiskey Belles BLUES BAND Altered Five Blues Band Blind Fiction Robert Allen Jr. Tweed CLUB DJ DJ Bizzon DJ Nustylez DJ Shawna Mr. New York COVER/TRIBUTE BAND Cherry Pie Clove Failure to Launch FM RODEO Smart Mouth ELECTRONIC ARTIST Guerrilla Ghost Immortal Girlfriend Moonbow 0pticBox FOLK BAND Chicken Wire Empire Frogwater Nickel & Rose Thriftones JAZZ COMBO Cosmic Endeavors J. Ryan Trio No Seatbelts We Six METAL BAND American Bandit Beatallica Chief Thrasher MUSIC PRODUCER 40Mil ChefboiJc Moonbow Renz Young Vincent Van Great POLKA BAND Alpine Blast Blaskapelle November Criminals The Squeezettes

EYE DOCTOR Be Spectacled Knight Vision & Glaucoma Metro Eye Milwaukee Eye Care

ACOUSTIC MUSICIAN Evan Christian Jake Williams Keith Pulvermacher Myles Wangerin

RAP/HIP-HOP ARTIST D'Aych Kaylee crossfire Maal Himself Spaidez

HOME MEDICAL CARE Ability GROUP, lLC Comfort Keepers Home Care Hearts To Home Senior Home Care Horizon Home Care & Hospice

ALT COUNTRY Chicken Wire Empire Rebel Grace ROAD CREW Whiskey Belles

ROCK BAND Almighty Vinyl Betsy Ade & the Well-Known Strangers Cherry Pie Fightin' Bob

November 2020

SPECIAL BEST OF MILWAUKEE

VOCALIST – FEMALE Abby Jeanne Alexa Aly Wangerin Amanda Huff VOCALIST – MALE Adam Fettig Lex Allen Nick Montag (Smart Mouth) Tr3y

MILWAUKEE FOOD & BEVERAGES ARTISANAL CHEESE Clock Shadow Creamery West Allis Cheese & Sausage Shoppe Widmer's Cheese Cellars BACON Bunzel's Meat Market Nueske's Applewood Smoked Meat Ray's Butcher Shoppe Usinger's Famous Sausage BRATWURST Bunzel's Meat Market Kettle Range Meat Company Klement's Sausage Co., Inc. Usinger' Famous Sausage CHEESE CURDS Clock Shadow Creamery Henning's Wisconsin Cheese Pine River Dairy Inc Widmer's Cheese Cellars CRAFT BEER Eagle Park Brewing Lakefront Brewery MobCraft Beer Brewery and Taproom Third Space Brewing CUPCAKES Aggie's Bakery & Cake Shop Classy Girl Cupcakes CupKate Jen's Sweet Treats DISTILLED SPIRITS Central Standard Craft Distillery Eagle Park Brewing & Distilling Great Lakes Distillery & Tasting Room Twisted Path Distillery FROZEN PIZZA Cedar Teeth Emil's Pizza Inc Jack's Lotzza Motzza Palermos GOURMET POPCORN Goody Gourmets Knights Gourmet Popcorn

Shepherd Express

Lush Popcorn Pop's Kettle Corn HARD CIDER Cache Cider Ciderboys Island Orchard Cider Lost Valley Cider Co. SAUSAGE Bunzel's Meat Market Glorioso's Italian Market Kettle Range Meat Company Usinger's Famous Sausage SODA Dang That's Good Beverages Dead Bird Brewing Jolly Good Soda Sprecher Brewing Co. TEA Fava Tea Company Rishi Tea Swaye Tea Tippecanoe Herbs and Apothecary

OUT & ABOUT ALL-AGES VENUE Cactus Club Hangout MKE Cafe & Lounge Co. The Rave / Eagles Club X-Ray Arcade ARCADE/GAMING First and Bowl The Garcade Hangout MKE Cafe & Lounge Co. Up-Down MKE ART STUDIO/CLASSES (NON-BAR) Find Your Light Art School and Gallery KitscheCoo Unique Gifts & Classes NEIGHBOR art studio Vibez Creative Arts Space ATTRACTION FOR OUT-OF-TOWN GUESTS First and Bowl Milwaukee Art Museum Milwaukee County Zoo NorthSouth Club SafeHouse

BAR ON A BUDGET The Drunk Uncle Landmark Lanes The Newport Redbar BAR TO BE SEEN IN Brewskis Elsa's On the Park Nettie's Irish Pub - NIP’S NorthSouth Club Trailer Park Tavern BAR TO WATCH SOCCER The Highbury Pub Moran's Pub Nomad World Pub Red Lion Pub BAR WITH A PATIO Lost Whale Nettie's Irish Pub - NIP’S Nomad World Pub Station No. 06 Three Cellars Von Trier BEER GARDEN Estabrook Beer Garden Franklin Beer Garden at Croatian Park Hubbard Park Beer Garden South Shore Terrace Kitchen & Beer Garden BLOODY MARY Café Hollander (Tosa) Sobelmans Steny's Tavern & Grill The Wicked Hop BREWERY TOUR Lakefront Brewery Miller Brewery Milwaukee Brewing Company Sprecher Brewing Co. COCKTAIL LOUNGE At Random Blu at the Pfister Hotel Bryant's Cocktail Lounge Lost Whale COCKTAIL KIT At Random Lost Whale The Packing House Twisted Path Distillery

AXE THROWING BAR AXE MKE Falls Axe Fling Milwaukee NorthSouth Club

CRAFT BEER SELECTION AT A BAR The Brass Tap The Drunk Uncle Sugar Maple WhirlyBall Brookfield

BAR FOR QUIET CONVERSATION At Random Bryant's Cocktail Lounge Sugar Maple The Tin Widow

DANCE CLUB Jo-Cat's Pub LaCage NiteClub Mad Planet RWB Milwaukee This is it!

ESCAPE ROOM City 13- Milwaukee’s Premier Escape Room Escape MKE Save Milwaukee Escape Rooms TeamEscape 262 HAPPY HOUR Mason Street Grill Maxie's Mulligans Irish Pub & Grill Trailer Park Tavern HOOKAH LOUNGE Casablanca (Brookfield) Casablanca (East Side) Dream Lab Oakland Cafe HOTEL LOUNGE The Bar at Saint Kate The Iron Horse Hotel Kimpton Journeyman Hotel The Pfister Hotel IMPORT BEER SELECTION AT A BAR The Brass Tap Café Benelux The Drunk Uncle Von Trier IRISH PUB Campbell's Irish Pub County Clare Irish Inn & Pub Mulligans Irish Pub & Grill Nettie's Irish Pub - NIP’S JAZZ CLUB Caroline's the cheel / baaree The Jazz Estate Snifters Tapas & Spirits KARAOKE BAR Amelia's The High Note Karaoke Lounge Landmark Lanes Nomad World Pub LIVE MUSIC VENUE Cactus Club Linneman's Riverwest Inn Pabst Theater Saloon on Calhoun with Bacon MARGARITA Blue Bat Kitchen & Tequilaria Botanas Restaurant Café Corazón Conejitos Place MARTINI Blu at the Pfister Don's Grocery & Liquor Elsa's On the Park JoJo's Martini Lounge

MICROBREWERY/TAPROOM Black Husky Brewing Eagle Park Brewing Indeed Brewing Company & Taproom Milwaukee Vennture Brew Co MILWAUKEE TOUR Edelweiss Cruises and Boat Tours Gothic Milwaukee Herb Walk (Tippecanoe Herbs) Historic Milwaukee, Inc. NEW BAR (OPENED IN 2020) Eagle Park Brewing & Distilling The LOKAL Beer Garden Pete's Pub UNION HOUSE | Public House & Bakery PAINT & WINE BAR Charmbiance Wine Bar & Arts The Farmhouse Paint Bar & Banquet Hall Painting with a twist Splash Studio PET-FRIENDLY ESTABLISHMENT Black Husky Brewing The Highbury Pub Sip & Purr Cat CafÃ© Twisted Path Distillery

The Garcade JB's On 41 Up-Down MKE WHISKEY SELECTION AT A BAR Bass Bay Brewhouse The Tin Widow Trailer Park Tavern The Vanguard

REAL ESTATE REAL ESTATE AGENCY Corcoran Realty & Co. Founders 3 Real Estate Services Keller Williams Realty Shorewest Realtors REAL ESTATE AGENT/BROKER Autumn Peach (Shorewest) Caitlin Dennis (Shorewest) Dee Renee Harper (Shorewest) Sharon Tomlinson (Shorewest) RENTAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT GROUP Bielinski Management Founders 3 Real Estate Services Mandel Group My Dwelling

