Topeka Magazine | Fall 2019 | The Goat Yoga Namaaaaaaaaste issue by Sunflower Publishing

A L L

! e t s athe Farm a a n o Namaaaaoaat Yoga G BOURBON VARIATIONS: THREE DRINKS FOR FALL

EJ DRAKE ON THE REAL HIGHLAND PARK

LING MA ON TOPEKA AND HER ACCLAIMED NOVEL

“The first time we collaborated with Mayo Clinic experts to save a patient’s life, I knew we had taken our care to the next level.” — Dr. Mehmood Hashmi,

Hematology/Oncology

Every moment matters.

Our physicians have access to additional expertise through our membership in the Mayo Clinic Care Network. They can work with Mayo Clinic experts to ensure comprehensive care for patients with complex conditions — at no additional cost, right here at Stormont Vail Health.

stormontvail.org

JOIN THE UNLIMITED CLUB FOR AS LOW AS $25 A MONTH

CLUBCARWASH.COM OUR NEW TOPEKA LOCATIONS 831 NW 25th St • 6017 SW 30th Terr • 1834 SW Topeka Blvd • 2524 SE California Ave

TOPEKA MAGAZINE | Fall 2019

FROM THE EDITOR FALL 2019 | VOLUME 13, NO. 4

Editor Nathan Pettengill Art Director Jenni Leiste Designer Jenni Leiste Brittany Lee Copy Editor Leslie Andres Advertising Representatives Sunflower Publishing Angie Taylor ataylor@sunflowerpub.com (785) 832-7236 Peterson Publications, Inc publish@petersonpublications.com (785) 271-5801 Ad Designer Alex Tatro Photographers Nick Krug Bill Stephens Photograph by Nick Krug

Welcome to the fall issue of Topeka Magazine. The photo shoot for this edition’s cover was about as fun as you might imagine it to have been. Of course, how enjoyable you might imagine it to have been depends entirely on how you feel about baby goats and personal space. Fortunately, our cover goat, Mary Kate, felt entirely comfortable with her supporting model, Jeni Moore, co-owner of Silver Dollar Farms where Mary Kate lives and roams. And, just off camera, Benjamin Moore (husband to Jeni and the other co-owner of the farm) was there to help Mary Kate and Jeni perform a perfect “bitilasana with goat.” On our end, photographer Bill Stephens teamed up with Brittany Lee and Kalli Jo Smith (a designer and a writer, respectively, but goat wranglers for the day) to illustrate writer Michelle Terry’s story on the jumping, nudging and climbing that defines the appeal of goat yoga. Of course, our fall issue has more than goats. These pages contain our regular features on drinks, photography and conversations with Topekans about life in the city or (in the case of Jeffrey Ann Goudie’s conversation with acclaimed novelist Ling Ma) about memories of the city and how they shape our future selves. Hopefully this fall season will bring you new memories, made in Topeka, to enjoy for your life.

Writers EJ Drake Jeffrey Ann Goudie Susan Kraus Nick Krug Leah Sewell Kalli Jo Smith Bill Stephens Michelle R. Terry Barbara Waterman-Peters Subscriptions $27 for a one-year subscription, including Topeka SR; order at sunflowerpub.com

Please contact us at topekamagazine@sunflowerpub.com for all comments, subscription and editorial queries.

Topeka Magazine is a publication of Sunflower Publishing, a division of Ogden Publications. Production Manager: Jenni Leiste Director: Bob Cucciniello Ogden Publications 1503 SW 42nd St Topeka, KS 66609

— NAT H A N P E T T E N G I L L , E D I T O R sunflowerpub.com topekamag.com

What needs to be true for you to become Cash Confident?

Creating the best life!

As Zig Ziglar once quipped, “money is not the most important thing, but it ranks right up there with oxygen!” Life requires money and having “enough” gives us confidence. The opposite is also true, but how do we secure enough?

Start by asking yourself 3 questions: (write these down for maximum affect)

1. In what situations, past or present, have you felt most cash confident?

2. In what situations, past or present, have you felt least cash confident?

3. What specifically must be true for your to be cash confident?

Unfortunately, money doesn’t come with instructions. That’s where we can help. If you are in a life transition and need advice, schedule a call today to see if wealth planning is right for you.

Charting Financial Courses since 1989!

- Experienced agents since 1988 - Trust - Family - Process / Negotiations - Offices in Topeka & Manhattan www.soldontopeka.com www.destinyrealestate.com

Outstanding Agents Outstanding Results®

Mark A. Reinert CFP®, RICP®, MBA Reinert Wealth Management 3639 SW Summerfield Dr. Suite B Topeka, KS 66614 (785) 272-3900 mark.reinert@lpl.com

www.reinertwealthmanagement.com

Jim Hood

Securities and advisory services offered through LPL Financial, a registered investment advisor, Member FINRA/SIPC

Broker/Owner 5815 SW 29th St. Topeka, KS 66614 (785) 273-1100 Each office independently owned and operated.

TOPEKA MAGAZINE | Fall 2019

WHAT’S INSIDE FALL 2019 | VOLUME 13, NO. 4

TOPEKANS 07 THE IMAGE AND THE IDEA

Washburn professor champions photography as the art where concept comes before process

“IN THE END, WE’RE ALL FROM TOPEKA”

The latest in our series of personal letters from local residents comes from EJ Drake, an educator working to change misperceptions about his students PERFECT SHOT

From the highways of Kansas to the nature spots of Topeka, Ken Metz has worked with the latest technologies to capture images around him ‘A LOT OF SPACE TO DREAM’

Ling Ma talks about shelving books at the Topeka library, researching outsourced Bible manufacturing and writing her acclaimed late-capitalism, zombie-apocalypse novel

PLACE 22 A PERFECT AUTUMN ROUTE

Runner and fitness trainer Michelle Terry continues a yearlong series on the city’s best seasonal running routes with this fall jog through MacLennan Park

KANSAS GETAWAYS

Travel writer Susan Kraus shares her top picks for short, in-state fall 2019 vacations

WEDDINGS 28 HERE COMES THE BEER

Couples are elevating the once-scorned drink into their weddings and receptions

I N E VE RY I S S U E 32 WHAT’S HAPPENING

Selected Topeka events for the fall

F E AT U R E S 36 FORECAST: BOURBON

Topeka bartenders serve up three original drinks for the season

NAMAAAAAAAASTE

A young farming family brings the national trend of goat yoga to Topeka

A L L

aste! aa the Farm Namaaaaoaat Yoga on G BOURBON VARIATIONS: THREE DRINKS FOR FALL

EJ DRAKE ON THE REAL HIGHLAND PARK

LING MA ON TOPEKA AND HER ACCLAIMED NOVEL

On the Cover Mary Kate, a young Nubian goat from Silver Dollar Farms, helps Jeni Moore through her yoga routine. Photograph by Bill Stephens.

Experience exciting table games, over 1,100 slot machines, award-winning dining, live entertainment, and Golfweek’s Best Course in Kansas, all only minutes from Topeka. Plan your stay at Prairie Band Casino today and – whether your game’s played on felt, at the slots, or on the links – discover even more ways to play. Don’t have a Prairie Band Players card? Sign up for FREE with a valid I.D. All new members in 2019 can spin the New Member Rewards Prize Wheel for a guaranteed prize up to $500 Prairie Cash!

15 minutes north of Topeka 1-888-PBP-4WIN | prairieband.com Must be 21 years of age or older to gamble. Minimum age to play Bingo and Class II games is 18. Owned by the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation. Getting help is your best bet. Call the confidential toll-free Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700.

LETâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S DO

lunch from

(785) 235-1700 RowHouseRestaurant.net

A New BEGINNING FOR THE TOPEKA COUNTRY CLUB

P E K A C.C

Come & Experience

OUR $7.5 MILLION TRANSFORMATION EST. 1905

membership - golf - tennis - health & wellness - swim - dining www.topekacc.org

CONTACT GINA PATTERSON FOR A PRIVATE TOUR (785) 354-8561.

TOPEKANS STORY BY

Barbara Waterman-Peters |

PHOTOGRAPHY BY

Fall 2019 | TOPEKA MAGAZINE

Bill Stephens

THE IMAGE and the Idea

Washburn professor champions photography as the art where concept comes before process

TOPEKA MAGAZINE | Fall 2019

TOPEKANS

Window Dressing by Danielle Head.

hen asked whether she prefers shooting photographs as film or as electronic images, Danielle Head refuses to be drawn into this great analog-digital divide. “Film and digital are not separate because my hand is still involved,” she explains. Even before digital photography began to eclipse film, the art of photography had seen numerous, extreme changes over its nearly two centuries of existence. With each new technology, photographers could integrate the latest developments, revitalize old methods, or work across platforms. And throughout that period, there has been a group of photographers such as Head who approach photography as an art where the tools are less important than the thought behind them. Or, as Head explains: “The technical process is not as important as the idea.” Receiving her BA in film, photography and video from Hampshire College in Amherst, in 2007 and her MFA in photography from Indiana University Bloomington in 2011, Head was greatly influenced by Robert Seydel, who taught her darkroom technology and how to consider photographs as “telling stories, being poetic and suggestive rather than literal.” Her approach was also informed by the legacy of Indiana University’s Henry Holmes Smith, a legendary photographer who pioneered abstract photography, as well as by one of Smith’s students, Jerry Uelsmann, who created fictional, surreal worlds from photographs of unrelated images.

