Vox Magazine May 2019

DALE WATSON STAYS TRUE TO HIS ROOTS PAGE 11

JANE AUSTEN'S LITERATURE LIVES ON PAGE 16

ENJOY A BREW, TAKE IN THE VIEW PAGE 41

TAKE TWO FOR MAYOR TREECE PAGE 47

groinw columbia

THE VOICE OF COLUMBIA ï‚&#x; MAY 2019

The rapidly expanding farm-to-table movement takes people back to their food roots, including many planted in our own community.

PAGE 22

Advanced Admission Tickets are Available at rootsnbluesnbbq.com

Missoula Children’s Theatre: The Frog Prince Saturday, May 11 | 3pm and 6pm Jesse Auditorium

BOX OFFICE 203 S 9th Street | Columbia 573-882-3781

www.concertseries.org

Missouri Contemporary Ballet: Alice in Wonderland Saturday, June 1 | 7pm Sunday, June 2 | 3pm Jesse Auditorium

FR OM THE EDITOR

WAKE-UP CALL

F

“But beyond our little oasis, populations in small towns have declined for the better part of three decades.” by large corporations and manufacturing jobs that were once a hallmark of middle America are replaced by automation or shipped overseas, these communities are left behind. Many have been overwhelmed by skyrocketing unemployment, rising crime and growing opioid abuse, continuing the exodus of families and young residents.

In Mexico, Missouri, the closure of the A.P. Green fire brick plant, which once employed more than 2,000 people, has created a similar plight. Since the plant shuttered in April 2002, local community leaders have searched for a way to revitalize the town once thought of as the Fire Brick Capital of the World. In Kristoffer Tigue’s outstanding story (starting on Page 32), we’re introduced to a handful of people attempting to do exactly that through arts, industry and other endeavors. His storytelling brings us right into people’s lives and demands our attention to an issue we hear about but too often ignore.

I’d be remiss to tell you there’s an easy solution to Mexico’s problems, or to any of the challenges rural communities across our country face.

But as we’ve seen recently, simply trying to forget they exist is no solution at all, and our blissful yet misguided ignorance only furthers the growing divides in our country in a time when we could all use a helping hand.

KEEGAN POPE Editor-in-Chief

THE STORY

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DE PUT Y E DI T OR STEN SPINELLA M AN AGI N G E DI T O R ELIZABETH ELKIN

or many of our city’s residents, especially those like me who are just passing through for a few years, we’re blissfully ignorant.

Jobs aren’t scarce, the cost of living is reasonable, and among the counties you can choose to call home here in Missouri, Boone is one of the most prosperous. Step outside of our little bubble, though, and we’re reminded of the harsh realities many of our neighboring towns — and those across the Show-Me State –– face. Hubs such as Kansas City, Springfield and even Columbia are thriving, growing by 5 to 10 percent each between 2010 and 2015, according to Census data. But beyond our little oasis, populations in small towns have been declining for the better part of three decades.

Employment and education have consolidated in and around more urban areas, and rural residents, especially those between the ages of 18 and 30, have fled small towns at an alarming rate.

Rural schools receive less state funding because of low enrollment; job opportunities are scant without small businesses opening; even community staples such as grocery stores, restaurants and recreation centers close or migrate to other cities because there are increasingly fewer people using their services.

Much of the crisis stems from the collapse of industrialism and family agriculture in the Midwest, two things that once helped rural areas prosper. As family-owned farms are taken over

B EH I N D

E DI T OR -I N -CHI E F KEEGAN POPE

A few months ago, a writer brought us a story about a local Jane Austen Society. I jumped at the chance to edit it, in part because Jane Austen is a towering figure in the literary world. I wanted to learn more about the many members who love Austen as much as I do. After I read Pride and Prejudice during my senior year of high school, I was enthralled. My favorite thing about this society is its acceptance of all adaptations of Austen, including movies and even a video game that lets you go to an Austen Regency Ball.

Her novels are timeless because she remains able to connect to a wide range of readers through each of her characters –– something that I hope this story can allow you to do, too. –– Jessica Duffield, assistant editor

VOX MAGAZINE • MAY 2019

DI GI TAL M AN AGI N G E D IT O R MCKENNA BLAIR ON L I N E E DI T OR LAUREN PUCKETT CR E AT I V E DI R E CT O R KELLYN NETTLES ART DI R E CT OR S SHAOYANG CHEN, HOPE JOHNSON PHOT O E DI T OR JESSI DODGE M ULT I M E DI A E DI TO R SAM MOSHER

AS S I S TAN T E D IT O RS CULT UR E CAMERON R. FLATT, KATHERINE HERRICK, BROOKE JOHNSON, CONNOR LAGORE, LUCY SHANKER E AT + DR I N K KAELYN ADIX, MCKENNA BLAIR, JESSICA DUFFIELD, ABBEY PERANO CI T Y L I F E JENNA GRUNDTNER, TEDDY HANS, NAT KAEMMERER, MADISON SKAHILL CONTRIBUTING EDITOR JENNA ALLEN CON T R I B UT I N G W RIT E RS ANTHONY ASHLEY, ISAAC CARMICHAEL, ALLISON CHO, SHANNON HENDERSON, ASHLEY JONES, DANIELLE PYCIOR, MORGAN SPEARS, JOE SIESS, ETHAN STEIN, SAVANNAH WALSH, TAYA WHITE DI GI TAL E DI T OR S DRU BERRY, MARGARET DONOHUE, ASHLI ELLERMAN, BROOKE KNAPPENBERGER, EMILY HURLEY, NICOLE JIE YI FONG, CARY LITTLEJOHN, HANNAH MCFADDEN, LIBBY MOELLER, BIANCA RODRIGUEZ, RUNJIE WANG M ULT I M E DI A E DI T OR S MAKENZIE BAGLEY, INLANA HENDERSON, RAN HUAN DE S I GN E R S CLAIRE HARMAN, HAYLEY ODOM, ALYSSA WEISBERG

E DI T OR I AL DI R E CT O R HEATHER LAMB DI GI TAL DI R E CT OR SARA SHIPLEY HILES E XE CUT I V E E DI T OR JENNIFER ROWE OF F I CE M AN AGE R KIM TOWNLAIN

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MAGAZINE Cover Design by Hope Johnson

FEATURES

22 16

Novel Community Jane Austen’s iconic literature, and in turn her legacy, live on in mid-Missouri through a society that adores the novelist who was years ahead of her time.

