NOVEMBER 2022
Tony Evers
Josh Kaul
Mandela Barnes
PLEASE VOTE NOV. 8 Doug LaFollette
Ann Roe
Gwen Moore
Aaron Richardson
OUR DEMOCRACY IS ON THE LINE!
Bob Tatterson
Jessica Katzenmeyer
Nathan Jurowski
LuAnn Bird
Tip McGuire
ENDORSEMENTS PAGE 8 • WHISKEY FEST WISCONSIN PAGE 93
NOVEMBER 2022 | 3
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NOVEMBER 2022 | 5
NEWS 08 Endorsements for the November 8 General Election
22 54
16 Wisconsin Firms Top Human Rights Campaign's Best LGBTQ Workplaces Survey
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Cover credits - Evers: Tony For Wisconsin., Kaul: Kaul For Attorney General., Barnes: Matt Roth Photography, Mandela Barnes for Wisconsin., LaFollatte: Doug LaFollette For Secretary of State Of Wisconsin., Richardson: Friends Of Aaron Richardson., Moore: U.S. Congresswoman Gwen Moore., Roe: Ann Roe For Congress., Katzenmeyer: Friends of Jessica Katzenmeyer., Tatterson: Tatterson For Wisconsin., Jurowski: Neighbors for Nate., Bird: LuAnn Bird For Assembly., McGuire: Representative Tip McGuire.
NOVEMBER 2022 | 7
NEWS
Endorsements for the November 8 General Election
PLEASE SUPPORT GOVERNOR TONY EVERS FOR RE-ELECTION BY THE SHEPHERD EXPRESS EDITORIAL BOARD
falling backward by vetoing over 125 extreme legislative measures, including several voter suppression laws, passed by the Republican legislature. Governor Evers did an excellent job of guiding our state through the worst months of the pandemic, which saved many lives. He knows how to manage complex issues.
EVERS’ OPPONENT: TRUMP ENDORSED TIM MICHELS Governor Evers’ Republican opponent is the Trump-endorsed candidate, Tim Michels. Like Trump, Michels is not a self-made businessman. He inherited his father’s business and has no idea what it is like to be an employee or how the average Wisconsinite lives. He has basically lived in Connecticut and sent his children to private prep schools. Michels is an aggressive opponent of a woman’s right to make her own reproductive choices. Michels said that the current law governing Wisconsin, an 1849 anti-abortion law that bans virtually all abortions with no exceptions for rape or incest, perfectly mirrors his position. The only exception in the 1849 law is to save the life of the mother. In kind of a macho bravado, Michels said that his position on a woman’s choice is not a popular position, but he said that he can take the heat over this issue, and he is not changing his stand. After his macho declaration, he started to dance. “I’m not caving into any pressure,” he claims, but now he says he would sign a law that includes exceptions for rape and incest. Many people doubt his sincerity because he was such a strong anti-abortion activist. His family foundation, for example, has given over $200,000 to anti-gay and extreme anti-abortion groups. Weeks ago, he was aggressively proud of being unwilling to be flexible on the abortion issue, doubling down saying that it is actually “not unreasonable” for the government to force a rape victim to give birth to the rapist’s baby. If he is elected, the gerrymandered Republican legislature will send him bills that will make abortion even more difficult for Wisconsin women. People who know Michels claim he will sign any anti-abortion bill.
Photo courtesy of Tony For Wisconsin.
T
he Shepherd Express enthusiastically endorses Gov. Tony Evers for his re-election. Governor Evers has provided honest, competent government despite having to govern with one of the most gerrymandered legislatures in the country that gave the extreme wing of the Republican Party control in both chambers. He also had to work with Speaker Robin Vos, whose only interests are to remain in power, pay off all his major campaign contributors with tax cuts and state policy changes, and to use the state legislature to support his own business interests. Despite that challenge, the governor managed to both move the state forward with the help of federal government COVID response monies and to prevent the state from
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SOME OF MICHELS' OTHER EXTREME ISSUES On some of the other public policy issues, Michels believes marriage is only between a man and woman; thinks we should cut public school funding; supports allowing 18-year-olds to buy assault-style weapons with no cooling off or waiting period; opposes “Red Flag” laws that allow the police, family members or in some cases even a doctor to petition a court to temporarily remove a person’s guns if she or he are a threat to themselves or others. Finally, if he is governor in 2024, Michels would not commit to respecting the final vote count in the presidential election if the Republican candidate lost. We don’t need a mini-Trump wanna-be as our next governor. Please Support Governor Tony Evers for Re-election.
The Shepherd Express Enthusiastically Endorses Josh Kaul for Attorney General Josh Kaul has been viewed as one of the most capable state attorney generals in the country. As a former federal prosecutor and as Wisconsin’s attorney general, he has personally led the prosecution of a variety of cases including sexual assaults, homicides, internet crimes against children, drug Photo courtesy of Kaul For Attorney General. trafficking and robberies. Kaul has a balanced approach with a strong emphasis on law enforcement but also an emphasis on fairness, social justice and public safety. His opponent’s claim to fame is that now that Roe v. Wade has been overturned, he will not hesitate to prosecute any doctor accused of breaking the 1849 anti-abortion. Please Vote to Re-elect Josh Kaul for Wisconsin Attorney General.
The Shepherd Express Strongly Supports Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes for U.S. Senate Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes has served in the Wisconsin state assembly and for the past four years as our lieutenant governor. He is the proud son of a public-school teacher and a 3rd shift UAW worker at a GM plant. He has a strong history of fighting for working people and understands that Matt Roth Photography, Mandela Barnes for Wisconsin. the route out of poverty to the middleclass is education. His voting record when he was in the state assembly strongly supports these values. Mandela always works to bring Wisconsinites together rather than divide people. For example, as lieutenant governor, he was selected to chair the Governor’s Task Force on Climate Change. Barnes brought together the various interest groups including farmers, environmentalists, small business owners and corporate executives, to name just a few, to develop a consensus on 55 concrete strategies for a positive impact on climate change. We need consensus builders in our government positions at this moment in history. Unfortunately, his opponent continuously tries to divide Wisconsinites because he believes it furthers his chances to get reelected.
HIS OPPONENT: RON JOHNSON Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes is running against one of the most extreme members of the U.S. Senate. Ron Johnson enthusiastically supported overturning Roe v. Wade. He called it a “correct decision.” Johnson recently proposed changing how Social Security and Medicare are funded as the first step to cutting back on the programs. These two programs have dramatically reduced poverty for senior citizens. Currently both programs are self-funded by both employees and employers with a payroll tax. Johnson wants to have Congress decide each year how much it wants to fund these programs so he can slowly kill these very popular programs. He doesn’t personally need these programs, so he wants them eliminated. Johnson married the daughter of a wealthy businessman and then ran his father-in-law’s business. Like Trump, he didn’t start the business, he just took it over. His big claim to fame is that he inserted a special tax break for passthrough businesses in Trump’s 2017 tax bill where most of the tax savings went to the top 1%. Johnson’s two largest campaign contributors and Wisconsin billionaires have since saved hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes because of Johnson’s provision. Johnson also personally benefitted from the large tax provision as a wealthy pass-through business owner.
IS THIS JUST SHAMELESS LYING? Unfortunately, Johnson appears to be very comfortable lying. In response to a question from a constituent, he admitted on camera that Trump lost Wisconsin in 2020 because “51,000 Republican voters did not vote for him.” After saying that on camera, he continues to say that the election was stolen. Attacking our elections and lying about them undermines our democracy and our democracy is one of the main pillars that makes our country great. Almost two years ago, Johnson read aloud on the floor of the Senate a lovely description of the violent insurrection by Trump’s mob as a happy Republican family picnic on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol. Johnson also participated in the illegal scheme to provide Vice President Pence with fake electors to prevent Joe Biden from becoming president. Participants in this illegal scheme are now under criminal investigation. Over the past two years, Senator Johnson has been very active in spreading lies about the COVID vaccine, and these lies have caused many people to get very ill and some to unfortunately die. He did this because he felt it would help him build support from Trump and his followers. In this current campaign, many of Johnson’s campaign ads against Mandela are both false and racist. Unfortunately, racist ads still work with many people in Wisconsin and Johnson is willing to go all in on racist advertising. Please Support Mandela Barnes for US Senate, Our Democracy is at Stake.
NOVEMBER 2022 | 9
NEWS
The Shepherd Express Strongly Supports the Re-election of Secretary of State Doug LaFollette Doug LaFollette has devoted his life to public service and has served as Wisconsin’s Secretary of State for over 40 years. He has a doctorate in chemistry from Columbia University and is a nationally and internationally recognized climate scientist. Photo courtesy of Doug LaFollette For Secretary of State Of Wisconsin.
In many states, the secretary of state oversees elections, but in Wisconsin about 50 years ago, the legislature set up a bipartisan State Election Board to try to minimize any political interference in elections. It worked well, actually too well, for the Republicans because they were losing honest elections. So, in response they killed the election board and set up a new mechanism, a commission, to oversee the elections. As the Republican party continued to move to the extreme right, the Republican controlled legislature decided that the commission was too independent. So now the Republican legislature wants to elect their candidate as secretary of state and then legislatively put control of elections in the secretary of state’s office under their person. This type of activity is happening in other swing states where Republicans are passing various election laws that would enable the legislature to override the will of the voters. This is what Trump was trying to do in states like Georgia, for example, after he lost the election and wanted the Georgia Secretary of State to find 11,780 more votes for him. Wisconsin needs to maintain our clean and honest election system. Please vote for Doug LaFollette for Secretary of State.
The Shepherd Express endorses Aaron Richardson for State Treasurer The Shepherd Express is supporting Aaron Richardson as the most qualified and capable choice for state treasurer. In addition to his history of public service, Aaron has the training with an MBA and the public sector budgeting and finance experience as Mayor of Fitchburg. Public sector budgeting is Photo courtesy of Friends Of Aaron Richardson. more complicated than private sector budgeting because you have dual bottom lines in that you have to make decisions that make business sense with a financial bottom line, but you also have to balance that with what is good for your constituents and your city and state as a second bottom line. Please Vote for Aaron Richardson for State Treasurer.
The Shepherd Enthusiastically Endorses Gwen Moore for Congress, 4th Congressional District Gwen Moore has served Milwaukee well since 1989, and her constituents continued to promote her from State Representative to State Senator and in 2004 to Congresswoman. With 18 years seniority, Moore now has a much greater influence in Congress through better committee assignments which Photo courtesy of U.S. Congresswoman Gwen Moore. enables her to better serve her constituency. After 34 years in public service, we know Gwen, we respect Gwen, and we ask you to please support Gwen for reelection. Please Vote for Gwen Moore for Congress.
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The Shepherd Express strongly endorses Ann Roe for Congress, 1st Congressional District One race that is not getting the attention that it should is the Congressional race in the 1st Congressional District which includes the cities of Racine, Kenosha, Janesville and Beloit. After redistricting, this district improved and became close to a 50/50 Democratic and Republican district. The DemoPhoto courtesy of Ann Roe For Congress. cratic challenger, Ann Roe, is a very impressive candidate and she is running a good campaign, getting out all over the district and listening to the voters. Roe has had a very successful and varied 30-year career before entering politics. People who know her work have described her as a high energy problem solver who knows how to bring people together, build a consensus, and make something happen. She is the definition of an entrepreneur and community leader. During her career she has worked in the nonprofit world, the health care field, manufacturing, taught college classes for 20 years and owns a small business in Janesville. With all these various positions and challenges, the constant theme of her life is “public service.” Beside all these accomplishments, she is married and raised a couple of successful children. With this background and history of public service, her main issues in this campaign are health care, education and creating more family-supporting jobs. If anyone can move the ball forward, it’s Roe. Her opponent has been living off his dad’s accomplishments and his connections as a successful Janesville attorney. Bryan Steil is strongly anti-choice with respect to a woman’s reproductive control over her own body. He even celebrated in a tweet after the overturning of Roe v. Wade. He is much more interested in playing politics than actually listening to his constituents and trying to get something done. Please Vote for Ann Roe for Congress.
Photo by Joaquin Corbalan/Getty Images.
NOVEMBER 2022 | 11
NEWS
STATE LEGISLATIVE RACES Our state legislative districts have become even more extremely gerrymandered than the districts we have had for the past 10 years. After each census, which occurs every 10 years, the state legislature and governor must redraw the district lines for both the state legislature and the congressional districts. With split government in 2020, the Republican controlled state legislature drew extreme gerrymandered districts and, of course, Gov. Evers vetoed the maps. Then there were the lawsuits that followed, and the process ended up with the Wisconsin Supreme Court controlled by four rightwing justices. The first pronouncement from the state supreme court was that the maps that they will approve must be the ones with the least changes from the maps that existed for the past 10 years. Keep in mind that the maps that we had for the past 10 were the most gerrymandered maps in the entire country and were even declared unconstitutional by a federal three judge panel where two of the three judges were Republican appointees. So, our rightwing state supreme court majority demanded the least changes to the already most gerrymandered maps in the country.
THE U.S. SUPREME COURT MAKES AN EXCEPTION TO PLAY POLITICS Various maps were presented and the map with the least changes came from Gov. Evers’ office. This least-changed map was a slight improvement over the map of the past 10 years. Then the Republicans sued in federal court to have them overrule our state supreme court. However, the U.S. Supreme Court had said that they will not intervene in these legislative redistricting fights because these were state issues, and they would leave that to the state courts. But when this case came before the U.S. Supreme Court, they decided to make an exception for Wisconsin and overruled the Wisconsin Supreme Court and asked them to reconsider the case. That action was so corrupt that no U.S. Supreme Court justice would put their name on the decision. Now it was back in the hands of the four extremist state justices, and they chose maps that were more gerrymandered than the most gerrymandered maps in the nation that we lived under for the past 10 years. The Shepherd is endorsing in five state legislative districts that are competitive and are in our media market.
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STATE SENATE: The Shepherd Express endorses Jessica Katzenmeyer The Shepherd Express endorses Jessica Katzenmeyer for State Senate 5th District. She is a leader but equally important she is a listener to the needs of the people in her district. She ran two years ago for state assembly and lost in a rather close election in a highly gerrymandered district. Now with the Photo courtesy of Friends of Jessica Katzenmeyer. new redistricting, again extremely gerrymandered districts, she is running for state senate. She has demonstrated her leadership as an active union member in her workplace where she was elected to a leadership position. She has also shown her leadership in her community where she serves on the West Allis Plan Commission. Jessica is a leader in the LGBTQ rights efforts and the state’s second-ever transgender candidate for a state office. Her commitment to public service increased after she suffered a couple of tragedies, first with a house fire in 2019 and then the very next day ending up in the emergency room in a coma believed to be brought on by the house fire. With excellent medical care, she fully recovered and saw firsthand how public policy like the Affordable Care Act prevented her leaving the hospital with an $80,000 debt. This really brought home how good public policy affects everyday people. Her opponent is Rob Hutton is a former state representative who lost reelection in his Republican-favored gerrymandered district because he was a “do-nothing but collect a paycheck” legislator. In his eight years in the assembly, Hutton had an extreme voting record that was out-of-step with most Republicans and definitely out-of-step with the 5th State Senate District. Despite being part of the majority party for his eight years in the legislature, he has no real accomplishment that he can promote. He was a strong and consistent vote against a woman’s right to choose with respect to her reproductive decisions. He voted against public education and consistently voted against any environmental issues that would help curb greenhouse gases. Please Vote for Jessica Katzenmeyer for State Senate 5th District Jessica Katzenmeyer’s website: jessicaforwi.com
NOVEMBER 2022 | 13
NEWS
STATE ASSEMBLY: Bob Tatterson for Assembly District 24 Bob Tatterson is the type of candidate that is easy to support. After a long and successful career, Ph.D. holder Tatterson has a depth of knowledge on policy issues and a genuine excitement to go to Madison and lead on new and innovative ideas. He is active in many community projects, including joining Photo courtesy of Tatterson For Wisconsin. as an initial investor in the Sherman Phoenix Marketplace, a project that has been incredibly successful and important on Fond du Lac Avenue. The contrast he provides against his opponent, Dan Knodl, is striking. Few Republican Legislators have done less with their gerrymandered majority seat than Knodl. A perennial back bencher and all-around curmudgeon, Knodl has done so little with his opportunity to govern, we easily and enthusiastically endorse Bob Tatterson in the 24th District. Knodl survived consecutive close elections against Democrat Emily Siegrist in 2018 and 2020. His strongest re-election strategy has seemingly been to lean on Speaker Vos to ensure that the new district lines are gerrymandered as much as possible to lean more Republican. But we believe Tatterson has the ability to break through and defeat Knodl. We want Legislators that actually want to work and get things done and in the 24th Assembly District, that’s Bob Tatterson. Please vote for Bob Tatterson. Tatterson’s website: bobtatterson.com Photo by hermosawave/Getty Images.
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Nathan Jurowski in Assembly District 21
Photo courtesy of Neighbors for Nate.
After earning his law degree, Nathan Jurowski began his career in public service as a state public defender and later helped support labor unions as the head of a skilled trade union organization. Today he uses his legal skills to help employees fight for their rights. His commitment to the working people of Wisconsin inspires our endorsement.
On the other side of the ballot is the Republican incumbent, Jessie Rodriguez. Rodriguez is one of the most frustrating Republicans in Wisconsin. Rodriguez fails to earn our support because she has done little to ever peek out of Speaker Vos’s shadow and take a stand. We haven’t seen or heard from Rodriguez as her Republican colleagues have wasted our taxpayer dollars, including giving Michael Gableman a million dollars to peddle the Big Lie that Trump won the election and attack Wisconsin’s very professional voting system. Often these attacks target Milwaukee County and our elections. As a representative of Milwaukee County, Rodriguez’s silence tells us all we need to know. Please Vote for Nathan Jurowski Jurowski’s website: neighborsfornate.com
LuAnn Bird in Assembly District 84
Tip McGuire in Assembly District 64
LuAnn Bird is a ball of positive energy. The former director of the Wisconsin League of Women Voters and Whitnall School Board member is a caretaker at heart. Bird entered her life of advocacy after a construction accident left her Vietnam Veteran husband paralyzed. She took on local accessibility issues Photo courtesy of LuAnn Bird For Assembly. and won. That passion and persistence will serve her well in Madison.
We endorse Tip McGuire, who several insiders point to as a rising star in Democratic politics. McGuire succeeded Revenue Secretary Peter Barca in 2019 after serving in the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s office. A graduate of Marquette University and UW-Law School, McGuire understands WisconPhoto courtesy of Representative Tip McGuire. sin and has proven effective in his three years in office. He has prioritized middle class and main street economic policies that would bring immediate and needed aid to communities throughout the state.
Bird will face recent Milwaukee mayoral loser Bob Donovan who will say whatever he has to, whether it’s true or not, in order to win. A recent transplant to Greenfield, the former alderman is seeking a second political career in the suburbs. At City Hall, Donovan earned a reputation of being absent unless at a press conference complaining about Tom Barrett. While that would mean Donovan would fit in with the Republican Legislature, it is the opposite of what we need. Unlike our other Assembly endorsements, District 84 is an open seat. New boundaries mean this seat is a true tossup. It includes Hales Concerns, most of Greenfield, parts of Greendale and the City of Milwaukee.
McGuire’s opponent, Ed Hibsch, ran previously in this seat in 2020. Since being defeated two years ago, Hibsch has strayed further to the right and is more intent to carry the culture war against our educators and local elected officials. Hibsch offers no substance for Wisconsinites and will be little more than one more vote that Robin Vos directs. Please Vote to Re-Elect Tip McGuire. McGuire’s website: tipforwi.com
Please Vote for LuAnn Bird. Bird’s website: luannbird.com NOVEMBER 2022 | 15
NEWS
Wisconsin Firms Top Human Rights Campaign’s Best LGBTQ Workplaces Survey BY MICHAEL MUCKIAN
W
hen First Data Corp., an Atlanta-based electronic payments firm, merged with Fiserv in January 2019, LGBTQ community member Karen Feliciano wondered how she would fare as a new employee of the Brookfield-based fintech giant. Three years have since passed, and she couldn’t be happier with the change.
“It’s very cool,” says Feliciano, vice president of underwriting for Fiserv’s Global Business Solutions unit from her Coral Springs, Florida, office. “I lead the Global Unity Employees Resource Group. You want people to feel like they belong to something every day they come to work, and the change here has been phenomenal.” With more than 44,000 employees worldwide in 35 countries and $16.22 billion in annual revenues, Fiserv ranks 227 among Fortune 500 companies and is a big gun when it comes to financial technology. It also is one 17 Wisconsin companies earning a perfect score from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2022 Corporate Equality Index, which measures employer commitment to LGBTQ-inclusive policies and practices. (See chart.) “We have a culture of inclusion-enhancing benefits and we’ve done a lot for all employees, including the LGBTQ community, because we know diverse voices lead to more creative solutions,” says Jennifer Dietrich, vice president of Global Benefits and Wellness Programs in Fiserv’s Brookfield office. “Progress moves at the speed of trust, and the Corporate Equity Score is very important to us.”
ELEMENTS OF EQUITY Launched in 2002, HRC’s Corporate Equity Index serves as a roadmap and benchmarking tool for companies concerned 16 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS
with equitable treatment of LGBTQ employees. Nationally, 1,271 companies in 2022 were voluntarily evaluated in five major categories all designed to measure tolerance and equitable treatment for the target population. Broadly speaking, those categories totaling 100 possible points include: • Workforce Protections, including gender identity policies • Inclusive Benefits, such as health care availability and other equivalencies for same-sex couples • Supporting and Inclusive Culture, including management training and senior executive performance evaluation that includes LGBTQ metrics, transgender best practices, and LGBTQ data collection measures • Corporate Responsibility, such as distinct LGBTQ recruitment efforts, and outreach and philanthropic support of the greater LGBTQ community • and Responsible Citizenship, which subtracts points for large-scale official or public anti-LGBTQ “blemishes” on the company’s record A perfect score is important for those companies choosing to pursue it, says LGBTQ community member Rob Van Nevel, executive vice president and CEO at University of Wisconsin Credit Union, a $4 billion Madison based financial cooperative. “The recognition highlights our credit union’s ongoing efforts to create a workplace environment where all employees are valued, respected and have the support they need to thrive,” Van Nevel says. “It’s a testament to what we can accomplish when we accept people’s differences and work as one.” “We began our efforts [toward Corporate Equity Index recognition] three years ago because we felt we had both a need and opportunity to develop diversity, equity and inclusion,” explains Denise Domian, chief human resources officer for Racine-based Johnson Financial Group. During that time, JFG’s score has risen from 70 to 100 points. “Our CEO Jim Popp is very much on board with this effort. We started with listening sessions to find out what our strengths are and where we could be doing better.”