Seeing Within and Without Recent exhibits of Danielle Head’s Within and Without have been held at the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago, the Lawrence Arts Center in Lawrence, the Fisch Haus Gallery in Wichita and the Contemporary Art Center in Peoria, Illinois. Head has been invited to participate in two photography exhibits in the Morris Gallery at the NOTO Arts Center and has been featured in the faculty exhibits at the Mulvane Art Museum.

TOPEKANS

Head championed that approach after graduation when she wrote an award-winning narrative film, a fake documentary with a pop icon she invented named Lester Gannon. Head continues to create verse poetry and stories on an old typewriter that she prefers, but her main focus has become telling stories through her photography; combining words, objects and images in her installations; and leaving a viewer to assemble the narration. “I like language, mystery, certain things not being explained,” Head says. In an ongoing series, Within and Without, Head creates the atmosphere around a persona she describes as a “Lee Harvey Oswald character.” Using photographs of objects or environments that could have been in her protagonist’s life, she fabricates a biographical history. Close to collective memory, but appearing to be personal experience, these images evoke a disquieting surreality. A bedroom or a backyard scene, unsettling in its mundane appearance, becomes part of the buildup to a cataclysmic event. Although made up by the artist, these powerful photographs seem to connect to our collective memory. Not having seen the actual bedroom and domestic scenes occupied by the real Oswald, for example, we have been exposed to what they might have looked like—benign, softly colored and empty. Head has been involved with this and similar projects for a number of years, always finding new ways to create a chilling similarity to actual events. But that is precisely her point: that history is a mix of truth, perception and fiction. Events such as the life of Oswald already have been filtered through the layers of conspiracy theories and actual historical realities. Only some of us were alive during that period in the early sixties, and few of us experienced the events firsthand, so most of us have learned that history through photographs and television documentaries. Despite these and other historical sources such as the report of the Warren Commission and the Zapruder film, speculation, opinion and fiction have also influenced our understanding. Add in postmodernism, which sparked the deconstruction and reexamination of much of our canon of knowledge, and you have the perfect setting for the creation of art as historical fiction. In her teaching, Head passes on a firm grounding of technical processes while also bringing her creative ethos of independent thought into the classroom. Her students begin with developing and printing images from film before they are given access to digital. “I love talking about art, photography and ideas,” she says. “It is teaching in a conversational way. I try to treat my students as peers and to demystify the process for them.”

About the Writer: Barbara WatermanPeters writes, paints, exhibits, teaches and manages Studio 831 in the North Topeka Arts District (NOTO).

Fall 2019 | TOPEKA MAGAZINE

Grandma’s Influence In addition to being shaped by some of the greats in creative photography, Danielle Head points to her grandmother as another influence. Childhood visits to Grandma’s home, for Head, were like going into “another world of old music and TV shows.” To this day, Head continues to be interested in retro objects, 1920s jazz and the Beat poets.

From top: Bad Sleep: Oswald’s Bed, Live from Dallas and The Backyard Photograph. All photographs by Danielle Head.

WHOLE HEALTH.

We know what’s good for you. Healthcare can be overwhelming and complex. At Jayhawk Pharmacy & Patient Supply we look at your whole health picture and then help you simplify. We provide guidance and expertise on: • Traditional and custom compounded prescriptions • The right medical equipment to fit your needs • Outfitting your home for safety and accessibility We deliver 360 Degree Patient Care so that you can live your healthiest with confidence and comfort. Jayhawk makes all the difference.

Three Topeka Locations JayhawkPharmacy.com

Traditional Pharmacy 785-228-9700 Patient Supply 785-235-9700 Custom Pharmacy 785-228-9740

PHYSICALLY FIT = HAPPY & HEALTHY 8 easy ways to get more exercise -- from your friends at Jayhawk Pharmacy Sponsored by Jayhawk Pharmacy & Patient Supply

id you know that regular physical activity increases your chances of living a longer, healthier life? It also reduces your risk for high blood pressure, heart disease, and some types of cancer. Yet many people don’t get the recommended amount of physical activity. The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommends 30 minutes of physical activity a day for adults, 60 minutes for children, at least five days a week. Sound daunting? It’s much easier than you think, regardless of your current activity level. There are plenty of ways to get moving and some may even surprise you. 1. Walk the dog with the whole family. 2. Instead of calling friends, take a walk together to catch up. 3. Park your car as far away as possible so you have to walk a longer distance from your destination. Even better, walk or cycle to run errands in your community. 4. Walk up and down the field while watching your child(ren) play sports. 5. Get off the bus or subway one stop early and walk the rest of the way. 6. Replace a coffee break with an outdoor walk—or take the coffee with you on your walk. 7. Walk the golf course instead of using a cart. 8. Choose the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator. Regular physical activity is good for everyone’s health, and people of all ages and body types can be physically active. For children and adolescents, physical activity can improve muscular fitness, bone health, and heart health. Additionally, providing opportunities for children to be active early on puts them on a path to better physical and mental health for the rest of their lives. For adults, physical activity can lower the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and some types of cancer. Also, for older adults, physical activity can lower the risk of falls and improve cognitive functioning (like learning and judgment skills). Regular physical activity can produce long-term health benefits for everyone. It can help: • Prevent chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, and stroke (the three leading health-related causes of death) • Control weight • Make your muscles stronger • Reduce fat • Promote strong bone, muscle, and joint development • Condition heart and lungs • Build overall strength and endurance • Improve sleep • Decrease potential of becoming depressed • Increase your energy and self-esteem • Relieve stress • Increase your chances of living longer There are many health benefits to being active for people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities, but you should consult your physician before starting a new activity program. If you haven’t been active in a while, start slowly and build up. Do what you can; some physical activity is better than none—it’s never too late for anyone to jumpstart a healthy lifestyle!

www.jayhawkpharmacy.com JAYHAWK PHARMACY 2860 SW Mission Woods Drive

785.228.9700

JAYHAWK PHARMACY CUSTOM PRESCRIPTION CENTER 6730 SW 29th Street | 785.228.9740

JAYHAWK PATIENT SUPPLY 2620 SW 6th Avenue | 785.235.9700

TOPEKANS

TOPEKA MAGAZINE | Fall 2019 STORY BY

EJ Drake with Leah Sewell |

PHOTOGRAPHY BY

Nick Krug

“IN THE END, we’re all from Topeka” The latest in our series of personal letters from local residents comes from EJ Drake, an educator working to change misperceptions about his students

TOPEKANS

’ve been a paraprofessional at Highland Park High School for a long time—long enough that I see some of my kids from the past around town, and now they’re 32 years old, grown up, with families of their own. It gives me enough perspective that if I happen to have a freshman who is getting on my nerves, I have to look beyond 14 years old. I have to wonder, “What’s this person’s life going to look like at age 25 or 35?” Generally speaking, my role as a para is to assist the teacher with whatever they need. Sometimes, that looks like working with a lot of students and sometimes it’s working one-on-one with a student. Once in a while, there will be a student who’s refusing to do anything, and I’ll single them out and ask, “Why are you here if you can’t bring yourself to do the work or show up to class?” Then I come to find out that there are other things going on in this kid’s life that are impeding their progress. I always tell them, “Look, when you’re out in the world trying to find work, trying to put together a resume, you never want to say, ‘I dropped out, I didn’t finish high school.’ If you have your high school diploma, that’s going to help you. Education is something they can never take away from you.” Working with Highland Park students as much as I have, I see that one large obstacle to their progress is the negative attitude toward them inside the city of Topeka. A co-worker and I got to talking about how we’re so sick of the bad rap that Highland Park gets. There are so many good things going on at our school, yet the rest of Topeka seems to focus on the negative. So we thought, instead of sitting around just talking about it, let’s do something about it. We formed a group to find ways kids can take pride in their community at Highland Park and on the east side of town. We called it the Scots Movement for the school mascot and the goal of moving forward, making positive change. We started the group to teach the kids to feel proud of where they come from and to show the wider community we have good things happening. The first year, we did a lot of stuff for the community right at our doorstep. We adopted the HPHS Daycare, getting hats and scarves for the kids for Christmas with a little bit of money from two group sponsors. After they heard about some of the things we’d been up to, the Downtown Rotary Club got involved, allowing us not only to give more items to

Fall 2019 | TOPEKA MAGAZINE

the daycare at Christmas but also to give the daycare families diapers to get them through the summer. When the Downtown Topeka Rotary partnered with us, a lot began happening. Our students got to be guest speakers at the Rotary’s international conference this past April. Our students participate in interview clinics where they learn how to make eye contact, shake hands, and do a good job representing themselves during a job interview. They do clothing drives for the community closet we have at Highland Park. Our motto is “Take care of your own,” and you might think that means our own school, our own side of town, but that’s not the case. We mean the whole city, because, even though sometimes we don’t get included when people think about Topeka, and although we’re stigmatized because we live in the so-called “Dirty South” (east of the Boulevard between Adams and 37th), we are cognizant that improving the reputation and the quality of life of the entire city will improve all the lives within it, including ours. In the end, we’re all from Topeka. I think there’s this tendency to self-segregate in Topeka, and to think that crime and poverty only happen in the parts of town where more people of color tend to live. When people see bad things in the news, they might think, “Oh, that doesn’t happen over here in my neighborhood,” but in reality, people are closing their eyes to a problem that the entire city should be dealing with together; they need to acknowledge that the stereotype of crime in the “Dirty South” is not the full picture. We need to call out and confront those simplified, misleading stereotypes when we see them. Every day when I work with these kids, I see a million ways they’re busting the stereotype that’s unfairly placed upon them. When we have career clinics here, the kids show up early, and they’re making eye contact and taking notes; they’re treating the situation with respect. We have park clean-ups, and our kids show up ready to work and get dirty. I tell people, you have to see for yourself how great this community is, and what these teens are capable of doing. You can’t base your opinion on something you saw on TV or that was hyped in the media. When people come in the doors and get to know our kids, it changes hearts and minds. And that’s how I feel we’re going to make change in the city. We’ve just got to take it one person at a time, and pretty soon, the word will spread on its own.