BY LAURA MISEREZ

32

Reinventing Rural Missouri Small towns across Missouri have fallen on hard times as employers and young residents leave for better opportunities. Mexico is fighting to give them a reason to stay.

CoMo Grown

As corporate factory farms and grocery superstores continue to grow, Columbia has embraced the farm-to-table movement and the sense of community that comes with it.

BY VOX STAFF

BY KRISTOFFER TIGUE

Photography by Tristen Rouse

VOX MAGAZINE • MAY 2019

5

SECTIONS

IN THE LOOP

CULTURE

7

11

Tiger Chef owner Sai Tai is a refugee from Myanmar who followed his dream of running his own restaurant.

Dale Watson is paving his own way in country music.

9

Artists believe giving back is no laughing matter.

New Cuisine in Columbia

Q&A: Sarah Lockwood

14

The clothing store Free Association’s mission is for women to feel confident and comfortable at any size.

10

42

Vox Picks Find out what to do, where to go and what to see with this month’s picks.

No Country for Old Dale

13

Art from the Heart

14

Shifting Our Gaze The #MeToo Movement has inspired a new exhibit at the Museum of Art & Archaeology.

15

A Musical Mind Composer Tom Andes creates a Wonderland through music.

10

EAT + DRINK

CITY LIFE

39

45

Snappy Summer Salads Give your palate a refresh.

40

Health at Your Door Fit-Flavors prioritizes nutrition and convenience.

41

Drinks with a View These five rooftops take drinking to new heights.

42

Compliments to the Sorority Chef Meet the man who cooks for a house of 97 women.

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VOX MAGAZINE • MAY 2019

Meet in the Middle Policies on gender equality in Columbia must keep up with the city as it continues to change.

47

Treece’s To-Do List The mayor might be familiar, but so are the city’s challenges. Can he fix them this time around?

48

Staying Put Three small business owners have withstood the test of time in the ever-changing Columbia retail scene.

48 45

FASHION WITHOUT

MONTHLY PICKS

LIMITS P.9

YOU CAN’T MISS P.10

New cuisine in Columbia The owner of our city’s first BurmeseThai restaurant has come a long way since escaping Myanmar as a refugee.

BY TEDDY HANS AND RUNJIE WANG

Photography by Renae Whissel

Sai Tai was 23 when he escaped Myanmar in search of a safer place to live.

He didn’t know where he would end up, but he didn’t care. Anywhere that offered a better life was fine with him.

Tai was a sugar cane farmer in the small town of Maymyo during the waning years of an oppressive military rule in the southeast Asian country.

The military junta was in power in Myanmar from 1962 to 2011. “They controlled everything,” Tai says.

Fast forward to 2005. Tai, like many living under military rule, was willing to do anything he could to escape. His family, on the other hand, had no intention of leaving. Tai opted to leave his life and his family behind in search of safety.

He spent five years in Malaysia, where he met his wife, before a refugee office there placed him 9,300 miles away in an unfamiliar city in a state he hadn’t heard of: Columbia, Missouri. Once he and his wife, Neng Seng Lont, were settled in 2011, the refugee office helped connect him with other local Burmese refugees.

Tai’s wife Neng Seng Lont used to bring home-cooked food to share with coworkers. She now serves the same food at Tiger Chef.

VOX MAGAZINE • MAY 2019

7

IN TH E LOOP NEW RESTAURANTS

Tai got a job at The Kraft Heinz Company, where he still works today. One thing he had always wanted to do, though, was open a restaurant that served his wife’s delicious cooking.

Supporting a family with two young children made that dream impossible at the time.

He started doing whatever he could to make some extra money. In addition to working at Kraft, he began driving for Uber. At the beginning of 2019, he seriously started to consider running a restaurant. The money he saved allowed his dream to finally become a reality, and Tiger Chef was born.

Lont, who works at Watlow Electric, occasionally brought Burmese food to her colleagues to share. Amazed by the different flavors, they encouraged her to open a restaurant.

A fusion of Burmese and Thai food, Tiger Chef is run by the couple and two friends who are also Burmese refugees.

Tai says the symbol of the tiger is very important in Myanmar, and the correla-

8

VOX MAGAZINE • MAY 2019

tion with its significance in Columbia was too perfect to pass up.

The restaurant, which opened April 4, offers a variety of dishes, but Tai says his favorite is the Burmese Curry. “I love it,” he says, laughing. “I eat it every single day.” He says the meal is best complemented by Thai iced tea, a variation of black tea with spiced ingredients, filled with condensed milk or half-and-half.

Tiger Chef has plenty of Southeast Asian dishes, such as pad thai, but with a specific Burmese twist.

IF YOU GO 907 Rain Forest Parkway 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Tues.–Sun., closed Mondays

Now that Tai’s dream has come true and Tiger Chef is up and running, he says he hopes to open a second location at some point. His English continues to get better as he is taking classes, and he also wants to study business management and South Asian history at a community college. For now, though, he’s just happy to be serving Columbia the delicious food he grew up with.

Photography by Renae Whissel

I N T HE LO O P Q&A

Lock in your look Can’t find your size? No worries. Sarah Lockwood’s clothing boutique, Free Association, has you covered.

BY NICOLE MONDRAGON

A

s a teenager, Sarah Lockwood dreamed of having a clothing shop that would offer both a wide range of sizes and a space where plus-sized women would feel comfortable and confident shopping. She opened Free Association in February 2018 with her wife, Rebecca Burkholder, to do exactly that after working as a hairdresser for the previous 16 years.