FROM THE TOP DOWN Top-down support such as Popp’s is critical for making the program work, according to Becky Crowley, JFG’s anti-money laundering specialist and nine-year veteran of the $14 billion banking and financial institution with more than 1,000 and 30-plus locations. “Having leadership support from the beginning was a very big thing,” says Crowley, who also heads JFG’s Pride Group. “It’s harder to push the message up than have it come from the top down. It’s also a crucial step in catching a program’s momentum and rolling with it.” The program’s overall presence and its services have helped LGBTQ community members perform better and feel more
NOVEMBER 2022 | 17
NEWS
Wisconsin Corporations with Perfect Scores Alliant Energy Corp
Madison
American Family Mutual Insurance Company
Madison
Associated Bank
Green Bay
CUNA Mutual Group
Madison
Fiserv Inc.
Milwaukee
Foley & Lardner LLP
Milwaukee
Johnson Controls
Milwaukee
Johnson Financial Group
Racine
Kohl's Corp
Menomonee Falls
Manpower Group
Milwaukee
Michael Best & Friedrich LLP
Milwaukee
Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance
Milwaukee
Quarles & Brady LLP
Milwaukee
Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c.
Milwaukee
Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated
Milwaukee
Rockwell Automation Inc.
Milwaukee
UW Credit Union
Madison
comfortable, Crowley explains. “It’s mentally taxing to have to ‘mask’ all the time,” she adds. “The fact that it’s easier to walk in and be authentically you is a powerful and reaffirming feeling.” Fiserv’s Feliciano agrees. “I remember what it was like to be ‘hidden.’ My day was spent working but also speaking in the third person about ‘someone important to me’,” she says. “But now, we respect everybody. It’s important and your heart feels good when you do it.”
BUILDING COMMUNITY Internal mechanisms are critical to supporting corporate equity programs, but they also help companies reach out to the broader LGBTQ community, according to Patrick Mutsune, managing director at Baird Advisors, part of Robert W. Baird & Co., a Milwaukee-based multinational investment bank and financial services provider with more than 200 locations worldwide and $360 billion in client assets under management. Baird has taken multiple steps over the past few years to better serve LGBTQ members from its global base of 4,800 associates, says Mutsune, a former chair of Baird’s Spectrum Associate Resource Group designed to support LGBTQ employees. The group currently has 200 members. “Spectrum offers educational sessions and networking opportunities for LGBTQ associates and allies, including hosting events for Pride Month and National Coming Out Day 18 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS
to promote awareness, education, and visibility for LGBTQ associates,” Mutsune says. “Spectrum has also supported national organizations, such as The Trevor Project [which supports at-risk LGBTQ youth] and has formed partnerships with a number of Milwaukee-area community organizations, including Courage House, The Wisconsin LGBT Chamber of Commerce, the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center and Vivent Health.” Baird and other groups that have achieved a perfect score know that the Human Rights Campaign Foundation continues to evolve its metrics each year to match changing social conditions and challenges. That means the companies, too, will have to enhance their efforts if they want to keep their perfect scores. Many say that these days it’s more than just the right thing to do. “If you don’t know how an organization feels about queer folks, the default is to keep things to yourself,” JFG’s Crowley says. “I have expanded my network immensely among my coworkers and knowing that they’re in my corner is powerful and gratifying experience. That gives us a certain level of ‘pride’ and helps us all move forward.”
Michael Muckian was the banking and finance writer for the Milwaukee Business Journal and is the author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Financing and Accounting and The One-Day MBA in Finance and Accounting.
NOVEMBER 2022 | 19
NEWS TAKING LIBERTIES
The Next Test for Democracy Begins Right after the Election BY JOEL MCNALLY
S
hortly after Election Day, we all should have a pretty good idea how difficult it will be for President Biden and congressional Democrats to pass any more legislation for the next two years regardless of how popular it might be with the American people.
Wisconsin Congressmen Scott Fitzgerald and Tom Tiffany joined 139 other incumbent House Republicans after the January 6 insurrection voting to disenfranchise millions of legitimate voters in Arizona and Pennsylvania by throwing out those states’ certified electoral votes for Biden.
What we may not know for some time is how much longer America’s major political parties will remain locked in a bitter struggle over two radically different visions of our future as a democracy.
RON JOHNSON’S FAKE ELECTORS
No one can trust the polls when so many elections around the country in crucial battleground states like Wisconsin are so excruciatingly close. Here’s the only safe political prediction. The results will be mixed. And as good or as bad as the midterms are for either political party, the next test for democracy will begin immediately after the election.
BECAUSE THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA STOPPED HELPING TRUMP SPREAD HIS CONSTANT STREAM OF LIES TO GULLIBLE SUPPORTERS, MOST AMERICANS WHO AVOID FOX NEWS DON’T REALIZE HOW WEIRD AND TWISTED TRUMP’S PUBLIC RALLIES HAVE BECOME. That’s because even if Republicans succeed in regaining a majority in either closely divided house of Congress, they cannot escape the fact that so many of their supporters remain blindly committed to their soundly defeated ex-president who lost re-election by the largest vote in American history.
ELECTION DENIERS Rather than distancing themselves from their defeated president Donald Trump for sending a raging mob to attack Congress to overthrow President Biden’s election, a majority of Republican nominees in the midterms for the House, Senate and top state offices are election deniers themselves publicly questioning whether the 2020 election results were legitimate. In an analysis of 569 Republican midterm candidates by The Washington Post—53% of the nominees, 291 candidates—were identified as 2020 election deniers challenging the certified election outcome. Most of those Republican extremists, 173, were running in safely Republican districts where they were expected to win. Another 52 were running in tightly contested elections that could go either way. 20 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS
Other state Republican candidates questioning the legitimacy of Wisconsin’s election include gubernatorial nominee Tim Michels who talked about decertifying the election results whether it was constitutional or not, Sen. Ron Johnson who tried to deliver “fake electoral votes” for Trump from Wisconsin and Michigan to Vice President Mike Pence on January 6 and Derrick Van Orden, the homophobic, misogynistic, anti-abortion 3rd District congressional nominee who used campaign funds to travel to Trump’s January 6 insurrection. The growing House Insurrection Caucus could create as many political problems for Republicans as it does for Democrats and American democracy. That’s because they can be expected to take their marching and rioting orders directly from their ex-president in his nonstop campaign to return to power in 2024 for as long as he likes. Because the mainstream media stopped helping Trump spread his constant stream of lies to gullible supporters, most Americans who avoid Fox News don’t realize how weird and twisted Trump’s public rallies have become since Trump has openly welcomed the deranged conspiracy theorists of QAnon to join his white supremacist army of Proud Boys and Oath Keepers in one big loony Lollapalooza.
NAZI-LIKE SALUTE Real news reporters began interviewing people at Trump rallies again when word got around Trump was playing the QAnon theme song during his rants prompting crowds to enthusiastically wave one arm in the air pointing a finger in a Nazi-like salute. One woman explained they were pointing to God. “It’s like saying that God’s coming,” she said. Congresswoman Liz Cheney, who’s being banished from office for supporting Trump’s impeachment for attempting to overthrow democracy, has called him their Orange Jesus. Trump’s most extreme devotees from political fringe groups follow him from city to city like a far-right version of Grateful Dead fans. Many QAnon supporters wear lanyards with a long string of commemorative buttons from every rally they’ve ever attended. Trump claimed several women in North Carolina had earned an invitation to Mar-a-Lago for attending 92 rallies. That could drive anyone mad.
POLITICAL EXTREMISTS ARE NOT HARMLESS ECCENTRICS. THE FBI WARNS THEY’RE POTENTIAL DOMESTIC TERRORISTS THREATENING OUR DEMOCRACY. No wonder rally supporters tell reporters Biden died in 2019. They say he was replaced by an actor so the deep state could run the presidency by committee. “You gotta do some research, brother,” one said. Many still expect John F. Kennedy Jr. to reveal he faked his death and plans to run as Trump’s vice president in 2024. They keep picking new dates for the Supreme Court to announce it has overturned the 2020 election and reinstated Trump as president. It's funny until they try again to violently bring down the government to restore Trump to power. Political extremists are not harmless eccentrics. The FBI warns they’re potential domestic terrorists threatening our democracy. Republicans won’t be a legitimate American political party again until they stop nominating candidates for public office who refuse to accept the results of elections.
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 2022 | 21
NEWS HERO OF THE MONTH
Martha Chambers Speaks Out for Disability Voting Rights BY ERIN BLOODGOOD
I
n April, a Waukesha County circuit court judge ruled that voters cannot receive assistance mailing or returning their absentee ballot. “They eliminated my ability to vote,” says Martha Chambers, who is paralyzed from the neck down and relies on her caregiver to return her ballot.
Since this happened in April, Chambers has spoken out about the rights of people with disabilities and worked closely with Disability Rights Wisconsin and Law Forward to restore her freedom to vote and the freedoms of many Wisconsinites with disabilities. Chambers is used to people making decisions that impact the disabled population without consulting them first. “Nothing about us without us,” she often says. Whether it’s policies, laws, or construction projects, she describes feeling left out of decision-making processes. That’s why she stresses the importance of having her right to vote. “It is important for us—just like it is for everyone else—to try to put in office the people who have similar beliefs or want policies in place that support issues that are important to us—or programs that we need in our lives.”
22 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS
Photo by Erin Bloodgood.
CAN’T FOLD THE BALLOT In 1995 at the age of 32, Chambers was thrown off a horse and landed on her head, forever paralyzing her below her neck. To get around, she now uses a special chair that she can steer with her head by pressing in different directions on the headrest. To write or use a computer, she uses sticks with mouth pieces on the end to press keys or hold a pencil. Those mouth sticks allow her to fill out and sign her ballot on her own, but she can’t fold the ballot, put it in the envelope and place it in a mailbox. When the Waukesha ruling came out, she temporarily lost her ability to use her voice in our elections. So, Chambers became a plaintiff in the Carey v. WEC case which argued that the voting rights of people with disabilities are protected under the national Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Voting Rights Act. Chambers, along with other voters with disabilities, told their stories of voting challenges to the court and on August 31, the court ruled that federal law protects the right of all disabled Wisconsin voters to receive assistance from a person of their choice to mail or deliver their absentee ballots.
“It makes no sense that we had to do this at all,” says Chambers. “They’re trying to make it harder for people to vote—harder for people like myself when our lives are difficult enough.” Chambers continues to dedicate her time to speaking at public events, sharing her story to the media, and consulting with Disability Rights Wisconsin to ensure that people like her have fair access to the ballot. She makes the point that she is using her voice for the many people who are not able to speak out and attend public events. Most importantly, she is using her right to vote absentee for the November 8 election. Make sure to use your voice and vote this election. If you have a disability, find the resources you need to vote at https://disabilityvote.org/2022/voter-toolkit-2022-elections/ or call the Disability Rights Wisconsin Voter Hotline at 1-844-347-8683.
Erin Bloodgood is a Milwaukee photographer and storyteller. See more of her work on her website at bloodgoodfoto.com.
NOVEMBER 2022 | 23
NEWS MKE SPEAKS: CONVERSATIONS WITH MILWAUKEEANS
Walłer Jack Lanier
BRINGING HARMONY TO THE MILWAUKEE BLACK COMMUNITY BY TOM JENZ
24 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS
Photo by Tom Jenz.
ast February, Walter Lanier, senior pastor of the Progressive Baptist Church, became the president and CEO of the African American Leadership Alliance of Milwaukee (AALAM).
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by the NBA Detroit Pistons. In my eighth grade, Dad was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks, and we moved to Mequon. I wasn’t happy about moving because I had to leave my friends and girlfriend.
At 54, Lanier is a veteran of public service, and has numerous connections to diverse leaders across many sectors in the region. AALAM’s goal is to move the wellness metrics and change the narrative of Milwaukee's Black community. When compared to other segregated urban areas across the country, these metrics show the city’s Black folks experience disparities in housing, wealth, employment and health when compared to whites.
Kind of a culture shock for me because Detroit was culturally a Black city and it had diverse suburbs, but Mequon, Wisconsin was almost completely white with very few Black families. I went to Homestead High School. Good school, and I was a bright guy, but over time, I became apathetic, got bad grades, and barely earned my way out of high school. The culture change was tougher than I realized. I was kind of depressed and did not apply myself.
On his church website, he describes himself as husband, father, lawyer, pastor, teacher, encourager and empowerer. Those are big responsibilities, and he is a big man with a big mind.
When you got out of high school, did you have a career path in mind?
Which I discovered when I met Lanier at his AALAM office in the 3rd Street Market complex, the old Boston Store building. He is a busy guy, flanked by a briefcase, laptop computer and two cell phones. But he turned off his devices and focused on our conversation.
Tell me about your background, where you grew up, your family, neighborhoods and schools you attended. I was born in Buffalo, New York in 1967. My dad, Bob Lanier, played basketball for St. Bonaventure College, and he was a star. Our family moved to Detroit when my dad got drafted
I was accepted at UWM to play basketball. I shouldn’t have gone to college. I ended up partying, not going to classes, hanging out on the East Side. After the first semester, I dropped out. That was December of 1984. Then, my life went from bad to worse. For the next three years, I was wandering, working odd jobs, hanging with friends, partying, staying out all night. I was kind of a transient.
Through those aimless times, were you living at home? No, no. When I did not get a regular job, my dad put me out of the house. He told me, “I won’t put up with your behavior, not a standard I have in my household.” Best lesson I ever had. My dad meant what he said. I always appreciated him for that. NOVEMBER 2022 | 25
NEWS MKE SPEAKS: CONVERSATIONS WITH MILWAUKEEANS
So what pulled you out of your transient life? In early 1988, I ran into an old friend from high school, Craig Bennett. We became roommates on the East Side. Craig was in college, and he also had a job at a bank. He was responsible, and his attitude rubbed off on me. I started coming back to being myself. I went back to UWM, hit my groove, got very good grades, and graduated with a degree in finance. I finally had goals and a vision.
What were your goals? I started focusing on the law—on going to law school. I got accepted at the University of Michigan Law School. It was 1992, and I was 26, and I had gotten married. My wife and I went off to law school in Ann Arbor.
After you graduated from law school, what was your career path? Before I finished law school, we had two children. My second child, my son, was not alive when he was born, had lost a lot of blood in the birthing process, but he did survive, and he’s doing great now. It was April 7, 1994. Up until then, I was not a religious person, but on that day, I discovered my Christian faith. After law school, we came back to Milwaukee, and I worked for John Reynolds, a federal judge, who had once been the governor of Wisconsin. Then, I got a job at the Michael Best & Friedrich corporate law firm. I practiced law there for three years until 1999. That same year, I was feeling the call to ministry, and I got involved with MICAH (Milwaukee Inner-city Congregation Allies for Hope.) Eventually, I ended up with a Master of Divinity degree and became a licensed Baptist minister. In 1999, I also formed my own law practice, Lanier Law Offices.
In 2008, you were hired by the Milwaukee Area Technical College. What was your job? For the first three years, I was in their legal department as assistant general counsel. In May 2011, I completed my Master of Divinity degree. In June 2011, I left the MATC legal department and went to the Student Services department. In September 2011, I became the Pastor of the Progressive Baptist Church on 84th and Keefe. Lots of changes for me in 2011.
While you were at MATC, you founded the MATC's Men of Color Initiative in 2015. What is that all about? I was director of student services, and I was always looking at programming for Black men who were students at MATC. The Men of Color Initiative was designed to help reduce equity gaps centered on course completion, retention, and career. We also focused on mental health issues.
Not long ago, you became the president and CEO of the African American Leadership Alliance of Milwaukee (AALAM). You stated your goal is to utilize the data gathered over the years along with your network of community connections to start changing the metrics of Milwaukee's Black residents. What do you mean by the metrics? In 2020, AALLAM commissioned a study by Dr. Marc Levine of the UWM Center for Economic Development. It is an index of African American wellbeing on 33 data points. Of the 50 different cities studied, Milwaukee ended up ranking at the bottom on many of the data points. At AALAM, we intend to help lead on changing those metrics.
Do you have specific programs designed to bring Milwaukee’s ranking higher? First, there is the African American Leadership Program (AALP). Each year, for the last 13 years, we enroll a cohort of 17 to 20 Black men and women leaders who go through a nine-month program about leadership and self-development, coaching and feedback. So far, we have graduated over 200 alumni, many who have gone on to success in the business, government and nonprofit worlds. In forming AALAM, we and our allies sought to bring our Black leadership to bear on the challenges of our city. In 2017 across a three-day period, a group of over 80 African American leaders and white allies, convened. We studied the metrics, narratives, history and reports. We did some intense brainstorming. At the end, we posed the question: “What can we do?” The conclusion was to build an organization, which became the African American Leadership Alliance of Milwaukee in 2019. I became the CEO in early 2022.
When compared to other metropolitan cities across the country, Black Milwaukee residents suffer racial disparities in housing, wealth, employment and health. You once said, and I quote, “We haven’t moved the metrics on the quality of life of Black citizens in Milwaukee for a while.” What do you mean by that? When I came back to Milwaukee after Michigan Law School, I was always looking for an organization where I could use my skills to make an impact for my city and the African American community. A small hole in a big boat will lead to trouble, the hole being segregated impoverished Blacks in Milwaukee. Solving this problem is an “us” issue, whites and Blacks and browns. You have to look at the whole terrain.
Not long ago, I interviewed Mayor Johnson. We got to talking, and he told me there are inner city Black kids who have never seen Lake Michigan or been Downtown. I think the city, all the city, should belong to all the residents. Too many of us Black Milwaukeeans don’t feel like “that’s my Downtown,” or “that’s my Lake Michigan.” This is the result of hyper segregation which leads to predictable problems for the entire ecosystem.
26 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS
In my work, I’ve run into this concept of silos, meaning too many nonprofits and government agencies trying to help inner city residents, but yet staying isolated, not interacting with each other. For instance, too often the volunteer street leaders are not consulted by the bureaucratic leaders and politicians. Do you agree? I do. Look at it this way. This is a predictable outcome of a segregated space. If a city is segregated, it is already siloed, and then it gets embedded into the culture. Silos almost become a habit, which results in a lack of communication and engagement. For instance, in war, if you are a general and you don’t get intel from the ground, you won’t be effective in the battlefield. Too often, efforts, programs, ideas and proposed solutions are advanced without sufficiently consulting with the community and neighborhood leaders.
When you give your sermons or have meetings, do you ever get into the topic of racism, how to overcome racism? I am of the school of thought that sermons should be prepared with a bible in one hand and a newspaper in the other. Current events should be addressed in sermons—so yes, race, racism, voting rights, January 6, all make their way into my sermons. We have to discuss these issues if Milwaukee is going to thrive. There is the concept of “Midwestern nice” where it’s uncomfortable to have the hard conversations about our racial differences. You can’t have a team, a system, a factory, a city hall, a bureaucracy, even a news-
paper that aspires toward excellence without dealing with the tough problems. We need to be brutally honest about the current reality of the social differences because that is where change comes from. Lanier currently serves on a variety of community boards including the Milwaukee Community Justice Council, Milwaukee Inner-City Congregations Allied for Hope, and Housing Ministries of the American Baptist Churches of Wisconsin. Finally, he is the Chairman of the Board for Milwaukee Health Services, Inc. a federally qualified health center serving patients in Milwaukee’s inner city. In 2012, Lanier founded MIRACLE, Mental Illness—Raising Awareness with Church and Community Leaders Everywhere. MIRACLE works with faith-based and community leaders, mental health organizations, and advocates to raise awareness and decrease stigma around mental illness.
Tom Jenz writes the Central City Stories column for shepherdexpress.com.
NOVEMBER 2022 | 27
FOOD & DRINK FLASH IN THE PAN
Soup of Greens BY ARI LEVAUX
It looked simple on that white tablecloth, and it is. All I could see were shards of green floating in a thick, milky broth, but I soon discovered linguica, a type of cured Portuguese sausage similar to chorizo, lurking beneath the surface. This humble bowl of soup was the opposite of fireworks, but in a good way. It was like a symphony at a very low volume. I knew there would be caldo verde at Sagres Restaurant. In fact, my quest for this Western Iberian comfort food was the motivation for making the trip. Because unlike seafood-based dishes like the mariscada or camarao alhinho, I can bring caldo verde with me, in recipe form, and reproduce it back home with local ingredients. Sagres, according to the internet, is one of two restaurants in Fall River that serve caldo verde (the other being the incomparable Mr. Chicken). I learned a lot at Sagres, not just about caldo verde. I will forever be grateful for the waiter’s firm assurance that it’s OK to drink red wine with seafood. Caldo verde translates into soup of greens. While kale is the green most often used, any durable leaf will do, including collards, broccoli leaves or chard, to name a few. Since then, I have made batch after batch of caldo verde, trying to recreate that glorious and mellow experience. I followed the recipes I found online but it always came out too busy or too bland. Although I saw no evidence in that Fall Riverian bowl of caldo verde, I began to suspect bell pepper. I began to wonder if it was the linguica I was using, purchased from the local Star Market. After all, I knew of a certain fisherman of Portuguese descent named Mario, a friend of a friend. Mario makes the two-hour drive to Fall River from Gloucester, on the Massachusetts north shore, in order to get his linguica. So maybe I needed better linguica? Perhaps, but before making a linguica run, I tried adding a whole bell pepper to my caldo verde, for some stealth flavor. I had noticed pieces of bell pepper in most of the other dishes I enjoyed in Fall River. Could it also be a secret ingredient in the caldo verde? It is green, after all. And has a flavor that can’t be replaced or replicated. I began making my caldo verde with a whole bell pepper simmering in the pot, similar to how I often will add whole onions, carrots or celery crowns to a pot of soup. They never make it to the final bowl. So too with my bell peppers, which you could smell all through the house. Their fragrance clearly made it into the caldo.
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recently visited Fall River, a sleepy fishing town on the Rhode Island border whose long-established Portuguese community has made it the capital of Portuguese seafood in North America. There, amidst the wine-sauced littleneck clams, the grilled cod, scallops moçambique and Portuguese paella, I found a bowl of kale potato soup that almost stole the show. 28 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS
Ultimately, it’s more of a linguica broth, which if you aren’t careful can be a bit heavy because of it. I cooked the linguica to drain some of the grease. With lemon zest to add levity, my caldo verde ended up with some fireworks to it, but in a good way. So next time I drive to Fall River, I’ll be able to focus on the littlenecks.
Photos by Ari LeVaux.