SERVICES RENDERED

PLACE FOR FAMILY FUN First and Bowl Hangout MKE Cafe & Lounge Co. Little Sprouts Play Cafe WhirlyBall Brookfield

ACCOUNTANT/TAX ADVISER Acc-U-Rite Tax & Financial Services CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen) Hawkins Ash CPAs Nelson Tax Accounting Ltd

ROCK CLUB Cactus Club Paulie's Pub and Eatery Saloon on Calhoun with Bacon Shank Hall

ANIMAL WELFARE ORGANIZATION Humane Animal Welfare Society HAWS of Waukesha County JR'S Pups N Stuff Milwaukee Area Domestic Animal Control Commission Wisconsin Humane Society Milwaukee Campus

ROMANTIC BAR At Random Blu at the Pfister Bryant's Cocktail Lounge Painting with a twist SPORTS BAR First and Bowl The Highbury Pub The Mecca Sports Bar and Grill Moran's Pub STRIP CLUB Encore Heartbreakers On the Border Silk Exotic Gentlemen's Club TRIVIA NIGHT Campbell's Irish Pub Mulligans Irish Pub & Grill Painting with a twist Three Lions Pub VIDEO ARCADE Bounce Milwaukee

AUTO BODY SHOP Autofacelift Gut'em Good Interiors Kwik Finish Colors Autobody Mander Collision & Glass AUTO DETAILER Autofacelift Creative Detailing Sir Waxer Waukesha Wolf Detailing AUTO SERVICE & REPAIR Brett's Auto Repair Manyo Motors Pope Auto Worx Riverside Automotive Service BANK Associated Bank BMO Harris Bank Chase Bank North Shore Bank

November 2020

SPECIAL BEST OF MILWAUKEE

BED AND BREAKFAST County Clare Irish Inn & Pub The Muse Gallery Guesthouse The Stagecoach Inn Bed and Breakfast Washington House BODY PIERCING STUDIO Atomic Tattoos LLC Avant-Garde Golden Crystal Body Piercing Pewaukee Tattoo Parlour BOUTIQUE HOTEL Dubbel Dutch Hotel The Iron Horse Hotel Kimpton Journeyman Hotel Saint Kate - The Arts Hotel CATERER Bunzel's Meat Market Double B's BBQ Restaurant & Timbers MKE Style BBQ Food Truck Over the Moon Bartending Tall Guy and a Grill Catering COLLEGE / UNIVERSITY Carroll University Concordia University Marquette University Milwaukee Area Technical College University of WisconsinMilwaukee CREDIT UNION Educators Credit Union Landmark Credit Union Summit Credit Union UW Credit Union DOGGY DAY CARE/ BOARDING Bay View Bark Central Bark (Wauwatosa) Playtime Doggy Daycare II Spa Paw & Tail FINANCIAL INSTITUTION FOR GETTING A BUSINESS LOAN Educators Credit Union Guardian Credit Union Spring Bank Summit Credit Union FINANCIAL INSTITUTION FOR GETTING A HOME MORTGAGE Educators Credit Union Landmark Credit Union Summit Credit Union Wisconsin Mortgage Corporation FINANCIAL INSTITUTION FOR OPENING A CHECKING ACCOUNT Bank First Educators Credit Union Summit Credit Union UW Credit Union

Shepherd Express

FINANCIAL INSTITUTION PROVIDING BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE Bank First Educators Credit Union Summit Credit Union UW Credit Union FINANCIAL PLANNER/ STOCK BROKER Educators Credit Union Financial Solutions Northwestern Mutual Summit Credit Union GREEN BUSINESS Fresh Coast Guardians The Glass Pantry Green Up Solutions Recycle Technologies Inc HAIR REMOVAL Arch Apothecary District 108 Salon & Spa High Brow Boutique Originails Salon and Spa HAIR SALON - MEN'S Beard MKE District 108 Salon & Spa Groom for Men Stag Barbershop

LAW FIRM - ESTATE PLANNING Angermeier & Rogers, LLP Fox, O'Neill & Shannon, S.C. Gimbel, Reilly, Guerin & Brown, LLP Wessels & Liebau LAW FIRM - FAMILY LAW Debra Riedel Law Offices Fox, O'Neill & Shannon, S.C. Gimbel, Reilly, Guerin & Brown, LLP MacGillis Wiemer, LLC LAW FIRM - FULL SERVICE Fox O'Neill & Shannon Gimbel, Reilly, Guerin & Brown, LLP Groth Law Firm, S.C. Halling & Cayo LAW FIRM - PERSONAL INJURY Cannon & Dunphy S.C. Gimbel, Reilly, Guerin & Brown, LLP Groth Law Firm, S.C. Hupy and Abraham, S.C. PET GROOMING/SERVICES Embark Pet Spa Fancy Pants Pet Salon The Feed Bag Pet Supply SideKick Dog Training

HAIR SALON - WOMEN'S District 108 Salon & Spa The Establishment Salon Marie & Ebe Salon Well Spa + Salon

PHOTOGRAPHER Amaya Marie Photography Eric Ellis Glenda Mitchell of GM.CREATIVE Jamie Robarge Photography

HOTEL ROOMS The Iron Horse Hotel Kimpton Journeyman Hotel The Pfister Hotel Saint Kate - The Arts Hotel

NAIL SALON Lovely Salon and Spa Nail Bar Milwaukee Originails Salon and Spa Well Spa + Salon

LAW FIRM – BANKRUPTCY Bankruptcy Law Office of Richard A. Check S. C. Debt Advisors Law Offices Milwaukee Gimbel, Reilly, Guerin & Brown, LLP Miller & Miller Law, LLC

RIDE SERVICE Go Riteway Transportation Group Milwaukee County Transit System Reds Party Bus LLC Uber

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WEDDING VENUE The Gage The Ivy House The Pfister Hotel Story Hill FireHouse

SPORTS & RECREATION BOWLING ALLEY Bay View Bowl JB's On 41 Landmark Lanes South Shore Bowl WhirlyBall Brookfield ENDURANCE EVENT Milwaukee Beer Run 5k & .05k Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon Scenic Shore 150 (Leukemia & Lymphomy Society) Tough Mudder FAVORITE BREWERS PLAYER Brent Suter Christian Yelich Lorenzo Cain Ryan Braun FAVORITE BUCKS PLAYER Brooke Lopez Giannis Antetokounmpo Khris Middleton Pat Connaughton FAVORITE PACKERS PLAYER Aaron Rodgers Davante Adams David Bakhtiari Jaire Alexander GOLF COURSE Broadlands Golf Club Grant Park Oakwood Park Golf Course Whistling Straits Golf Course MINI GOLF COURSE Moorland Road Golf Center Nine Below Prairieville Park Swing Time Germantown PADDLESPORTS RENT OR BUY Brew City Kayak - Milwaukee Kayak Rentals and Tours Milwaukee Kayak Company Urban Ecology Center Wheel Fun Rentals ROCK CLIMBING VENUE Adventure Rock Bounce Milwaukee Turner Hall Climbing Gym Urban Ecology Center

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Does Not Believe in Writer’s Block FROM THE R&B CADETS TO SEMI TWANG, MILWAUKEE SONGWRITER JUST KEEPS GETTING BETTER BY BLAINE SCHULTZ

His personal geography has moved from Kenosha (“the town that can’t buy a break”) to Milwaukee to Nashville, Tenn., and back to Milwaukee. Well, Wauwatosa. In high school in the mid ’60s, Sieger found his way into a band that led to Star Boys, a group that became part of his musical foundation. One constant since the early years would be John’s brother, Mike Sieger, on bass and harmony vocals.

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Sieger also started an enduring collaboration with lyricist Michael Feldman, who later hosted the popular public radio program “Whad’ya Know?” They began working together when Feldman came to Kenosha to teach high school and chaperoned a dance. “It wasn't long before we were friends and he’d let me carry his amp into gigs so I could get in free,” Feldman says. “I began writing lyrics purely for my own amusement, goofy or funny stuff. ‘If My Old Man Were Alive Today, This World Would Kill Him Quick’ was the first I actually showed to John.” Feldman was surprised that Sieger liked it, “and as would happen many times over the next 20-plus years, he set it to a soulful

country tune and damn made a song out of my limerick.” Star Boys were the best players town. “It was a pretty tight little band. My only gripe was that I didn’t like all the material we were doing, and I was writing a lot,” Sieger says. “I’m very hard on myself. I tell people I didn’t have any talent at the beginning.”