The boutique carries clothes size 14 through 30, and the jewelry, accessories and skin care products are made by women or come from female-owned small companies. The bohemian-style store has drawn positive reactions from customers, which encourages Lockwood to keep stocking her shop with new and versatile options.

She handles the merchandise and helps assist customers in their quest to find the perfect outfit, while Burkholder is in charge of details such as the bookkeeping.

“She’s really creative and has a great sense of style,” Burkholder says. “She makes people feel very comfortable; she’s just really great at getting people to feel better about themselves.”

With summer on the way, Lockwood shares some of the trends for the season, her love for building relationships with customers and plans for the store.

How did you develop an interest in clothes and fashion?

I was the weirdo in school who was always combining bizarre outfits. In fact, my mom a few times was like, “Uh, not that, change that.” I’ve always had an interest in fashion.

I love anything creative. The idea of fashion and people expressing themselves through what they wear has always been something I’ve loved.

How would you describe your transition from being a hairstylist to owning your own shop?

It is so different when you’re with a client. As a hairstylist, there are always clients in, you’re chatting, and you’re building relationships.

It’s never quiet. Whereas in the shop, people tend to come in groups and talk to one another. There are lots of down moments where it’s awfully quiet. Instead of being part of a team, I’m now more individual.

But there are parts of it that are really similar. The basis of both jobs: You’re trying to help people feel and look their best.

What is your favorite part of running the store?

There’s something amazing about being your own boss, for sure. I am running late almost every day, all the time, and it’s nice that I only yell at myself instead of being yelled at by others, but also just having the ability to choose. So, when something goes out on the floor, I’ve thought about it, and I know that it’s something that I’m going to love or that I have someone in mind that will love it. Rebecca’s really great. Like if I get overwhelmed by all of the choices she should be like “OK! This that, this that.”

Is there a favorite client reaction you’ve had?

I’ve had a client who was almost in tears because it was such a great shopping experience. She told me she’d never gone to a store where she could try on everything and have a number of options that would really work for her.

Tell us about the upcoming summer trends at the shop.

Bright colors and bold patterns. A lot of pops of hot pink and some bright reds and neon.

What is next for the store?

I’m hoping to launch a capsule collection, which will be a small run of items people will grab first out of their closet, in a few years. I feel like I have so much to learn about our clients and the technical side of fashion before diving into creating a fashion line. So, you could say I’m in the research phase. We’ll launch a book club on May 8 with selections from young adult mysteries to memoirs­­— all body positive or featuring plus-sized heroines. Our first book will be Puddin’ by Julie Murphy. I’m actually really excited to use it as a platform for women to make new friends and have open conversation about living, shopping and dating with curves or simply enjoy some good reads.

Although Lockwood’s store often carries lesser-known brands, she does carry recognizable names such as Unique Vintage.

Photography by Yanran Huang

VOX MAGAZINE • MAY 2019

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IN TH E LOOP VOX PICKS

Vox’s picks for

MAY

Each month, Vox curates a list of our favorite shops, eats, reads and experiences in and around Columbia. We highlight the new, trending or criminally underrated — so you’re always informed of the best our city has to offer.

BY MCKENNA BLAIR

Celebrate…

Columbia staple Bur Oak Brewing Company at its Five-Year Birthday Bash. Sip on a limited-edition brew while Paulie B’s food truck serves up Cajun concoctions. And don’t be afraid to break out your dance moves — local bands will be jamming until the stroke of midnight. May 10, 5 p.m. to midnight, 250 Trade Center Drive

Shop…

The Columbia Farmers Market, which will be open Tuesdays and Thursdays in addition to the regular Saturdays at the Columbia Agriculture Park when it opens in mid-May. The midweek market will feature most of its regular vendors along with a few newcomers. Now that there’s a midday market, you’ll see some lunch items in the vendors’ offerings. Tuesdays 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Thursdays 3 – 6 p.m.; Saturdays 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., Columbia Agriculture Park, 1769 W. Ash St., 823-6889

Read…

Your heart out at Rock Bottom Comics on Free Comic Book Day, a holiday that welcomes newcomers to the seemingly endless worlds found in illustrated pages. Pick five books from a huge selection, and take them home for free. You can also browse special collections from large publishers including Marvel and D.C. and smaller ones such as Dark Horse. And yes, the day falls on Star Wars Day — as in, “May the fourth be with you.” May 4, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., 1013 E. Walnut St., Suite 103, 443-0113

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VOX MAGAZINE • MAY 2019

Discover…

Hidden gems along the MKT Trail on the fifth annual Secret Access Trail Ride. The 9-mile ride will be led by Columbia Parks and Recreation’s licensed cycling instructors, who will point out access points to subdivisions as well as paths that lead to the Hinkson Creek and County House Trails. Can’t make it in May? There will be more rides in June and July. May 21, 6:30 p.m., Flat Branch Playground, 400 Locust St., 874-7460 Photography by Antranik Tavitian

COMEDY FOR

ART IN THE

A CAUSE P.13

#METOO ERA P.14

He might be 56 years old, but the musician has the energy of a teenager; he plays over 300 live shows a year.

No country for old Dale Dale Watson casts aside popular iterations and creates what he calls “real country.“ It’s safe to say country music doesn’t sound like it used to.

Gone are the days of Merle Haggard or Hank Williams, and it’s more likely you’ll hear a rap breakdown than a steel guitar on the latest country radio hit. But as some traditionalists continue the rip-roaring disdain of modern country music, longtime musician Dale Watson couldn’t give less of a damn about complaining. He’s paving his own way.