Caldo Verde
A mellow bowl of kale and potato soup that will leave you feeling nourished and satisfied. Serves six • 4 large potatoes, peeled and diced • 1 large onion, minced • 1/2 cup olive oil • Whole bell pepper • 2 bay leaves • Zest of a lemon • 2 cubes or equivalent veggie bouillon • 1 bunch kale • 1/2 pound linquica (or chorizo) Boil the potatoes for a half hour in a gallon of water. Then allow to cool. In a soup pot, meanwhile, sauté the onions in the oil on medium heat. Add the whole bell pepper to the pan. When the potatoes are cool enough to work with, mash the potatoes in the water until almost smooth. When the onions are translucent—about 15 minutes— add the potato water to the soup pot. Add the bay leaves and veggie bouillon. Simmer for 30 minutes. Slice the linguica into half-inch rounds. Brown them on the grill or pan. Add the linguica rounds to the soup pot along with the zest. Simmer for 15 minutes. Remove the ribs from the kale and mince the leaves crosswise. Add the kale to the pot. Cook another five minutes. Season with salt and serve.
Ari LeVaux has written about food for The Atlantic Online, Outside Online and Alternet. NOVEMBER 2022 | 29
FOOD & DRINK BEVERAGES
Photo courtesy Monte dall'Ora.
Veneto Wine is More Than Just Delicious BY GAETANO MARANGELLI
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he vicoli and piazzali were surging with people in costumes and masks. The caneletti were swelling with gondole and vaporetti. The Piazza San Marco felt as if it couldn't possibly hold one more body. Moody clouds were pouring rain on us. Joyful music was ringing across the piazza. All of us were dancing. It was the evening of Shrove Tuesday at the Carnival of Venice.
As evening began turning to night, I began walking around the city. What was I looking for? I couldn't tell you. A party I was invited to? Maybe. I saw a passel of people in costumes by the portone of a Venetian Gothic palazzo. I sidled up behind them. “We were invited!” shouted one of them to the other side of the enormous front door. The door swung open. The passel bundled out of the rain and into the palazzo. I bundled in after them, leaving one magical world to find myself in another. 30 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS
Label photo by Gaetano Marangelli.
A world of grand staircases, intimate salotti and loggie with pillars. With more music, more dancing, more costumes and masks. And with bottles and bottles of delicious red wine. A wine bathed in light but whispering darkly. Like a meadow of flowers under swirling summer skies. Like the garnet lips of a Delphic smile, whose breath pulls you closer and closer for more. “What kind of wine is this?” I asked a Venetian with the bearing of a Renaissance courtier. “Valpolicella Classico,” said the Venetian. “A wine of our region, the Veneto.” “It’s delicious,” I said. “No,” the Venetian smiled at me. “It’s much more than that.” Monte dall’Ora, Valpolicella Classico, “Saseti” isn’t the Valpolicella Classico I drank at that party I wasn’t invited to, but it bears all of that wine’s qualities.
These are honest wines from the Veneto, made by their land, their climate, their people and their culture. “Monte dall’Ora was born out of a dream,” says Carlo Venturini, who with his wife, Alessandra Zantedeschi, are the owners and vignaioli of the Veneto estate. The dream was making wine out of nature “without forcing it in any way.”
INDIGENOUS GRAPES Carlo and Alessandra practice biodynamic agriculture, and they cultivate grapes native to the Veneto—grapes like Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella and Molinari, along with grapes like Oseleta, an indigenous grape that was lost to the region. They believe cultivating grapes is about the biodiversity of their vineyards, a quality which powers the energy of their agriculture. Cherry and olive trees grow among their vines. Wild grasses carpet their vineyards. “Agriculture is a practice with a deep spiritual impact,” says Carlo. “It’s an act that requires our faith in our land.” These practices and acts yield Monte dall’Ora’s honest wines.
“I found an energy and integrity in them A superscript to the handprints reads, that was lacking in most other Valpoli- “Oltre al cuore, solo queste.” “Along cella and Amarone wines,” recalls Mon- with our hearts, just these.” te dall'Ora’s importer Kevin McKenna, a partner at Louis/Dressner Selections, “We don’t want to just make wine. We want to make ‘our’ wine,” says Carlo. whose portfolio is composed of honest “Our natural wines are the fruits of our wines, made in vineyards and with a feelings about our land and our work.” true sense of grape and place. (Louis/ Dressner also imports the super deliNo, this wine isn’t delicious. It’s much cious white Veneto wines of Angelino more than that. Maule at an estate called La Biancara.) “I was also very enamored of the Monte dall’Ora, Valpolicella Classico, way Carlo worked the vineyards and “Saseti” costs about $20 per bottle. It his work in the cellar.” is imported by Louis/Dressner Selections and is distributed locally by Vino The 2021 Monte dall’Ora Valpolicella Veritas, Ltd. It can be purchased at Classico “Saseti” is a blend of Corvina, better independent wine shops. Corvinone, Rondinella, Molinara and Oseleta. “Saseti” is named for the little stones found in the limestone soils of the wine’s terraced vineyard. Monte dall’Ora ferments the grapes of “Saseti” spontaneously with their native yeasts in concrete and steel tanks. The wine is aged in its tanks for about three months, then bottled unfiltered. The label of “Saseti” features the wine-colored handprints of Carlo, Alessandra and their three children.
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.
NOVEMBER 2022 | 31
SPECIAL HOLIDAY ARTS GUIDE
| SPONSORED BY SAINT KATE – THE ARTS HOTEL
HOLIDAY ARTS GUIDE NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2022
Director Shelley Butler and Playwright Catherine Trieschmann
Milwaukee Rep’s New ‘Variations’ for the Holidays BY DAVID LUHRSSEN
‘T
is the season for A Christmas Carol and The Nutcracker, with superb performances by the Milwaukee Rep and the Milwaukee Ballet in the offing. But there is also novelty this season, including a world premiere at the Rep, Catherine Trieschmann’s The Nativity Variations. The Nativity Variations was inspired by my years of writing and directing the youth Christmas play at my local Methodist Church. I wrote a comic essay about the experience for Slate,” Trieschmann says. The Rep’s Artistic Director Mark Clements read the piece and saw it as a strong basis for a play. “The Nativity Variations is far more comic and outlandish than anything I actually wrote for church, but the foundation very much comes from personal experience!”
Photos courtesy of Milwaukee Rep.
Trieschmann’s plays, including Oz 2.5 and Crooked, have found audiences in the U.S. and U.K. She moved to a small Kansas town over a decade ago when her husband accepted a tenure track position in the philosophy department at Fort Hays State University. “Discovering local talent has been a joy,” she says. “There are extraordinarily talented people living in the nooks and crannies of America. You just have to think outside of the box and open your mind to different types of collaborations. I've written plays for the local symphony, which have been really fun to create, and I'm currently writing a musical with a tremendously talented local composer and choral director.”
In rehearsal at The Nativity Variations
32 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS
The Nativity Variations, she adds, is “primarily about community and the commonality between theater and religion. While certainly Father Juan, the Priest who oversees the production, and Jules, the avant-garde director, have disagreements about what a Christmas play should entail, I think the audience will be quite surprised by the nature of those discussions as well as the results.” Illustrations and background by Sophie Yufa.
NOVEMBER 2022 | 33
SPECIAL HOLIDAY ARTS GUIDE
| SPONSORED BY SAINT KATE – THE ARTS HOTEL
5 POINTS ART GALLERY
BEL CANTO CHORUS
CARROLL COLLEGE THEATRE
5ptsartgallery.com
belcanto.org
carroll.edu
“Manny Vibez: Eden Parq/Celeste Contreras & Allsion Westbrook IV: Tiacuilo,” Nov 4-Jan. 8, 2023 ACACIA THEATRE COMPANY acaciatheatre.com The Jeweler’s Shop, through Nov. 13 The three-act play by Poland’s Karol Wojtyla is probably most familiar from its 1989 adapted into a film by British director Michael Anderson (Logan’s Run), complete with Burt Lancaster and Olivia Hussey. The play’s examination of romantic and divine love is also notable for its playwright. Wojtyla became Pope John Paul II and was a a factor in the collapse of the Soviet Bloc. (David Luhrssen) ALFONS GALLERY alfonsgallery.org ALL IN PRODUCTIONS allin-mke.com
“Christmas in the Basilica,” Dec. 9-11 The Basilica of St. Josaphat is a beautiful, hushed setting for Bel Canto’s annual Christmas program featuring carols, hymns and a work by contemporary English choral composer John Rutter, his exalted, jubilant Gloria. (David Luhrssen)
In the Moment, Dec.8-10
Black Nativity, Dec. 8-11, Marcus Center for the Performing Arts Wilson Theatre at Vogel Hall Langston Hughes was one of the most important Black American writers of the last century, an innovator who sought a Black aesthetic as well as a social activist. His work as a novelist, poet, essayist and short story writer is extensive, but his 1961 play, the gospel-infused Black Nativity, remains one of his most beloved works and has become a holiday tradition in Milwaukee. (David Luhrssen) BLACK HOLOCAUST MUSEUM
Stones in his Pockets, through Nov. 20
BOERNER BOTANICAL GARDENS boernerbotanicalgardens.org BOMBSHELL THEATRE CO.
artsatlargeinc.org AURA THEATRE COLLECTIVE auratheatre.com BACH CHAMBER CHOIR
CATEY OTT DANCE COLLECTIVE cateyott.com CEDARBURG ART MUSEUM cedarburtartmuseum.org “The American Scene through the Eyes of Gerrit V. Sinclair,” through Jan. 8, 2023 Gerrit V. Sinclair (1880-1950) was a Milwaukee painter and art instructor associated with American Regionalism, a movement that applied the simplified lines of modernism to representations of everyday life—a truck rolling past red barns on a country road as twilight descends. Sinclair’s paintings were unusual among the Regionalists for being softly lit, endowing his scenes with atmosphere. (David Luhrssen) “Judith Friebert: Pastel Pastures,” through Jan. 8, 2023
bombshelltheatre.org CEDARBURG CULTURAL CENTER BOULEVARD THEATRE milwaukeeboulevardtheatre.com
ARTS @ LARGE
CARTHAGE COLLEGE THEATRE carthage.edu/fine-arts
marcuscenter.org series/black-arts-mke
abhmuseum.org
aperianimam.com
Godspell, Nov.18-19
New Play Initiative: Memento Mori, Nov. 4-5, Nov. 10-12
americanplayers.org
APERI ANIMAM
carrollplayers.weebly.com
BLACK ARTS MKE
AMERICAN PLAYERS THEATRE (APT)
APT company members Nate Burger and Marcus Trushinski handle many roles in playwright Marie Jones’ heartbreaking and hilarious tale of two ne’er do wells in a down-on-its-luck Irish town who get the reprieve of a lifetime when a Hollywood production company comes to make a movie in their town. (Michael Muckian)
CARROLL PLAYERS
BREW CITY OPERA brewcityopera.wixsite.com BRONZEVILLE ARTS ENSEMBLE facebook.com/ BronzevilleArtsEnsemble CABARET MILWAUKEE facebook.com/cabmke
cedarburgculturalcenter.org “The Little Show 2022-2023: CCC’s Annual Juried Exhibit,” Dec. 2-Jan. 15, 2023 CEDARBURG PERFORMING ARTS CENTER cedarburgpac.com “A Kodachrome Christmas Starring John McGivern,” Dec. 9-11 Cherish the Ladies, Dec. 17
bachchoirmilwaukee.com
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Illustrations and background by Sophie Yufa.
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CHANT CLAIRE CHAMBER CHOIR
DANCEWORKS PERFORMANCE MKE
FALLS PATIO PLAYERS
chantclaire.org
danceworksmke.org
fallspatioplayers.com
Fauré’s Requiem, Nov. 20, Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist
I Am Because You Are…, Nov. 12-13, Baumgartner Center for Dance
Christmas Carol, Dec. 2-4
CHARLES ALLIS ART MUSEUM charlesallis.org “Ghosts of Segregation,” through Dec. 4 Spread across the walls throughout the furnished rooms at the Charles Allis Art Museum is an exhibition of photographs, a contemporary reflection on a chapter of America’s past that refuses to remain closed. “Ghosts of Segregation” collects beautifully composed photos by Richard Frishman, taken recently at places that were crucial—or representative—of our nation’s fraught history of racism. (David Luhrssen) THE COMPANY OF STRANGERS THEATER thecompanyofstrangerstheater.com THE CONSTRUCTIVISTS theconstructivists.org
The title comes from the Bantu ubuntu, a philosophical proposition that, in communities, we create each other. Danceworks’ professional company opens its 25th season by honoring dancers and dances that helped create the creators creating each other onstage. It includes a documentary film by artistic director Christal Wagner, featuring interviews with founders and former dancers, and footage of classic performances. Wagner will honor that history choreographically in a new group dance. Choreographers Gina Laurenzi, Dawn Springer, and Wagner will revisit early works with new dancers, and L.A. choreographer and Milwaukee native Taryn Vander Hoop will create a premiere. (John Schneider)
FESTIVAL CITY SYMPHONY festivalcitysymphony.org “Price, Strauss and Brahms: Listen to the Spirit,” Nov. 12 Richard Strauss’ tone poem Death and Transfiguration and Johannes Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 is joined by a less familiar concert work, The Oak, by Black American composer Florence Price. (Frank Grey) FIRST STAGE firststage.org Arthur and Friends Make a Musical, Oct. 7-Nov. 6, Marcus Center’s Todd Wehr Theater
DAVID BARNETT GALLERY davidbarnettgallery.com DEAD MAN’S CARNIVAL facebook.com/Dead-Mans-Carnival EARLY MUSIC NOW earlymusicnow.org Orlando Consort, Nov. 12, UWM Zelazo Center
Photo by Eric Redmond. Courtesy of Early Music Now.
CONCORD CHAMBER ORCHESTRA concordorchestra.org CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY cuw.edu
The foursome brings medieval and Renaissance vocal music come alive. As the Los Angeles Times puts it, “The work of the Consort is equally remarkable for scholarship and imagination working on the past, and the skill and communicative immediacy it brings to the task of performance which lies in the present.” (Frank Grey) Schola Antiqua of Chicago, Dec. 3-4, St. Joseph Chapel EX FABULA exfabula.org
cedarburgartistsguild.com
4th Deaf Stories Project StorySlam, Nov. 9
DANCECIRCUS
StorySlam Legacy & Heirlooms, Nov. 15
COVERED BRIDGE ART STUDIO TOUR
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Brandite Reed, Vivian Madson, and Zach Thomas Woods in ARTHUR™ & FRIENDS MAKE A MUSICAL! First Stage, 2022. Photo by Paul Ruffolo.
The world premiere by First Stage actor and resident playwright John Maclay is a tale of problem solving adapted from Marc Brown’s books directed and choreographed by Bay Area Children’s Theatre Artistic Director Khalia Davis. “Arthur was such a beloved part of my childhood, so to get the opportunity to celebrate the legacy of the books and television series by expanding the world into a fun, family-friendly musical, is a dream!” Davis says. (Morton Shlabotnik) Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Nov. 25-Dec. 24
StorySlam Language, Dec. 6 Illustrations and background by Sophie Yufa.
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GROHMANN MUSEUM
HARLEY-DAVIDSON MUSEUM
msoe.edu/grohmann-museum
harley-davidson.com
“A Time of Toil and Triumph: Selections from the Shogren-Meyer Collection of American Art,” through Feb. 26, 2023 The Grohmann’s James Kieselburg chose 113 paintings and photos from the Shogren-Meyer private collection of art from the Great Depression era. His choices were in line with the museum’s mission of depicting “productive work,” including social realist and heroic regionalist depictions of industrial laborers and farmers but also plowed fields, tractors and industrial landscapes. (David Luhrssen) Max Arthur Cohn (1903-1998), Powerhouse (Edison Plant), 1959, Oil on canvas, 30 x 23 in. From the Shogren-Meyer Collection of American Art. Courtesy of the Grohmann Museum.
GROVE GALLERY
“Off-Road Harley-Davidson,” continuing Building a Milwaukee Icon: HD’s Juneau Ave. Factory, continuing Tsunami Motorcycle Display, continuing H. F. JOHNSON GALLERY OF ART carthage.edu/art-gallery HOVER CRAFT HYPERLOCAL MKE hyperlocalmke.com
gallerygrove.com FLORENTINE OPERA florentineopera.org FORTE THEATRE COMPANY fortetheatrecompany.org FRANK JUAREZ GALLERY fjgmke.com FRANKLY MUSIC franklymusic.org GALLERY 218 gallery218.com GREENDALE COMMUNITY THEATRE greendaletheatre.org
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HAGGERTY MUSEUM OF ART marquette.edu/haggerty-museum “J.R.R. Tolkien: The Art of the Manuscript,” through Dec. 23 When “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” premiered this fall on Prime Video, another chapter was added to Tolkien’s world-encompassing saga. The roots of his enduring legacy are on display at the Haggerty, with more than 120 items created by Tolkien, many previously unexhibited, including manuscripts from The Hobbit. Says curator William Fliss, “Tolkien is that rare author who wins new readers as the generations unfold. Fans who read him had children who read them and they in turn had children.” (David Luhrssen)
J. R. R. Tolkien. English, 1892–1973. The Book of Mazarbul, first of three facsimile pages, third version, ca. 1940–41. Ink, colored pencil, and pencil on paper. 83/8 x 67/8 in. (212 x 174 mm). Raynor Memorial Libraries, Marquette University. MS. Tolkien, 3/4/12/1a. © The Tolkien Estate Limited 2004. www.tolkienestate.com
Illustrations and background by Sophie Yufa.
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INSPIRATION STUDIOS ART GALLERY inspirationstudiosgallery.com “Deb Rucinski: Calm & Curious,” November
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INSTITUTE FOR THE PRESERVATION OF AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSIC & ARTS i-pama.com IRISH CULTURAL AND HERITAGE CENTER ichc.net JAZZ GALLERY CENTER FOR THE ARTS jazzgallerycenterforarts.org JEWISH MUSEUM MILWAUKEE jewishmuseummilwaukee.org “Jews in Space: Members of the Tribe in Orbit,” through Feb. 5, 2023
'Amazing Stories', Vol 2, No. 7, Oct. 1927, Hugo Gernsback Founder and Editor. YIVO Institute for Jewish Research.
From the lunar calendar that determines the dates of the holy days through … Spaceballs? The exhibition on Jews and the art, faith, science and entertainment of space will circle through the centuries for material in this traveling exhibit assembled by the Center for Jewish History & the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research. (David Luhrssen) JOHN MICHAEL KOHLER ARTS CENTER jmkac.org/home.html “Spaces Spotlight: Vollis Simpson,” through Feb. 19, 2023 “Otis Houston Jr.: My Name is My Word,” through Jan. 14, 2023 “Regional Responses to Albert and Louise Zahn,” through Feb. 2023
KACM THEATRICAL PRODUCTIONS kacmtheatrical.weebly.com KENOSHA PUBLIC MUSEUM museums.kenosha.org “Acrylic International Biennial Exhibition,” through Nov. 6 KETTLE MORAINE SYMPHONY kmsymphony.org “A Celebratory Christmas,” Dec. 3, UWM at Washington County KO-THI DANCE COMPANY ko-thi.org LAKE ARTS PROJECT lakeartsproject.com LATINO ARTS, INC. latinoartsinc.org ‘Day of the Dead Ofrendas,” through Nov. 18 When the conquistadors took Mexico, Aztec traditions of honoring the ancestors merged with the Roman Catholic All Souls Day and reemerged as Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead)—a colorful affirmation of life. Ofrendas (Offerings) are placed on home altars including candles, skull-shaped sweet bread (pan de Muertos) and a photo of the ancestor. (David Luhrssen) “Between Yesterday and Where: The Magic of Macondo (La Magia de Macondo),” Dec. 2-Feb. 17, 2023
I’ll Remember You as You Were, Not as What You’ll Become, through Feb. 19
Carlos Adames Group, Dec. 2
An elegy to the late Native Ameican poet Diane Burns, Sky Hopinka’s film is an audio-visual montage woven from original and found images and sounds to form a visual and aural montage. Archival footage of Burns—known for challenging Native American stereotypes—is punctuated with powwow dancers and ethnographic texts on Ho-Chunk concepts of rebirth and the afterlife. (Frank Grey)
lilypadgallery.com
LILY PAD GALLERY WEST “Liminal Space,” through Nov. 20 “Steve Gerhartz: Sunlight of the Seasons,” Dec. 2-Jan. 15, 2023 LYNDEN SCULPTURE GARDEN lyndensculpturegarden.org MAD ROGUES madrogues.com
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Illustrations and background by Sophie Yufa.
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MARCUS PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
Judy Collins
mastersingersofmilwaukee.org
marcuscenter.org
“Come Home for the Holidays,” Nov. 19-20, Crossroads Presbyterian Chuch
George Winston, Nov. 1 Arthur and Friends Make a Musical, through Nov. 6
MATERIAL STUDIOS + GALLERY materialstudiosandgallery.com
Swan Lake, Milwaukee Ballet. Nov. 3-6
MEMORIES DINNER THEATRE memoriesballroom.com
Concert Band and Chorus, U.S. Army Field Band, Nov. 14
Farce of Nature, Nov. 4-13
Judy Collins, Nov. 25 Judy Collins emerged from the ‘60s folk revival but soon sought wider musical possibilities. Her early albums helped introduce the songs of Leonard Cohen (“Suzanne”) and Joni Mitchell (“Both Sides Now”). In the ‘70s, she even lifted Steven Sondheim into the Top 40 (“Send in the Clowns”). Her early classical training shone through vocals that endow her performances with an art song aura. She’s been unrelentingly busy in recent years, releasing new albums and collaborating with a gamut of singers. (David Luhrssen)
Photo courtesy of Shank Hall/ACG.
Les Miserables, Nov. 29-Dec.4 Black Nativity, Dec. 8-11 The Nutcracker, Milwaukee Ballet, Dec. 10-24
Another Night Before Christmas, Dec. 9-18 MENOMONEE FALLS SYMPHONY Winter Pops Concert, Dec. 3, Hamilton Fine Arts Center, Sussex MILWAUKEE ART MUSEUM mam.org “The Ashcan School and the Eight: Creating a National Art,” through Feb. 19, 2023
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Musical, Nov. 25-Dec. 24 The Hip-Hop Nutcracker, Nov. 26
MASTER SINGERS OF MILWAUKEE
Everett Shinn (American, 1876–1953), Nightclub Scene , 1934. Oil on canvas. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Donald B. Abert in memory of Harry J. Grant M1966.112. Photo by John R. Glembin.
MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY THEATRE marquette.edu/communication/ theatre-arts.php The Wolves, Nov. 18-19, Dec. 1, Dec. 3-4 From White Plains, Nov. 19-20, Dec. 2-3
The NYC painters were dubbed “the Ashcan School” by critics because of their focus on urban grit. Coalescing in the first decade of the 20th century after their work was rejected by the National Academy, “the Eight” denounced the reigning idea that artists should avert their gaze from the bleak reality of modern life. They painted ugliness beautifully. The exhibit includes work by Robert Henri, George Bellows and John Sloan. (David Luhrssen) MILWAUKEE BALLET milwaukeeballet.org Swan Lake, Nov. 3-6 The Nutcracker, Dec. 10-24 No one sees The Nutcracker for the story. It’s the dance choreography, the costumed whimsy set to Tchaikovsky’s enchanting music that has drawn audiences since its 1892 debut in Saint Petersburg. The Christmas setting has also made it a holiday favorite. Because of the many children’s roles, it’s long been a showcase for students at Milwaukee Ballet School & Academy. (David Luhrssen)
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Illustrations and background by Sophie Yufa.
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MILWAUKEE CHAMBER THEATER
MILWAUKEE COMEDY
milwaukeechambertheatre.org
milwaukeecomedy.com
MILWAUKEE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA mso.org
MILWAUKEE FESTIVAL BRASS mfbrass.org Christmas Concert, Dec. 10, St. Sebastian Catholic Church
“Every Tree Speaks,” Nov. 4-6 “Fresh Air & Beethoven’s Eroica,” Nov. 11-12 “Ravel & Chopin,” Nov. 18-19
MILWAUKEE INSTITUTE OF ART & DESIGN miad.edu “Relative Perception: A Veteran Print Project,” through Nov. 19 “Then as Now: Woodland Pattern 1980-2022,” through Dec. 3 MILWAUKEE MAKERS MARKET milwaukeemakersmarket.com Nov. 26, Discovery World Dec. 18, Discovery World
Ravel’s Piano Concerto No. 2 is a work of precocious genius. Ravel’s Une barque sur l’ocean, the third movement of his 1906 suite Miroirs, carries listeners away on an ocean of sound. But venturesome music fans will want to attend the program for L’Ascension by France’s most important post-World War II composer, Olivier Messiaen. His list of pupils almost speaks for itself: Karlheinz Stockhausen, Iannis Xenakis, Pierre Boulez. His own music conjured strange sonic colors through layered harmonies, complex rhythms and the inspiration to look beyond the obvious. (David Luhrssen)
Photo by Nicole Acosta. Courtesy of Milwaukee Chamber Theatre.
Misery, Nov. 18-Dec. 18
MILWAUKEE MUSAIK
Charismatic Jonathan Wainwright plays a novelist who is rescued from a car wreck by a devoted fan in this Stephen King adaptation. Kelly Doherty should be great fun as the fan. She possesses sweetness that can turn brilliantly dark as witnessed in her performances in local productions of Red Herring and The Handmaid’s Tale. (Russ Bickerstaff)
milwaukeemusaik.org
MILWAUKEE CHILDREN'S CHOIR milwaukeechildrenschoir.org All Choir Concert, Nov. 6
myso.org MILWAUKEE OPERA THEATRE milwaukeeoperatheatre.org “Doc the Halls” (virtual), Dec. 2 MILWAUKEE REPERTORY THEATER milwaukeerep.com Wife of a Salesman, through Nov. 6, Stiemke Studio A decidedly feminist take on the Arthur Miller play of a similar name, Wife of a Salesman examines the parallel relationship shared by a wife and a mistress, as well as the influence an antihero like Willy Loman would have had on these women back in the 1950s. The play dramatizes the event of the two women meeting face to face for the first time. (Susan Harpt Grimes) Beehive: The 60’s Musical, Nov. 11-Jan. 15, 2023, Stackner Cabaret The Nativity Variations, Nov. 16-Dec. 11, Quadracci Powerhouse A Christmas Carol, Nov. 29-Dec. 24, Pabst Theater
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MILWAUKEE YOUTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Fall Chamber Ensemble Program Recital, Nov. 13 Senior Symphony “Voyages,” Nov. 19, Carrol University Shattuck Music Center Auditorium MILWAUKEE YOUTH THEATRE milwaukeeyouththeatre.org Lost Tales, Nov. 4-6 MORNING STAR PRODUCTIONS morningstarproductions.org Christmas with the Cratchits, Dec. 4, Dec. 9-11 MUSEUM OF WISCONSIN ART wisconsinart.org “Anthology: Seeing Story through the Eyes of Chrystal Denise Gillon,” through Nov. 6 “Magic Wilderness: Dreamscapes of the Forest,” through Jan. 15, 2023 Members Show, Dec. 10-Jan. 22, 2023 Illustrations and background by Sophie Yufa.
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OIL GALLERY MILWAUKEE oilmilwaukee.com OPTIMIST THEATRE optimisttheatre.org OUTSKIRTS THEATRE facebook.com/outskirtstheatre OVER OUR HEAD PLAYERS overourheadplayers.org Two Point Oh, Dec. 2-17 PABST THEATER A Christmas Carol, Nov. 29-Dec. 24, Milwaukee Rep Holiday Dreams: A Spectacular Holiday Cirque, Dec. 22 PENINSULA PLAYERS peninsulaplayers.com Chris T. Cornelius, Domicile 3: New Year Moon from the Oneida Moon Domiciles series, 2011-13. Courtesy of the artist
PIANOARTS MOWA | DTN (SAINT KATE-THE ARTS HOTEL) “Strange Lands: The Works of Sky Hopinka, Chris Cornelius, and Tom Antell,” through Jan. 8, 2023 The exhibition showcases work by three Indigenous Americans. “I was drawn to the ambiguity of these artists’ work—these artworks offer a tangential experience, grounded as much in a realm of dream as the history of the known world,” said the exhibit’s guest curator Rafael Francisco Salas. (Frank Grey) MOWA ON THE LAKE (ST. JOHN’S ON THE LAKE) “Shelley Smith: Hidden in Plain Sight,” through Feb. 19, 2023
NEXT ACT THEATRE nextact.org The Tin Woman, Nov. 23-Dec. 18 A heart transplant gives Joy a second chance—the proverbial new lease on life. But will she mortgage or squander her gift? Prolific playwright and librettist Sean Grennan, a Midwesterner whose work has been performed by the Peninsula Players, based his endearing The Tin Woman on a true story. (Frank Grey)
pianoarts.org PORTRAIT SOCIETY GALLERY portraitsocietygallery.com “David Niec: To Know the Dark/John Riepenhoff: Skies,” through Nov. 12
NŌ STUDIOS nostudios.com NORTH SHORE ACADEMY OF THE ARTS facebook.com/ northshoreacademyofthearts NORTHERN SKY THEATER northernskytheater.com OCONOMOWOC ARTS CENTER oasd.k12.wi.us Lorie Line 2022, Nov. 8
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I Am!, 2022 Della Wells, 14x11. Courtesy of Portrait Society.
“Rosemary Ollison and Della Wells: The Power Within My Hands,” Nov. 26-Jan. 14, 2023 Illustrations and background by Sophie Yufa.
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PRESENT MUSIC
RACINE THEATRE GUILD
SHEBOYGAN THEATER COMPANY
presentmusic.org
racinetheatre.org
stcshows.org
Drop Dead! through Nov. 13
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, Dec. 2-10
“Flat on Your Back on the Dry Wintry Grass,” Nov. 16, Milwaukee Art Museum Present Music has always been about multimedia as well as music. “Flat on Your Back” honors the work of South African multimedia artist William Kentridge. Says PM’s Co-artistic Director Eric Segnitz, the concert will feature “music by longtime Kentridge collaborator Philip Miller, with guests singing in Zulu accompanying some new and ‘greatest hits’ animated Kentridge films, all in brand new versions scored for Present Music. Also, a new Miller commission based on the poetry of Eliza Kentridge.” (David Luhrssen)
Annie Jr. Nov. 18-20 Don Reed, Nov. 19 Disney’s The Little Mermaid, Dec. 9-18 RENAISSANCE THEATERWORKS r-t-w.com The How and the Why, Oct. 21-Nov. 13
quasimondo.org
Sarah Treem made her name in television as a writer-prodiucer for Showtime’s Goldlen Globe-winning “The Affair,” HBO’s “In Treatment” and season one of “House of Cards” on Netflix. With The How and the Why, she turned to the stage in a play about two women who meet at a biology conference where “evolution and emotions collide.” Suzan Fete directs Elyse Edelman and Mary MacDonald Kerr. (Frank Grey)
RACINE ART MUSEUM
SACRA NOVA CHORALE
ramart.org
sacranovacathedrale.com
Phil Kline’s Unsilent Night, Dec. 14, Saint Kate-The Art Hotel QUASIMONDO PHYSICAL THEATRE
“Wisconsin Photography 2022,” through Nov. 26
Christmas Conert, Dec. 18
“Collection Focus: Randall Darwall,” through Jan. 7
SAINT KATE - THE ARTS HOTEL
“Quiet Elegance: The Jewelry of Eleanor Moty,” through Jan. 28 “RAM Showcase: Russell T. Gordon and James Tanner,” through Feb. 11, 2023 “RAM Showcase: Focus on Glass,” through May 27, 2023 RACINE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA racinesymphony.org Holiday Pops, Dec. 2, Dec. 12, Memorial Hall
SKYLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE skylightmusictheatre.org “A Jolly Holiday,” Nov. 18-Dec. 31 Skylight’s Artistic Director Michael Unger will shepherd a cast of singers, including many talented young beginners, through 30 songs from Disney’s Broadway hits. (Frank Grey) SOUTH MILWAUKEE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER southmilwaukeepac.org Symphonic Orchestra Concert, Nov 2 Good News, Nov. 18 A Christmas Carol, Dec. 18 SUNSET PLAYHOUSE sunsetplayhouse.com Andre’s Mother & Mothers and Sons, Nov. 4-6 Clue High School Edition, Nov. 6-7
saintkatearts.com “Rachel Collier: Still Together,” through Dec. 12 Rachel Collier calls her site-specific fiber and painting installation “ecstatic visual analogues of spaces that I believe populate our shared consciousness … I hint at worlds that are unknowable and indefinite.” (Frank Grey) SHARON LYNNE WILSON CENTER FOR THE ARTS wilson-center.com Matilda, Nov. 18-20, Brookfield Central High School
Fairy Godmother’s (Song) Book of Wisdom, Nov. 12 The Aristocrats, Kids, Nov. 19-20 Jayne Taylor Christmas Show, Nov. 26 Elf the Musical, Dec. 1-18 Tenor’s Mike Holiday Concert, Dec. 6 Festive Folk, Dec. 7 Songwriter’s Hall of Fame, Dec. 12-13 Elf the Musical Jr., Dec. 19-20 Glory Days: Bruce Springsteen & Friends Tribute, Dec. 31
George Winston, Dec. 9 Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Holiday Concert, Dec. 16
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Illustrations and background by Sophie Yufa.
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SUNSTONE STUDIOS sunstonestudios.mke Dutchman, Nov. 4-19 Dutchman was the last play written by Amiri Baraka under his birth name, Leroi Jones. Jones had already written a seminal account of African American music, Blues People; as Baraka, he was the poet-activist of Black nationalism. Dutchman was a transitional play, an allegory of race relations set on a long subway ride (with references to Adam, Eve and the Dutch slave ships that once plied their trade). (David Luhrssen) Who’s Holiday, Dec. 1-10 Whirligig of Time, Dec. 15-30 THE ALICE WILDS thealicewilds.com “A Two-Sided Sky Turning Over and Over: Kyle Seis, through Dec. 3 THEATRE GIGANTE theatregigante.org Title and Deed, Nov. 18-Dec. 3 The character at the heart of Will Eno’s monologue, performed by Michael Stebbins, is a foreigner from who knows where. “He’s dressed like us, he talks like us about his life and outlook— you can relate to him as an everyman,” says director Isabelle Krallj. But he drops lines such as “Where I’m from …” Kralj continues: “We all grew up in a family where we learned the ins and outs—outside that nucleus, we are foreigners, and we spend our adult lives negotiating life in a different world.” (David Luhrssen) THEATRICAL TENDENCIES theatricaltendencies.com
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THIRD AVENUE PLAYHOUSE, STURGEON BAY thirdavenueplayworks.org THRASHER OPERA HOUSE, GREEN LAKE thrasheroperahouse.com Them Coulee Boys, Nov. 5
New Music MKE, Nov. 15, Music Recital Hall New Dancemakers, Nov. 16-19, Mitchell Hall Studio 254
Them Coulee Boys borrow generously from bluegrass, country and folk. The easy way out might be to label them Americana and leave it at that. But when the mood strikes, the Eau Claire band effortlessly swap out electric banjo and mandolin for their acoustic counterparts; Beau Janke is as likely to settle in on piano as he is to use the mic stand to play slide banjo. Yet, when all is said and done Soren Staff’ songwriting and heartfelt performances are the band’s stock-in-trade. Staff’s songs, “My Anxiety & Me,” and “Pray You Don’t Get Lonely,” courageously examine subject matter in ways many people can relate to. (Blaine Schultz)
Jazz Ensemble, Nov. 17, Jan Serr Studio
Damn Tall Buildings, Nov. 11
University Community Orchestra Concert, Dec. 4, Helene Zelazo Center for the Performing Arts
Harmonious Wail, Nov. 18 TORY FOLLIARD GALLERY toryfolliard.com “Craig Blietz: Haul Road,” through Nov. 26 UW-PARKSIDE THEATRE uwp.edu/the rita/ theatreperformances.cfm Gruesome Playground Injuries, Nov. 11-12 As You Like It, Dec. 2-11 UW-MILWAUKEE PECK SCHOOL OF THE ARTS uwm.edu/arts/events The Sparrow, Nov. 2-6, Kenilworth Five-O-Eight Masterworks Concert, Nov. 4-5, Helene Zelazo Center for the Performing Arts Xavier Jara, Nov. 11, Music Recital Hall
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Zakir Hussain with Niladri Kuman, Nov, 11, Helene Zelazo Center for the Performing Arts
Classical Guitar Chamber Concert, Nov. 17, Music Recital Hall Contemporary Craft Exhibition, Nov. 18-20, Kenilworth Square East Gallery UWM Piano Studio Recital, Nov. 18, Music Recital Hall Fall Opera Scenes, Dec. 3-4, Music Recital Hall UWM Percussion Ensemble, Dec. 3, Helene Zelazo Center for the Performing Arts
University Community Band, Dec. 5, Helene Zelazo Center for the Performing Arts Classical Guitar Solo Concert, Dec. 6, Music Recital Hall Piggsville, Dec. 7, Mainstage Theatre Popular Music Ensemble, Dec. 7, Jan Serr Studio UWM Entrepreneur Showcase, Dec. 9, Kenilworth Square East UWM Symphony Orchestra, Dec. 9, Helene Zelazo Center for the Performing Arts Sounds of the Season Choral Concert, Dec. 10, Helene Zelazo Center for the Performing Arts UWAY Returns, Dec. 11, Helene Zelazo Center for the Performing Arts Jazz Ensemble, Dec. 13, Jan Serr Studio
Illustrations and background by Sophie Yufa.
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William Kentridge, Studio Life: Blackboard, 2021, Photogravure, Photographed by Robb Quinn, Courtesy of the Warehouse Art Museum.
UWM UNION ART GALLERY
VOICES FOUND REPERTORY
WATER STREET DANCE MILWAUKEE
agallery@studentinvolvement. uwm.edu
voicesfoundrep.com
waterstreetdancemke.com
WALKER'S POINT CENTER FOR THE ARTS
WAUKESHA CIVIC THEATRE
“Crossing Over 2022,” opens Nov. 11 UW-WHITEWATER CROSSMAN GALLERY uww.edu
wpca-milwaukee.org “Dia de los Muertos Exhibition,” through Nov. 11-14
UW-WHITEWATER THEATRE
WAREHOUSE ART MUSEUM
uww.edu
thewarehousemke.org
VAR GALLERY & STUDIOS vargallery.com VILLA TERRACE DECORATIVE ARTS MUSEUM villaterrace.org VILLAGE PLAYHOUSE villageplayhouse.org
“William Kentridge: See for Yourself,” through Dec. 16 The exhibit, assembled largely from the collection of John Shannon and Jan Serr, and curated by Melanie Herzog, provides a generous look into the deep and winding imagination of an omnivorous artist. It’s a wildly diverse show, with prints, drawings, videos, performances (as video artifacts,) objects and ephemera. (Shane McAdams)
waukeshacivictheatre.org A Rock and Roll Tribute to the Elvis and The Beatles featuring The Neverly Brothers, Nov. 10 Tribute acts? Even if you think you’ve seen them all before, give The Neverly Brothers a try. They don’t just cover the hits of any one artist or era but perform a tribute to the first 10 years of rock and roll. Given the rapid sonic revolution that leaped from “Jailhouse Rock” to Revolver, it’s a magical history tour indeed. (David Luhrssen) Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical, Dec. 2-18 Joel Kopischke’s I Got Yule, Babe, Dec. 14-15 4 Women and a Piano, Dec. 29-31
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WEST ALLIS PLAYERS westallisplayers.org WEST BEND THEATRE COMPANY
WISCONSIN LUTHERAN COLLEGE -CENTER FOR ARTS AND PERFORMANCE wlc.edu
WOODLAND PATTERN BOOK CENTER woodlandpattern.org
westbendtheatreco.com
Ah, Wilderness, Nov. 4-12
Carlos Cumpian & Angie Trudell Vasquez, Nov. 5
A Christmas Carol, Dec. 2-4, Dec. 9-11
Yesterday & Today, Nov. 18
Alternating Currents Live, Nov. 6
Silver Bells & Diamonds, Dec. 10
Oliver Baez Bendorf, Nov. 11 (virtual)
WISCONSIN MUSEUM OF QUILTS & FIBER ART
ramart.org
WEST PERFORMING ARTS CENTER nbexcellence.org/community/ westpac.cfm Pat McCurdy, Nov. 11 WILD SPACE DANCE wildspacedance.org
wiquiltmuseum.com “Counting Threads,” through Nov. 13
“Wisconsin Photography 2022,” through Nov. 26
“5th Fiber Arts Biennale: Hide + Seek,” Nov. 17-Jan. 22, 2023
“Focus on Glass,” through May 27, 2023
WINDFALL THEATRE windfalltheatre.com
WISCONSIN PHILHARMONIC wisphil.org
WISCONSIN CRAFT wisconsincraft.org
“More Classic Broadway,” Sept. 29 “A Symphonic Hallowe’en,” Oct. 16 “It’s a Wonderful Life: An American Christmas,” Dec. 1 All concerts at Oconomowoc Arts Center
José Chardiet, Red Mesa, 1990, Glass with pigment, 12 x 8 x 32 1/4 inches, Racine Art Museum, Gift of George and Dorothy Saxe. Photo by Jon Bolton, Racine. Courtesy of Racine Art Museum.
Illustrations and background by Sophie Yufa.
WUSTUM MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS
The exhibition is a celebration of four unique glass artists from diverse backgrounds: Jose Chardiet, Brett Kee Young, Acquaetta Williams and Etsuko Nishi. According to museum organizer Lena Vigna, the exhibit aims to not only “reflect the variety of artists making contemporary work” but also display the “different components of working with the material and how artists appreciate it.” (Jenny Maurer)
Etsuko Nishi, Lace Cage Bowl #168-14, 1992, Glass, 5 3/4 x 11 3/4 inches diameter, Racine Art Museum, Gift of Dale and Doug Anderson. Photo by Jon Bolton, Racine. Courtesy of Racine Art Museum.
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Let the Professionals do the Cooking This Thanksgiving BY SUSAN HARPT GRIMES
A
nyone who has ever had the dubious honor of hosting and making a home-cooked Thanksgiving dinner knows that it is almost too much work for one person. It’s also probably why more and more restaurants offer carry-out and/or dine in meals on Turkey Day each year. Most restaurants will require advance reservations or pre-order, so just like defrosting a turkey you’re planning to cook—don’t wait until Thanksgiving Day!
If you’re thinking of letting someone else do the cooking (and cleaning up!) this year, check out a sample of the many area restaurants that will be preparing holiday dinners for Thanksgiving. And please remember the kitchen staff and servers are all working extra hard to create a wonderful holiday experience for you. Be kind, tip well, and be thankful you don’t have to do the cooking this year!
ALIOTO’S RESTAURANT
THE CAPITAL GRILLE
GOODKIND
3041 N. Mayfair Road, Wauwatosa 414-476-6900
310 W. Wisconsin Ave. 414-223-0600
2457 S Wentworth Ave., Bay View 414-763-4706
aliotos.net
thecapitalgrille.com
goodkindbayview.com
ARIA
ELDR + RIME
GRAND GENEVA RESORT
139 E. Kilbourn Ave. 414-276-8686
2300 N. Mayfair Road, Wauwatosa 414-867-9200
7036 Grand Geneva Way, Lake Geneva 262-249-4788
saintkatearts.com
eldrandrime.com
grandgeneva.com/ other-dining-options/special
BUCKATABON TAVERN & SUPPER CLUB
FLEMMING’S
7700 Harwood Ave., Wauwatosa 414- 271-7700 lowlandsgroup.com/bucksgiving 54 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS
15665 W. Bluemound Road, Brookfield 262-782-9463 flemingssteakhouse.com
IRON HORSE HOTEL 500 W Florida St. 414-374-4766 theironhorsehotel.com Photo and background by fortyforks/Getty Images.
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LAZY SUSAN
PLAYING IN THE PLANTS
2378 S. Howell Ave. 414-988-7086
5601 S. Pennsylvania Ave. playingintheplants.com
lazysusanmke.com MADER’S RESTAURANT 1041 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive 414-271-3377
201 W. Walker St. 414-256-8765
madersrestaurant.com
sazsholiday.purely.it/ sazs-hospitality-group/thanksgiving
MASON STREET GRILL
SHULLY’S CUISINE & EVENTS
425 E. Mason St. 414-298-3131
146 Green Bay Road, Thiensville 262-242-6633
masonstreetgrill.com
shullyscuisine.com
THE PACKING HOUSE
TALL GUY & A GRILL CATERING
900 E. Layton Ave. 414-483-5054
6735 W. Lincoln Ave., West Allis 414-777-0770
packinghousemke.com
toasttab.com/ tall-guy-and-a-grill-catering/v3
THE PFISTER HOTEL 424 E. Wisconsin Ave. 414-273-8222 thepfisterhotel.com
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SAZ’S
WARD’S HOUSE OF PRIME 540 E. Mason St. 414-223-0135 wardshouseofprime.com/thanksgiving
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2 2 20
Holiday Gifł Guide
ART BAR
C3 DESIGNS
722 E. Burleigh St., Milwaukee 414-372-7880 facebook.com/artbarmke/ artbarwonderland.com
2110 10th Ave., South Milwaukee 414-764-3892 C3-designs.com
Give the gift of original art this holiday. “MINI” TINY ART @ TINY PRICES, is the largest local small art show of its kind. Over 150 juried talented artists have created small art pieces (under 8” x 8”) and everything is priced under $100. Select from over 700 pieces on display and 1,500 items in back-up stock, the show is replenished daily and has something for everyone. Art Bar is open daily at 3 p.m. Monday-Friday, and 9 a.m. on weekends. All credit cards accepted; the show runs until Dec. 31.