Every day when I work with these kids, I see a million ways they’re busting the stereotype that’s unfairly placed upon them.

TOPEKA MAGAZINE | Fall 2019

TOPEKANS STORY BY

Bill Stephens

PERFECT SHOT From the highways of Kansas to the nature spots of Topeka, Ken Metz has worked with the latest technologies to capture images around him

Photograph by Ken Metz

Fall 2019 | TOPEKA MAGAZINE

ow long has Ken Metz been shooting with digital photography? Well, long enough that his first digital camera was the early Nikon E990, which boasted a 3.3 megapixel image and took about 40 seconds to write each shot to the memory card. “I used the E990 for snapshots, which was really all I was capable of doing at the time,” Metz explains. He continued shooting and integrating new technology. By 2008 he was working with a Nikon D80 and 18-55mm kit lens, which enabled him to begin his first serious photography. Metz also had some background in photography from his work with the Kansas Highway Patrol. “We received minimal training using 35mm film cameras. We would use them for accident photos and other investigations. I had some success, but I didn’t even grasp basic knowledge of aperture and shutter speeds. When I left the road in 2014, we were just getting the Sony digital cameras that had the mini disc memory. At the time, only supervisors had them, and we would have to ask them to respond if we needed photos,” he says. For the most part, Metz explored photography on his own. “I used to say I was self-taught, but more accurately selfguided. I found myself reading the camera manuals and other available books about photography,” says Metz. “Most of what I know I attribute to just doing it and learning from my mistakes.” Now retired, Metz has been free to develop his interest in wildlife photography, spending time at Lake Perry and Lake Shawnee photographing gulls, herons, bald eagles, ospreys, pelicans and other birds. “Birds have been my favorite subjects to shoot for the past few years. They don’t usually let you get very close and don’t sit still for very long either,” he says. “Kansas is part of a major bird migration path, so it’s not unusual to see various migrating birds. I almost always come away with something unexpected. Sometimes I just go to Lake Shawnee knowing that I’ll find an interesting subject that I haven’t seen before.” These days, Metz shoots with a Nikon D850 body, the top of the line for the digital 35mm full-frame FX format. He also uses a Nikon D500, which shoots the DX image size (about 30 percent smaller than the FX format). “Although I prefer full frame FX format, I shoot a lot in the DX format with my D500,” Metz says. “Being able to shoot a bird in flight at 10 frames per second, with fast and accurate focus, is a nice feature. It is a good choice for bird photography, and it allows me to take advantage of the 1.5x crop factor.” Recently, Metz took the leap and bought a new Nikon Z7, which is a “mirrorless” camera designed for professional and serious amateur work. Many of the high-end camera manufacturers are expecting the mirrorless cameras to be the future of photography.

Independent Living Assisted Living Home Plus Memory Care Skilled Nursing Care Rehabilitation Services Transitional Care Unit

Schedule your tour today!

Call (785) 478-9440 or visit aldersgatevillage.org.

7220 SW Asbury Drive | Topeka, KS 66614

TOPEKA MAGAZINE | Fall 2019

TOPEKANS

Regardless of which camera he uses, Metz’s steps for working with the images after he shoots, a process known as “workflow,” are fairly consistent. Metz begins his workflow with the Photo Mechanic software to make a quick pass through his images and throw out the blurry or unusable shots. He then imports the remaining images into Adobe Lightroom where he makes basic adjustments to exposure, highlights, shadows and the white and black points of the image. Next, Metz imports the images into the Topaz Labs program for reducing “noise,” the corruption in sharpness from motion or long exposure. Topaz also creates high-quality .tif files that can be exported into the .jpeg version commonly used for printing or for posting online. In working with these programs, as in working with the digital cameras on the shoot, Metz says he has learned not to rely too closely on the default procedures such as auto focus, auto exposure and auto color balance. His years of experimentation, and mistake-making, have taught him when to override many of the auto features and operate his equipment in manual mode. Serious photography is more than pushing a button. In order to realize your full creative potential, you need to manually tell the camera what you want it to do, and not expect it to make all of the decisions.

About the Writer: Though officially retired, Bill Stephens runs a photography business and frequently contributes to Topeka Magazine.

From top: Blossoms, Osprey and Chevelle. Photographs by Ken Metz. Circle: Ken Metz frequently photographs wildlife in Topeka. Photograph by Bill Stephens.

Your business. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re busy. We get it.

An independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.

Quality health and dental insurance should be simple. Visit

bcbsks.com/smallbiz 1

Download our short guide to get answers to common group insurance questions.

Get a quick quote online.

Call us today at 785-201-9967. TOPEKA MAG FALL19

TOPEKANS

TOPEKA MAGAZINE | Fall 2019

STORY BY

Jeffrey Ann Goudie

‘A Lot of

SPACE TO DREAM’ Ling Ma talks about shelving books at the Topeka library, researching outsourced Bible manufacturing and writing her acclaimed late-capitalism, zombie-apocalypse novel

ormer Topekan Ling Ma gave us one of the surprise literary hits of 2018 with Severance, a sly novel that won the Kirkus Prize for Fiction and ended up on the Best Books of 2018 lists for at least 17 publications. Set during the Obama years, Severance features Candace Chen, who coordinates Bible production for a large New York office that outsources printing to Asia, where workers suffer lung problems due to grinding and polishing semiprecious stones for the firm’s popular line of gift Bibles. Candace buries her concerns about the workers’ health through an

immersion in the demands of her job and daily routine. Her New York City life occurs against the backdrop of the global pandemic Shen Fever, whose victims repeat the same rituals endlessly— such as setting the table for meals they never eat—in a robotic state. “[T]he fevered were creatures of habit, mimicking old routines and gestures they must have inhabited for years, decades,” Ma writes. “The lizard brain is a powerful thing.” Shen Fever soon shuts down New York and the U.S., and Candace is one of the last survivors, part of a motley crew who end up, fittingly, in a vacant mall outside Chicago, the

same city where Ma worked from 2009-2012 as a fact-checker for Playboy until being laid off. Writing a zombie apocalypse novel that’s also an astute takedown of late-stage capitalism, not to mention a Millennial love story and poignant immigrant tale, is no mean feat, but Ma pulls it off. If Nora Ephron’s Heartburn is the ultimate marital revenge novel, then Ma’s Severance is the same for cubicle culture. Ma took time to answer some questions by email at the University of Chicago, where she teaches advanced fiction, creative writing and other courses as an assistant professor.

English and Italian book covers for Severance; Ling Ma. Photographs courtesy Narrativa, Farrar, Straus & Giroux and Liliane Calffe.

Fall 2019 | TOPEKA MAGAZINE

Proud to Be a Part of

Top City

Questions for Ling Ma

1. What was the genesis of Severance? I believe the idea for it began in 2012, when I was working at an office undergoing mass layoffs. What began as an apocalyptic short story soon began to balloon into a meditation about the nature of work and routine. The protagonist, Candace Chen, lives in New York and works as a production coordinator of Bible manufacturing in China. The first chapter chronicles a day in her life. Once I wrote about Candace’s day, I knew there was more to explore. 2. With Severance, you have managed to write a trenchant take-down of consumerist and corporate culture, a slyly satiric look at the way we live, and a poignant immigrant story. Not to mention the zombie/apocalypse/dystopia. How did you pull all this off? I wrote the novel in piecemeal, instead of chronologically. I wrote the scenes I was most excited about. Even though they were written out of order, I hoped once I pieced them together, they would make sense. Sometimes they did, and sometimes they didn’t, but you can do a lot in the editing stage. My one rule was not to force any connections that weren’t there. Either the connections were there, or they weren’t. 3. Your central character, Candace, oversees production of Bibles, the labor of which is outsourced to Asia. Why did you choose Bibles? And Shenzhen, China? I find the Bible industry fascinating. I read somewhere that most American households own more than one copy of the Bible. So the trick is selling consumers something which they likely already own. Which means that selling Bibles rests on packaging and re-packaging the same product in new ways. Most Bibles are made in Asia, particularly China. I thought it was a great way to illustrate the global supply chain, but also reflect on other topics: the immigrant success story, the Protestant work ethic, and how China has changed so much once it opened to the free market. In the 1990s, Shenzhen was a small fishing village, but since then, as it has transformed into a major manufacturing hub producing the world’s goods, it is now a huge, cosmopolitan city of 12 million people.