Over four decades of performing, from the rowdiest honky tonks to the Grand Ole Opry, Watson has worked his way to the center of traditional, old-school country or “Ameripolitan” music, as he redefines the genre. This is what Watson refers to as “real country.” He’s also been a regular troubadour around Columbia since the mid-2000s and headlined the second Roots N Blues N BBQ Festival in 2008. Follow along as Vox walks you through Dale Watson’s path to Columbia for his show at Rose Music Hall on May 16.

Photography courtesy of Dale Watson

VOX MAGAZINE • MAY 2019

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CULTURE MUSIC

1980 – It runs in the family Watson’s life in music began at an early age. His father, an ex-Marine, sang in a country band, and Watson wanted to follow in his footsteps. The first time he ever got on stage, it didn’t quite go as planned: He got stage fright and ran off. But a few years later, he went to a honky-tonk bar with his brothers, and his life drastically altered. At 18 years old, Watson quit his day job and joined his brothers’ honkytonk band. In 1988, he took a chance on on a solo career and left Texas to pursue country music in Los Angeles.

1988 – Leaving for La La Land The big city had a lot to offer the smalltown man. He snagged a job at an alt-country venue and quickly began recording.

“Hollywood was way different,” Watson says, referring to the culture shock he faced after moving to one of the most tantalizing cities in the U.S. “At the end of the day, it’s the best move I ever made for my career.”

His bet paid off when, four years later, he landed a gig in Nashville writing songs under country icon Gary Morris.

Watson’s tattoos depict his influences: flags of Alabama, where he was born, and Texas, where he lives, as well as a portrait of his late father.

Dale Watson

May 16 Rose Music Hall 1013 Park Ave. 6:30 p.m.

Tickets $20

1992 – Grand Ole disappointment Nashville ignited a passion in Watson — but not in a good way. Constantly pressured to conform his traditional country sound into the commercial pop-crossover the industry preferred, he grew to hate the Nashville scene. So, Watson left the pop-country hotbed and returned to Texas with a bad case of Nashville rash and a revived drive to write songs. It resulted in his 1995 debut album, Cheatin’ Heart Attack, which propelled him into the spotlight of “real country” revivalists. Watson continued to record, from The Trucking Sessions, a work dedicated to a love of the open road, to The Sun Sessions, an acclaimed record made in the spirit of Johnny Cash’s earliest recordings.

2013 – Bye, bye, country Watson completely severed ties with mainstream country in 2013 after an infamous Twitter battle between Blake Shelton and what he called the “old farts” of country, where Shelton argued the industry needed to modernize in order to keep people’s attention. If country music wanted to abandon its roots, then Watson would continue them under a new genre: Ameripolitan, a catch-all term for outlaw, western swing, rockabilly and honky tonk, or as he describes it, “All the things country music doesn’t wanna be.”

2014 – Hello, Ameripolitan Fully embracing the torchbearer title, Watson boycotted the Country Music Awards and instead created an awards show to reward and motivate the music he cares about: the Ameripolitan Music Awards. He says the success of the awards show, which is in its fourth year, is his proudest accomplishment. “We’re really keeping the torch going for these people and encouraging them to keep roots in their music and keep doing what they’re doing without compromising.”

Presents

art in the park june 1 & 2, 2019 Stephens Lake Park 12

VOX MAGAZINE • MAY 2019

Sat 10-5 and Sun 10-4 Photography courtesy of Dale Watson

C U LT U RE CHARITY

Art from the heart Performers from Missouri and across the country use their platforms to raise awareness and money for causes bigger than themselves.

BY EMMY LUCAS

A

rts are more than entertainment — many artists, from comedians to country singers, feel that contributing to charitable causes is an important part of their careers.

Comedian Lewis Black is one such artist, and on May 6 he’ll perform with Kathleen Madigan for the second year in a row at a comedy night benefiting the Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders at MU. Established in 2005, the center helps people confront the challenges of autism spectrum disorder and other developmental conditions.

Nathan Hurst, strategic communications consultant for the Thompson Center, says philanthropic events such as the upcoming comedy show comprise a

large part of the center’s operating budget.

Black’s passion for this particular cause arose many years ago when he first performed on HBO’s charity show for autism awareness called Night of Too Many Stars.

“That event opened my eyes to the fact that there are more and more children who are affected,” he says. “Centers like this are really important.”

Black says organizations combating public health issues shouldn’t have to rely on funding from charitable events, yet “the arts are one way in which we can help.”

Black and Madigan have also performed together for events benefiting the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Holding charity events is a thing Missouri-raised country singer Jarrod Turner has done since he was a teenager. Typically

Lewis Black starred in his first TV comedy special in 1998, and he has since won two Grammy Awards for his comedy albums.

ARTS FOR AUTISM May 6, 7 p.m.

Missouri Theatre 203 S. Ninth St. Tickets $50-100

they’d be for people he knew of who had cancer or had been affected by accidents.

As Turner has gained popularity, his scope has widened. Last fall he opened for fellow mid-Missouri artist Sarah Evans in a mental-health awareness show at The Blue Note and also performed at a benefit for Audrain County Crisis Intervention Services, a shelter for survivors of domestic and sexual violence, in Mexico, Missouri.

His April act at Rose Music Hall was part of a benefit for veterans. Turner says people who have been given a lot in life have a responsibility to use it to do good.

The Central Missouri

Renaissance Festival

April 27 & 28 | May 4 & 5 Gates open 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. (Rain or Shine)

Ticket Prices:

Adults $12 or $10 with 2 Food Items* Children 6-12 $6 or $5 with 1 Food Item* Children 5 & Under FREE *All Non-Perishable Food Items to be donated to the Fulton Soup Kitchen Photography courtesy of Lewis Black

Find us just south of Interstate 70 at the 144 Hatton Exit

4274 County Road 220 Kingdom City MO 65262 @CentralMoRenFest www.centralmorenfest.org VOX MAGAZINE • MAY 2019

13

CULTURE ART

Shifting our gaze A Columbia museum confronts the centuries-long tradition of seeing women as objects in art.