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C3 Designs is the best jewelry store in the Milwaukee area to help with your holiday gift giving ideas. Store owner Chris Jensen is a nationally award-winning jewelry designer having won over 25 awards for his custom creations. His design team at C3 Designs can help you choose the perfect oneof-a-kind gift for this holiday season.
Illustrations and background by Ali Bachmann.
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SPECIAL HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE
CEDARBURG ART MUSEUM
HARLEY DAVIDSON MUSEUM
W63N675 Washington Avenue, Cedarburg 262-377-6123 cedarburgartmuseum.org
400 W. Canal St., Milwaukee 877-436-8738 harley-davidson.com/us/en/museum.html
The Cedarburg Art Museum, home of A Creative Place: The History of Wisconsin Art, is an inclusive gathering space that celebrates both local and Wisconsin art. Experience the original exhibitions, shop unique finds and handmade artwork, and purchase our groundbreaking book this holiday season.
Breakfast with Santa! Exclusive after-hours shopping at the Harley-Davidson Shop and the Factory Shop! Fun family photo ops! A new exhibit opening! And so much more are a part of the Harley-Davidson Museum’s 12 days of holiday fun, Dec. 7-18. Visit HDMuseum.com for more information (or to book your breakfast with the jolly old elf).
CLOCKTOWER ANTIQUES
HEALIUM HOT YOGA
1134 S. First St., Milwaukee 414-252-0011 clocktowerantiques.com
2534 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., Bay View/Milwaukee
Open seven days a week, browse our shop for everyone on your list; we have creative gifts, vintage jewelry, artwork and much more. Finally entertaining again? Find barware, cookware, serving pieces and holiday decorations. Who doesn’t love one-stop shopping? EARTH’S ALTERNATIVE 161 S. Fifth Ave., West Bend 262-353-9202 earthsalternative.com Earth’s Alternative is here to help people find different ways to manage and deal with life with crystals, essential oils, CBD and Delta 8 products. We are happy to take the time to help you find the right alternative for you. FISCHBERGER’S VARIETY 2445 N. Holton St., Milwaukee 414-263-1991 fischbergers.com There’s so much in stock this holiday season at Fischberger’s Variety! Celebrating our 16th year, we mean to bring you the funnest, freshest gifts, free gift wrapping—and you’re done! Gifts for the whole family, always edgy and wholesome. Always at the lowest possible price!
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HEALIUM RESTORE 435 E. Lincoln Ave., 2nd FL., Bay View/Milwaukee 414-232-2165 heliumhotyoga.com Give the gift of Healium Yoga this season! Our Winter Warm Up Sale on class packs is Dec. 5-20. We also have a New Student 2-Week Unlimited Yoga package, available every day. Winter is the season for yoga! Valid at both studios, Healium Hot Yoga and Healium Restore. Purchase in-person or online. HISTORIC 3RD WARD Shop Local. Shop the Ward. Move over, Black Friday: You can support your community by shopping the local businesses of the Historic Third Ward this holiday season. Kick off your pledge to #ShopSmall all season long on Nov. 26, in honor of Small Business Saturday. Several businesses in the Historic Third Ward will be offering special deals to encourage you to shop local to find the perfect gift for everyone on your list. Visit historicthirdward.org and click on “Events” to see a full list of participating businesses — then get ready to show your MKE love and #ShopSmall!
Illustrations and background by Ali Bachmann.
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KNUCKLEHEADS
MILWAUKEE INSTITUTE OF ART & DESIGN (MIAD)
2949 N. Oakland Ave., Milwaukee 414-962-3052 knuckleheads.shop
273 E. Erie St., Milwaukee 888-749-MIAD miad.edu/holidaysale
Stop by Knuckleheads and check out their large variety of Wellness products! Stop by during Black Friday and Small business Saturday for extra deals on your favorite products. Visit on a Saturday or Sunday and enjoy discounted Wellness products! Discover why Knuckleheads was voted “Best of Milwaukee” Best Head Shop, Vape Shop and CBD Shop in 2021!
Join us at the MIAD Holiday Sale, a December tradition! The MIAD Holiday Sale is your opportunity to purchase one-ofa-kind art and design works created by MIAD students and alumni at affordable prices. Gifts range from sculptures to greeting cards, paintings, photographs, jewelry and more. Preview night: Dec. 1, 6-9 p.m., $10 admission. Free admission Dec. 2, 5-9 p.m. and Dec. 3, 10 a.m.-5p.m..
MB SQUARED PHOTOGRAPHY
MILWAUKEE MAKERS MARKET
mbsquaredphotography.square.site Instagram: @mbsquaredphotography
milwaukeeMakersMarket.com
Easy to frame 8”x8”, 12.5”x12.5” photography art prints, as well as drink coasters/magnets are available. Milwaukee, state of Wisconsin and Midwest region is highlighted.
November 26 is “Milwaukee’s Official Shop Small Saturday” December 18 is “Milwaukee Makers Market Holiday Pop-Up” Both Markets at Discovery World Milwaukee Makers Market encourages shopping small businesses this Holiday Season! On Saturday Nov. 26 at Discovery World from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. The Market will feature over 40 local businesses including art, jewelry, soaps, clothing, candles, unique gifts, Milwaukee themed accessories and more! Admission to the Market is free! Explore Discovery World Museum with Paid Admission or Membership.
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Illustrations and background by Ali Bachmann.
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NOBLE CATERING & EVENTS
TRALEE IRISH IMPORTS
414-988-1554 noblecateringco.com
5423 W. Vliet St., Milwaukee 414-662-7175 traleeirishimports.com
Tis' the season to wine and dine! Noble Catering & Events specializes in bespoke catering for events and gatherings near Milwaukee. Our executive chef and culinary team will collaborate with you to create a truly unique experience. Contact events@fstreetgroup.com to elevate your holiday celebration. PIZZA MAN Locations in Milwaukee, Mequon, & Wauwatosa Pizzamanwi.com There’s no place like Pizza Man for the holidays! Whether you’re gathering with loved ones or hosting a corporate party, we provide a cozy atmosphere to celebrate the season. Our incredible dishes and hospitable staff will create an event to remember. Contact events@fstreetgroup.com to book your holiday party! PJ PIPER W61N514 Washington Ave, Cedarburg 262-421-8040 pjpiperwi.com Take a break from shopping in Cedarburg, enjoy our homemade breakfast served all day, warm up with a bowl of homemade soup, and catch up with friends and family at PJ Pipers. We are in the heart of downtown Cedarburg—top by and say hi! Keep your eye out for the purple awning. SKYLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE 158 N. Broadway, Milwaukee 414-291-7800 skylightmusictheatre.org A Jolly Holiday: Celebrating Disney’s Broadway Hits Ring in the holidays with a brand-new musical revue featuring 30 favorite songs from Disney’s biggest Broadway hits. A cast of phenomenal singers including an ensemble of talented youth performers will celebrate the season in style with a festive holiday party for the ages. Nov. 18–Dec. 31, 2022. Visit skylightmusictheatre.org. THE JEWELERS GUILD 2408 E. St. Francis Ave., St. Francis 414-488-2727 jewelersguild.biz Milwaukee’s most unique jewelry store has brilliant holiday gifts available for you in their gallery showroom Located just off KK on St. Francis Ave, The Jewelers Guild offers custom designs, repairs, and appraisals as well as their special MAKE YOUR OWN WEDDING RING projects, classes and workbench rentals, local handmade jewelry by our masterful designers, goldsmiths and jewelers.
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Tralee is celebrating their largest Christmas selection ever! With sweets and treats from Ireland and the U.K., you are bound to find something for everyone on your list. New this year is their Winter Wonderland. Located a block from their year-round store, Tralee is excited to showcase customer favorites and new items. From candy and potato chips to sausage and breads, Tralee offers the widest selection of Irish and British foods in the Midwest. Stop in today!
Small Business Saturday Supports Milwaukee Businesses BY MICHAEL MUCKIAN
S
avvy shoppers already have their retail battle plans in place. Once Thanksgiving obligations have been satisfied, the heartiest among them will find a queue to stand in outside of their favorite big-box store to capture what they believe are incredible deals. Black Friday—and, increasingly, Black Thursday Night—has become the traditional gateway to holiday spending.
Illustrations and background by Ali Bachmann.
Falling on Nov. 25 this year, Black Friday is a windfall for large national merchants. Electronics and appliance giant Best Buy anticipates 2022 revenues of $51.8 billion, a 9.52% increase from 2021 revenues of $47.3 billion. Discounter Walmart is planning on 2022 revenues of $587.8 billion, a 3.83% increase over 2021 revenues of $559.2 billion. No wonder company heir Rob Walton was able to spend $4.65 billion to buy NFL team the Denver Broncos earlier this year.
Online buyers who want to eschew the queue are looking ahead to Nov. 28—Cyber Monday—to capture deals electronically. That’s good news for Amazon, which anticipates 2022 revenues of $485.9 billion, a 9.61% increase over 2021 revenues of $461.8 billion. Company growth has enabled Amazon to hire 400,000 delivery drivers worldwide to pilot its own fleet of vehicles, including 70 aircraft.
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Sandwiched between these shopping holidays is Nov. 26, Small Business Saturday, devoted to encouraging shoppers to support the local economy by spending their shopping dollars with small local merchants who, in turn, recirculate their profits in the community. In a very real sense, this is the most significant shopping holiday of all. “We’re big believers in people buying locally,” say Tim Sheehy, president of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce. “Small businesses by their nature are customer-friendly, innovative and scrappy, and Milwaukee is well-served by the small to mid-size businesses we have.” The Milwaukee metro area has more than its share of small manufacturing firms, Sheehy says, noting that only San Jose, California’s “Silicon Valley” has more manufacturers. Even though such firms won’t be patronized on Small Business Saturday, they provide the area’s small business strata with significant economic strength.
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And Milwaukee’s small business tend to patronize each other, which Sheehy describes as “washing each other’s socks.” The best small businesses, he says, can sell outside the local market. “That brings in more socks to the washing machine,” he adds.
The financial impact, in aggregate, certainly doesn’t measure up to Walmart’s performance, but it does illustrate how significant small businesses are, especially when you realize that the flow of funds largely stays local, Sheehy explains.
IT’S IN THE NUMBERS
“Small businesses foster a symbiotic relationship,” he says. “The more you spend locally, the more products and services can be provided to the community. It makes a tighter supply chain and a healthier local economy.”
Some U.S. federal government programs define small businesses as having 500 or fewer employees. Using that parameter, small business employment in the area comprised of Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Washington and Waukesha counties is home to 28,652 small businesses that support 373,114 employees with a total payroll of $17.4 billion, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. According to Sheehy, MMAC uses a parameter of 100 or fewer employees, which changes the figures to 27,545 small businesses with 246,143 employees supported by a payroll of $10.9 billion.
Small business owner Guy Rehorst agrees. As founder and CEO of Great Lakes Distillery & Tasting Room, Rehorst occupies the unique position of manufacturer, wholesaler, retailer and hospitality industry member for the unique line of spirits he produces and distributes from his Walker’s Point facility. Rehorst oversees 12 full-time-equivalent employees (FTEs), making Great Lakes a very small business.
Illustrations and background by Ali Bachmann.
Both the pandemic and a volatile economy have taken their toll on the distiller, who has managed to weather the storm thanks to the popularity of the 30 or so brands he produces, many of which have attracted their own following.
tial customers,” Rucker explains. “But money from purchases only circulates for six hours within the Black community before leaving. In other communities, money circulates much longer than that and has a greater positive financial impact.”
“We compare our products to ones from large companies, but in our case 90% of dollars spent stay in the local market,” Rehorst says. “We’re sourcing ingredients locally. It begins at the farm level and includes the local trucker who brings the goods to the distillery. Financially, the local aspect is way more important than people think.”
In some cases, the lack of funds circulation has to with entrepreneur limitations, including lack of knowledge and/or capital, such as not owning their own buildings, she says. That can distinctly affect the welfare and growth of the neighborhood in which the businesses reside.
IT’S ABOUT COMMUNITY BUILDING Social issues affect all small businesses, but they can have a greater negative impact on minority-owned businesses, according to Marjorie Rucker, executive director for The Business Council, which helps Blackand Brown-owned businesses learn to access supply chains and work with larger companies. Rucker also chairs the Ethnic & Diverse Business Coalition, a consortium that includes 14 different chambers of commerce and business coalitions throughout the state. The two groups collectively represent 1,800 small businesses with 8,000 employees statewide, she says. “The challenges minority-owned businesses face are similar to most small businesses and that’s reaching poten-
“Small businesses are economic cornerstones of their community, and drivers of how those communities look, feel and operate,” Rucker explains. “Determination, grit and consistency are what these businesses need to survive, and our goal is to help them through the challenges they face, whatever those may be.”
Those same businesses are operated by neighbors that, in turn, patronize other small businesses, which recirculate the money locally for the good of the community. Many small businesses disappeared during the pandemic, which further emphasizes the need to support them not only on November 26, but every day of the year, Ness says. The Business Council’s Rucker agrees: “Small Business Saturday is really important. If you’re shopping on Black Friday, look at your list and save at least 50% of your purchases for Small Business Saturday.”
Michael Muckian was the banking and finance writer for the Milwaukee Business Journal and is the author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Financing and Accounting and The One-Day MBA in Finance and Accounting.
The neighborhood aspect is critical to small businesses throughout the Milwaukee metro area and their impact should not be underestimated says Eric Ness, Wisconsin district director for the U.S. Small Business Administration. “Milwaukee, along with some of its suburbs, is a very neighborhood-focused city,” Ness explains. “Each area has its own character, so people can visit another neighborhood and have a completely different experience of shopping, dining, and entertainment than they might have closer to home.” NOVEMBER 2022 | 67
SPECIAL BEST OF MILWAUKEE LISTINGS ARE IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER.
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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT ART GALLERY (NON-MUSEUM) Dream Lab En Pointe Gallery and Gifts Saint Kate - The Arts Hotel Var Gallery ART MUSEUM Grohmann Museum Haggerty Museum of Art Milwaukee Art Museum Warehouse Art Museum | WAM ART & CRAFT FAIR/ MAKERS MARKET Cream City Creatives Hovercraft Milwaukee Makers Market Re: Craft & Relic CHORAL GROUP Bach Chamber Choir Chant Claire Kids From Wisconsin Milwaukee Symphony Chorus
MOVIE THEATER Avalon Atmospheric Theater Landmark's Downer Theatre Marcus Theaters Oriental Theatre MKE
CROSSFIT-STYLE GYM Badger CrossFit BrewCity CrossFit Burn Boot Camp Redemption Fitness
MUSEUM (NON-ART) America's Black Holocaust Museum Discovery World Jewish Museum Milwaukee Milwaukee Public Museum
GYM Badger CrossFit Burn Boot Camp Burn Boot Camp Waukesha Wisconsin Athletic Club
MUSIC EDUCATION Kids From Wisconsin Milwaukee Jazz Institute Sound Check Studios Wisconsin Conservatory of Music
MASSAGE THERAPIST District 108 Salon & Spa Lula Mae Aesthetic Boutique MKE MindBody Wellness VeVa Beauty Bar Zen Garden Bodywork
LAKEFRONT FESTIVAL German Fest Irish Fest Petfest Summerfest OUTDOOR MUSIC SERIES Chill on the Hill Franksville Craft Beer Garden Jazz in the Park Tosa Tonight
PERSONAL TRAINER Alex Rosencutter Garrett Van Aucken Michael McVicker Ricky Grabow PILATES STUDIO Club Pilates Flying Squirrel Pilates [solidcore]
CLASSICAL MUSIC ENSEMBLE Bach Chamber Choir Chant Claire Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Present Music
RADIO STATION 88Nine Radio Milwaukee WYMS-FM 91.7 WMSE-FM Milwaukee's NPR 89.7 WUWM-FM WISN - News/Talk 1130
REIKI STUDIO Angelic Roots Lovely Salon and Spa MKE MindBody Wellness Shanti Lleone
COMEDIAN Charlie Berens Dana Ehrmann John McGivern Ton Johnson
STAGE ACTOR Anna Marie Zorn Dear Ruthie Dimonte Henning Elyse Edelman John McGivern
SPA Lovely Salon and Spa Lula Mae Aesthetic Boutique Nourish Skin and Sugar Studio WELL Spa + Salon
COMMUNITY FESTIVAL Bastille Days Bay View Bash Milwaukee Irish Fest Petfest DANCE COMPANY Catey Ott Dance Collective Danceworks, Inc. Ko-Thi Dance Co Inc Milwaukee Ballet Company LOCAL RADIO PERSONALITY Alley Faith Anthony Foster Element Everest-Blanks Mandy Scott
THEATER COMPANY Falls Patio Players First Stage Milwaukee Repertory Theater Next Act Theatre Skylight Music Theatre
BODY, MIND & SPIRIT ACUPUNCTURIST Acupuncture & Holistic Health Associates Heaven & Earth Acupuncture and Wellness Milwaukee Community Acupuncture MKE MindBody Wellness
LOCAL TV PERSONALITY Brian Gotter John McGivern Shannon Sims Ted Perry
ALTERNATIVE MEDICAL CLINIC MKE MindBody Wellness Thrive Holistic Medicine VIVA Wellness Zuza's Way Integrative Care
MILWAUKEE AUTHOR Brit Nicole David Luhrssen Ellia Ana Hill Jenna Kashou
BOUTIQUE FITNESS Burn Boot Camp - Sussex Burn Boot Camp Waukesha Peak Physique Personal Training Shred415 East Side
YOGA STUDIO Embody Yoga Healium Hot Yoga The Heart Revival Center for Yoga & Buddhist Studies YogaSix
BOUGHT & SOLD ADULT RETAIL STORE Temptations The Tool Shed ANTIQUE STORE Antiques On Pierce BC Modern Clocktower Antiques AUTO DEALERSHIP - DOMESTIC Griffin Chevrolet Holz Motors, INC. Mike Juneau's Brookfield Buick GMC Soerens Ford, Inc. AUTO DEALERSHIP - IMPORT David Hobbs Honda Reina International Auto Subaru City of Milwaukee Wilde Toyota NOVEMBER 2022 | 69
SPECIAL BEST OF MILWAUKEE LISTINGS ARE IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER.