#TopCityProud CoreFirst has a long history of making positive changes in Topeka. Doing our best to collaborate with customers, partners and the community has been the core of our mission for nearly 60 years. See the difference with CoreFirst.

NAMED

TOPEKA MAGAZINE | Fall 2019

4. How did you come by your knowledge of global economics, not to mention brand names? I’m not an economist, obviously, but I do have some firsthand experience working in book production, which is how I came to understand the global supply chain of certain types of books. That, and I did some research into this (as a side-note, I would highly recommend Leslie T. Chang’s Factory Girls, which follows the personal stories of female migrant factory workers in China). As for knowledge of brand names, I was thinking about those postcollegiate years when a young person begins working their first salaried job. It’s a time when you suddenly have an influx of disposable income, and so many consumer choices then are attempts or graspings at selfidentity. Especially in a place as image conscious as New York. This is Candace’s situation when she first comes to New York after college. 5. This novel—your first—won the 2018 Kirkus Award for Fiction, plus made it onto lots of Best of 2018 lists, including garnering a place as a New York Times Notable Book of 2018. Were you surprised by this level of critical success? What did it feel like? Lots of wonderful books are overlooked all the time, or don’t even make it to publication. I know part of the book’s perceived success has at least something to do with luck. That being said, I’m grateful towards those who championed the book. The idea a publisher would pick up an apocalyptic zombie office novel seemed so outlandish and somewhat implausible at the time when I was writing it. 6. What other writers do you admire? There are too many to name, so I’ll name some recent reads I would recommend. I’m finishing up Yuko Tsushima’s Territory of Light, which is hitting me at just the right moment. It’s immersive in its quiet honesty. And I was entranced by Peter Handke’s

TOPEKANS

A Sorrow Beyond Dreams, about the author’s mother and her slow breakdown over the course of her life. The last few scenes detailing the mother’s older age are hard to read, but I keep thinking about them. Mrs. Caliban by Rachel Ingalls, which I’ve talked up to anyone who will listen. Carina Chocano’s You Play the Girl is a clear-sighted essay collection about cultural projections of feminine identity. And I also really enjoyed Nick Drnaso’s graphic story collection Beverly, which is disquietingly honest and full of menacing subcurrents. There are some visual techniques that I wonder about translating into prose fiction.

“The idea a publisher would pick up an apocalyptic zombie office novel seemed so outlandish and somewhat implausible at the time when I was writing it.” 7. On page 209 of the hardback, there’s a nod to Topeka. What years were you here? How was your experience in the capital city of Kansas? I spent my middle school and high school years in Topeka, Kansas, before moving away to college. So I mostly associate Topeka with my teenage years, a very fraught and anxious time! But I have many good memories, like hanging out at PT’s in Barrington Village [now The Steam Engine coffee shop] and flipping through magazines at the Barnes and Noble on Wanamaker.

My first job was shelving books at the Topeka Shawnee County Public Library; I would check out so much material when I was there. That’s where I first found Ingmar Bergman films, and classic American movies like Taxi Driver and Crimes and Misdemeanors. I also liked driving around in the country during thunderstorms and listening to the radio, going to my friends’ houses. There was a lot of space to dream. 8. Who were some of your influential teachers during your time in Topeka? I’d like to give a shout-out to my former English and creative writing teacher Ryan Arnold, who also headed up the school’s lit journal Plethora. He had a terrific sense of humor and a high tolerance for random, freakish stories I used to send him! I’m pretty sure anyone else would have found those stories both boring and alarming. His patience and interest in my work let me know that I could write about whatever I wanted. 9. Do you maintain any connections to Topeka? Where do your parents live now? I have a few friends in Topeka, but my family lives on the East Coast now. I do like coming back when I can, though. I have so many great memories here. Last time I came back, it was for an invite from Washburn University. I had a great time, and I spent a few hours in the public library. 10. Are you working on another book? I’m writing some things, but I’m not sure if it’s a book.

About the Writer: Jeffrey Ann Goudie is a freelance writer and book reviewer whose work has appeared in many publications, including the Minneapolis Star Tribune and the Huffington Post. She has written for Topeka Magazine since 2007.

Homes Holidays 2019

FOR

THE

NOVEMBER 23-24 Sweet Treats Bakery Open Saturday 10am-5pm, Sunday 10am-3pm Tickets available in advance or at the door.

CASAofShawneeCounty.com

Thank you to our advertising sponsor!

• Business • Contractors HomeHome • Auto• •Auto Business • Contractors Worker’s Compensation • Health Worker’s Compensation • Life• Life • Disability Long-Term Care &• Notary Surety & Notary Bonding Disability • Surety Bonding

WEPUT PUT PEOPLE PEOPLE FIRST WE FIRST

1414Ashworth SW Ashworth Place, 100 •271-8097 (785) 271-8097 1414 SW Place, Ste 100Ste • (785) www.peoplesinsure.com www.peoplesinsure.com

PLACE

TOPEKA MAGAZINE | Fall 2019 STORY BY

Michelle R. Terry

PHOTOGRAPHY BY

Bill Stephens

A Perfect

AUTUMN ROUTE Runner and fitness trainer Michelle Terry continues a yearlong series on the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best seasonal running routes with this fall jog through MacLennan Park

Fall 2019 | TOPEKA MAGAZINE

acLennan Park, the wooded area around the governor’s residence of Cedar Crest, which contains the Cedar Crest Trails and connects to the Kaw Trails, is one of Topeka’s most scenic running routes. But it is particularly beautiful when the fall colors arrive and elevate the park’s moderately technical trail into the top rugged alternative to traditional pavement pounding.

D ON’T MIS S OUT !

CoreFirst Bank & Trust Jazz & Food Truck Festival September 21

Our Route Guides Longtime distance runners Marla and Brad Rhoden are legends in the Topeka community. Each has completed over 180 marathons, including several trips to the prestigious Boston Marathon. Marla began running in 1979 as a young mother with two babies. Since then, she has logged 191 marathons in 44 states—many of which she placed or won. In 2006, Marla ran her 100th marathon and won her age group. Brad, who is now at 188 marathons, came to running a bit later, in 1986. “I had some extra time on my hands, so I started running a half-mile loop close to my house. I added a little more every day and stuck with it,” he says. He ran his first marathon only a year later, in Omaha, where he shared the road with the woman who would become his wife. “Marla and I didn’t know each other yet, but we both ran that race,” he recalls. “I ran a 3:15, and she ran a 3:05.” The two runners eventually met face-to-face at the 1991 Roseville River Run when a group went out for breakfast after the race. They began running together some 18 months later, and continue travelling the country together for marathons and other races.

Tap That Topeka September 28

Boo at the Zoo October 19 & 26 Topeka365.com

TOPEKA MAGAZINE | Fall 2019

Planning the Run 1) Study the map Though the trails are well-marked, even experienced navigators can become lost within the switchbacks and crossovers. Knowing that the Kansas River lies parallel to the train tracks at the northern edge of the trail often helps to orient yourself.

The Rundown Location: 5050-5080 SW Sixth Ave. Total distance: 4.8 miles Elevation Gain: 442 feet

2) Dress for success Autumn running in Topeka provides the bonus of temperature and weather change within the span of one run. Consider wearing light-colored, loose fitting, moisture-wicking materials and a windbreaker that can be easily removed and tied around the waist or tucked into a backpack if it gets too hot. No matter the season, consider sunscreen, glasses and a hat.

Parking Spots: generally open Water fountains: None Restrooms: None Pets: On leashes, and must bring waste bags and water supply

3) Choose shoes Go with footwear to match the sloping, rocky, and rooted terrain. Best options are supportive trail shoes designated for rugged running, hiking or walking.

Hours: Sunrise to sundown Trails: The 2.7-mile Limestone Trail begins on the west side of the governorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s residence, and meanders through dense wooded areas and along open grasslands. The more rugged Red Trail runs for about 1.8 miles through dense woods at the north end of the park. The 1.4-mile Blue Trail winds through the trees on the western side end of the property. The 0.7mile Green Trail skirts the border between the trees and the grassland. There are numerous connectors between the routes, and color-marked trees aid with navigation. The adjacent Kaw State Park trails provide an additional 76 acres of scenery and hardwood forest overlooking the Kansas River.

4) Hydrate Drink water before, during, and after a run. There are no water stations on the trails, so ensure you are well-hydrated before the workout and carry a water bottle or hydration pack for longer runs. 5) Be wise Though not far from populated areas, the wood trails are semiremote, so if you experience headaches, intense thirst, dizziness, muscle cramps or nausea, stop immediately and look for shade. Watch your footing, carry a cell phone, and consider running with a friend.