BY ELIZABETH ELKIN

W

omen’s naked bodies have long been a major focus of Western art. The female form is often celebrated as an object of beauty, but when we look back on history, we see that women rarely have been in charge of how they’re portrayed.

When it comes to such representation, it’s important to think not only about who is being represented but who is creating the representation, says Kristin Schwain, associate professor of art history at MU. Depictions of naked bodies in art, for example, can reveal a lot about the role women have historically played and the values of artists and audiences.

The exhibit Objectified: The Female Form and the Male Gaze, on display through July at Columbia’s Museum of Art and Archaeology, is meant to start a discussion about the portrayal of women in art, and it’s making a statement that museums should confront objectification in art. The inspiration for Objectified rose from the #MeToo Movement, which encouraged people to share their stories of sexual harassment and assault. Alisa McCusker, the curator of the exhibit, compiled this collection to draw attention to issues of objectification, and Vox took a deeper look into three of the original works.

Cassandra by Max Klinger The bust Cassandra depicts a character from Trojan War legend. In the tale, the Greek god Apollo desires Cassandra, and he promises if she has sex with him, he’ll grant her the ability to see into the future.

She refuses, and he curses her by giving her that power but

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VOX MAGAZINE • MAY 2019

Untitled, an etching

by Pablo Picasso, is currently on display at the Museum of Art and Archaeology.

IF YOU GO Objectified: The Female Form and the Male Gaze Through July 21 Museum of Art and Archaeology 115 Business Loop 70 W., 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tues.– Thurs., 12 to 4 p.m. Sat.–Sun.

We examine two artworks at voxmagazine.com

with a caveat: Nobody will believe what she sees is true. She is viewed as a madwoman, later raped and taken prisoner.

The story depicts so-called “heroic rape,” which is when assault is used as a war tactic to make a statement of power in many mythological legends, McCusker says. Cassandra’s tragedy also mirrors some of what victims of sexual assault and harassment experience today. “Part of the refrain we hear from victims of sexual harassment or sexual abuse is that even when they spoke out, they were dismissed,” McCusker says.

Study for Susanna and the Elders

by Thomas Hart Benton The Old Testament story “Susanna and the Elders” describes two elders who try to blackmail a woman into having sex with them. When the woman refuses, they tell the town she tried to seduce them, and she is sentenced to death. But the town discovers the truth, and the elders are put to death instead.

Although this painting seems to criticize a system in which a woman is watched without her knowledge, a letter from Benton to a former owner of the work shows he was assessing the model’s body: “What a skin, what a blood pulsing skin — just enough yellow in the belly to make the ‘tits’ look pink. We don’t

find models like that anymore.”

The artist was a product of his time, McCusker says, and part of the exhibition is to ask ourselves what we might have inherited from this attitude in our own culture.

Untitled by Pablo Picasso This work (at top) is an etching inspired by a monotype Picasso owned depicting a brothel scene in which a male customer looks at women on couches “displaying their wares.” Patrons are invited to choose a woman based solely on her appearance.

Picasso was notorious for his poor opinion of women, yet he is considered one of the greatest artists in history. “What he does to women’s bodies (in his cubist style) is really horrific,” Schwain says.

“He tears them apart, and he puts them back together in grotesque forms.” This addresses the key question the exhibit poses: How does looking at a work of art change once we know more about the artist? When you start to learn more about artists’ personal lives, it can be difficult to separate their actions from their work.

Photography courtesy of Museum of Art and Archaeology

C U LT U RE STAGE

A musical mind Tom Andes’ love for music has taken him from enjoying Tchaikovsky to composing for the Missouri Contemporary Ballet’s Alice in Wonderland.

BY BIANCA RODRIGUEZ

Y

ou don’t forget the first time you connect with music. For Tom Andes, it happened when he was 4 years old. He experimented with the keys of a piano, making music only a 4-year-old could: nonsensical yet innocent.

His childhood soundtrack featured the talents of Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky as well as other famous names such as Bach, Beethoven and Mozart. Now, he has the opportunity to compose for the Missouri Contemporary Ballet’s production of Alice in Wonderland, which it puts on every two years since 2013. This June it will be at Jesse Auditorium.

As an artist who has produced five CDs — spanning solo jazz, solo piano, a quintet with heavy influences of trumpet and saxophone, and a Christmas album — it’s hard to imagine what Andes doesn’t know how to play. “Doing all these different styles has made me a better composer and better musician,” he says.

COLUMBIA IS REALLY A GARDEN OF MUSIC, AND THAT’S ALWAYS INSPIRED ME...

– Tom Andes Most people in Columbia who have heard of Andes know him for his jazz music. That focus started at Metro Academic and Classical High School in St. Louis, where a friend introduced him to the sounds of Herbie Hancock and Oscar Peterson. In 1977, Andes attended MU, where he eventually graduated with a degree in music education in 1981.

But his musical future changed forPhotography by Jacob Moscovitch

when he attended a Miles Davis concert while teaching high school music. There was an advertisement at the concert that highlighted a two-year scholarship to the renowned Berklee College of Music.

Andes made an audition tape and got the scholarship. He packed up his old life in Missouri to start a new one in Boston. “You’re just ensconced with jazz, and it’s really inspirational to be surrounded by that many jazz musicians,” Andes says. He earned a degree in piano performance at 23, leaving the college with more finely tuned jazz skills.

He moved back to Columbia because he wanted to raise a family. He got married, had two daughters and started to play jazz three nights a week at Murry’s, a jazz club and restaurant that has become a staple of Columbia’s music scene. Twenty-eight years later, he’s still going strong.

“It’s like the longest gig in jazz history,” Andes says. “Columbia is really a garden of music, and that’s always inspired me to compose for the bands that I play in.”

In 2006, he started to teach music at Stephens College, where he discovered a love for theater. This new-found admiration was so strong that he ended up writing a musical called Color Blind, and Stephens produced it.