AUTO DEALERSHIP - PREOWNED Galaxy Auto Sales LLC. David Hobbs Honda Gordie Boucher Lincoln Manyo Motors BIKE SHOP Emery's Cycling, Triathlon & Fitness The Bikesmiths Truly Spoken Cycles Wheel & Sprocket BOOKSTORE Boswell Book Company La Revo Books Lion's Tooth Rooted MKE BOUTIQUE CLOTHING Bandit MKE Close to the Heart Faye's Sparrow Boutique + Gift CAMPING EQUIPMENT Riverwest Outdoors Sherper's Yellow Wood CARPET/FINE RUGS Kerns Carpets Malkin's Flooring Warehouse Shabahang and Sons Persian Carpets Shabahang Rug, Gallery, Persian and Oriental Carpets CBD RETAIL SHOP Canni Hemp Co. Kind Oasis Knuckleheads CBD & Vapes Terrasol Dispensary CLOTHING - CHILDREN'S Blackbear Creatively Yours Little Monsters Once Upon A Child Raising Good Sparrow Collective
EYEWEAR Bronze Optical Eyes on the Lake Metro Eye Milwaukee Eye Care Optix On Downer FASHION ACCESSORIES Bandit MKE Beard MKE Sparrow Boutique + Gift Sparrow Collective The Bronzeville Collective FINE JEWELRY STORE A Trio Jewelry Design Studio Craig Husar Fine Diamonds & Jewelry Designs MKB Jewelry Tobin Jewelers Mequon FLORIST 414loral Bel Aire Flower Shop Flowers By Jan Flowers For Dreams Foltz Family Market Milwaukee Flower Co Unordinary Omen Floristry FURNITURE - NEW BILTRITE Furniture- Leather-Mattresses Colder’s Furniture, Appliances, and Mattresses Steinhafels Warren Barnett Interiors FURNITURE - RESTORED BC Modern Farm Girl Art and Antiques Optimist's Bazaar Ormson Supply Spectre Vintage GARDEN CENTER Bayside Garden Center Kellner Greenhouse Plant Land Stein's Garden & Home
CLOTHING - MEN'S All Goods Bandit MKE Milworks Say Werd
GIFT SHOP Angelic Roots Beard MKE Honey Down Farm Sparrow Collective
CLOTHING - WOMEN'S Bandit MKE Faye's Fifth-Main Sparrow Boutique + Gift
HARDWARE STORE Ace Hardware-Lisbon Ave Bliffert Hardware Downer True Value Hardware Elliott Ace Hardware Village Ace Hardware Prospect
COMIC BOOK STORE Collector's Edge Comics Downtown Books Bought & Sold Kowabunga Comics Lion's Tooth Lost World of Wonders
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HEAD SHOP Blue on Greenfield Knuckleheads CBD & Vapes Pipe Dreams LLC LIGHTING SHOWROOM BBC Lighting Luce Lighting Neu's Hardware Gallery
MATTRESS STORE BILTRITE Furniture- Leather-Mattresses Brady Street Futons HassleLess Mattress Verlo Mattress MOTORCYCLE DEALERSHIP Action Power Sports Create Milwaukee Moto Collective House of Harley-Davidson Moto Union Milwaukee Royal Enfield North America Headquarters Suburban Motors MUSICAL INSTRUMENT STORE Brass Bell Music Store Cream City Music Music Go Round Greenfield Uncle Bob's Music Center Ltd Wade's Guitar Shop White House of Music NEW RETAIL STORE (OPENED IN (2022) Buff City Soap Lilliput Records Ports Cozy Corner NOVELTY / VARIETY STORE American Science & Surplus Art Smart’s Dart Mart & Juggling Emporium Beard MKE Fischberger's Variety PET RETAIL STORE Bark N Scratch Outpost Bentley's Pet Stuff Mac's Pet Depot Barkery The Fish Factory RECORD STORE Acme Records Lilliput Records Record Head Rush-Mor Ltd Music & Video SHOE STORE DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse MODA3 Rogan's Shoes Stan's Fit for Your Feet TOBACCO SHOP Knuckleheads CBD & Vapes Metro Cigars LLC Uhle Tobacco Company VAPE SHOP Blue Dream Vape & Smoke Knuckleheads CBD & Vapes Pipe Dreams LLC TerraSol Dispensary VINTAGE/THRIFT STORE Alive and Fine All Goods Bandit MKE Plume
CITY CONFIDENTIAL LOCAL ACTIVIST Angela Lang Elle Halo Jasmine Tyler Vaun Mayes LOCAL CHARACTER Dear Ruthie John McGivern Milverine
MOST DESPISED POLITICIAN Bob Donovan Ron Johnson Tim Michels Tony Evers
STATE LEGISLATOR Chris Larson Evan Goyke Jonathan Brostoff Robin Vos
MOST TRUSTED PUBLIC OFFICIAL Mandela Barnes Ryan Clancy Tammy Baldwin Tony Evers
WOMAN-OWNED BUSINESS Flour Girl & Flame GlampMKE Infinite Gymnastics Nourish Skin and Sugar Studio
LOCAL ENTREPRENEUR Ali Acevedo Becky Cooper Geoff Hoen Ryan Laessig
ORGANIZATION SUPPORTING VETERANS Dryhootch Coffeehouse Fisher House Float Milwaukee Milwaukee Homeless Veterans Initiative
LOCAL PODCAST Geekset Podcast Melanated Musicology Real Stories MKE Tell Them You Mean Business by Hupy and Abraham, S.C. The General Session Podcast Vigil
NON-PROFIT/HUMAN SERVICES ORGANIZATION Ex Fabula Ignite The Spirit- Milwaukee Mattie's Memory Moms Mental Health Initiative Planned Parenthood
MILWAUKEE ALDERPERSON Jose Perez Marina Dimitrijevic Michael Murphy Milele Coggs
PHILANTHROPIST Andy Nunemaker Bader Philanthropies Jan Serr & John Shannon Madeleine Lubar
MILWAUKEE COUNTY SUPERVISOR Liz Sumner Ryan Clancy Sequanna Taylor Sheldon Wasserman
PLACE TO PICK UP THE SHEPHERD EXPRESS Beans & Barley Milwaukee Public Libraries Outpost Natural Foods Pick 'n Save
MILWAUKEE INFLUENCER Ali Acevedo Chris Novak Discover Milwaukee Riva Treasure
PLACE TO WORK FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE BLOC (Black Leaders Organizing Communities) Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee, Inc. Marquette University Center for Peacemaking MICAH Milwaukee Innercity Congregations Allied for Hope Planned Parenthood UBUNTU Research & Evaluation WISDOM: Linking people of faith across Wisconsin to work for justice YWCA Southeast Wisconsin
MILWAUKEEAN OF THE YEAR Bobby Portis Cavalier Johnson Giannis Antetokounmpo Hazel Jones Mandela Barnes Ranell Washington Vaun Mayes MINORITY-OWNED BUSINESS All Goods Funky Fresh Spring Rolls Maranta Plant Shop Ruby’s Bagels The House of the Gypsy Twisted Plants MOST BELOVED POLITICIAN Cavalier Johnson Mandela Barnes Ron Johnson Tony Evers
PLACE TO WORK FOR ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE Milwaukee Riverkeeper The Farm Cooperative Urban Ecology Center RISING STAR IN POLITICS Cavalier Johnson Kalan Haywood Mandela Barnes Priscilla Coggs-Jones Ryan Clancy Tim Michels
HOME IMPROVEMENT ARCHITECT John Curran Johnsen Schmaling Architects Lakeside Development Co. BASEMENT/REC ROOM REMODELER Accurate Basement Repair Basement Recording LLC Bluejacket Builders Carmel Builders Inc Conexion Wisconsin LLC Emally's Construction Gravelle Designs J&J Contractors I LLC LaBonte Construction BATHROOM REMODELER Borth-Wilson Plumbing & Bathroom Remodeling Building Waters Inc Coach House Homes Conexion Wisconsin LLC Connor Remodeling & Design, Inc. Designing Works J&J Contractors I LLC LaBonte Construction North Shore Kitchen & Bath CLOSET DESIGN Closets by Design Gravelle Designs Lake Country Custom Cabinets, LLC ELECTRICIAN Brighter Connection Current Electric Co. Current Projects KWK Electric Inc Lyons Electric Co Inc Roach Electric Roman Electric HOME BUILDER Bielinski Homes Jewell Homes Inc LaBonte Construction Stepping Stone Homes HOME REMODELING Allrite Home & Remodeling Big Fish Contracting Formula Home Improvements, Inc. LaBonte Construction
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SPECIAL BEST OF MILWAUKEE LISTINGS ARE IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER.
KITCHEN REMODELER Coach House Homes Design Tech Remodeling Designing Works Dream Kitchens Emally's Construction Kitchen Remodeling Group Inc LaBonte Construction MMP Building, Remodeling and Restoration No Bull Remodeling North Shore Kitchen & Bath Renaissance Design & Renovation
LGBTQ EVENT Big Night Out Courage MKE Gala Cream City Foundation Business Equality Luncheon Milwaukee Pride Parade Pridefest
LANDSCAPER/ LAWN MAINTENANCE Cream City Landscaping Josh Does It All M C Green Services The Green Team of Wisconsin, Inc.
LGBTQ-OWNED BUSINESS Amilinda Beard MKE Cactus Club This is it!
PLUMBER Austin Plumbing Co. Bontempo Plumbing Budiac Plumbing Inc Dave Burns Plumbing Inc. Mid City Corporation Milestone Plumbing, Inc. Sid Grinker Co. ROOFER Allrite Home & Remodeling Community Roofing & Restoration Formula Home Improvements, Inc. J&J Contractors I LLC WINDOW & SIDING Allrite Home & Remodeling Formula Home Improvements, Inc. HomeTowne Windows and Doors J&J Contractors I LLC Pella Windows & Doors of Brookfield
LGBTQ DRAG EVENT DIX Milwaukee Hamburger Mary's Milwaukee Lakefront Brewery Drag Bingo This is it!
LGBTQ-INCLUSIVE BUSINESS Amilinda Beard MKE Cactus Club This is it!
CHOCOLATIER Cocoa Tree Confectionery Freese's Candy Shoppe Indulgence Chocolatiers Jen's Sweet Treats CRAFT BEER Black Husky Brewing Eagle Park Brewing Company Lakefront Brewery Third Space Brewing
LOCALLY-OWNED FOOD – RETAIL
CUPCAKES Aggie's Bakery & Cake Shop Classy Girl Cupcakes CupKate - Homemade Vegan Cupcakes Jen's Sweet Treats
ARTISINAL CHEESE Alpinage Cheese Clock Shadow Creamery Glorioso's Italian Market The Village Cheese Shop West Allis Cheese & Sausage Shoppe
DISTILLED SPIRITS Central Standard Crafthouse & Kitchen & Craft Distillery Eagle Park Brewing & Distilling Great Lakes Distillery & Tasting Room Twisted Path Distillery
BACON Becher Meats Bunzel's Meat Market Held's Meat and Cheese Market Karl's Country Market (World Famous Sausage) Kettle Range Meat Company Nueske's Applewood Smoked Meat South Milwaukee Sausage and Meats
FARMERS MARKET Greenfield Farmers Market South Shore Farmers Market Tosa Farmers Market West Allis Farmers Market
BAKERY Grebe's Bakery Jen's Sweet Treats Peter Sciortino Bakery Rocket Baby Bakery BEER SELECTION Discount Liquor Inc National Liquor & Wine Ray's Wine & Spirits
DRAG PERSONALITY Dita Von Ester Flonaze Melee McQueen Miss BJ Daniels
BRATWURST Bunzel's Meat Market Foltz Family Market South Milwaukee Sausage and Meats Usinger's Famous Sausage
LGBTQ ADVOCATE Arika Kaosa Geoff Hoen Gregory Leon Marco Briceno Michael Damian
BUTCHER SHOP Becher Meats Bunzel's Meat Market Kettle Range Meat Company South Milwaukee Sausage and Meats
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CHEESE SELECTION Glorioso's Italian Market Larry's Market West Allis Cheese & Sausage Shoppe Wisconsin Cheese Mart
CHEESE CURDS Cedar Valley Cheese Store Clock Shadow Creamery Karl's Country Market (World Famous Sausage) West Allis Cheese & Sausage Shoppe Widmer's Cheese Cellars
FROZEN PIZZA Cedar Teeth Lotza Motzza Palermos Screamin' Sicilian GOURMET POPCORN Goody Gourmets Knights Gourmet Popcorn and Candies Lush Popcorn Pop's Kettle Corn GROCERY - ALL PURPOSE G. Groppi Food Market Outpost Natural Foods - Bay View Sendik's Food Market Woodman's Food Market GROCERY - ETHNIC Cermak Fresh Market El Rey Glorioso's Italian Market Parthenon Foods - European Market Wioletta's Polish Market GROCERY - GOURMET G. Groppi Food Market Glorioso's Italian Market Sendik's Food Market Whole Foods Market
GROCERY - ORGANIC Fresh Thyme Market Outpost Natural Foods - Bay View Trader Joe's Whole Foods Market
WINE SELECTION Discount Liquor Inc. Ray's Wine & Spirits Thief Wine Shop & Bar Total Wine & More
HARD CIDER AEppelTreow Winery Apple Works Winery Cache Cider Lost Valley Cider Co.
LOCALLY-OWNED RESTAURANT
HOME COOKING MEAL KITS Freshchef Meal Prep Kettle Range Meat Company Miltown Eats The Real Good Life HOT HAM & ROLLS Grebe's Bakery Jen's Sweet Treats Layton Fruit Market South Milwaukee Sausage and Meats LIQUOR STORE Avenue Wine & Liquor Inc Discount Liquor Inc Otto's Wine & Spirits on Oakland Ray's Wine & Spirits MEAT SELECTION Bunzel's Meat Market Kettle Range Meat Company Ray's Butcher Shoppe South Milwaukee Sausage and Meats SAUSAGE G. Groppi Food Market Karl's Country Market (World Famous Sausage) South Milwaukee Sausage and Meats Usinger's™ Famous Sausage, Inc. SAUSAGE SHOP Bunzel's Meat Market C & R Market Foltz Family Market Karl's Country Market (World Famous Sausage) South Milwaukee Sausage and Meats Usinger's™ Famous Sausage SODA Black Bear Dang That's Good Beverages Sprecher Brewing Co. Two Brothers Cola TAKE-OUT DELI Bunzel's Meat Market G. Groppi Food Market Glorioso's Italian Market Jen's Sweet Treats TEA Fava Tea Company Rishi Tea & Botanicals Urbal Tea
AFRICAN RESTAURANT Alem Ethiopian Village Blue Star Cafe Ethiopian Cottage Restaurant Immy's African Cuisine BAR FOOD Camino Catfish Lounge Miller Time Pub & Grill Steny's Tavern & Grill BARBECUE Double B's BBQ Restaurant & Timber’s Catering MKE-Style BBQ Heaven's Table BBQ Iron Grate BBQ Co. Smoke Shack BREAKFAST Blue's Egg Café at the Pfister Mimosa Toast Uncle Wolfie's Breakfast Tavern BREW PUB Eagle Park Brewing Company Layman Brewing Stubby's Gastrogrub & Beer Bar The Explorium Brewpub Third Ward BRUNCH Blue's Egg Bubbles & Brunch at Saint Kate Sabrosa Cafe & Gallery Story Hill BKC BUFFET India Garden Jin's Sushi Seafood & Bar Maharaja BURGERS Kopp's Frozen Custard Nite Owl Drive-In Ice Cream Parlor & Sandwich Shoppe Oscar's Pub & Grill SafeHouse BURRITO Botanas Restaurant Café Corazón Chucho's Red Tacos Luna's Mexican Restaurant CARIBBEAN RESTAURANT Cubanitas Mobay Cafe Uppa Yard
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CENTRAL/SOUTH AMERICAN RESTAURANT Antigua Latin Inspired Kitchen Chef Paz Restaurant El Salvador Restaurant MKE Triciclo Peru CHEAP EATS Conejitos Place Cosmos Cafe Don Pastor Food Truck Oscar's Pub & Grill Real Chili Steny's Tavern & Grill CHEF Adam Pawlak Arnie Gonzales Gregory Leon Heskeith Flavien CHICKEN SANDWICH Crafty Cow HotWax by Meat & Co. MKE Palomino Bar Pete's Pub Steny's Tavern & Grill CHICKEN WINGS Catfish Lounge Points East Pub Steny's Tavern & Grill TomKen's Bar & Grill CHINESE RESTAURANT Emperor of China Momo Mee Asian Cuisine New Fortune Asian Cuisine Sze Chuan Restaurant COFFEE SHOP Anodyne Coffee Roasting Co. Colectivo Coffee on the Lakefront La Finca Coffeehouse Valentine Coffee Co. DONUTS Cranky Al's Donut Monster Grebe's Bakery National Bakery & Deli FAMILY FRIENDLY RESTAURANT Landmark Family Restaurant SafeHouse Steny's Tavern & Grill The Stillery FARM-TO-TABLE RESTAURANT La Merenda Odd Duck ParkSide 23 Story Hill BKC FISH FRY Catfish Lounge Kegel's Inn Steny's Tavern & Grill The Packing House The Stillery
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FRENCH RESTAURANT Bavette La Boucherie Lake Park Bistro Le Reve Pâtisserie & Café Pastiche Bistro FRIED CHEESE CURDS Camino Lakefront Brewery Miller Time Pub & Grill The Stillery FROZEN YOGURT SHOP MyYoMy Frozen Yogurt Yo Factory Yo Mama! GELATO SHOP Cold Spoons Gelato Divino Gelato Cafe Ltd Glorioso's Italian Market GERMAN RESTAURANT Kegel's Inn Mader's Restaurant The Bavarian Bierhaus Weissgerber's Golden Mast Inn GLUTEN-FREE/ FRIENDLY RESTAURANT Beerline Cafe Cafe Manna Lazy Susan MKE Wauwatiki Bar & Grill GOURMET RESTAURANT Ardent Buttermint Finer Dining & Cocktails Eldr+Rime Lupi & Iris Odd Duck Sanford Restaurant GREEK RESTAURANT Apollo Cafe Brothers Gyros & Pizza Cosmos Cafe Oakland Gyros HOT DOG Martino's Italian Beef and Hot Dogs Riley's Good Dogs Sammy's Taste of Chicago The Dogg Haus HOTEL RESTAURANT ARIA – The Restaurant at Saint Kate Café at the Pfister Cantina 20 Eldr+Rime Mason Street Grill Oggie's Kitchen & Bar ICE CREAM/FROZEN CUSTARD STAND Gilles Frozen Custard Kopp's Frozen Custard Leon's Frozen Custard Purple Door Ice Cream
INDIAN/PAKISTANI RESTAURANT Bollywood Grill Cafe India Bay View India Garden Maharaja Saffron - Modern Indian Dining IRISH RESTAURANT County Clare Irish Inn & Pub Mo's Irish Pub Wauwatosa Mulligans Irish Pub & Grill O'Lydia's Bar and Grill ITALIAN RESTAURANT Ca’Lucchenzo SALA - Modern Sicilian Dining Tavolino | Wine + Pasta + Pizza Tenuta's Italian Restaurant That's Amore JAPANESE RESTAURANT Hungry Sumo Kanpai Izakaya Kawa Ramen and Sushi KIN by Rice n Roll SUSHI BAR Kyoto Meiji Cuisine Wasabi Sushi Lounge JEWISH/KOSHER-STYLE RESTAURANT Allie Boy’s Bagelry & Luncheonette Benji's Deli Friendship Cafe & Bakery Jake's Deli North KITCHEN OPEN AFTER 10 P.M. Oakland Gyros Pete's Pub Steny's Tavern & Grill The Vanguard KOREAN RESTAURANT Char'd Merge Momo Mee Asian Cuisine Stone Bowl Grill LOUISIANA/SOUTHERN RESTAURANT Crawdaddy's on Greenfield Daddy's Soul Food & Grille Maxie's Tupelo Honey Southern Kitchen & Bar MAC & CHEESE Cousins Subs Egg & Flour Pasta Bar Joe Mama's Bar & Grill Maxie's Steny's Tavern & Grill The Stillery MEDITERRANEAN RESTAURANT Lupi & Iris Pita Palace Mediterranean Cuisine Shahrazad Persian / Middle Eastern Cuisine Shawarma House
MEXICAN RESTAURANT Botanas Restaurant Café Corazón Guanajuato Mexican Restaurant La Casa de Alberto MIDDLE EASTERN RESTAURANT Casablanca Damascus Gate Restaurant Naf Naf Grill Taqwas Bakery and Restaurant NEW RESTAURANT (OPENED IN 2022) Buttermint Finer Dining & Cocktails HotWax by Meat & Co. MKE Lupi & Iris Saffron - Modern Indian Dining OUTDOOR DINING La Merenda Pier Garden at The Starling Sandra's on the Park Zócalo Food Park PIZZERIA - DEEP DISH Fixture Pizza Pub Pizzeria Scotty Tomaso's PIZZERIA - THIN CRUST Fixture Pizza Pub Ned's Pizza Proof Pizza Zaffiro's Pizza & Bar
PIZZERIA WOOD-FIRED OVEN Flour Girl & Flame Proof Pizza Wy'East Pizza San Giorgio Pizzeria Napoletana PLACE TO EAT ALONE Beerline Cafe Blue's Egg Milwaukee Public Market Pete's Pub Story Hill BKC RAMEN Easy Tyger Hungry Sumo Kawa Ramen and Sushi Red Light Ramen RESTAURANT OPEN ON CHRISTMAS DAY Bollywood Grill Huan Xi Chinese Restaurant The Packing House RESTAURANT SERVICE Buttermint Finer Dining & Cocktails Steny's Tavern & Grill Story Hill BKC The Stillery RESTAURANT WITH A VIEW Harbor House Lake Park Bistro Lakefront Brewery Riverfront Pizzeria Bar & Grill
RIBS Carson's Double B's BBQ Restaurant & Timber’s Catering MKE-Style BBQ Heaven's Table BBQ Iron Grate BBQ Co. Maxie's Sandra's on the Park ROMANTIC RESTAURANT Eldr+Rime Harbor House Milwaukee ChopHouse Onesto Sanford Restaurant Tenuta's Italian Restaurant The Pasta Tree Restaurant & Wine Bar SANDWICH Boo Boo's Sandwich Shop Cousins Subs LuLu Café and Bar Riley's Sandwich Co. West Allis Cheese & Sausage Shoppe SEAFOOD RESTAURANT Eldr+Rime Harbor House Maxie's St. Paul Fish Company SOUL FOOD Crawdaddy's on Greenfield Daddy's Soul Food & Grille Maxie's Terri Lynn’s Soul Food Express NOVEMBER 2022 | 75
SPECIAL BEST OF MILWAUKEE LISTINGS ARE IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER.
SOUPS LOUP - Soup with a Local Twist Pete's Pub The Soup Market STEAKHOUSE Carnevor Five O'Clock Steakhouse Milwaukee ChopHouse The Packing House STREET FOOD VENDOR EZ Tiki Meat on the Street Shorty's Grilled Cheese Vocado MKE SUB SANDWICH Cousins Subs Riley's Sandwich Co. Suburpia - Wauwatosa The Chocolate Factory The Picnic Basket Restaurant SUPPER CLUB Five O'clock Steakhouse Pitch's Lounge & Restaurant Sandra's on the Park The Packing House SUSHI Hungry Sumo Kanpai Izakaya Kyoto Screaming Tuna Milwaukee TACO BelAir Cantina Café Corazón Guanajuato Mexican Restaurant Lazo's Taco Shack Paloma Taco and Tequila Troublemaker's Cocina TAKEOUT/ CURBSIDE PICKUP Cousins Subs Egg & Flour Pasta Bar LuLu Cafe and Bar Steny's Tavern & Grill The Stillery TAPAS (SMALL PLATES) La Merenda Movida at Hotel Madrid Odd Duck Story Hill BKC THAI RESTAURANT Bangkok House Authentic Thai Cuisine EE-Sane Thai-Lao Cuisine Mekong Cafe Thai-namite on Brady Street VEGAN-FRIENDLY RESTAURANT Cafe Manna The LaFayette Place Twisted Plants Vocado MKE
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VEGETARIAN-FRIENDLY RESTAURANT Beans & Barley Beerline Cafe Cafe Manna Twisted Plants Vocado MKE VIETNAMESE RESTAURANT Evie's Vietnamese Kitchen Hué Asian Kitchen Mekong Cafe Pho Viet Vietnamese Noodles of Mequon
HOSPITAL Aurora St Luke's Medical Center Children's Wisconsin Columbia St. Mary's Hospital Milwaukee Froedtert Hospital Gerald L. Ignace Indian Health Center, Inc. ProHealth Waukesha Memorial Hospital LASIK SURGEON Jason N. Edmonds, M.D. Milwaukee Eye Care Peter S Foote, M.D.