Move to Milwaukee’s East Side By the ’80s, Sieger moved to Milwaukee’s East Side. “When you live in a smaller town, it is hard to find a pocket of people who think like you. It is better up here because there are more people,” he says. In Milwaukee, he discovered a group of

Background Illustration by sensationaldesign/Getty Images)

ongwriter John Sieger has been at it for decades. One of seven kids, his humble Kenosha upbringing served to ground him when his music career rose to a major label recording contract. Sieger’s formula is equal parts determination, guile, support and talent.

Photo Courtesy of John Sieger

JOHN SIEGER AND MIKE SIEGER

like-minded musicians who became the R&B Cadets. “A friend brought [vocalist] Robin Pluer by. I think she was just 21 years old. We had good vocal harmony with her, Mike [Sieger] and me. It went over,” he says. Paul Cebar joined them for a few songs at the end of their sets. He eventually joined the R&B Cadets. Most music of that era hasn’t aged well. Yet, the Cadets were different, appealingly anachronistic. Without appearing to try too hard, they were natural bohemians who didn’t need to play three-chord songs real fast to make a point. Thanks to shows in the Twin Cities, Minneapolis’ Twin/Tone Records caught wind of the group and released the Cadets’ album, Top Happy (1986), featuring Sieger originals and choice covers. Milwaukee’s Century Hall was the Cadets’ home turf. “It was a beautiful thing. We’d pack the place and go home with a little money in our pockets,” Sieger recalls. “I was feeling OK! It’s weird to be popular when you haven’t been.” The band worked during an era when the drinking age was 18 and were given “a guaranteed percentage of money at the door. So, if you had a good crowd, you’d benefit,” he says.

Going Nat ional

To accommodate his overflowing folio of original tunes, Sieger formed Semi Twang with guitarists Mike Hoffmann and Mike Judy as an outlet. Their first gig was in Madison, opening for Emmylou Harris; that night, their guitars were stolen from the van. The incident had a silver lining: “I was

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heartbroken,” Sieger says. “We had a benefit and that is when Jerry Harrison [Shorewood native and member of the Talking Heads] saw us, and then record company folks came to town.” Sieger and Harrison collaborated on the song “Rev It Up” for Harrison’s 1986 album Casual Gods. “Had I been smart, I think I might have been able to do both the Cadets and Semi-Twang because they are really different experiences,” Sieger says, “The Cadets got people to dance. Dancing is better than applause in a lot of ways.” Sieger exited the Cadets around the time Top Happy was released. In 1988, SemiTwang’s debut album, Salty Tears, was released on Warner Bros. with three producers and a sound that has dated, yet some of its songs are timeless. Maybe someday Sieger will pick up the challenge to re-record the album on his own terms. Regarding the Warner Bros. experience, Sieger says that for the amount of money spent on that album he could make 10 albums today. Salty Tears was a one-and-done. What was supposed to be a seven-album deal ended early. Though Semi-Twang disbanded in 1991, they reunited in 2009 to play Shank Hall’s 20th anniversary. That gig sparked a second act that includes three albums and counting. Wages of Sin, The Why and The What For and Kenosha have found the reunited band operating at a mature level of what has come to be called roots music or alternative country. Sieger’s writing has taken an unabashed populist tone with the title cut of Kenosha and the swipe at Scott Walker, “The Wrong Side of the Tracks.”

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As Tears Went By

Assigned to write a follow up to the Salty Tears, Sieger hit a dark period, partially due to the unexpected death of his sister. The album Quiver was eventually released in 1993 and includes gems like “Disappearing Ink” and “I Found Out.” He was productive and had a routine. “Mike Hoffmann would pick me up most days at noon and I’d have a song ready. We’d demo it at our rehearsal space on a little Yamaha 4-track cassette. Those are the ones that turned into Quiver. I released that just as I was leaving town.” In 1993, John and his wife Linsey moved to Nashville where publishers Bug Music, whose clients included Johnny and Roseanne Cash, hooked him up with country songwriters. Dwight Yoakam recorded his “I Don’t Need It Done.” Naturally, Sieger is a bit rough on himself regarding the time in Nashville, but he says he loved the city where he met and collaborated with Robbie Fulks and Phil Lee.

SIEGER: MILWAUKEE’S A LOVELY TOWN WITH LOTS OF GREAT MUSIC BUT NO REAL MUSIC INDUSTRY. His next album, El Supremo, was made in Nashville and Indianapolis, and the songs were evidence Sieger had found his stride just in time to load up the truck and move back to Wisconsin, where the shortlived band El Supremo included Sieger, drummer John Carr and bassist Mike Fredrickson. Carr would join in the next project, The Subcontinentals. And to no one’s surprise, Brother Mike would complete the rhythm section. The wild card this time would be vocalist Kelli Gonzalez. Her upbeat personality was a good foil for Sieger’s droll wit. Gonzalez (who along with Carr performs these days with The Hungry Williams) was impressed with Sieger’s writing. “Many of the songs are so different from each other,” she says, “A lot of them sound simple, but as you get into them you find that there are many layers. His lyrics are so visual. He is a fabulous storyteller.” “Continental Drift” and “The Subcontinental” from the band’s 2009 album The Early Years received airplay on local radio. Sieger also managed to piggyback another CD, Live At Bob’s, onto his discography around this time.

Photo Courtesy of John Sieger

JOHN SIEGER: PERFORMING ON TV

Working Well Wit h Ot hers

Sieger is open to collaborations. Back in 2003, Sieger released Her Country: The Songs Of Michael Feldman with backing from Springfield, Miss., legends The Skeletons. “He also recorded an album with Milwaukee blues-rock guitar master Greg Koch, A Walk in the Park. The project took flight at a chance meeting when the two met up at a coffee shop. Equally prolific on their own, the partnership yielded over 60 songs. Koch’s musical virtuosity and chord choices took Sieger’s songs for a different spin. Sieger continued with solo projects Shaming of the True, A Rose in Red and 2020’s Modern Folk Vol. II. No doubt, his home studio has proved to be a boon here in the year where everything changed. Before the pandemic, Sieger was hosting songwriting clinics. But with that on the back burner, he set up a Patreon platform. Through that platform, fans become supporting members at whatever level works for their budget. Depending on the level, folks will receive benefits such as downloads of new songs, exclusive livestream performances, invitations to intimate,

members-only performances (when the coast is clear) and even original art made by Sieger. Sieger “got to have experiences that very few people have—and I appreciate that with a little perspective,” he says of his major label contract and sojourn in Nashville. Of Milwaukee, he adds, “We came back to be closer to our families. Milwaukee’s a lovely town with lots of great music but no real music industry. By that I mean labels. I know a lot of people are working on it—one hit could change everything. In the meantime, musicians can hone their craft here. With no live performance to speak of in the near future, there’s probably gonna be attrition. I hate seeing the venues suffer, we need more, not fewer. As for me, I’m doing more sessions in my upgraded studio, doing more song clinics, teaching guitar over Zoom and, of course, writing masterpieces!”

Blaine Schultz is a veteran Milwaukee musician who writes about music for the Shepherd Express. He currently performs with The Aimless Blades and The Riverwest Aces.

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MSO OPENS VIRTUAL SEASON IN THE NEW

Bradley Symphony Center By Rick Walters

he Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra (MSO) had hoped to open the 2020-21 season in October in spectacular fashion at the renovated 1930 Warner Grand Theater, now renamed the Bradley Symphony Center after the late philanthropists Harry and Peg Bradley. COVID-19, which has impacted nearly all performing arts groups, prevented that but is not the only factor. This summer, the building sustained millions of dollars in basement flooding damage in a storm. Delays are occurring as extensive repairs are underway concurrent with continuing construction. The most overused word of 2020 must be “pivot,” and circumstances have forced the MSO to pivot. In August, MSO announced plans for an all-virtual season performed by scaled-down ensembles. MSO president and executive director Mark

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Niehaus stated, “While we wish we could be together sooner, we look forward to the day when we can officially open the doors of the Bradley Symphony Center to our community. It will be well worth the wait!”

possibility of socially distanced concerts; the complete season will be announced mid-November. Some works will highlight sections of the orchestra, as well as music by under-represented composers, such as Eleanor Alberga, Jessie Montgomery, Dorothy Rudd Moore, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and James B. Wilson. More standard fare by Johann Sebastian Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Francis Poulenc, Henry Purcell and others will also be programmed.