Particulars: Trails are narrow, so bikers are urged to call out their presence upon approach.

SW Wanamaker Rd

MacLennan Park

SW 6th Ave SW 6th Ave

SW Fairlawn Rd

Kaw River State Park

You might encounter wildlife along the trails of MacLennan Park, but remember all running dogs should be kept on a leash.

. t D y.) igh Hw w r (D e 0 ow I-7 enh s i E

About the Writer: Michelle Terry is a writer and registered dietitian. When sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not working or wrangling her family, she is running, doing yoga, or managing an unruly garden.

Making Sure Your Financial Goals Are On Target!

Treat your princess! Whether you are looking for a starter piano or want to upgrade to something nicer, we have a piano for you!

Joseph G. Prokop, CFP®, CRPC® CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, Client CFO & Fiduciary

(785) 272-5000 www.ruontarget.com 5301 SW 7th St. Topeka, KS 66606 joe@ruontarget.com

MANHATTAN, KS 800-950-3774

PIANO4U.COM Preview online or visit our showroom to view over 100 new and "like new" pianos!

PLACE

TOPEKA MAGAZINE | Fall 2019

STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY

Susan Kraus

KANSAS Getaways The Flint Hills are calling this fall to immerse yourself in the area’s cultural history and biological diversity

’m standing in the middle of a section of tall grass prairie, somewhere in the Flint Hills southwest of Cottonwood Falls. I’m holding a purple-colored flower, the ironweed, and trying to break its stem. “Pull as hard as you can,” says Casey Cagle as he stands next to me. “Give it all you got.” I do, but I get nowhere. “The stem is so strong that Native Americans wove it to make a travois to pull their possessions,” Cagle explains. He then has me feel the delicate, silky interior of a milkweed pod and inhale a buffalo gourd plant (smells like fetid socks—only worse).

“Look,” he says, pointing toward a pond in the distance, “a herd of wild mustangs.” He narrates a summary of national wild mustang policy and how herds ended up in Kansas. All of this is part of Cagle’s “Intro and Overview” tour of the Flint Hills that he runs through his service, Prairie Earth. It goes for three hours on a Saturday afternoon, much of it from the comfort of an air-conditioned mini-bus that traverses the gravel back roads with ease. On the tour, Cagle covers a lot of ground without ever seeming to lecture. He talks about geology, flora and fauna, the Kanza and Osage peoples, bison and cattle, cowboy culture and Olathe’s

The Details Prairie Earth Tours has a range of tours, beginning at $15. There is the Flint Hills introduction tour, a Friday evening sunset tour, a “Wild Edible and Medicinal Plant Tour” with retired biologist Thomas Eddy (which fills quickly), a Magical History Tour of Emporia, the Kansas Craft Brewery Tour in Wichita, and more. Go to prairieearthtours.com for more info or to sign up for their newsletter. The Passport The Flint Hills Tourism Commission provides a Flint Hills Passport for $25 that opens up discounts on BOGO meal deals and other special offers valid until May 1, 2020. Got to travelks.com/flint-hills/ passport to purchase the pass or receive more information.

PLACE

connection to the first cowboy boot. He explains the complexity of the ecosystem and why prairie grasses have deep roots. Visitors learn how the prairie is second only to the rain forest in biodiversity, why our Kansas Flint Hills were spared being plowed under like the tall grass prairie in other states, and why hundreds of thousands of yearling cattle are trucked into Chase County and adjoining Kansas counties every year. Cagle links historical and political anecdotes to the history of the land, weaving together the cause-and-effect of people, politics and the space they occupy. And then there’s that big misnomer. “Actually, the Flint Hills are mostly limestone,” Cagle tosses out, explaining that the Flint Hills are called the “flint hills” mostly because of Zebulon Pike, the U.S. military officer and explorer who coined the name in 1806 when he described the “very ruff flint hills” in his journal. But the hills are primarily limestone, and the calcium and minerals leached by the limestone into the soil make the land some of the richest grazing areas in the United States. From this conversation, Cagle segues into the importance of periodically burning the prairie—and the opposition of some due to temporary smoke and air pollution. “Those debates can get pretty heated,” he concludes. There are only six of us in the van with Cagle, including a couple from Emporia, who wanted to learn more about “our own backyard,” and a couple from Oxford, England. “It’s the last four percent of an ecosystem,” says the Brit responding to Cagle’s talk. “Bloody amazing.” The Oxford couple plan to stay the night in Matfield Green, at an Airbnb that abuts the railroad tracks, perfect for train photos, and to dine on the Saturday prime rib or chicken fried steak specials at the Grand Central Hotel in Cottonwood Falls. Our tour circles through the hills to Matfield Green, then on to the Kansas Flint Hills Scenic Byway. We make a pit stop at Pioneer Bluffs (a gaggle of Girl Scouts are camping at the barn’s very grand loft, more often the site of weddings), then roll through downtown Cottonwood Falls, past the Grand Central Hotel, the many antique stores and ever-impressive limestone courthouse. We stop alongside the courthouse as Cagle spins the yarns that all the locals know: about the courthouse jail, prairie justice, how the sheriff and his wife lived in the courthouse and it was her job to feed the inmates three squares a day, and the more famous escapes. Then he shifts gears a bit and slides back into geology, to the rocky heart of this prairie. Our last stop is an old double-arched stone bridge. It was built without mortar or cranes, with just men and horses. We stand on the banks of the Cottonwood River and try to imagine how they did it. How did they lift everything? But, as our state motto says, reaching for the stars is never easy.

About the Writer: Susan Kraus is an awardwinning travel writer and the author of a Kansas-based mystery book series.

Fall 2019 | TOPEKA MAGAZINE

Other Flint Hills Destinations for Fall 2019 Cottonwood Falls and Chase County You can get to Cottonwood Falls from Topeka in approximately 75 minutes by taking I-335 south and KS Highway 50 west, but I suggest taking as much of KS Highway 177, the Kansas Flint Hills National Scenic Byway, as possible. Arrive mid-morning to check out the antique shops and lunch at the Grand Central Hotel, which has a lovely courtyard for outdoor eating if the weather is accommodating. Tour the historic sites and do some shopping, then head back east, stopping at Ad Astra in Strong City for dinner and a drink at their antique bar. If you stay overnight, there are several options such as the Grand Central Hotel or the Millstream Resort Motel (if you’re traveling with a group, look into the Airbnb options, including a renovated church). Then, take a morning hike at the National Tallgrass Prairie Preserve and have lunch at the Hays House in Council Grove on the way back. Save room for dessert; the Hays House fruit pies change with the season, and I’ve driven to Council Grove just for the fresh peach pie.

The Volland Store Less than an hour east of Topeka, reached via the beautiful Skyline/Mill Creek Scenic Drive, is a restored historic building that now serves as an art gallery, guest house, event space and rural cultural center. The Volland Store hosts a range of showings and happenings in fall 2019, and its full calendar of events, history and other information can be found at thevollandstore.com.

Flint Hills Discovery Center One of the best options for young minds or people with mobility issues, the Manhattan-based Flint Hills Discovery Center provides an overview to the history and biological diversity of the Flint Hills, all in a topquality museum environment. Children will appreciate the interactive “Zoo in You” and “Eat Well, Play Well” exhibitions opening for a nearly four-month run on September 21. Go to flinthillsdiscovery.org for more information on exhibitions, tickets and hours.

TOPEKA MAGAZINE | Fall 2019

WEDDINGS STORY BY Kalli Jo Smith PHOTOGRAPHY BY Nick Krug

Here comes the

BEER Couples are elevating the once-scorned drink into their weddings and receptions

WEDDINGS

merican culture has tended to have definite ideas about what drinks are acceptable at a wedding. Champagne? Definitely. Wine? Of course. Nonalcoholic bubbly? Also an option. But beer? Well, for the past decades beer has been regarded as a bit too common for something as momentous and ceremonial as a wedding … until recently. Wedding celebrations are increasingly integrating beer, often artfully customized, displayed and served. Topeka-based wedding photographer (and Topeka Magazine contributor) Nick Krug has witnessed this rise of beer at wedding receptions. “For most of the couples, incorporating beer into receptions in a different way than usual is that it’s all about respecting traditions, but I think couples are finding ways to incorporate traditions that speak for them,” Krug says.

That’s exactly what newlyweds Ash and Megan Kazmi focused on when they planned their March 2019 wedding reception in Kansas City, Missouri. The two decided to replace the traditional wedding cake cutting ceremony with a “casking ceremony.” “We just wanted everything that day to be personal, and cutting a cake didn’t have any special significance for us,” Megan says. Ash and Megan asked Ash’s brother, Kalim Kazmi, a brewer at Green Room Burgers and Beer in Kansas City, Missouri, to handcraft a beer— “O’Kazmi House Brown Ale”—for their wedding reception. For the casking ceremony, Ash took a mallet to pound a spigot into the keg to serve the special brew to guests all night long. “It meant a lot to have my brother included,” says Ash. “Instead of having a stranger make a cake for us we didn’t really want, we spent weeks taste-testing. I would give him notes throughout the process, and it was a month-long process we spent together.”