WINE LIST Birch Mason Street Grill Onesto Story Hill BKC Voyager
OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST Allison Ayers Emily M. Bauer PT Erin Milnaz Integrative Psyche, LLC Jamie Allen
MEDICAL
ORTHODONTIST Bell Orthodontic Solutions Grafton Orthodontics Race Orthodontics: Brookfield
ALCOHOL & DRUG REHAB CENTER 4th Dimension Recovery Centers Dewey Center Milwaukee Alano Club Rogers Behavioral Health Roots Counseling Services - Milwaukee Drug and Alcohol Rehab S.M.I.L.E. INC. Serenity Inns Inc. CHIROPRACTOR Ascent Chiropractic ChiroWay Donnelly Chiropractic Shorewood Family Chiropractic Wisconsin Family and Sports Chiropractic COSMETIC DENTIST Lux Dental Mequon Smile Design Stephanie Murphy DDS COSMETIC SURGEON Bonness Body & Face Medi Spa Bonness MD Cosmetic Surgery Dr. Thomas G. Korkos DENTIST 414 Dental Complete Family Dentistry Martin Family Dental Mequon Smile Design Ross Dental Stephanie Murphy DDS EYE DOCTOR 414 Eyes Eyes on the Lake Milwaukee Eye Care MyEyeDr. HOME MEDICAL CARE Comfort Keepers Home Care H2O Health Hydration Oasis Hearts To Home Senior Home Care Horizon Home Care & Hospice
PERIODONTIST Burke Periodontics and Implant Dentistry Dr. Arndt Guentsch D.M.D., M.H.B.A., Ph.D Stanley Sehler, D.D.S. PHYSICAL THERAPIST Body Renovation Physical Therapy Wauwatosa Revitalize Physical Therapy Vita Fitness & Physical Therapy Wisconsin Orthopedic Physical Therapy PSYCHIATRIST / PSYCHOLOGIST David Songco PsyD Dr. Carlyle H. Chan, MD Lakeshore Psychology Services TELEMEDICINE PROVIDER Gerald L. Ignace Indian Health Center, Inc. Thrive Holistic Medicine Zuza's Way Integrative Care WOMEN'S MEDICAL SERVICES CLARA Healing Institute Moreland OB-GYN Associates, S.C. Revitalize Physical Therapy Zuza's Way Integrative Care
MILWAUKEE MUSIC ACOUSTIC MUSICIAN Catelyn Picco Evan Christian Jake Williams The Nightinjails ALT COUNTRY Dan Lepien Jim Gaff Band Rebel Grace Road Crew
BLUEGRASS BAND Chicken Wire Empire Dairyland's Finest String Band Whiskeybelles Zach Pietrini
VOCALIST - FEMALE B.D. Greer Betsy Ade Catelyn Picco Shanti Lleone
BAR WITH A PATIO Bad Moon Saloon Blackbird Bar Fluid Milwaukee Tied House Milwaukee
BLUES BAND Altered Five Blues Band Ivy Ford Jonny T-Bird and the MPs Milwaukee Blues Rock Collective
VOCALIST - MALE Adam Fettig AJ Kartz Dan Lepien Jake Williams
CLUB DJ DJ Breezy Mr. New York Ronco Rutger Krueger
OUT & ABOUT
BEER GARDEN Franksville Craft Beer Garden Hubbard Park Beer Garden Leinie’s Beer Garden at Miller Time Pub & Grill South Shore Terrace Kitchen & Beer Garden
COVER/TRIBUTE BAND Failure to Launch FM Rodeo Smart Mouth The Toys ELECTRONIC ARTIST Immortal Girlfriend Moonbow Ronco Travvy Trav FOLK BAND Paddygrass The Midnight Purchase Whiskeybelles
ALL-AGES VENUE Cactus Club First and Bowl Franksville Craft Beer Garden X-Ray Arcade ARCADE/GAMING Bounce Milwaukee The Garcade Up-Down MKE X-Ray Arcade
BREWERY TOUR Lakefront Brewery Layman Brewing Miller Brewery Sprecher Brewing Co. Torzala Brewing Co.
ART STUDIO/CLASSES (NON-BAR) Angelic Roots Cream City Clay, Inc. Pottery School & Art Studio Milwaukee Blacksmith Neighbor Art Studio
COCKTAIL LOUNGE At Random Bryant's Cocktail Lounge Giggly at Saint Kate Tied House Milwaukee
JAZZ COMBO Ellen Winters Group Heirloom J Ryan Trio Milwaukee Jazz Institute Ensemble No Seatbelts
ATTRACTION FOR OUT-OF-TOWN GUESTS 3rd St. Market Hall City Tours MKE Lakefront Brewery Milwaukee Art Museum Safehouse
METAL BAND Bray Road Imperial Fall Still Stayer Without Annette
AXE THROWING BAR AXE MKE Bounce Milwaukee NorthSouth Club West Bend Axe & Escape
MUSIC PRODUCER Alaria Taylor Mitch Cooper Spacecrime Travvy Trav
BAR FOR QUIET CONVERSATION Layman Brewing Sugar Maple The Tin Widow Tied House Milwaukee
POLKA BAND November Criminals The Squeezettes
BAR ON A BUDGET Bad Moon Saloon Bremen Cafe Clementines Tavern The Drunk Uncle The Newport
RAP/HIP-HOP ARTIST Blakc Shiffe D'Aych StreetTeam Hektik Taiyamo Denku ROCK BAND Betsy Ade and the Well Known Strangers Blue Moon Assault Diet Lite Fall Back Tigera
BLOODY MARY Sobelman's Steny's Tavern & Grill The Stillery The Wicked Hop
BAR TO BE SEEN IN Room Seven The Bar at Saint Kate The Stillery Tied House Milwaukee BAR TO WATCH SOCCER Moran's Pub Nomad World Pub Pete's Pub The Highbury Pub
COCKTAIL KIT Bittercube Bazaar Foundation Style Up Group CRAFT BEER SELECTION AT A BAR Draft and Vessel Tosa Layman Brewing Sir James Pub Steny's Tavern & Grill Sugar Maple DANCE CLUB Freight 38 LaCage NiteClub Mad Planet Room Seven ESCAPE ROOM 60 To Escape - Milwaukee Escape Rooms Escape the Room Milwaukee TeamEscape 262 West Bend Axe & Escape HAPPY HOUR Eldr+Rime Fluid Milwaukee Mason Street Grill Mulligans Irish Pub & Grill Pete's Pub Story Hill BKC HOOKAH LOUNGE Casablanca Dream Lab Revel Bar Room Seven NOVEMBER 2022 | 77
SPECIAL BEST OF MILWAUKEE LISTINGS ARE IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER.
HOTEL LOUNGE Blu Eldr+Rime The Bar at Saint Kate The Pfister Hotel
NEW BAR (OPENED IN 2022) Clementines Tavern OPE! Brewing Co. Promises Pufferfish
IMPORT BEER SELECTION AT A BAR JD'S Pub & Grill Sir James Pub The Drunk Uncle Three Lions Pub Von Trier
PAINT & WINE BAR Art Bar Charmbiance Wine Bar & Arts SIP MKE
IRISH PUB County Clare Irish Inn & Pub Moran's Pub Mulligans Irish Pub & Grill Paddy's Pub JAZZ CLUB Angelo's Piano Lounge Bar Centro Blu Caroline's The Jazz Estate KARAOKE BAR Allure MKE Amelia's Restaurant Drunken Cobra Landmark Lanes The High Note Karaoke Lounge Tonic Tavern Walkers Pint LIVE MUSIC VENUE Cactus Club Franksville Craft Beer Garden Paulie's Pub and Eatery Turner Hall Ballroom MARGARITA Botanas Restaurant Café Corazón La Fuente Restaurant Tied House Milwaukee
PET-FRIENDLY ESTABLISHMENT Bad Moon Saloon Black Husky Brewing The Highbury Pub The Hounds & Tap PLACE FOR FAMILY FUN Bounce Milwaukee Franksville Craft Beer Garden Little Sprouts Play Cafe SafeHouse ROCK CLUB Cactus Club Paulie's Pub and Eatery Promises Shank Hall X-Ray Arcade ROMANTIC BAR At Random Blu Shanghai MKE Tied House Milwaukee
REAL ESTATE AGENCY Codi Alger Homes Founders 3 Real Estate Services Level Up powered by Keller Williams Realty Shorewest Realtors REAL ESTATE AGENT/BROKER Autumn Peach Kim Yencheske Maura Strickler Robert Wesell RENTAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT GROUP Bozzuto Founders 3 Real Estate Services My Dwelling Vandelay Group
SERVICES RENDERED ACCOUNTANT/TAX ADVISER Hawkins Ash CPAs Nelson Tax Accounting Ltd Simply Balanced Accounting Tushaus & Associates, LLC
STRIP CLUB On the Border Silk Exotic Milwaukee Gentlemen's Club Texas Jay's Gentleman's Club
AESTHETICIAN Beauty Marked LLC Lula Mae Aesthetic Boutique Nourish Skin and Sugar Studio Rose Aesthetics - Third Ward
TRIVIA NIGHT Bad Moon Saloon Blackbird Bar Moran's Pub Pete's Pub
MICROBREWERY/TAPROOM Amorphic Beer Eagle Park Brewing Company Indeed Brewing Company & Taproom Layman Brewing OPE! Brewing Co. Third Space Brewing Torzala Brewing Co.
VIDEO ARCADE Bounce Milwaukee The Garcade Up-Down MKE X-Ray Arcade
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REAL ESTATE
SPORTS BAR Moran's Pub Pete's Pub Steny's Tavern & Grill The Highbury Pub
MARTINI Blu Elsa's On the Park JoJo's Martini Lounge Tied House Milwaukee
MILWAUKEE TOUR Best Place at the Historic Pabst Brewery City Tours MKE Lakefront Brewery Tippecanoe Herbs
WINERY Cedar Creek Chiselled Grape Winery Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurant Pieper Porch Winery & Vineyard SoLu Estate Winery & Meadery Two Brothers' Wines Vines To Cellar Wollersheim Winery & Distillery
WHISKEY SELECTION AT A BAR Giggly at Saint Kate The Stillery The Vanguard Tied House Milwaukee
ANIMAL WELFARE ORGANIZATION Humane Animal Welfare Society HAWS of Waukesha County Lucky Mutts Rescue Adoption Center Milwaukee Area Domestic Animal Control Commission Urban Cat Coalition Wisconsin Humane Society Milwaukee Campus AUTO BODY SHOP Caliber Collision Girard's Service Center Pinkey's Capital Auto Body Pro Comp Auto Body Inc AUTO DETAILER Detail Doctors Endless Detailing Metro Car Wash The Manly Detail
AUTO SERVICE & REPAIR Knepper Brothers Inc Matt's Foreign Car Specialists Midcoast Auto Riverside Automotive Service BANK Bank Five Nine BMO Harris Bank Chase Bank North Shore Bank BED AND BREAKFAST County Clare Irish Inn & Pub Sheridan's Bed and Breakfast The Muse Gallery Guesthouse BODY PIERCING STUDIO Avant-Garde Bay Street Tattoo Co. Body Ritual Golden Crystal Body Piercing BOUTIQUE HOTEL County Clare Irish Inn & Pub Dubbel Dutch Hotel Kimpton Journeyman Hotel Kinn Guesthouse Downtown Milwaukee Saint Kate - The Arts Hotel CATERER Bunzel's Meat Market Emerald City Catering/The Enchanted Forest Event Venue Over the Moon Bartending Tall Guy and a Grill Catering COLLEGE / UNIVERSITY Alverno College Marquette University Milwaukee Area Technical College Downtown Milwaukee Campus University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee CREDIT UNION Educators Credit Union Landmark Credit Union Summit Credit Union UW Credit Union DOGGY DAY CARE/BOARDING Bay View Bark Central Bark Eastside Central Bark Wauwatosa Dog City Hotel & Spa
FINANCIAL INSTITUTION FOR OPENING A CHECKING ACCOUNT Associated Bank Bank Five Nine Educators Credit Union Summit Credit Union UW Credit Union FINANCIAL INSTITUTION PROVIDING BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE Bank Five Nine Educators Credit Union Summit Credit Union UW Credit Union FINANCIAL PLANNER/STOCK BROKER Educators Credit Union Summit Credit Union The Albrecht Group - Merrill Lynch Wealth Management GREEN BUSINESS Everything Grows LLC Tall Guy and a Grill Catering The Ivy House HAIR REMOVAL District 108 Salon & Spa Lula Mae Aesthetic Boutique Nourish Skin and Sugar Studio Rose Aesthetics - Third Ward HAIR SALON - MEN'S District 108 Salon & Spa Gent's Classic Barber Shop Hedwig's Hair Salon Lovely Salon and Spa HAIR SALON - WOMEN'S District 108 Salon & Spa Hedwig's Hair Salon Lovely Salon and Spa Monarch Loft LLC HOTEL ROOMS Saint Kate - The Arts Hotel The Iron Horse Hotel The Pfister Hotel INSURANCE AGENCY Cream City Insurance Mac Gillis Agency Inc Reilly Insurance Services, Inc. Shorewest Insurance Associates LLC
FINANCIAL INSTITUTION FOR GETTING A BUSINESS LOAN Educators Credit Union Summit Credit Union UW Credit Union
INSURANCE AGENT / BROKER Brian MacGillis Claudia Reilly Jerad Steinfeld Joe Woelfle John Hillyer
FINANCIAL INSTITUTION FOR GETTING A HOME MORTGAGE Educators Credit Union Summit Credit Union UW Credit Union Wisconsin Mortgage Corporation
LAW FIRM - BANKRUPTCY Bankruptcy Law Office of Richard A. Check S. C. Debt Advisors Law Offices Milwaukee Miller & Miller Law, LLC Riverwest Law Firm
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LAW FIRM - BUSINESS Fox O'Neill & Shannon Gimbel, Reilly, Guerin & Brown LLP Hupy and Abraham LAW FIRM CRIMINAL DEFENSE Gimbel, Reilly, Guerin & Brown LLP Jacob Manian Kim & LaVoy, S.C. LAW FIRM - DIVORCE Gagne McChrystal De Lorenzo & Burghardt Gimbel, Reilly, Guerin & Brown LLP Kim & LaVoy, S.C. MacGillis Wiemer, LLC
PHOTOGRAPHER Eric Halvie Jamie Robarge Photography Lien Phu Photography Premier Headshots PICTURE FRAMING GALLERY Bresler Eitel Framing Gallery Greenwood Park Gallery & Framing, INC Noble Arts South Shore Gallery & Framing NAIL SALON Lula Mae Aesthetic Boutique Nail Bar Milwaukee - Downer Avenue Nail Bar Milwaukee - Walker's Point WELL Spa + Salon
FAVORITE BREWERS PLAYER Christian Yelich Corbin Burnes Rowdy Tellez Willie Adames FAVORITE BUCKS PLAYER Bobby Portis Giannis Antetokounmpo Jrue Holiday Khris Middleton FAVORITE PACKERS PLAYER Aaron Jones Aaron Rodgers AJ Dillon Jaire Alexander
LAW FIRM ESTATE PLANNING Fox O'Neill & Shannon Gimbel, Reilly, Guerin & Brown LLP Law Offices of Carlson & Lunde, S.C. Moertl Wilkins & Campbell
TATTOO PARLOR Black Dawn Tattoo Color Bomb Tattoo Shop and Body Piercing The Foundry Tattoo Company Walker's Point Tattoo Co.
LAW FIRM - FAMILY LAW Gagne McChrystal De Lorenzo & Burghardt Gimbel, Reilly, Guerin & Brown LLP Kim & LaVoy, S.C
VETERINARIAN Bayshore Veterinary Clinic Brentwood Animal Hospital Community Veterinary Clinic Milwaukee Vet Clinic Shorewood Animal Hospital
MINI GOLF COURSE Moorland Road Golf Center Nine Below Prairieville Park Swing Time Germantown Tee Aire
WEDDING VENUE Best Place at the Historic Pabst Brewery Glacier Hills County Park Story Hill Firehouse The Ivy House The Pfister Hotel
PADDLESPORTS RENT OR BUY Brew City Kayak Koha SUP Milwaukee Kayak Company PROLITE Sports Sherper's
LAW FIRM - FULL SERVICE Fox O'Neill & Shannon Gimbel, Reilly, Guerin & Brown LLP Groth Law Accident Injury Attorneys Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee, Inc. LAW FIRM PERSONAL INJURY Gimbel, Reilly, Guerin & Brown LLP Groth Law Accident Injury Attorneys Gruber Law Offices, LLC Hupy and Abraham, S.C. PET GROOMING/SERVICES Community Bark Dog Wash & Groom Bay View Embark Pet Spa Honeysuckle Hounds Pretty Paws Pet Spa, LLC
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SPORTS & RECREATION BOWLING ALLEY Bay View Bowl Highland Lanes Holler House Landmark Lanes South Shore Bowl ENDURANCE EVENT Best Dam Bike Tour Polar Bear Plunge Ride Across Wisconsin We Run They Fly 5K
GOLF COURSE Blue Mound Golf and Country Club Brown Deer Park Golf Course Hansen Park Golf Course New Berlin Hills Golf Course
REC SPORTS LEAGUE Adlai Horn Pickleball & Tennis Courts Bavarian United Soccer Club Elmbrook United Greenfield Softball Leagues at Konkel Park Milwaukee Curling Club Milwaukee Gay Volleyball Newport Volleyball NorthSouth Club The Rock Sports Complex ROCK CLIMBING VENUE Adventure Rock Bounce Milwaukee Turner Hall Climbing Gym
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CULTURE
Pere Marquette Park's "Christmas Chalet" lighting makes a dreamscape for the holiday season.
Milwaukee Holiday Lights Festival Returns with a Full Sleigh of Activities BY GREGORY HARUTUNIAN
I
t was 24 years ago that the Milwaukee Holiday Lights Festival kicked off its inaugural year-end season by illuminating several downtown parks with brilliant colors and a welcoming feel for families to come enjoy. Thinking about it, kids have been born and grown to adulthood during that time, making the annual festival an anticipated and expected tradition.
OPENING NIGHT After a two-year hiatus, the festival’s Live Kickoff Extravaganza starts everything off on Nov. 17 at Pere Marquette Park. The variety of performances begins at 6:30 p.m., but a special pre-show entertainment schedule at 5:00 p.m. gets it going. WISN-TV (Ch. 12) will broadcast everything live, from 6:30 to 7:00 p.m. non-stop.
The pandemic had somewhat disrupted that tradition for the past two years, limiting the number of people able to gather in public spaces, as well as curtailing popular side attractions which were normally offered. Starting Nov. 17 and running through the night of New Year’s Day, it all changes. The Milwaukee Holiday Lights Festival is back with all the magic and surreal beauty of its light displays, the Jingle Bus taking visitors to all three lit-up parks, hot cocoa with Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus, along with so much more. The Johnson Financial Group is sponsoring this year’s festival. “There’s nothing that makes my heart happier than how much of a family tradition this festival has become,” said Beth Weirick, Milwaukee Downtown’s CEO. “It’s free, has a family focus and is now a multi-generational event. I love it. Don’t have tickets? Walk up or pack the kids in the car— come be with the community. We’re going live again which will pull us all together once more.” 82 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS
A walk-through ornament and other giant lighting displays add to the fun at Zeidler Union Square.
Kids are amazed by the brilliant holiday lighting displays at Zeidler Union Square, better known as "Santa's Celebration Square."
Photography by Alan Herzberg and Andrew Feller. Background by RRice1981/Getty Images. String light illustration by Kristyna Vagnerova/Getty Images.
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Photography by Alan Herzberg.
The opening night features DJ Shawna (the mix master for our Milwaukee Bucks), cast members from Black Nativity, local singer Jenny Thiel, Donna Woodall, the Dance Academy of Mexico, Sarah Fierek (with her song about the festival), St. Michael’s Ukrainian Choir, Vertical Essence, Santa and Mrs. Claus stopping by, free hot cocoa, fireworks, and cookies. The Jingle Bus will take guests past the decorations and amazing lights in all three parks. The rides will be free for this kick-off night celebration. This season, the parks and themes are: “Community Spirit Park” at Cathedral Square Park, “The Christmas Chalet” at Pere Marquette Park, and “Santa’s Celebration Square” at Zeidler Union Square. The bus tours will operate Thursdays through Sundays, Nov. 18 through Dec. 30, from 6-9 p.m., leaving from The Avenue, with no tours on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day. “Santa’s Celebration Square” will have the always popular Santa’s Mailbox, where kids can drop off their letters for the Old Elf. Senior Elves and Letter Carrier Elves work to help Santa, with over 1,500 letters answered last year, free.
HOLIDAY TRADITION The festival is the product of year-round planning, Weirick said, such as refreshing the decorations for the Wisconsin Avenue treatments of rope lighting and chandeliers. New elements are still in transit from a Polish manufacturing company including a new sleigh, reindeer, additional lighted ornaments, and replacement support equipment. Infrastructure work and installations started near the end of October, and WE Energies sponsors the Zeidler Union Square work. The decor from last year has been kept, with Santa’s sleigh going to the site, where families can sit inside and take pictures. “I think about when I was younger, and the family, all six kids, would pile in the car to look at holiday lights,” she said. “It was a tradition, setting up those warm and touching memories that attach themselves to the community. If we can create quality moments for each other with the festival, how beautiful is that?” More information on everything happening for the holidays can be found at the milwaukeeholidaylights.com website.
Greg Harutunian is a regular contributor to shepherdexpress.com.
NOVEMBER 2022 | 85
CULTURE
This Month in Milwaukee 10 THINGS TO DO IN NOVEMBER BY AVA ELIZABETH CARMODY, ALLEN HALAS, ELIZABETH LINTONEN AND DAVID LUHRSSEN
NOVEMBER 3
NOVEMBER 5
Jenna Kashou, Milwaukee Scavenger Boswell Books This fall, discover a new way to experience Cream City with the new book Milwaukee Scavenger. From local journalist and writer Jenna Kashou, the book covers everything from Sherman Park to Shorewood. You’re invited to experience the hidden gems of the city, including beautiful works of art, exciting new hot spots, and fascinating historic landmarks. The conversation on Milwaukee Scavenger takes place at 6:30 p.m.
Altered Five Blues Band Shank Hall The rhythm section of bassist Mark Solveson and drummer Alan Arber deliver the music with plenty of horsepower. Jeff Schroedl’s guitar lashes like the backside of a whip and Jeff Taylor’s commanding vocals drive home the hard-time lyrics. Keyboardist Raymond Tevich adds detail on piano and organ. The Milwaukee band has toured Europe several times, but when in town, they make Shank Hall their home base. NOVEMBER 5 Laughing Liberally ComedySportz Milwaukee Laughing Liberally was a popular, regularly scheduled comedy show that satirized the all-too-apparent absurdity of American politics under the former (election losing) president. Live shows ceased with the pandemic but Laughing Liberally continued as a twice monthly Shepherd Express podcast. The podcast continues and the live laughter resumes in November with the election themed “RoJo Must Go Show” at ComedySportz. NOVEMBER 5 Justin Martin, Fortune, Scarlett, Delilac Miramar Theatre Bass heads know all about Los Angeles based EDM label Dirtybird Records, and one of the label’s veterans is coming to Milwaukee’s East Side on Nov. 5. DJ and producer Justin Martin will headline a full lineup of electronic music, taking the tables after openers Fortune, Scarlett and Delilac. Martin is a staple of the summer festival scene and will be sure to get a full house grooving into the early hours of the morning. THROUGH NOV. 6 Milwaukee Jewish Film Festival Marcus North Shore Cinema For the 25th Annual Milwaukee Jewish Film Festival, programming comes from a variety of places including Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands and the U.S. as well as Israel—and come subtitled for languages ranging from German and Hebrew to Arabic and Dutch. Selections can also be screened from home.