NOT WHAT WAS ENVISIONED

Ticketed virtual performances will begin in the 1,650-seat Allen-Bradley Hall at the end of January, and MSO considers the

Choosing repertoire for a chamber orchestra or chamber ensemble is vastly different from a typical MSO season, which features large-scale works, adding as many as 25 players to the 70-musician roster, and sometimes with the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus of 150-plus voices on stage. It is not the season that music director

Photos by Jonathan Kirn

Ken-David Masur, who started with MSO last season, had envisioned. Nevertheless, he said, “…we will pour our hearts into creating a virtual season that will transcend our physical distance and continue the perpetual wonder that is music.” The orchestra played an acoustical test in the Warner Grand Theater as long ago as 2001. In a recent Doors Open Milwaukee virtual tour, Niehaus stated that MSO began talking with architecture firm Kahler Slater six years ago about the combination of renovation and new design. One principal challenge was moving the historically protected million-pound back wall of the theater 35 feet to create a larger stage area. Architect Chris Ludwig spoke about the design of the contemporary south addition, which is connected to the restored original theater lobby: “The exterior glass enclosure features a unique art glass as a contemporary companion to its art-deco counterpart of the original Warner movie palace. The couple paired together provide a harmony of historic and modern.” An important benefit is the leading role the Bradley Symphony Center is playing in the revitalization of West Wisconsin Avenue. Photo by Jonathan Kirn

EXCELLENT ACOUSTICS PROMISED Niehaus visited other former movie theaters around the country that have been converted into concert halls. “Ours is the most shoebox shaped. Because it’s smashed in the middle of the block, [the original architects] were forced to create a theater that is long and skinny… For an orchestra, the optimum shape is a shoebox. All the great orchestra halls in the world are this shoebox shape.” The concert-going public anticipates what are promised to be excellent acoustics, which are certainly much better for unamplified orchestral sound than in the multi-purpose Uihlein Hall. MSO has made efforts to post online content, including 20 programs to stream on mso.org through December, as well as the 2020 Radio Broadcast Series with WFMT. The musicians have been on furlough for the last few months, something that is unfortunately common to performing arts organizations across the country. Benefits have remained in place, and furloughed employees are eligible for unemployment compensation. Most players are teaching lessons online, and some are teaching

in person with distancing. Some have created online performances of various kinds, including MSO musicians performing in a recent virtual Frankly Music concert of chamber music. The official MSO Facebook page is active, as is the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Musicians Facebook page. The orchestra’s YouTube channel lists dozens of videos. In the early weeks of the pandemic when we were all trying to adjust to a restless new normal, I received a text from an MSO musician that simply said, “You’ve probably seen this.” I had not. I was caught completely off guard when I opened the link to see and hear MSO players—each individually in a Brady Bunch-style video box—in a beautifully edited account of the soulful “Nimrod” from the Enigma Variations by Edward Elgar. I burst into sobs, realizing how much I miss MSO concerts.

Rick Walters is vice-president of the classical division at Hal Leonard LLC, and has written classical reviews for the Shepherd Express for more than 20 years.

November 2020

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Illustration by Scott Radke

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THIS MONTH IN MILWAUKEE 15 THINGS TO DO THROUGH DECEMBER 6 BY HARRY CHERKINIAN, ALLEN HALAS AND DAVID LUHRSSEN CACTUS CLUB’S DIGITAL DREAM (SATURDAY NIGHTS ON VIMEO) In an effort to keep providing Milwaukee with great local music, Cactus Club has shifted programming online in addition to regular carryout orders from their Bay View location. Digital Dream is an online streaming series featuring performances from Milwaukee artists on a weekly basis. The club streams four days per week on average right now, including concerts on the weekends and Reachout Radio DJ sets on Friday nights. You can get the full schedule of digital programming at cactusclubmilwaukee.com. THE COOPERAGE’S COVID COUCH SERIES (SATURDAYS, 9 P.M. ON INSTAGRAM LIVE) The Cooperage is a staple of Milwaukee’s live scene, normally offering high-quality concerts of the local and touring variety out of their Walker’s Point location. The venue’s Covid Couch Series features a weekly athome concert via Instagram Live, keeping Milwaukee’s local acts performing on a regular basis. The streams can be found on The Cooperage’s Instagram page: @cooperagemke. THROUGH NOVEMBER 28 “SEAMS: CONTEMPORARY TEXTILE ARTISTS” @ PORTRAIT SOCIETY GALLERY In an online post during election season, gallery director Debra Brehmer spoke of the world “as a place that was unravelling.” Little wonder that she would gravitate toward “SEAMS,” a body of work by 17 artists in which everything is “stitched together in some way, with”—those missing elements in our nation’s leadership—“care, civility, dignity.” The quilts on display come in various sizes. Among the largest is Heidi Parkes’ I Know the Stars are There Beyond the Clouds (2016), a piece that strives to match its title by touching the ceiling and trailing onto the floor below. Portrait Society is open noon5 p.m., Thursday through Saturday and by appointment. THROUGH JANUARY 23, 2021 “SILHOUETTE: CAPTURING THE HUMAN FORM IN CONTEMPORARY PRINTS AND ART JEWELRY” @ RACINE ART MUSEUM The human form has interested artists since art began as prehistoric cave drawings. The idea of depicting the human form in the dark outlines of silhouettes became popular in the 19th century. The current exhibition at RAM draws from the museum’s permanent collection to explore the “human form as a

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compositional element, storytelling device or representation of an idea.” It’s a wide ambit to be sure, and it includes colorful textured figures in jewelry and fragmented figures in black and white prints. RAM is open Wednesday through Saturday, from noon to 4 p.m. STREAMING NOVEMBER 7 FLANNEL FEST 2020 Normally one of the premier music events of the fall, Boone & Crockett are going virtual with this year’s edition of Flannel Fest. This year’s livestream will benefit The Cooperage as well as the National Independent Venue Association, featuring performances from local headliners including WebsterX, Astral Hand, You Win!!!, SistaStrings and more. Supporters can purchase Flannel Fest merchandise and hot toddy specials at Boone & Crockett leading up to the streaming event on November 7. STREAMING NOVEMBER 11 DEWITT CLINTON ZOOM READING SPONSORED BY BOSWELL BOOK CO. In his latest poetry collection, By a Lake Near a Moon: Fishing with the Chinese Masters, Milwaukee’s DeWitt Clinton adapts verse from classical Chinese poets, respectful of their imagery and sense but with a contemporary word-pictures and sensibility. Tang dynasty poet Tu Fu (712-770) never referred to Fox News or the weather report or described the sound of car tires in the winter slush. Clinton isn’t the first American

poet to look to China, but he took his lead not from Ezra Pound but Kenneth Rexroth’s 1971 collection One Hundred Poems from the Chinese. “I became quite enthralled with each one, and so I began writing ‘response’ poems to a few of his translations,” Clinton explains, “finding them engaging, tender, sublime… I became spellbound by them.” Go to: https://us02web.zoom.us/ meeting/register/tZAsf--ppzosE9OzN7JuaSQu7G6UD6Avy-s NOVEMBER 19-JANUARY 1, 2021 HOLIDAY LIGHTS Normally, there would be a kickoff extravaganza in Pere Marquette Park to mark the start of Holiday Lights, but what’s normal in 2020? This year, the performances will be broadcast by WISN 12 starting at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 19, as the bright lights switch on across Cathedral Square (“Community Spirit Park”), Pere Marquette (“Tinsel Town Express”) and Zeidler Union Square (“Plaza Powered by We Energies”). Instead of the usual Jingle Bus ferrying festivalgoers, a self-guided virtual tour with interactive map will be available. Pedestrians can check out window displays with the likenesses of famous Milwaukeeans on and around East Wisconsin Avenue. And Jingle Joy gift boxes can be purchased at a drive-through in Zeidler Union Square, 5:30-8:30p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, Dec. 3-9. For more, visit milwaukeeholidaylights.com.