Fall 2019 | TOPEKA MAGAZINE

Wedding celebrations are increasingly integrating beer, often artfully customized, displayed and served.

TOPEKA MAGAZINE | Fall 2019

Other area couples, like Jared and Katy Marcuson, took a more relaxed route toward incorporating beer into their wedding reception. For their May 2019 wedding, Katy says they wanted to incorporate a ceremony that unified them as a couple. They researched and rejected trends such as pouring sand or creating a cord from three strands. “None of those options screamed ‘Jared and Katy,’ so we really narrowed down what we enjoyed, and we always came back to beer,” Katy says, adding that she still recalls their first date as a meeting with “beer and good conversation.” For their Unity Beer Ceremony, Jared and Katy poured a beer from individual bottles into one glass, and then the couple both drank from the glass. However, things didn’t exactly go as planned as Katy says they both got nervous and ended up missing the cup. Needless to say, the couple and guests had a good laugh, and Katy says that spilling of the beer is one of the most memorable parts of her wedding.

About the Writer: Kalli Jo Smith is a University of Kansas journalism school graduate currently enjoying an undefeated reign in the board game Sequence. She also adores her pet children: Max, Zoe, Abby and Eskie.

WEDDINGS

A TOPEKA HOLIDAY TRADITION SINCE 1977

Nutcracker THE 2019

BALLET

B A L L E T M I D W E S T. N E T

DECEMBER 13, 14 & 15 7:30 pm shows Friday & Saturday 1:30 pm shows Saturday & Sunday LACEE SANDGREN, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

TOPEKA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

Tickets: Ticketmaster outlets • www.ticketmaster.com TPAC Box Office • Barbara's Conservatory of Dance

Is thatinsmile you? a s s i dy Orthodontics Creating beautiful smiles for you and your family 600 Governor View | Topeka, Kansas | 785.233.0582

WHAT’S HAPPENING

TOPEKA MAGAZINE | Fall 2019

OUR RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE FALL

SEPTEMBER FEATURED EVENT

GRAPE ESCAPE

September 14

One of the city’s biggest annual events receives a chocolate topping this year as Topeka Performing Arts Center (TPAC) partners with Hazel Hill to host the 2019 Grape Escape. A benefit for TPAC’s community performance programs, Grape Escape traditionally offers entertainment, a luxury dinner and wine samples with tiered entry pricing. In this year’s program, all ticket levels will have the opportunity to sample various wine-, bourbon- and beer-infused chocolates crafted by Topekabased Hazel Hill Chocolate. “It is getting more of the community involved,” says TPAC marketing coordinator Dylan Tyler, “and it adds more glamour.” Additional community partners include Topeka Civic Theatre’s resident improv-comedy group, Laugh Lines, which will perform at the VIP dinner and during the community auction portion of the event. Because the event is limited to adults 21 years and older, TPAC is required to card all guests— so bring your state or federal photo ID no matter your age.

September 6–8

Huff-’n’-Puff Balloon Rally The Great Plains Balloon Club presents its annual hot air balloon festival, including educational activities for kids, tethered ascents for the public and a group flight over Topeka. For more information and full schedule, go online at huff-n-puff.org.

September 11–15

September 21

A squadron of restored WW II–era and other vintage aircraft touring the central United States arrives at Topeka’s American Flight Museum for a week of displays, aerial shows and the opportunity to purchase a flight on planes such as a B-29 Superfortress or a P-51 Mustang. For more information and ticket reservations, go online at airpowersquadron.org and look for the Topeka section of the tour.

More than 20 food trucks are expected to converge in the 900 block of South Kansas Avenue as jazz bands take to the stage for an evening of free performances. For more information and the lineup of performers, go online at visittopeka.com.

Vintage Military Aircraft Show

September 14

Susan Leigh Picking Ukulele player and vocal artist Susan Leigh Picking performs her family-friendly repertoire at the Jayhawk Theatre as part of the Last Minute Folk concert series. For ticket reservations and more information, go online at lastminutefolk.org.

September 14

Great Topeka Duck Race Annual race of some 10,000 rubber duckies across Lake Shawnee raises funds for Sertoma Clubs’ charitable initiatives for children. Sponsor one duck. Sponsor a flock to improve chances of winning the grand prize of a 14k gold diamond tennis bracelet, while helping a good cause. For more information and sponsorship/ racing opportunities, go online at duckrace.com/topeka.

September 21

Aaron Douglas Art Fair Topeka’s annual celebration honors its native son, who went on to become a leading composer and artist and prominent figure in the Harlem Renaissance. Includes free admission to art booths, musical performances and more at the Aaron Douglas Park. For more information, go online at aarondouglasartfair.com.

Photographs (from top): Topeka Magazine, courtesy Susan Leigh Picking and courtesy Aaron Douglas Art Fair.

Jazz and Food Truck Festival

September 21–22 TopCon Pop Expo

The annual celebration of pop culture, comic-book fandom and more with exhibitors, industry guests and—our favorite—the animal cosplay contest. For ticket reservations and full schedule of events, go online at topconpop.com.

September 28

Topeka Oktoberfest The parking lot of Fairlawn Plaza transforms into a massive tent-covered beer hall as the German-American Club of Topeka hosts its annual celebration. For more information, go to the online Events section of fairlawnplaza.com.

September 28 Tap that Topeka

Three blocks of Topeka are shut down as Greater Topeka Partnership hosts a downtown beer garden with over 300 beer varieties on tap. For ticket reservations and more information, go online at visit. topekapartnership.com.

September 28–29 Cider Days

The Stormont Vail Events Center, formerly the Kansas Expocentre, hosts two days of live music, entertainment and hundreds of food and craft vendors with an emphasis, of course, on all things apple. For more information, go online at ciderdaysmarket.com.

WHAT’S HAPPENING

Fall 2019 | TOPEKA MAGAZINE

OUR RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE FALL

OCTOBER FEATURED EVENT

TOPEKA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA 2019–2020 SEASON OPENER October 5

Topeka’s home orchestra begins an exploration of music that has defined or been shaped by American culture in its season-long concert series “What Does America Sound Like?” The series kicks off on October 5 with a performance that includes pieces that have come to be recognized as a signature American sound: George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” and Leonard Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story. This theme of All-American favorites continues on November 2 with a performance of Antonin Dvorak’s New World Symphony and the December 11 American holiday music celebration. Moving into 2020, the series takes a deeper dive into examining American music as it explores how Mozart themes are integrated into pop culture on January 11 and American classical music’s unique relationship with the motion picture industry on February 22 (an evening that includes a performance by one of the nation’s rising young violinists, Tessa Lark), and the influence of Road Trip culture in American music on April 4. The concert season concludes on May 2 with orchestral scores from John Williams’ Star Wars musical universe. For ticket reservations and more information, go online at topekasymphony.org.

October 1

Manhattan Short Film Festival Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library hosts a free screening of the short films included in the 2019 Manhattan (NY) short film festival. The screening is part of a nationwide event allowing viewers from cities across the United States to vote on the winning film. For more information, go online at tscpl. org or manhattanshort.com.

October 1-3

October 11

Mulvane Art Museum hosts a screening of new documentary on North Korea by Washburn University professor Bob Beatty with panel discussion and series of events examining the cult of personality in authoritarian states. For more information, go online at washburn.edu/mulvane.

Adult after-hours costume party with drinks and music held as a fundraiser for the Topeka Zoo. For ticket reservations and more information, go online at topekazoo.org.

North Korea Symposium

October 4

(and first Friday of every month)

First Friday Artwalk Topeka’s art galleries, artist studios and more open their doors for an evening of art displays, opportunities to meet artists, musical performances and more. For a full listing of venues and times, go online at artsconnecttopeka.org.

October 5–6 Apple Festival

Old Prairie Town at WardMeade Historic Site hosts its 40th-annual apple harvest celebration featuring traditional apple-themed foods, Americana music and tours of the historic facilities. For ticket prices and more information, go online at parks.snco.us.

Zoo, Boos and Brews

October 18–November 2 Bram Stoker’s Dracula

Topeka Civic Theatre stages an adaptation of the original vampire thriller. For ticket reservations and more information, go online at topekacivictheatre.com.

October 21

Foam on the Range Historian Isaias McCaffery presents an overview of Kansas’ rich pre-Prohibition culture of breweries and home brewing with an emphasis on the contributions of German, Czech and other immigrant communities. Sponsored by the Travel Industry Association of Kansas and Humanities Kansas, the afternoon event is free to the public. For more information, go online at humanitieskansas.org.

October 26

October 7

Eighth Annual Kansas Corgi Gathering

The city’s choral ensemble opens its 2019–2020 concert season. For tickets and more information about the season’s performances, go online at topekafestivalsingers.org.

The Corgi Connection of Kansas, a nonprofit that helps rescue abandoned or homeless Pembroke and Cardigan corgis, holds its annual gathering that includes corgi races, costume showings, raffles, silent auctions and more. For more information about the event, go online at corgiconnection.com.