Then Karen Grundy, the artistic director for the Missouri Contemporary Ballet, was looking for a composer to work on a recurring ballet performance.

She immediately thought of Andes because he worked as a musical director for the company’s spring productions.

Andes went from writing the usual 5- to 7-minute songs that he performs live at Murry’s, to composing a piece meant for dancing — one that would end up an hour and 20 minutes long.

The idea of switching up musical styles might scare some artists, but not Andes.

“He’s so varied in his style and what he can write,” Grundy says. “He’s not just a jazz musician.”

ALICE IN WONDERLAND June 1, 7 p.m.

June 2, 3 p.m.

Jesse Auditorium $28–48; $19–33, children

Local jazz musician Tom Andes is also a theatrical composer.

His original score for the Missouri Contemporary Ballet’s Alice in Wonderland will return this summer.

Grundy decided on Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, and Andes quickly got to work. Color Blind’s score took four years to create; Alice’s first iteration took only six months. Resembling the White Rabbit from the opening of Lewis Carroll’s classic book, the melodies hopped into his brain and helped him discover this world of wonder.

Andes has a malleable process. He typically composes at the piano, but he has trained himself to also compose in his head, no keys required.

He jokes that sometimes he doesn’t write the music on paper but keeps it in his brain. “It’s kind of dangerous,” Andes says. “It’s usually just the seed of an idea that just grows in the music.”

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NO

O M C M U L NIT E V

Y

Through a literary society, local Jane Austen-lovers form a community of dedication and admiration.

L AU R A

M I S E R E Z

P H O T O G R A P H Y

B Y

M A D I S O N

I L L U S T R AT I O N

B Y

S H A OYA N G

P A R R Y

C H E N

Members of the Jane Austen group are part of one of the largest literary societies in the country.

T

he charming living room is framed by wooden chairs pulled from several dinette sets. In the dining room, a large wooden table is lost under cheese platters, chocolate desserts and intricately patterned tea cups. Men and women ranging in age from mid20s to mid-70s gather in the house, safe from the chilly December wind outside.

They have come from around mid-Missouri and the St. Louis area to celebrate a birthday though the guest of honor has been dead for 200 years.

The members take turns reading the groan-worthy jokes inside Christmas cracker party favors. They sip warm negus, a mulled port wine, as Patrick McGraw, co-coordinator of the Columbia group, makes a toast to the birthday girl: “Which of us here would ever forget Jane Austen? A friend and ornament to humankind. To Jane Austen!”

“To Jane Austen!” the room echoes.

For members of the Columbia chapter of the Jane Austen Society of North America, the author, born Dec. 16, 1775, is as alive today as she has ever been. How? She lives on in her novels, which are both an indulgence and a necessity for these readers. JASNA is one of the largest literary societies dedicated to a specific author on the continent. It makes you wonder what is it about Jane? Why does she have such a massive following? And why did an Austen society land in mid-Missouri?

NO ORDINARY BOOK CLUB

The local chapter, which will celebrate its 30th anniversary this year, meets monthly in different members’ homes to drink tea, nibble on sweet snacks and discuss some aspect of Austen or the British Regency period she lived in. As Austen herself writes in the novel Persuasion: “‘My idea of good company is the company of clever, well-informed people, who have a great deal of conversation; that is what I call good company,’ said Anne. ‘You are mistaken,’ said [Mr. Eliot] gently, ‘that is not good company, that is the best.”

The members connect through regular meetings as well as a shared library.

The almost 30 books the society owns are pulled from of plastic crates and dis-

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played at every meeting. Members can borrow any of the books, which include Austen’s novels along with history and literary criticism.

The Columbia chapter is one of 77 groups across the U.S. and Canada comprising nearly 5,670 members. Some are academics at MU. Others are amateur enthusiasts.

Although it is smaller in than many of the other 76 groups, the mid-Missouri society thrives on Columbia’s strong appreciation for culture, as well as the

many resources available through local universities. A college town is, by definition, a hub of intellectuals, and many of this chapter’s members are current or former professors. However, there is also a librarian, a tree farmer and a former member of the U.S. Navy. What they have in common is deep admiration for all things Austen. “I love Jane Austen, and I want other people to love Jane Austen,” says McGraw. “If I could go back in time to meet one person, it would be Jane Austen.”

Sandra Henderson and other members of the group gather once a month to listen to various lectures or to simply talk about Jane Austen.

TS FAC

ABOUT JANE AUST EN

Since the 19th century, Jane Austen has been informally dubbed the female Shakespeare —and for good reason.

She is considered a master of dialogue and development.

Films have been made of all her published works, and her narratives have been modernized in movies. Seth Grahame-Smith’s 2009 novel Pride and Prejudice and Zombies peaked at No. 3 on The New York Times’ best-seller list.

There is even a video game — Ever Jane — in which people role-play as Regency period socialites attending balls and navigating dinner parties.

“As long as she keeps being taught, she’s going to continue to have great acclaim and continued iconic status,”Devoney Looser, author of the 2017 book The Making of Jane Austen, says.

Austen completed six novels, only four of which were published during her lifetime. Her name did not originally appear on any of those four. In 1811, Sense and Sensibility came out, and she published it under “By a Lady.”

Her next novel, Pride and Prejudice, came out in 1813 and was attributed to “the author of Sense and Sensibility.”

She also published Mansfield Park in 1814 and Emma in 1815 before her untimely death at the age of 41 due to either lymphoma or Addison’s disease.

She never married nor had children but was very close with her seven siblings. In 1817, her brother Henry published Northanger Abbey and Persuasion together after her death.

Larry Brown, retired professor of geography at MU, gives a presentation about Jane Austen’s time in Missouri.

He was one of the guest lecturers that came to a meeting to speak.

ONE OF THE GREATS IN LITERATURE

McGraw, a former middle school English teacher, says he considers Austen the inventor of the modern novel. To him, her wit and eloquence, which were decades ahead of her time, rank her above other greats such as Mark Twain and Charles Dickens. He says he has reread each of her novels at least a dozen times, always seeing something fresh in her characters and their interactions.