STREAMING NOVEMBER 22FEBRUARY 22, 2021 PRESENT MUSIC, “THANKSGIVING: WHEREIN LIES THE GOOD” Present Music’s annual Thanksgiving concert has joined The Rep’s A Christmas Carol and the Milwaukee Ballet’s Nutcracker as the city’s seasonal hallmarks in performing arts. With the pandemic threat hanging over indoor events, Present Music swapped its usual Downtown setting in the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist for a Zoom video. As always, the program strives for transforming what began as a WASP history lesson into an inclusive event representing the full spirit of giving thanks. This year’s concert includes Alex Weiser’s “and all the days were purple” sung in English and Yiddish by soprano Eliza Bagg; the world premiere of Mark Stewart’s “To Whom It May Concern, Thank You”; and work by Robin Holcomb and Michael Torke along with performances by the event’s annual mainstay, the Bucks Native American Singing and Drumming Group. STREAMING NOVEMBER 23-DECEMBER 13 NEXT ACT THEATRE, THE CHRISTIANS Playwright Lucas Hnath takes us straight into a contemporary mega church of today, which features a congregation of thousands, a vestibule coffee shop and a baptismal font the size of a swimming pool. Quite a change for its pastor, Paul, who started out in a tiny storefront 20 years earlier. It’s finally mortgage burning day, but Pastor Paul will give a sermon that will “shock his flock” during the live church service and challenge their faith in this virtual production. NOVEMBER 28 SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY The odds seem stacked against locally owned small businesses, pitted for attention against big box stores, shopping malls and—increasingly— internet sales. Small Business Saturday began in 2009 as a way of drawing attention back to the sort of shops that endow cities and neighborhoods with character by owners who know and care about their goods and services. “Supporting Small Business Saturday is equivalent to supporting your community,” says Rachel Taylor, executive director of the Brady Street BID. “With the many struggles of operating a business during the Illustration by Jupiterimages/ Getty Images

COVID pandemic, it’s more important than ever that people support the businesses in their community, so that the community can continue to be vibrant and strong.” “Supporting local small businesses is more important than ever this year,” adds Missy Hughes, decretary and CEO of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, the state’s leading economic development organization. “Small businesses employ nearly 90% of Wisconsin’s workers, so shopping with them is really an investment in our communities. Our Main Street Marketplace online shopping portal, mainstreetwi.com, makes it easy to shop the best Main Street retailers around the state—all in one day.” Think global, shop local!

DECEMBER 1-24 MILWAUKEE REP, JACOB MARLEY’S CHRISTMAS CAROL While A Christmas Carol’s Ebenezer Scrooge, Bob Cratchit and those three ghosts socially distance from the stage this holiday season, The Rep gives us a glimpse into “the other side of the darkness” that is Jacob Marley’s soul. In an intimate, one-character presentation, veteran actor Lee E. Ernst shows us what happened to Scrooge’s partner in the afterlife in Tom Mula’s fascinating perspective of the infamous lost spirit seeking redemption. A team of medical and technical experts worked together to devise a safe and healthy plan for this live show.

STREAMING DECEMBER 4-14 FIRST STAGE, THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA Considered to be William Shakespeare’s first play, the comedy was also one of the first to explore the playwright’s later themes of actors reversing gender roles. As a First Stage Young Company performance project, the focus is actor-driven with minimal production values. The emphasis is all on the words and language, which for Shakespeare and First Stage fans provides all the entertainment needed to add some classic theater to your holiday viewing. DECEMBER 4-13 MEMORIES DINNER THEATER, ANOTHER NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS Echoing upon the themes of cynicism versus belief first seen in the holiday classic, Miracle on 34th Street, this musical comedy brings us to more current times. Karol, a disillusioned social worker, meets an elderly man sitting alone on a park bench. Thinking he’s homeless, she offers him food and ends up with an uninvited “houseguest” due to a malfunctioning security system. Is this Kris Kringle or just a kindly old man? Find out as Karol confront her feelings about the true meaning of Christmas. Food safety and social distancing procedures are in place at this Port Washington venue. STREAMING DECEMBER 6 JIM BRICKMAN, “COMFORT AND JOY AT HOME!” Ever the holiday trooper, Jim Brickman brings his Christmas classics back to the Marcus Center, virtually this time around, at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 6. The pianist will be playing a number of his own seasonal creations, such as “The Gift,” “Sending You A Little Christmas,” “Angel Eyes” and “If You Believe.” A portion of each ticket purchased will be donated to the Marcus Performing Arts Center. So, join in the holiday spirit and have yourself a “Merry Brickman Christmas” while helping out an arts organization.

STREAMING DECEMBER 3 “ART UNDER COMMUNISM: UNOFFICIAL ARTISTS” @ JEWISH MUSEUM MILWAUKEE Joseph Stalin called artists “the engineers of the human soul.” He put great stock in their work, respecting and fearing their influence to shape or undermine his vision for the world. Under the Soviet Union and its satellite states in Eastern Europe, artists were regimented and censors were ready to pounce, albeit the rules loosened, tightened and shifted according to the changing dictates from the Kremlin. UW-Milwaukee Associate History Professor Christine Evans will discuss how dissenting artists such as Luba Lukova, currently featured at the museum, navigated the shoals of censorship. 7 p.m., jewishmuseummilwaukee.org. Censorship, 2008, Art © Luba Lukova. Photo Courtesy of Jewish Museum Milwaukee

LIFESTYLE OUT OF MY MIND

HOW CAN WE THINK ABOUT BEING THANKFUL? BY PHILIP CHARD

“

Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone,” crooned folk singer . While referring to our trashing of the natural world in deference to convenience and greed, it rings true for our global pandemic, economic crisis and political mayhem, as well. Much of what we took for granted pre-COVID has abruptly disappeared or diminished. So, this Thanksgiving holiday, one that these crises will disrupt for many of us, the question emerges: “What do we have to be grateful for?” Well, oddly enough, some research suggests we are more likely to feel gratitude when times are tough. It seems the negativity around us brings the positivity we experience into sharper focus, pushing back against the tendency to take our blessings, even the small ones, for granted. What’s more, it can also render us more thankful for the good things we no longer possess. Granted, with some, the opposite proves true. Those who feel victimized by the disruptions from our trifecta of crises may find their blessings insufficient to garner appreciation. What’s more, they can descend into resentment for what they have lost, rendering them incapable of recognizing the goodness still present in their lives. Of course, those most battered by our collective ills, having lost loved ones, homes, livelihoods and the rest, harbor valid reasons to turn away from gratitude and toward sadness and anger. Unfortunately, if these negative feelings devolve into resentment, we only add to our misery with a self-inflicted emotional wound. Bitterness is caustic to both mind and body.

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So, is COVID rendering us less grateful or more? It’s a question asked by researchers at the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley, who combed through inputs from their online gratitude journal, comparing them with pre-pandemic results. Here are a few of their findings: • Overall, the early stages of the pandemic saw a decline in expressions of gratitude. However, there is evidence this trend is reversing, a development attributed to greater acceptance of our new reality and a desire to positively adapt despite the hardships.

• Relationships, rather than possessions or successes, garnered a large share of the entries in the online gratitude journal, with many expressing a newfound appreciation for family, romantic partners, close friends and pets. This aligns with other research showing that, when the chips are down, most of us seek solace by connecting with others. Overall, when we share our distress, we diminish it. • Another interesting cluster involved appreciation for the kindness of strangers. While many are riled by the

COVIDiots who refuse masks and distancing, they seem particularly grateful for folks who strive to protect others and themselves. What’s more, participants appeared more aware of the small kindnesses they experience—a smile, help with the door, common courtesy and the like. In a similar vein, many expressed appreciation for front-line workers in customer service, health care and public safety. • In a new twist, technology is now a recipient of our gratitude. While many of us have bemoaned its failings, IT has become a social and economic lifeline for large swaths of the population. Seniors, the disabled and those living alone, in particular, now sing the praises of communication technology, as do many employees whose jobs depend on it. • Nature also wins high praise. Many regard it as one of the few remaining venues offering a semblance of normality, and they express a

Illustration by Olha Khorimarko/Getty Images Photo by Foxys_forest_manufacture/Getty Images

newfound appreciation for the considerable benefits the outdoors provides in decreasing the stress and isolation imposed by the pandemic. • Notably, many expressed gratitude for the increased opportunities to help others brought on by the pandemic. Some report an awakening or amplifying of their motivation to be a force for good in a world with more than its share of bad. Perhaps that final attitude—being grateful for the chance to help others— should be our mantra this Thanksgiving. If you have something positive and kind to give, our wounded world awaits you. Because, as important as it is to count our blessings, we should also make our blessings count.

Philip Chard is a psychotherapist and author with a focus on lasting behavior change, emotional healing and adaptation to health challenges.