Topeka Festival Singers Season Opener

October 19–20

Mother Earth News Fair The sustainable living magazine hosts its annual fair featuring vendors, information booths and dozens of experts from across the nation. Mother Earth News is owned by Ogden Publications, the parent company of Sunflower Publishing and Topeka Magazine. For more information, go online at motherearthnewsfair.com/ kansas.

Photographs (from top): Courtesy Lauren Desberg, Topeka Magazine and courtesy Lacrimosa/Manhattan Short Film Festival.

WHAT’S HAPPENING

TOPEKA MAGAZINE | Fall 2019

OUR RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE FALL

NOVEMBER FEATURED EVENT

#MARTHA MAKESHISTORY November 1, 2019– December 31, 2020

The State Archives Gallery of the Kansas Museum of History opens a yearlong special exhibition focusing on the remarkable life and writings of Martha Farnsworth, a decades-long diarist and leader in the Kansas suffrage movement. This exhibit focuses on the diary, historical letters and other documents that form the core of the ongoing #MarthaMakesHistory project on Twitter that tweets out Farnsworth’s historical writings on each corresponding day. Collectively, the tweets provide an insight into the mix of weighty issues such as temperance, women’s property rights and voting rights along with daily concerns and tasks in early 20thcentury Topeka such as canning tomatoes, ironing a large load of clothes and the joy of a fine dewberry pie. For more information about the exhibition, go online at kshs. org. To see Martha Farnsworth’s comments from a particular day in history, go online at twitter.com/ MFarnsworthKSHS.

November 2

Tails on the Trails This 5k run near the Shawnee North Community Center passes on all proceeds to the Helping Hands Humane Society, the city’s nonprofit animal shelter. Participants are encouraged to run with leashed dogs. For more information, go online at hhhstopeka.org.

November 7

Winter Garden Wonderland The Shawnee County Extension Master Gardeners hold a free presentation at the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library to provide tips on creating an enjoyable decorative winter lawn. For more information, go online at tscpl.org.

November 7

Rebecca Folsom Blues and roots singer Rebecca Folsom appears at the Jayhawk Theatre as part of the ongoing Last Minute Folk Concert series. For more information, go online at lastminutefolk.org or rebeccafolsom.com.

November 12 Gulls in Kansas

The Topeka Audubon Society and the Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library host a presentation seeking to answer one of those questions that keeps us up at night: What are these seagull-like birds doing over Kansas? Come for the free discussion about the life of these not-as-lost-as-wemight-think birds and for tips on identifying them. For more information, go online at tscpl.org.

November 22–24 CASA Homes for the Holiday Tour

Annual tour of homes decorated by Topeka’s top designers to benefit the mission of CASA Shawnee County, the nonprofit organization that advocates for the interests of youth in the court system. Opening night tour includes a special VIP gathering. For more details, ticket reservations or to learn how to volunteer, go online at casaofshawneecounty.com or call (785) 215-8282.

November 22–24 Gingerbread Homes for the Holidays

This annual holiday tradition serves as a fundraiser for Topeka Performing Arts Center programs that provide free performances for area students. A $3 admission fee gives visitors the chance to bid on customized gingerbread homes as well as to enjoy several family-themed holiday activities. For more information, go online at topekaperformingarts.org.

November 27–December 31 Winter Wonderland

Topeka’s celebrated drive-through display of holiday lights enters its third decade this year with proceeds benefiting TARC, the city’s nonprofit supporting and advocating for those with intellectual, developmental and related disabilities. For more information, go online at winterwonderlandtopeka.com.

November 29–December 22 A Christmas Story, The Musical

Topeka Civic Theatre stages this modern classic about the holiday drama in 1950s suburban America and a young boy’s dogged pursuit of his dream Christmas present—a Red Ryder air rifle. For ticket reservations and more information, go online at topekacivictheatre.com.

November 30

Miracle on Kansas Avenue Topeka’s annual downtown holiday parade with floats, music and, of course, Santa Claus. Postparade celebration includes a community gathering and carols. For more information, go online at downtowntopekainc.com.

November 30–December 1 The Chocolate Nutcracker Midwest

The dance troupe from It Takes a Village presents its fifth-annual adaptation of the holiday ballet classic with a fusion of cultural traditions. itav4arts.com

Photographs (from top) courtesy Kansas State Historical Society, Helping Hands Humane Society and RebeccaFolsom.com.

g n i n r L eaer ps! The

o v t e S N

OCT. 19-20 SATURDAY & SUNDAY STORMONT VAIL EVENTS CENTER

TOPEKA, KS

100+ WORKSHOPS ON 11 STAGES OVER 2 DAYS • The Dos and Don’ts of Microshelters and Tiny Houses • Aged Cheese Making It Easy • Making Leather and Buckskin Tanning at Home • Common Legal Issues on the Homestead • Creating Drought Resilient Soil • DIY Composting Toilet and Bin • Essential Oils, CBD, and Herbs for Wellness • Four Easy Ways to Grow Mushrooms at Home • Free Heating and Cooling for Life • Getting Started with Biochar • Growing Elderberry for Health and Profit • Durable and Beautiful Hair On Hides • Home Poultry Processing • Keeping Your Bees Alive • Small Engine Basic: maintenance and common repairs • Family Adventures in Gardening and Worm Farming • Build a Rocket Mass Heater

MANN LAKE WE KNOW BEES

— FEATURING —

Janice Cox Tradd Cotter Gianaclis Caldwell Rob Avis Shawna Coronado Albert Bates

HANDS-ON AND EXTENDED WORKSHOPS* Take your skills to the next level

MORE THAN 150 EXHIBITORS

Shop for the latest sustainable products

SPECIAL OFFER

Order a weekend pass for just $15!

Weekend gate price: $30 Single day gate price: $25 Children 17 & under get in FREE!

OFF $15

Enter promo code 19KS15 at checkout.

www.MotherEarthNewsFair.com or call 800-234-3368 *Extended and hands-on workshops require a separate reservation. All other workshops are included with the price of admission.

C HELSEA GREEN PUBLISHING

the politics and practice of sustainable living

Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund®

Forecast:

Bourbon Topeka bartenders serve up three original drinks for the season Story and photography by Nick Krug

Let’s give the Millennials credit where credit is due. They have kept those high shelves in bars, saloons and speakeasies stocked with fine spirits, particularly bourbon. For this round of seasonal cocktails, we asked three of our local mixologists to follow that trend and come back with their favorite bourbon creations. Their concoctions suggest that bourbon doesn’t have to be an overpowering force capable of transporting you back to a feeling you’d rather not remember. It can be subtle, tucked just behind some citrus flavors, complementing a sweet balsamic or bathing in caramel. Turns out there is a little something in there for everyone.

Photograph by Thomas Hall

Black Betty by Claire Kuner

director of social media and bartender at The Burger Stand

Ingredients

1.5 ounces 1792 Bourbon 3 blackberries, muddled 3 basil leaves, muddled .75 ounce lemon juice 1 dash of bourbon bitters .75 ounce simple syrup

directions

Shake with ice Pour into rocks glass Top with soda Throw a basil leaf with a blackberry in it “for funsies,” says Kuner.

Claire Kuner chose this drink because it involves her favorite bourbon, 1792, locally grown blackberries and basil grown at The Burger Stand. And she points out this is a particularly Kansas type of autumn drink—it’s light and refreshing because “Kansas weather, you know, can be very hot even into the fall.” We’ll drink to that (but hope she’s wrong).

Balsamic Bourbon Sour by Kristin Hurst

general manager and bartender at Happy Basset Brewing Co.

Ingredients

2 ounces bourbon .75 ounce lemon juice .75 ounce The Tasteful Olive Honeybell Orange Balsamic

directions

Shake and strain Garnish with an orange peel

Kristin Hurst chose this cocktail because she likes collaborating locally with The Tasteful Olive. She also kept those who might be a little afraid of bourbon in mind. “It’s a good one to go with because the balsamic gives a little tang to it, and the lemon juice makes it easy drinking.”

Fall Colors by Zac Wilson

lead bartender and server at RowHouse Restaurant

Ingredients

2 ounces Larceny bourbon 1 ounce simple syrup made from caramel of applejack and apple cider

Garnishes

Ginger beer Cinnamon stick Apple slice Cinnamon powder Nutmeg Caramel

directions

Shake and pour ingredients into a copper mug. Add ginger beer, a cinnamon stick, apple slice, cinnamon and nutmeg for topping and caramel for drizzling on top.

Apparently, when Zac Wilson hears “fall bourbon,” the next word in his mind is … caramel. “You gotta do caramel, hands down,” he says. “It’s the caramel blending with the bourbon and ginger beer that keeps it sweet and creamy. The cinnamon, apple and nutmeg will have you anxiously awaiting sweater weather.”

FIRST FRIDAY

art walk artsconnecttopeka.org

Let Alliance Bank make your life easier. We take

Local Decisions...

your banking

Local Success...

personally.