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NOVEMBER 10 Field Day, The DUIs, Peroxide, Holy Shit! X-Ray Arcade The name Field Day might be a bit unfamiliar to punk fans, but the legendary Dag Nasty that preceded the new entity has been delivering brash, fast music for decades. The veteran punks are supporting their Why? EP, which was released this past February, and will be joined at X-Ray Arcade by a trio of Milwaukee punk mainstays in The DUIs, Peroxide and Holy Shit! NOVEMBER 12 RA Natural Hemp Products Fondy’s Milwaukee Winter Farmer’s Market The Table 5305 W. Capitol Drive This winter Milwaukee’s producer of all natural hemp products will participate in the long-running market dedicated to local agricultural vendors offering high quality fruit, vegetables, meat, eggs, poultry and dairy products. RA will be at the market Saturdays, beginning Nov. 12 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. They will also be at Milwaukee Makers Market in the Third Street Market Hall, Nov. 13 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. NOVEMBER 18-19 Chicken Wire Empire The Back Room at Colectivo Mixing Americana and bluegrass with contemporary country, the Milwaukee-bred Chicken Wire Empire have expanded out to a national touring outfit but will return home for a pair of shows at The Back Room at Colectivo this month. The band collaborated with Chris Castino (The Big Wu) for their Fresh Pickles album earlier this year, and with two nights available, the band should be able to pull from all ends of their back catalogue for a unique live experience. NOVEMBER 19 Diet Lite, The Dead Bolts, Social Cig Cactus Club There is a bubbling scene happening in Milwaukee’s DIY house show circuit, with a number of exciting bands starting to gel. Energy-filled trio Diet Lite and Social Cig are at the forefront of Milwaukee music’s next wave of headliners, and they’ll fill the room at Cactus Club to celebrate Diet Lite’s Jon Told Bob Told Rob EP release. They’ll bring The Dead Bolts from Chicago up to join the party as well. NOVEMBER 20 Milwaukee Vegan Pop-Up Market Best Place in the Historic Pabst Brewery Come eat, drink and support dozens of local vendors at this fall’s Milwaukee Vegan Pop-up Market. Located at Best Place in the Historic Pabst Brewery, you’ll find cruelty-free products, gifts and new and exciting dishes to experience. Following March’s spring Pop-Up, the vendors are again offering a multitude of flavorful feel-good plates including rich mac & “cheese,” loaded nachos piled high, and a variety of sweet treats. Free admission into the event for all of Milwaukee to enjoy. From jewelry to jackfruit, there’s something for everyone to discover. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Admission is free.
Image by AlexRaths/Getty Images. Illustration by Aleksandr Durnov/Getty Images.
NOVEMBER 2022 | 87
LIFESTYLE OUT OF MY MIND
YOUR BRAIN ON TELEVISION BY PHILIP CHARD
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H
ow many hours do you and your brain spend in front of the TV? If you conform to the national average, around three; a bit more for men than women, and higher still for those 65 or older. Of concern, many children meet or exceed these averages. Overall, about 80% of us watch the boob tube daily, making TV viewing the most preferred leisure activity in America. This includes watching live programming, DVDs and streaming services on TVs, computers and other devices. These activities account for over half the average person’s available leisure time daily. Given how much media exposure this involves, what are the impacts on our brains and behavior, particularly with children? After all, their gray matter is in rapid development mode, undergoing intense imprinting by environmental influences, like the tube. Well, for the most part, it ain’t good. The main factors determining the effects include how long we watch (duration), how often (frequency), and what we watch (content). While studying TVs mental impacts is complicated, researchers have teased out some reliable findings. First, the obvious. Television viewing is a passive and sedentary activity (hence the term “couch potato”). Folks who do it often and for long periods are more likely to be overweight. This effect seems to kick in when viewing time exceeds two hours per day (remember, the average is three), or when eating while face-planted in the TV, regardless of how long one watches. There is a way to compensate, in part, for this unwanted consequence, even if you don’t want to reduce viewing time. Stand up. That’s right, watch television on your feet rather than your posterior, or alternate between standing and sitting. Still, eating while watching remains problematic. Again, the impact is less if one stands while viewing/eating, but chowing down in front of the tube is mindless eating, the kind most likely to result in over consumption.
social component (playing with friends). Two hours or less of video gaming daily shows few deleterious impacts. Finally, TV viewing involves brainwashing and distractibility. Advertising, in particular, uses neuroscience to play with our minds, convincing us we need what we don’t, manipulating our insecurities, imposing absurd notions about happiness, success, beauty and the like. The clear antidote here is not to fall for their “Look here!” manipulations and, at a minimum, hit the mute button for ads. Better yet, get up, walk a bit and come back when the drivel has ceased. There is also evidence that television induces attention deficit disorder. The assault of rapidly shifting images, sounds and info graphics trains our brains to flit from one focus to another, and not just while we’re watching. Bottom line? Watching TV is a poor substitute for engaging with life, and, with some exceptions, undermines brain development and learning. As Groucho Marx quipped, “I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book.” Good counsel.
Philip Chard is a psychotherapist and author with a focus on lasting behavior change, emotional healing and adaptation to health challenges. For more, visit philipchard.com.
Next, the allure of watching TV stems, in part, from its immediate impact on the brain, which is to create a relaxation response. The passive nature of this behavior can induce a trance-like state of awareness, which can be a good thing after a hectic day. However, studies show this positive effect is short-lived. Like the buzz one gets from alcohol, the initial mood elevation soon gives way to a kind of malaise, so, over the longer term, TV consumption leads to its own version of a hangover. Backing up this finding is other research showing those who watch more television report being less happy than those viewing less.
LOWER COGNITIVE ABILITIES Perhaps of greater concern, studies indicate children who stay glued to the tube exhibit lower cognitive abilities, which usually translates to poorer academic performance. Makes sense. The more time a kid wastes watching TV, the less they engage in activities that enrich brain development — reading, creative pursuits, active play, time outdoors, social interaction, etc. And lest you believe the culprit here is video games, research shows otherwise. While video gaming gets more bad press, it actually offers more psychological benefits and fewer liabilities than TV. It’s interactive, teaches delayed gratification and frustration tolerance (gamers lose most of the time and must keep trying), and can include a
Television photo by pxel66/Getty Images. Composition by Michael Burmesch.
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LIFESTYLE CANNABIS
| SPONSORED BY RA!
Rebuilding Lives Damaged by War on Drugs ETHEREAL GOLD DISPENSARY AND INDEED BREWING SUPPORT LAST PRISONER PROJECT BY SHEILA JULSON
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Photos courtesy of Ethereal Gold Dispensary.
T
he Last Prisoner Project (LPP) is a national, nonpartisan nonprofit organization dedicated to cannabis criminal justice reform. The organization was founded in September 2019 with the belief that those able to profit and build wealth in the legal cannabis industry should also support the release and help rebuild lives of people damaged by cannabis criminalization. “We aim to end America’s policy of cannabis criminalization, as well as to repair the harms of this discriminatory and counterproductive crusade,” says Stephen Post, senior communications associate at LPP. “We seek to redress the past and continuing harms of these unjust laws through legal intervention, direct constituent support, advocacy campaigns and policy change.” Last Prisoner Project has compiled a network of attorneys, criminal justice reformers, advocates and justice-impacted individuals dedicated to reforming the United States’ unfair cannabis law and policy.
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LIFESTYLE CANNABIS
| SPONSORED BY RA!
Headquartered in Denver, LPP has no local chapters but does have a solid base of volunteers throughout the country that support the organization’s advocacy efforts and promote awareness. Locally, Indeed Brewing Company on April 20—420 Day—donated 100% of their taproom sales to LPP. Ethereal Gold Dispensary, in Waukesha, on Sept. 30 made a quarterly donation of $702.62 to LPP through their 5% of profits program, becoming the first dispensary partner of the Last Prisoner Project in Wisconsin.
They recently celebrated the release of Humberto Ramirez, Alvi Ghaznavi and Mario Ramos. On Sept. 18, 2022, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1706 into law, which resolved implementation delays in California’s existing cannabis record sealing law. Last Prisoner Project (LPP) worked with Assembly member Mia Bonta to champion the legislation. The bill also adds oversight and progress reporting, thus promoting transparency and reducing bureaucratic delays.
A THREE PILLAR APPROACH Last Prisoner Project focuses on three key criminal justice reform initiatives: release, record clearance and reentry support. The crux of their work is ensuring the release of incarcerated cannabis prisoners. “We accomplish this through our state and federal cannabis clemency programs including the Cannabis Justice Initiative (lastprisonerproject.org/lpp-and-ncdb-establish-cannabis-justice-initiative), in which we partner with the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, along with compassionate release efforts and resentencing policy campaigns,” Post explains. Because a criminal record remains a significant barrier to employment, housing and other needs, LPP works
GOING FORWARD to advance and implement automated, state-initiated record clearance programs. The reentry support programs strive to reduce recidivism rates through financial and professional support, and educational resources constituents need upon release. “Collectively, these programs help cannabis prisoners become fully free.” Last Prisoner Project has made some significant accomplishments in a short time. Post cites the story of Michael Thompson, an LPP constituent who was serving a 40 to 60-year sentence due to a low-level 1994 cannabis sale. After serving 25 years behind bars, Thompson was released from prison and able to reunite with family members and loved ones. Last Prisoner Project also assisted with filing clemency grants advocacy, headed by Executive Director Sarah Gersten, to help at least a dozen of individuals at the federal level receive clemency grants from the White House. Many of those people were serving life sentences without the possibility of parole. At state levels, LPP to date has been able to secure the release of more than 85 individuals. In New Jersey, where cannabis was fully legalized through a ballot initiative in November 2020, LPP advocated for the New Jersey Clemency Campaign (lastprisonerproject.org/NJ-clemency).
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Last Prisoner Project believes that anyone profiting from or freely engaging in the legal cannabis industry has a moral imperative to work towards restorative justice. “No one should remain incarcerated or continue to suffer the collateral consequences of cannabis prohibition which has and continues to disproportionately impact communities of color,” Post reiterates. “We envision a world where people are no longer criminalized for cannabis.” The public can support LPP’s mission by signing petitions, calling and emailing public officials; writing a letter to someone currently incarcerated for cannabis; spreading awareness on social media; donating for commissary, reentry grants and family assistance; and buying LPP’s partner brands and from partner dispensaries. For more information, visit lastprisonerproject.org/takeaction.
Sheila Julson writes the Eat/Drink column and articles on cannabis issues for shepherdexpress.com.
CORRECTION In the October Cannabis column RA! was mistakenly identified as a Madison company. It is Milwaukee based. Richard Bowman is the company’s sole founder. Alla Tsypin is RA!’s research and development specialist.
Photos courtesy of Ethereal Gold Dispensary.
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HEAR ME OUT DEAR RUTHIE | SPONSORED BY UW CREDIT UNION
THE WORKPLACE IS NOT THE PLACE DEAR RUTHIE, Ever since we returned to the office after Covid, my co-workers have been kissing our new boss’s ass. Many of them claim to be pro-Trump when they never were before, saying they’re Republicans even though they were liberals before our new QAnon-loving boss started. I can’t take the ass-kissing anymore, and I refuse to lie about my beliefs just to get ahead. How do I avoid being looked over for business opportunities in this politically charged workplace?
HELP!
Fed Up DEAR FED UP, The workplace is not an area to discuss personal political beliefs, so don’t get sucked in and conform to peer pressure, honey. Consider talking to someone in your human resources department. Explain what you’re feeling and discuss your concerns about missed opportunities due to conflicting political views. Next, focus on kicking ass … not kissing it. While your coworkers try to impress the boss with B.S., strategize how to make improvements for your company. No one can argue with increased profits, streamlined processes and reduced costs. Set your eyes on measurable results and leave the ass-kissing to your co-workers.
XXOO
Ruthie
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 4 RANDY RAINBOW “THE PINK GLASSES TOUR” AT GENESEE THEATRE (203 GENESEE ST., WAUKEGAN, IL): I have a soft spot for men in cat-eye glasses, so I’m not going to miss the Midwest stop of the Randy Rainbow tour. The prince of parody promises a rollicking good show, loaded with all the laughs and political satire your little heart can handle. Tickets to the 8 p.m. concert can be purchased via www.ticketmaster.com.
NOVEMBER 9 BINGO GAME SHOW AT HAMBURGER MARY’S (730 S. FIFTH ST.): Join me and Jaclyn Jill for a bit of hump-day fun when you take in our 7:30 p.m. show. Bingo combined with kooky interactive games make for a great way to raise money for local charities. Hold a table at www.hamburgermarys.com/mke.
NOVEMBER 12 25TH ANNIVERSARY PARTY AT WOODY’S (1579 S. SECOND ST.): The LGBTQ+ sports bar is turning 25, and the staff is ready to party! Join the celebration at 6 p.m. and stay for the 8 p.m. drag show hosting by Goldie Adams. A NIGHT OF CABARET AT POTAWATOMI HOTEL & CASINO (1721 W. CANAL ST.): Swing by the Serenity Room at Milwaukee’s casino and get ready for a night of fun! From the silent auction and cash bar to the drag show, this annual gala raises money for the Milwaukee Metropolitan Community Church. See www.milwaukeemcc.org for more, including tickets to the 6 p.m. fundraiser.
NOVEMBER 18 COURAGE MKE’S 2022 GALA AT MILWAUKEE COUNTY ZOO (10001 W. BLUEMOUND ROAD): Celebrate the success of Courage MKE, support new endeavors and commemorate all the good this incredible resource does in our city. The 6 p.m. evening kicks off with a cocktail reception, followed by dinner, awards, auctions and a fab show! Hop over to www.event.gives/ourpride for tickets and more.
NOVEMBER 19 “YOU AIN’T NOTHING BUT A WEREWOLF” DRUNK THEATER AT INSPIRATION STUDIOS (1500 S. 73RD ST.): The team at Bombshell Theatre offers up this change-of-pace show sure to bring on the laughs. For a donation, audience members get to assign actors drinks they must consume on stage during the show! See what happens when actors hit the sauce while performing a zany musical about a werewolf when you get tickets at www. bombshelltheatre.org.
NOVEMBER 25 JUDY COLLINS AT UIHLEIN HALL (929 N. WATER ST.): The legendary singer-songwriter blesses the city with her incredible voice during an 8 p.m. “Holiday and Hits” concert. Nab tickets to see the folk-music superstar, Grammy winner and social activist by stopping by www.marcuscenter.org.
NOVEMBER 29 PRIDE NIGHT THE NATIVITY VARIATIONS AT MILWAUKEE REP (108 E. WELLS ST.): Everything that can go wrong does when an experimental theater troupe decides to impress a small midwestern town with an ambitious re-telling of the Christmas story. Join me, B.J. Daniels and Karen Valentine for Pride Night, featuring a holiday cocktail party before the show. See www.milwaukeerep.com for more, including the special pride-night discount. NOVEMBER 2022 | 95
HEAR ME OUT | SPONSORED BY UW CREDIT UNION
Photo by Suzi Media Production/Getty Images.
Milwaukee GAMMA … 46 Years of Community Engagement BY PAUL MASTERSON
Photo by PamWalker68/Getty Images.
W Photo by shironosov/Getty Images.
Photo by monkeybusinessimages/Getty Images.
Photo by BrianAJackson/Getty Images.
Photo by Furtseff/Getty Images.
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hen I last wrote about GAMMA (Gay Athletic Milwaukee Men’s Association), it was in 2015 on the occasion of the organization’s 37th anniversary. Now, seven years later, GAMMA celebrates its 46th anniversary. That’s not fuzzy math. It seems somewhere over the past near half century, the group’s age had been mistakenly based on its year of incorporation in 1978, not on that of its actual founding in 1976. But, as fate would have it, one of GAMMA’s original founders, Randy Reddemann, recently moved back to the Milwaukee area and decided to return the fold. In fact, he joined the group’s board of directors. In that process he also set the record straight in the matter of GAMMA’s age and history. Originally established as a social alternative for the bars, GAMMA activities focused, as its acronym implies, on athletics. Reddemann described its earliest days, “We started with about 10-15 regulars and charged $1 per year as dues. I remember going to the bank to deposit a handful of singles. Everybody was pretty much closeted in those days. At the time, it was unusual for people to be completely out. The first directory listed only first name and initial. GAMMA also gave gay people a chance to play sports no matter how good or bad you were.” Those sports included volleyball, slide football and softball as well as board games for the not so athletically inclined. According to Reddemann, a GAMMA team played in the then nascent gay softball league, SSBL (Saturday Softball Beer League), for a season or two. To secure use of UWM volleyball courts, the group managed to get a university professor involved so they could use campus facilities. GAMMA volleyball players would eventually become part of Milwaukee PrideFest activities, playing on the grassy island next to the Dance Pavilion.
BROADER MISSION Today’s GAMMA mission has broadened somewhat. While the membership has become older and less inclined to physical sports, it remains true to its definition as a social, recreational and cultural organization. Unlike many groups that boast a similar longevity of decades, GAMMA’s schedule of events and activities has grown rather than contract. Under the decade-long term of its outgoing president Bim Florek, GAMMA Out at the Theater, museum tours, boat trips and hikes became part of the typical monthly roster in addition to the traditional fare of sheepshead, cribbage, DiningOut and other group activities. In 2015, for the first time, GAMMA members marched in the Pride Parade. President Bim made the local news leading the contingent in the uniform of a Russian general decorated with rainbows in a satirical “Puttin’ it to Putin” parody of the homophobic despot. In subsequent years, Bim has appeared as his extravagant and glittery alter ego, Liberace. Also in 2015, a philanthropic program, GAMMA Gives, was launched. It directs member donations to a local social service organization. Collected at GAMMA’s annual holiday party in early December, gifts and cash are then presented to that year’s recipient. Beneficiaries have included the youth support organization, Pathfinders (selected again as this year’s recipient), Penfield Children’s Center, and Courage MKE, a group providing housing and services to local homeless LGBTQ+ youth. GAMMA Gives has also initiated a grant program that awarded its first grants to LGBTQ friendly arts organizations including the student musical group Broadway Bound, the Boulevard Theatre and Our Voice, the city’s LGBTQ chorus. The funds come from GAMMA’s annual dues (now $40 per annum), 10% of which is dedicated to the grant program.
Reddemann’s return to the organization he helped found nearly half a century ago is also a testament to its continuing appeal. Asked what advice he might have for potential members, Reddemann replied, “Attend an event. All of our events are open. Attend one and check it out. It goes back to the spirit of 50 years ago of interacting together. Today’s Grindr and Scruff pretend to offer a means to meet people but they don’t. Meeting people face to face is the real magic of GAMMA.” For membership information contact GAMMA president Bim via email Bim3@gmx.com
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.
BIM FLOREK
Then COVID-19 restrictions ended the group’s social activities for the better part of the pandemic’s duration. However tentatively, they began to reappear. “The pandemic really changed people’s routines. They got used to functioning within their “bubbles” and entertaining themselves. Now that GAMMA is coming back, members are hungry for the activities they could once rely on with GAMMA. Membership numbers are approaching the 100 mark, our typical average,” Bim said. Sheepshead and cribbage diehards were among the first to reconvene. Still apprehensive after years of reclusive isolation, members have slowly returned to participating in group activities like GAMMA Out at the Theater and Dining OUT. In fact, a new group geared to the organization’s classical music hounds has scheduled a night at the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra coming up on Nov. 12.
Photo courtesy of Bim Florek.
NOVEMBER 2022 | 97
ART FOR ART'S SAKE
From The City That Always Sweeps BY ART KUMBALEK Photo by Gam1983/Getty Images.
I
’m Art Kumbalek and man oh manischewitz what a world, ain’a? So listen, I hear it’s already the 11th month of the year, the one we call November (from the Latin novem meaning “nine” (yeah, go figure, was the gang who in the olden, olden days slapped together the calendar we use today the ancient forefathers of those who designed the Ford Edsel or who determine what constitutes an acceptable pass reception in the National Football League?). For christ sakes, didn’t we just have Halloween and now out-of-the-blue we got November to deal with? How time flies, what the fock? Yeah yeah, November, and as I check my so-called calendar, I see we got a month that includes All Saints’ Day; All Souls’ Day (a day that I learned during my scholastic purgatorial period back at Our Lady In Pain That You Kids Are Going Straight To Hell But Not Soon Enough we ought to pray for the souls receiving an ass-kicking comeuppance in purgatory); a birthday for yours truly (cold cash in a thoughtful card appreciated); a mid-term election whence if Republicans take over either the House or Senate, or both, prepare for a quick ride to democratic hell; a Daylight Saving Tie adjustment ( we pick up an extra hour, an hour which I plan to finally start and finish Finnegans Wake); big-buck Bambi-dad deer slaughtering; Thanksgiving; Black Friday shopping (I take a 44-42 regular in a nice sport coat and can always use a fresh pack of cushy white socks, thank you). And, just so you’s know, we’re talking about November on this page but I’m flipping this essay together at the end of September due to deadline/printing schmutz. Cripes, by the time you read this palaver, I could be dropped over deader than doornail, how ’bout that? You may have read 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,” or, “Anybody got a light?” or, “I knew I should’ve looked both ways, goddamn it.” 98 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS
And of the Thanksgiving, as always, I’ll be thankful that I’ve never had to tell a judge this: “But your honor, I swear I heard her say she was 18.” Of course, there are a couple, three perennials that could happen in the future I would be thankful for: Former “President” Trumpel-thinskin doing the perp walk sporting a nice pair of fool’s gold handcuffs. Yours truly wins a $3 billion Megabucks lottery drawing, because I could really use the dough. Aaron Rodgers leads the Green Bay Packers to victory in Super Bowl 57. Which reminds me, how ’bout I give you a little something you can take along and share at your gathering the fourth thankful Thursday of November so’s you don’t show up empty-handed like some kind of freeloading fockstick. If you’re too damn lazy to bring a dish or gallon of bourbon, a humorous story would be a nice alternative, you betcha. It goes something like this: So these two ladies fall off a hiking cliff to their death and are waiting in purgatory to hear the results of their life audit. A door opens and two men enter. An angel walks in with an ugly, gremlin of a man. The angel says “Nancy, in 1982 you ran over a duck with you SUV, your punishment will be to spend your eternal life with this pustule of a man” He slaps the shackles on each of their arms and are sent off together for eternity. Later, an angel walks in with a gorgeous hunky dude. He slaps the shackle on Alice and the handsome man and she are sent on their way. During their walk, she’s thinking she must have been a good person during her life on Earth, when she’s interrupted by the man’s muttering: “I knew I shouldn’t have killed that duck.” Ba-ding! And in conclusion, let me say that wherever you find yourself this Thanksgiving holiday, god speed and remember to fight the good fight ’cause I’m Art Kumbalek and I told you so.