November 2020

LIFESTYLE CANNABIS

Hemp Infuses t he Sparkling Water in UNTITLED ART’S BEVERAGES By Sheila Julson

ntitled Art likes to have fun with flavor. The Badger State company is an endeavor of Levi Funk, founder of Funk Factory Geuzeria in Madison—which sources wort, the liquid extracted from the mashing process during brewing, from breweries in Wisconsin and the Midwest—and Isaac Showaki, founder of Octopi Brewing, a Waunakee-based brewer that makes its own beer and offers co-packaging services.

It was challenging to figure out how to mix CBD with water to incorporate it into beverages, Showaki explains. “Because CBD is an extract of hemp, you have to go through a special process to get it to blend

Photos Courtesy of Untitled Art

Untitled Art is known for varieties such as Blackberry Fruit Smoothie, a smoothie-style Berliner Weisse; Rocket Popsicle Sour, inspired by the red, white and

blue “bomb pop” frozen confection; and a non-alcoholic Chocolate Milk Stout. In an effort to expand the company’s offerings, they started experimenting with hemp and discovered ways they could incorporate cannabidiol (CBD) into their beverages. “We started playing with CBD about two years ago, after the [2018 Federal] Farm Bill was passed,” Showaki says.

November 2020

LIFESTYLE CANNABIS

with water.” He also wanted to be sure the quantity of CBD advertised on their cans was actually present in their final products. They had worked with outside consultants, and they have since hired an in-house chemist to develop an extraction process. “It took about a year of trial and error.”

NO BEER, PLEASE Being a brewery, the Untitled Art team began experimenting with CBD-infused beer. They released CBD Pilsner in spring 2019; however, because there was not much guidance as to what one could make with CBD, they received a “tsk-tsk” letter from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). “They said we couldn’t make alcoholic beverages with CBD,” says Showaki. According to the trade publication Hemp Industry Daily, “CBD is not a permitted ingredient in alcoholic beverages under current federal guidelines, according to the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB).” Showaki notes that federal agencies had planned to make decisions on CBD-infused alcoholic beverages, but

due to the pandemic, the issue is now on the back burner. “Until we get clearance, right now it’s illegal to do anything with CBD or hemp and alcohol,” Showaki says. Untitled Art may resume CBD beer production if and when the FDA gives approval to produce alcoholic beverages with CBD. Until then, they switched gears and crafted a line of CBD sparkling water. The line has four flavors—blackberry, strawberry, grapefruit and lemon lime.

NATURAL EXTRACTS Showaki says they use natural extracts to obtain powerful fruit flavors. Each 12-ounce can of Untitled Art’s CBD Sparkling Water has 20 milligrams of hemp oil with naturally occurring CBD. Blackberry has the most kick, with tart berry notes. Grapefruit has a refreshing, tangy zing. While gradually sipping a can, the calming effect of CBD sets in. Showaki says they use hemp grown in Wisconsin and other Midwestern states. “We try to do everything as local as we can, but we make sure we get it from reputable

growers compliant with federal statutes,” he says. “We process everything in-house. We buy the raw materials and we do the processing. We have a chemist and quality control lab team.” Untitled Art CBD Sparkling Water retails for $15 per six-pack. Showaki says they will soon launch 12-packs, for which they’ll aim for a $20-22 retail shelf price. In comparison, national CBD-infused sparkling water brands like Dram sparkling water, infused with adaptogens and 25mg of CBD per serving, retails for $49 per 12-pack. Locally, Untitled Art’s CBD Sparkling Water is available at Outpost Natural Foods, Discount Liquor, Ray’s and Otto’s—the same places Untitled Art’s beers are available; call ahead for flavor availability. For more information, visit drinkuntitled.com.

Sheila Julson writes about cannabis and food for the Shepherd Express.

Photos Courtesy of Untitled Art

Shepherd Express

November 2020

LIFESTYLE DOMICILE

BY MARK HAGEN

t seems a strange juxtaposition. People are traveling less these days, but guest rooms are more popular than ever. For some, visiting family seems a safer way to vacation during the pandemic. Others are temporarily moving in with friends to beat boredom, and a few are returning home to care for elderly parents. Whether you have a friend moving in for a few weeks, you’re hosting out-of-town visitors for the holidays or you’re simply looking to jazz up a spare room, creating the perfect guest room is a snap.

Create Cozy

Regardless of your design aesthetic, guest rooms should be tidy and cozy. Assuming you know how to dust, sweep and vacuum, let’s dive right into keeping it cozy.

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Because this is where your visitor will sleep, start with the bedding. Quality sheets are key to a good night’s sleep, so don’t cut corners in this area. Invest in sheets with a high-thread count, and if your guest is on an extended stay, pick up a second set. While many Milwaukeeans turn to flannel sheets during the winter, others find the flannel too warm. Stick with light, crisp, breathable sheets and you can’t go wrong. Add a heavy comforter or duvet as well as a thinner blanket. This will allow company to decide which works best (if not both). Complement the bed with throw pillows so guests can prop themselves up in bed for reading, texting, etc. If you have space, work in an inviting side chair. Create a small and appealing corner that’s perfect for reading a book, adding a decorative pillow and soft throw. Consider an end table if you have room.

Remember that you’re creating cozy, not clutter. Layering texture (pillows, throws, etc.) yields an inviting room, but don’t overdo it. A cluttered room turns everyone off and instantly makes guests uncomfortable. If your spare room currently houses last season’s clothes, craft supplies, workout equipment or a collection of any kind, clear it all out before guests arrive.

Add Home Comforts

The goal is to make guests feel as comfortable as possible, and bringing in a few comforts of home is the easiest way to do that. Start by double-checking the room’s lighting. Plug in a nightlight or two so guests don’t fumble about the room during late-night trips to the bathroom. Is there adequate light for nighttime reading? Add bedside lamps if need be or hang a space-saving pendant light.

Photo by KatarzynaBialasiewicz/Getty Images

If your spare room doesn’t feature nightstands, you may want to invest in one or two. Small end tables in a variety of styles and price points are readily available at large discount stores. Add a box of tissues and an alarm clock. An alarm clock adds a homey touch and can be functional as well, particularly those that illuminate at night. Guests will likely want to check themselves out before joining you in the kitchen for morning coffee, so be sure the spare room has a mirror. If your room is too tiny for a vanity or a free-standing mirror, simply hang one on the back of the door. If you really want to make your guest feel at home, remember to clear out a few drawers or make ample room in a closet for clothes and shoes. Guests aren’t likely to ask for additional blankets, pillows or bath towels, so leave a few in the closet for them to take advantage of if needed.

Plug I t In

Think about how your visitor will use the room, and make it work for them. Will your guest be working during his or her stay? If so, are there enough outlets for laptops, tablets, phone chargers or other electronics? Many of Milwaukee’s older homes are sparse when it comes to outlets, so you may need a power strip. Search estate sales for small yet quaint desks that add a pinch of shabby chic or old-world charm while offering guests a private workspace. If your visitor plans to work from the spare room, be sure the WiFi is strong. If not, let your friend know the situation early on.

Give a Welcome Basket

Whether staying a few days or a few weeks, a guest gift basket is a wonderful way to welcome someone to your home.

Simply stock a cute basket with things your friend would enjoy during his or her stay. Start with a few chocolates, small bags of chips, homemade cookies or other midnight snacks. Tuck in a bottle or two of water as well. Include hand sanitizer, a bar of soap and other toiletries. A pair of inexpensive slippers makes a thoughtful addition, and don’t forget to work in a copy of Shepherd Express so out-of-towners can get to know the city. When all else fails, flowers always save the day. Arranged in a vase and placed on a desk or nightstand, a lovely arrangement of fresh blooms brightens up any room and instantly welcomes visitors to your guest room.

Mark Hagen is an award-winning gardener, former caterer and Milwaukee lover. His work has appeared in Fresh Home, Your Family and Birds & Blooms magazines.

November 2020

HEAR ME OUT | SPONSORED BY UW CREDIT UNION

DEAR RUTHIE Get Your Gobble On and Celebrate DEAR RUTHIE,

DEAR PETTY,

Happy November to you, dear! It’s my favorite time of year because I’m all about sweaters, earth tones, pumpkins, comfort food and the whole she-bang. There’s just one thing I could never really wrap my head around, and that’s Thanksgiving.

Well, aren’t you the pity party of Plymouth Rock? You’re talking to the wrong person, honey, because Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays! Sure, most Americans overeat on that day, but many are turning to healthier Thanksgiving fare, too.