Local Bank...

www.alliancebankks.com 3001 SW Wanamaker Rd. 785-271-1800

6th & MacVicar Branch 785-228-8346

a a N am

e t s a a br

s ing

a en

l iona

y tor

nd tre

yoga t a o g of

rry . Te R elle ich

gra Photo

to Topeka

l Stephens phy by Bil

A yo

ung

far

min

ily

aa a a

hen Jeni and Benjamin Moore purchased their rural homestead in southeast Topeka, their initial plan was to convert it into a state-of-the-art horse boarding and training facility. This was a natural choice that played to the strengths of Jeni, a graduate in equestrian science, and Benjamin, an Army engineer. A short time later, they achieved their goal with the creation of Silver Dollar Farms—but they also opened the door for a range of other opportunities, including goat yoga. “A friend of mine had heard about goat yoga on the West Coast and encouraged me to offer it in Topeka,” Jeni says. “I thought, ‘why not?’” The Moores’ herd of goats needed little training. Their job was to provide cute goat kids who were willing to frolic around yoga students, show off their mischievous eyes and their natural adorableness. All they needed was a certified yoga instructor willing to work around goats, and they found this in Mark Kramer. A thirty-year yoga student who has taught classic Bikram yoga for more than 12 years, Kramer was a bit surprised when the Moores asked him to teach the first class. But he was intrigued and willing to put the class into the context of yoga’s adaptability for a wide range of audiences. “If a person comes to goat yoga looking for an intense work-out, they might be disappointed,” Kramer says. “But, if they want to smile and to forget about painting the kitchen or a to-do list, then a 30-minute practice with goats might be just what they need.”

Having battled football and rugby injuries, Kramer first came to yoga after a friend encouraged him to try it. “He told me there’d be hot girls there, so I agreed to come along,” he says. Not too long into the class, however, Kramer says he was unable to focus on anything except his breathing and trying to stand in the correct pose. “With my wrecked ankles, I knew I needed something more than ibuprofen and whiskey,” Kramer recalls. “For me, that was the practice of yoga.” Kramer believes events such as goat yoga are more than a fun gimmick. He points out that one of the fundaments of classic yoga is for students to begin at whichever level they are capable of performing. All too often, beginners are discouraged by anxiety, selfconsciousness, and simply a general fear of not seeming bendy enough around other students—and these common fears can be at least somewhat subdued by the presence and distraction of goats. “I think the goats ease the anxiety of practicing with a big class,” Kramer explains. “Goats don’t judge your strength or flexibility. They just are.” Writing on goatyoga.net, Lainey Morse and Heather Davis, yoga instructors often credited with creating the idea of goat yoga, describe goat yoga as “part yoga, part animal-assisted therapy.”

Though he didn’t specifically mention goats, the late yoga guru T.V.K Desikachar emphasized these themes in his writings from The Heart of Yoga. “If we want to make practice a reality, we have to accept ourselves just as we are. If we have a stiff back, we have to acknowledge this fact. It is only possible to find the qualities essential to asana [the physical practice of yoga] if we recognize our own starting point.” In Kramer’s class, students begin a series of classical poses as the kid goats are herded into the enclosed outdoor yoga space. Once the kids seem comfortable with (and a bit curious about) the students and their yoga mats, they begin to wander about. Treats are thrown around to help herd them or move them along from one student to another. One of the class participants, Michelle Lutzkanin, described the goats as cute, judgment-free guests. “The goats never interfere with my poses or deep breathing, and I love being with them,” she says. Kramer notes one of the biggest differences in doing yoga with goats is that they cause everyone around them to smile. “It’s a muscle we don’t often use and need to more often,” Kramer says.

With the

Goats Playful, energetic and flexible kid goats can be ideal yoga partners. But students should take some steps before stepping into a yoga space with a goat. • Wear older clothes and leave high-end yoga pants or expensive clothes in the gym bag. Goats like to lick and nibble and might damage your garments. • Expect accidents to happen, either on the practice floor, near the mats … or on you. These are, after all, young goats. Fortunately, any good yoga class will have helpers on hand to clean up little goat messes. • Tie back any long hair or wear it tucked under a hat or a bandana to avoid having a goat pull or nibble on it.

Since 1949

High Efficiency Heat Pump

232-2916 • 1520 E. 10TH AVE.

Rural Attraction

Although Jeni and Benjamin Moore developed Silver Dollar Farms primarily as an equestrian facility, the young professionals have also restored the barn, stables and homestead with hard work and support from the Kansas Heritage Trust. They have diversified their business with cattle, goats and poultry. Finally, they created a range of events, including goat yoga, horse camps, Easter egg hunts and more. What Silver Dollar Farms offers is part of a growing trend in agritourism over the past two decades, an approach that allows the nation’s increasingly urban population to connect with rural traditions and life. “Many families don’t have access to farm life, so they want to experience ours,” explains Benjamin. One of the best introductions to Silver Dollar and other area farms, ranches and wineries is the Kaw Valley Farm Tour, an annual event held on the first full weekend of October. Coordinated by the Kansas State Research and Extension office, the event opens more than 30 venues for public exploration and engagement. For more information about the Kaw Valley Farm Tour, go online at kawvalleyfarmtour.org. For information about goat classes, horse camps or other events at Silver Dollar Farms, look for “Silver Dollar Farms of Topeka” on Facebook.

ERIC HUNSICKER, CLU

SCOTT HUNSICKER, LUTCF, ChFC, CLU

TODD ZIMLICH, LUTCF, ChFC, CLU

JP SCHMIDTLEIN

3311 SW Van Buren | Topeka, KS 66611 | 785.266.1200 | www.KFRtopeka.com S

Kansas Financial Resources, Inc. and Securities America are separate companies.

LIED CENTER

Carson City Morgan Silver Dollars

See complete 2019–20 season online

1882-cc 1883-cc 1884-cc in Original GSA Holder

Don’t Get Left Behind

Morgan Silver Dollars XF-BU

Buy GOLD & SILVER NOW! Gold just reached a 6 year high and the current worries with the US Stock market and a Looming trade war, Could possibly lead to a major sell off. Many baby boomers believe we’ll see $2000 per Oz on gold before the end of the year. This is the perfect opportunity to acquire precious metals. Don’t get left behind!!!!!! Call today!!

Buying Morgan Dollars in quantity yelds a substantial discount. It is by far the most popular method of accumulating Silver and Rarity in a signle item. Qty,

Certif.

Garde

The story of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons

Sat | 7:30

NOV 2

Price

10 Coins....Raw...........XF-BU......$48.99ea. 20 Coins....Raw...........XF-BU......$46.99ea. 50 Coins....Raw...........XF-BU......$44.95ea. 100 Coins..Raw...........XF-BU......$39.95ea.

Sun | 7:30

NOV 3

$2,100 Terms of Sale: We accept all major credit cards. All coins offered by ENI are guaranteed to be genuine and as described. 30-day return guarantee with all numismatic coins. All merchandise is subject to prior sale. PRICES ARE BASED ON SPOT GOLD AT $1327 AND SPOT SILVER AT $15. PRICES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE ACCORDING TO MARKET FLUCTUATIONS AND WITHOUT NOTICE. Personal checks are accepted but require 10-business days to clear. New York State residents please add appropriate sales tax. Returned coins must be in their original unbroken holders and be fully insured by the sender via US registered mail. Trades are always a welcome form of payment and we guarantee to offer you the highest market value for your coins currency and bullion. Detailed images of all our coins & currency can be emailed to you upon request.

You Get FREE SHIPPING on all the above items.

KENSINGTON COIN COLLECTIBLE P.O BOX 274 • Yorktown Heights, NY 10598 www.kensingtoncoincollectible.com

CALL TOLL FREE 1-833-724-3434 1-877-618-0084

Free On-site Parking

Quality Care & Terrific Smiles since 1981!

Dr. Michael Michel

Dr. Lindsay Biggs

TOPEKA

785-273-0801 2951 SW Wanamaker Dr, Topeka, KS 66614 SILVER LAKE 785-582-0185 400 S Circle Dr, Silver Lake, KS 66539

micheldental.com

Meet John Galligan, MD Foot & Ankle Specialist Dr. Galligan, a board-certified orthopedic surgeon, specializes in treating foot and ankle problems. He is a born and raised Midwesterner who earned his medical degree from Creighton University School of Medicine in Omaha, Nebraska. He completed residency training in orthopedic surgery at the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 2005, and fellowship training in foot and ankle surgery at the Foundation for Orthopaedic, Athletic and Reconstructive Research in Houston, Texas, in 2006. He completed an additional fellowship in hip and knee arthroplasty in 2016 in New Zealand. Dr. Galligan has practiced as a foot and ankle specialist for 13 years in Omaha. He enjoys orthopedics because of how significantly it can impact people. With orthopedic help, patients can see results and go from immobility to mobility. He believes the results of orthopedic treatment are very achievable, and he enjoys seeing his patients heal and improve their quality of life.

“My philosophy of care involves really listening. It’s a huge team effort to help someone get better, and the patient is the center of it all.”

To schedule an appointment with Dr. Galligan, call 785-843-9125. To learn more and watch Dr. Galligan’s video, visit the OrthoKansas website at www.lmh.org/galligan.

1112 W. 6th St., Suite 124 Lawrence, KS

A partner for lifelong health

Topeka Magazine | Fall 2019 | The Goat Yoga Namaaaaaaaaste issue

Articles inside

Namaaaaaaste! Goat Yoga in the Kansas capital