“Even though we’ve been studying her novels seriously for 100 years now, I don’t think we’ve gotten anywhere close to plumbing the depths,” McGraw says.

Devoney Looser, former MU professor and author of the 2017 book The Making of Jane Austen, says the reason so many people love her is that her works offer something for every kind of reader. “You could read her on the surface level [as] just pure escapism and

entertainment,” Looser says. “But you can also reread these novels, and each time you see something new, and you see more of her irony, her social criticism, which also speaks to many of our experiences.”

A huge reason for Austen’s steadfast popularity is the author’s relatable characters, Columbia author and society member Carolyn Mulford says.

Mulford says she suspects Austen was a world-class eavesdropper due to the complexity of her characters, even minor ones. Some say Austen’s characters are so lifelike that they almost become family.

“Her characters are from the period, but they are universal, and they are timeless,” Mulford says. “Human nature doesn’t change all that much, and that’s what Austen really captured.”

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One of the reasons the group sips on negus, a mulled port wine, during meetings is because Jane Austen mentions the drink in her book Mansfield Park.

the classroom as a teenager. Others fell in love with a film version much later in life and got hooked from there.

Columbia member Elizabeth Wolfson, who holds a doctorate in art history and archaeology from MU, has been reading Austen since high school, largely because of the characters and the way they communicate with one another. She can’t count how many times she has watched the 1995 Pride and Prejudice television series, partly because she was so enamored with the main character, Elizabeth Bennet. “She was such a powerful woman for her age,” Wolfson says. “The

How to join:

Email Patrick McGraw at pmcgraw013@gmail.com to get information about the next meeting. Columbia meetings are held once a month on Sundays (no meetings in the summertime) from 2 to 4 p.m.

THE PAIRING OF JANE AUSTEN BOOKS AND MOVIES Sense and Sensibility Material Girls

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The plot of Austen’s first novel follows a trio of spoiled sisters after the death of their father and loss of their inheritance.

Left nearly penniless, they are forced to rebuild their lives. In the 2006 movie Material Girls starring Hilary and Haylie Duff, the classic story is reimagined to involve spoiled heiresses who suddenly do not have their family fortune when a scandal wrecks the cosmetic company’s market value and they must work to rebuild the empire.

VOX MAGAZINE • MAY 2019

way she used words and quips, they were just so elegant. She insulted you in such a classy way. I loved that.”

A perfect example of Austen’s biting humor is in Emma, where she writes, “Better be without sense, than misapply it as you do.” The sarcasm and gibes make the characters feel relatable and realistic.

Dana Weston, an MU math professor, says she feels comfortable and happy when reading Austen. “(The characters) feel like real people. .If something bad is happening in my life, that’s my fetal position — reading her.”

THE JANEITES

Several members use the society as a launching pad to explore traditions of the time in which the novels were written, such as food, clothing, economics, history, architecture and politics. Weston compares it to fans at a science fiction convention or a comic convention. “It’s like being a groupie,” Weston says. “I mean, it’s just people talking about the same characters that you love, and you can tell that they love them, too.”

The Jungle Book author Rudyard Kipling’s 1924 story “The Janeites” tells of a wounded soldier who is reassigned to be a desk servant while he recovers from his injuries. The soldier finds himself drawn to Jane Austen novels that are on the shelves of his new office, and he forms a society in the trenches of the war with

Emma

Clueless

other Austen enthusiasts. They, too, take comfort in her works and in one another. “‘Janeite’ implies this close personal connection of people,” McGraw says. The Jane Austen society has introduced him to people around the country and also helped him make fast friends when he moved to Ashland from Tennessee. He quickly became co-coordinator of the local chapter, a position he jokes he will probably hold until he dies.

In addition to the monthly meetings in the school year, there is an annual national meeting of members held in a different city each year. Several members from the Columbia area have made the trek over the years. The event is a three-day conference featuring all kinds of speakers, from academics to actors.

Each convention ends in a grand Regency Ball where members can practice the dance moves of Austen’s time. The most recent national meeting was in Kansas City.

The community and collegiality that comes from this shared interest is at the heart of why these members love being involved in the society. McGraw says even though there are almost 6,000 Janeites in the organization, it still feels like a small group. The mid-Missouri chapter is tightknit. Looser says the society is a gift to the community and that after moving to Arizona, she missed the chapter and the people dearly.

Emma Woodhouse is a young self-proclaimed matchmaker who takes Harriet under her wing and promises to find her a worthy husband.

Meanwhile, Emma’s brother-in-law, Mr. Knightly, tries to convince her to keep her nose out of others’ business. Emma’s matchmaking eventually fails, and she realizes that she is in love with Mr. Knightly. Clueless follows the storyline of Emma. Cher, played by Alicia Silverstone, is a well-liked but self-absorbed teenager living in L.A. who sets her sights on finding a suitable boyfriend for new girl, Tai (Brittany Murphy).

Mr. Knightly takes the form of Josh, Cher’s former stepbrother, who is critical of Cher’s meddling in Tai’s business.

Some of the members of the Jane Austen Society, like Valerie Hammons, have self-described as “Janeites.”

“To go to an author’s society like this where there are learned people from all walks of life who share your enthusiasm and your passion for a subject is an amazing thing,” Looser says. “I just feel so grateful for JASNA.” 

Pride and Prejudice Bridget Jones’s Diary

The story of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy’s journey from adversaries to lovers has become a beloved classic and Austen’s most famous work by far.

The plot centers around the five Bennet sisters, particularly the witty and charming Elizabeth, and the situations they find themselves when they reach an age typical for marriage.The 2001 film Bridget Jones’s Diary gives a significant face-lift to the novel while keeping the same narrative arc of the classic love story. It follows 30-year-old Bridget Jones as she struggles to turn her love life around and ends up meeting her own Darcy.