I mean, I get the whole giving-thanks thing, but it all seems overshadowed by the way we treated native people when we invaded this land. I also hate how the entire country takes a day to become insanely gluttonous, over-eating and eating poorly—not to mention the ridiculous amount of food we discard that day. It’s embarrassing!

More important, thousands of people volunteer at help centers, food banks and kitchens that entire weekend. Others deliver food to those in need or offer goods to homeless shelters.

Worst off, I don’t feel anyone uses the day to be grateful. That’s the point behind the whole damn day! Sure, I guess, some families start the gluttony with a prayer of gratitude, but I’m guessing that’s about it for the majority of American Thanksgiving tables. The whole thing sort of ruins November for me. Any thoughts on this? Any wise advice for someone who finds Thanksgiving sort of upsetting?

TRYING TO FEEL THANKFUL,

The Petty Pilgrim

Clearly you want to feel part of the Thanksgiving holiday or you wouldn’t have messaged me. That said, you should make the holiday your own. Get your gobble on by celebrating the day however you see fit. Do a little soul searching on what Thanksgiving means to you, and then honor that in a manner you see fitting. Follow your gut and not customs, expectations or social mores for a Thanksgiving that’s truly special to you.

Have a question for Ruthie? Want to share an event with her? Contact Ruthie at dearruthie@shepex.com. Follow her on social media, too! Facebook: Dear Ruthie Instagram: RuthieKeester Twitter: @DearRuthie.

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DEAR RUTHIE BROUGHT TO YOU BY

Ruthie’s

SOCIAL CALENDAR NOVEMBER 5 ‘Gay Life After 40’ Mastermind Digital Event: Register for this day-long (8 a.m.-4 p.m.) virtual class where you’ll learn to make the most of life. A panel of psychologists, authors, life coaches and others offer input on everything from self-acceptance to physical wellbeing. Digital tickets are $99 and are available at eventbrite.com.

NOVEMBER 14 Laura Benanti Virtual Concert: Part of the Marcus Center’s “Women of Broadway Livestream Concert Series,” Laura Benanti brings her incredible voice and talents into your home with this digital even. Join the Tony Award winner as she serenades you with hits from the Great White Way, as well as favorites from the American song book and other toe-tapping tunes. See marcuscenter.org for $30 tickets. Once registered, you’ll be sent access to the livestream event. NOVEMBER 15 ‘Making Biologically Related LGBT Families’ Virtual Presentation: The PFLAG group at the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center hosts this special presentation. Free and open to the public, the 5 p.m. event is a being held via ZOOM, but registration is requested by calling 414-299-9198.

NOVEMBER 7-8 Holiday Market at Story Hill FireHouse (407 N. Hawley Road): Get a jump on your gift list with this annual outdoor market. The 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. event features local artists, crafters and makers selling their best, in addition to food vendors, cash bars and more. Grab your mask and enjoy the day shopping, snacking and sipping! NOVEMBER 13 OutReach’s 28th Annual (Digital) Awards Celebration: Honor those strengthening the LGBTQ community in Wisconsin during this virtual award ceremony. See who will be named the Advocate of the Year, discover who will take home the Courage Award and learn about the organizations that offer overwhelming support to this community. Simply swing by the OutReach LGBTQ Community Center’s Facebook page at 7 p.m. for the Facebook live event.

NOVEMBER 21 ‘SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE’ AT THIS IS IT! (418 E. WELLS ST.): Join toast-of-the-town Becky Essence Hall as she hosts this popular night of drag, dance and debauchery! The fun starts at 10:30 p.m. when Becky’s cast hits the stage, but the bar’s legendary drink specials, friendly staff and cozy atmosphere steal the spotlight all night long. NOVEMBER 29 PACKER PARTY AT WOODY’S (1579 S. SECOND ST.): If you’re into bears and packers as much as I am, this is a night you don’t want to miss. Get your mind out of the gutter, I’m talking about the Green Bay Packers pairing off against the Chicago Bears! Kickoff is at 7:20 p.m., but get to this LGBTQ sports bar early to nab a seat. The hottest spot to watch the game also serves up an incredible beer bust, free touchdown shots and more.

November 2020

HEAR ME OUT | SPONSORED BY UW CREDIT UNION

THE FIRST OF DECEMBER IS

WORLD AIDS DAY BY PAUL MASTERSON

his year’s World AIDS Day, on Tuesday, Dec. 1, takes place in the shadow of another pandemic, this one caused by the COVID-19 virus. There are similarities in the history and impact of both on the LGBTQ community and the community at large. One can point to the slow government response and the confounding reality of experts giving dire warnings to a skeptical public only to be ignored or scoffed at, while, as the saying goes, “the band played on.” That is, until the pandemic spread and began affecting those who believed themselves immune. There are positive lessons to be learned from the LGBTQ community’s response to HIV/AIDS. In the early days, while the political leadership joked about gay people dropping dead from the unknown virus, activists protested, fundraised, improvised a support system and held the hands of the dying. The lesson learned was elementary. As I recently heard someone put it, “A community united in a monumental effort can achieve extraordinary things.” My own entry into the world of LGBTQ activism began in 1995. I volunteered to work a gala fundraiser Make-a-Promise Dinner and Auction for the AIDS Resource

Center of Wisconsin (ARCW, today known as Vivent Heath). I began as chair of the auction and would later take on the additional role as co-chair of the event. That was the typical trajectory of many volunteers of the time. Many remained engaged with ARCW, others went off and founded support groups. Aside from controlling the pandemic and minimizing its impact, our demographically diverse components—the lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people—would rally around the common cause and evolve into the LGBT community.

STRIKING ACHIEVEMENTS In the meantime, HIV/AIDS has become a manageable disease. While a cure has yet to be found, science caught up with the pandemic and, eventually, research provided the therapeutic treatments that made a once death-sentence diagnosis into a mere nuisance. According to the 2019 Wisconsin HIV Surveillance Report released by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, the state’s current infection rate is 75% less per year than in 1990, and it is the lowest among our neighboring states. According to a 2017 report published by the then-ARCW, Wisconsin had the lowest mortality rate in the country.

The state’s striking achievements in the battle against HIV/AIDS are directly attributable to that united response and especially to the organization that became Vivent Health. Established in the early 1980s, the organization has become a model health facility, offering comprehensive care, prevention service, care and treatment for those affected by HIV/ AIDS. Even in these pandemic times, Vivent Health continues to provide a large range of services. The fight still continues, however, with stigma, disparities in health service accessibility and education remaining major issues to address in order to reduce HIV infection. While a cure has yet to be found, there is hope for a future without HIV/AIDS. That brings us to today’s COVID-19 pandemic. Hopefully, we’ll embrace a common effort to confront and control the current calamity, just like we did before.

Paul Masterson is an LGBTQ activist and writer and has served on the boards of the Milwaukee Gay Arts Center, Milwaukee Pride, GAMMA and other organizations.

Illustration by Ponomariova_Maria/Getty Images

Shepherd Express

November 2020

HEAR ME OUT | SPONSORED BY UW CREDIT UNION

Photography by Wild Elegance

MAKE PLANS FOR THE

PROGRESS AWARDS BY PAUL MASTERSON Since 2015, the Shepherd Express LGBTQ Progress Awards have recognized LGBTQ and allied individuals, organizations and businesses for their significant contributions to the progress of the LGBTQ community in its struggle for equality. This year, a committee comprised of Shepherd Express staff and LGBTQ community members, including previous award recipients, chose eight awardees from a field of several dozen nominees. That list of deserving contenders reflects decades of cumulative (and often unsung) activism, leadership and commitment to the betterment of the Milwaukeeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s LGBTQ community, and, by extension, the greater community at large. This yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Progress Awards ceremony, presented by Cream City Foundation, is now scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 3, at The Pfister Hotel. For more information, visit www.shepherdexpress.com/shepherdevents.

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HERE ARE THIS YEAR’S WINNERS LGBTQ PROGRESS IN BUSINESS: THE TOOL SHED Business Award sponsored by: Diverse & Resilient

PROGRESS IN LGBTQ ACTIVISM: ELLEN KOZEL Activism Award sponsored by Dr. Stephanie Murphy, DDS

Founded in 2004, the Tool Shed Erotic Boutique is a nationally recognized sex toy store known both for its mission of celebrating healthy sexuality and as a gender-positive educational resource. Located on the city’s upper East Side, it has long served as a safe and welcoming space for anyone exploring their sexuality.

Ellen Kozel served in the U.S. Navy from 1966 to 1972 and in the U.S. Army from 1976 to 1987. To help veterans access Veterans Administration services, she created the organization Veterans Do Ask Do Tell. It would later become Veterans for Diversity. She has since founded No Veteran Left Behind. Kozel has also dedicated over 12 years working to help veterans with PTSD and Military Sexual Trauma (MST) through the Healing Warrior Hearts program.

LGBTQ PROGRESS IN HEALTH AND HIV AWARENESS: COMMONGROUND MINISTRY ELENA’S HOUSE Health and HIV Awareness Award sponsored by: Vivent Health In March of 2001, CommonGround Ministry opened Elena’s House, a transitional and end-of-life home for people living with HIV/AIDS. Its faith-based range of supportive services offers physical, familial, social and spiritual care in a non-judgmental and dignified environment. Its peer-based programs, ACAL (Another Chance at Life) and WOW (Women of Worth) provide motivating support for those with HIV/AIDS living independently in the community. LGBTQ PROGRESS IN THE STRUGGLE FOR EQUALITY: MILWAUKEE PFLAG Struggle for Equality sponsored by: UW Credit Union For over two decades, Milwaukee PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) has provided support for LGBTQ individuals and their families. It promotes the respect of diversity within our community through education and advocacy in order to end discrimination and to secure equal civil rights. LGBTQ PROGRESS IN ARTS AND CULTURE: ANTLER Arts and Culter sponsored by Marcus Performing Arts Center Born in 1946, Antler is recognized as Wisconsin’s greatest gay poet. Antler composed free verse spanning realms of wonder and exploring the emotional arch of male-male love most would find too intimate to express. Poet Allen Ginsberg called him “one of Whitman’s poets.” Not surprisingly, Antler received the WaltWhitman Association Prize. He was also Milwaukee Poet Laureate for 2003-2004.

LGBTQ PROGRESS IN YOUTH ACTIVISM: DIVERSE & RESILIENT Youth Activism Award sponsored by: Courage MKE Over its quarter-century-long history, Diverse & Resilient has focused on addressing the physical and mental health needs of LGBTQ youth and inspiring youth to activism. Beginning with a LGBT Youth Conference in 1996, D&R continues to expand the empowerment of youth through its LGBT Youth Leadership Advisory Council and numerous other programs. LGBTQ PROGRESS IN PHILANTHROPY: MILMAIDS BOWLING TOURNAMENT Philanthropy Award sponsored by: Planned Parenthood Celebrating 35 years of fundraising, Milmaids is a grassroots, volunteer, annual charity bowling tournament that alternates between Madison and Milwaukee. It benefits organizations serving those with HIV/AIDS. Since its founding in 1985, Milmaids has raised over $250,000. PIONEER OF LGBTQ PROGRESS: MISS B.J. DANIELS Pioneer Award sponsored by: Milwaukee Gay Sports Network In the pantheon of Milwaukee drag, Miss B.J. Daniels (aka Bjorn Nasett) ranks in the highest tier. Beginning in the early 1980s at Club 219, B.J. Daniels has pursued her career as an iconic star of the Milwaukee drag stage and tireless advocate for LGBTQ rights. Today, after nearly 40 years, she continues to perform in both roles. Paul Masterson is an LGBTQ activist and writer and has served on the boards of the Milwaukee Gay Arts Center, Milwaukee Pride, GAMMA and other organizations.

ART FOR ART'S SAKE

FROM THE CITY THAT ALWAYS SWEEPS

So by the time you read this, together we will have experienced Columbus Day, Indigenous Peoples’ Day, Hallo-focking-ween and (supposedly) a presidential election, not to mention the possibility of a visitation by aliens from outer space (it is 2020, don’t forget), possible appearance of another novel virus that makes COVID seem like an ice-creamed stroll on a brightly colored sea-shelled beach with a balloon (it is 2020, don’t forget), and what-not. But only you will know how it went, ’cause right now I’m time-stuck in early October. So, really, I don’t know what to tell you’s, what the fock. Cripes, by the time you may be able to read this palaver, I could’ve already dropped over deader than doornail, how ’bout that? You may have already my obit before you read this page. Yeah, the obit with the headline “Art Kumbalek,” and then continues for a while downhill from there. Good lord, I haven’t even thought of an epitaph for the gravestone yet; although, I am leaning toward something like this: “Your call is important to us. Please remain on the line, and someone will be with you shortly.” And speaking of Columbus Day, and of me dropping over deader than a doornail out of the blue, as I’ve said in the past, it’s no secret that I secretly desire to be known in the future as “the discoverer of all discoverers”—to make a discovery of such magnitude that it would make all the other

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discoverers in the history books look like a bunch of focking suckers and losers. And I’ll tell you, what that would be is to discover what truly lies on the other side of this life—like after you got hit by a goddamn bus—and then return to fill in the rest of us, no bullshit accepted. You bet I’d like to be that guy—the first stiff to re-ford the river Styx, hit the talk-show circuit and give you the lowdown from six-feet-under. Personally, I find it very difficult to believe it’s not been done yet. You’d think by now some enterprising knob would’ve found a way. I mean, what’s the focking problem? The afterlife must have one hell of a security system that even Hou-focking-dini can’t get out of, ain’a? Yeah, the afterlife, lot to discover about that, what the fock. And being the man of science that I am, I will only accept empirical evidence concerning what happens after you’re croaked cold from somebody who’s been gravely dead, not just pretending—I’m talking about some guy gone for at least a couple, three months from whom you get a call in the middle of dinner, or just shows up at your door some night and says, “Hey, buddy, how ya doing? Do I have news for you!” But I guess we go to discovery with the discoverers we have. And yes, I semi-enjoyed Columbus Day last month, as usual. No bills in the mail ’cause there’s no goddamn mail. And I recalled fourth-grade October recess from so long ago, when us wags fresh off our history chapter on Columbus would come up with our own names for his boats—the Hyena, the Pinhead and Santa’s Diarrhea. Used to mine comedy gold back then, ain’a? “Used to”: the definition of age, any age. One day you think you’re the toast of the town, but then it could be the next day,

the next month or maybe 528 years in the future, it is discovered you are fool’s gold. What a world. In conclusion, as a public service to you’s parents needing to do the home-schooling, I offer at no charge the following science project for the katzenjammers:

METHOD: Place four worms into four separate jars for 24 hours, thusly: 1. Place first worm into jar of alcohol. 2. Place second worm into jar of cigarette smoke. 3. Place third worm into jar of sperm. 4. Place fourth worm into jar of soil.

RESULTS: 1. The first worm in alcohol—croaked. 2. Second worm in cigarette smoke— focking croaked. 3. Third worm in sperm—croaked. 4. Fourth worm in soil—lived.

HYPOTHESIS: As long as you drink, smoke and have sex, you won’t get worms. So let us not forget that as one ages the quest for knowledge should never cease, and so we recall the words of Socrates, or maybe it was Anonymous, I forget— must’ve skipped class that day:

“BRUSH YOUR TEETH AND STAY IN SCHOOL, I DON’T CARE WHO THE FOCK YOU THINK YOU ARE.” I second that emotion, ’cause I’m Art Kumbalek and I told you so.

Photo by shironosov/Getty Images

’m Art Kumbalek and man oh manischewitz what a world, ain’a? So listen, here it is, the essay for the November monthly print edition of the Shepherd Express, which means if you’re reading these words it must be sometime early-ish November; however, I’m right now slapping this baby together—I look at my calendar—it’s the second week of Focktober, what the fock.

Illustration by DenPotisev/Getty Images

BY ART KUMBALEK

November 2020 Print

Articles inside

From the City that Always Sweeps

The First of December Is World AIDS

Make Plans for the Progress Awards

Get Your Gobble On and Celebrate

Create the Perfect Guest Room

Hemp Infuses the Sparkling Water in

MSO Opens Virtual Season in the New Bradley Symphony Center

Best of Milwaukee Finalists

How Can We Think About Being

John Sieger Does Not Believe in Writer’s Block

Holiday Gift Guide

Is Scotch the World’s Most Miscast

Restaurants and Grocery Stores Make Holiday Meals Easy

MCW’s Syed Ahmed Partners with the Community to Address More than

Milwaukee Art Museum Expands

Is Non-Political State Supreme Court Justice Hagedorn a Solid Conservative?

The Modern World

Why is Milwaukee a Hub of Human Trafficking?

COVID Dining in the Cold Season

Kids Are Getting a Better Education

The Miracle on Ninth Street