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CO MO grow Our city has embraced both fresh food and a renewed perspective on sustainable agriculture and dining.

“Farm-to-table” has become such a common food refrain that we wouldn’t blame you if you think it’s overused. But really, it just means getting back to our roots ­­­­— when we ate food that was grown and raised nearby instead of a few states, or countries, away. The current movement encourages consumers and businesses to minimize the distance food travels. Knowing where your food comes from and how it’s prepared has increased in popularity in recent years. In 2014 the National Gardening Association found that food gardening was at an alltime high with no signs of slowing down.

Getting food locally creates a sustainable environment and a sense of community and pride. Read on to meet four local vegetable gardeners, an independent hog farmer and several Columbia-based restaurants who prioritize food that’s close to home.

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Photography by Photographer Name

FAMILY MATTERS A local cooperative helps keep hog farms afloat by connecting them to customers.

BY JOSEPH SIESS

M

att Beach loves when his nieces and nephews come out to the family farm. A fifth-generation hog farmer in Shelby County, Beach relishes the chance to let them hold piglets and show his family the traditional way they’ve raised hogs for decades.

For Beach and many others around Missouri, hog farming has been their way of life for more than a century. Both his father and grandfather farmed, and each saw firsthand what kind of turmoil and hardship the 1980s farm crisis caused. As farm production skyrocketed in the late 1970s and early 1980s, so did the debt accrued by farmers for land and equipment. At the same time, the selling price for farm commodities dropped due to the oversupply and declining exports. By 1984, U.S. farm debt had reached $215 Photography by Tristen Rouse

billion — double what it had been six years earlier — and lenders began foreclosing on debtors.

In 1985, when the Missouri Rural Crisis Center (MRCC) was created in response to the downturn, Missouri had 23,000 independent hog producers. Today, that number has dwindled to barely 2,000.

In 1993, the MRCC formed Patchwork Family Farms, a cooperative that empowers Missouri farmers to continue raising hogs the way they’ve done for generations and to sell their product to consumers, says Tim Gibbons, the MRCC communications director. Patchwork, made up of 12 to 15 locally owned farms, offers hog farmers an above-market price for their meat, giving them access to a niche market of customers to help keep them in business.

More than 40 local restaurants and grocery stores in mid-Missouri get their pork from farmers who are affiliated with Patchwork, according to the MRCC website. Bryan Maness, the owner of the Ozark Mountain Biscuit Co. food truck, is one of them. Maness started partnering with Patchwork 10 years ago when he first became a chef in Columbia. He says working with them is important because he believes in the MRCC’s mission

to support local producers who have a connection to their community. Beach says working with Patchwork, and in turn local businesses, is the only way to keep family farm operations sustainable. “From a financial standpoint, had I not been partnered up with groups like Patchwork Family Farms, I’d be out of pigs by now,” Beach says.

After Matt Beach graduated from college at 22, he moved back home and took over the family farm. He raises antibiotic- and hormone-free hogs.

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After graduating from the MU School of Agriculture in 2005, where he studied agricultural systems management, animal science and agricultural economics, Beach moved back home to assist the family’s farm operations.

BEACH SAYS HE BELIEVES HE PRODUCES A HIGHER QUALITY PRODUCT COMPARED TO PORK FROM FACTORY FARMS. Small family farms like Beach’s can’t compete with large, production-focused farms because he only farrows, or breeds, twice a year due to the weather.

So-called factory farms like Smithfield and JBS, which mass-produce animals in controlled, indoor environments to maximize output, make up 49 percent of the pork in the U.S., Gibbons says.

Beach’s pork, on the other hand, is antibiotic- and hormone-free, and he says that

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as of a couple years ago, he switched to a non-GMO feed for his hogs. What separates his operation from intensive hog farming is that his pigs are “dirt-raised” outside and kept local.

“It’s grown in Missouri, and it’s butchered in Missouri,” Beach says.

“We’re buying local, we’re staying local, and we’re not sending money to the Smithfields and the Tysons and all that of the world.”

Because his pigs are raised outside, Beach says he believes he produces a higher quality product compared to pork from factory farms. He takes pride in the standard of his hogs, and while he understands not everyone will be able to afford his products, he is providing the option for consumers who want it.

The market for locally produced products is growing, Beach says, because more people want to know where their pork comes from and that it’s raised with better standards. Because of Patchwork Family Farms and its ability to market

those products, families like the Beaches have a fighting chance. “Working with Patchwork, it’s keeping our family operation going,” he says. “So eventually, my kids will have the opportunity to be the sixth generation on the farm.”

Beach says he has about 150 sows, or breeding females, on his farm. They give birth twice a year ­— once in fall and once in spring.

Photography by Tristen Rouse

Sustainability is not a destination. It is a continuous journey passsed from generation to generation.

SEEDIN’

Many Columbia gardeners choose to grow tomatoes because of how well they thrive in Missouri.

and

WEEDIN’ Four Columbia gardeners plant roots in the community.

BY ABIGAIL PERANO

B

efore farm-to-table was even a phrase, there was home gardening. It promotes a healthier lifestyle and can even cut down grocery costs. Growing your own food also allows you to avoid any byproducts and pesticides that are often used in grocery store produce. And ultimately, gardening is a way to connect with your community as well as your food.

Four local women: Kathy E. Doisy, 63, Carrie Hargrove, 32, Evette Nissen, 62, and Deb Anderson, 59, understand those benefits. They have been gardening for a combined total of about 139 years.

Connecting the community Kathy E. Doisy began gardening in 1976.

When she was a kid, her mother frequently brought home fresh produce she bought from a family friend, which exposed Doisy to the world of gardening. Now she is the president of the board for the Community Gardening Coalition of Columbia and Boone County, Missouri, and she has a computerized irrigation system in her backyard to keep her garden healthy.

“Gardening is just a beautiful thing to do,” Doisy says. To her, the satisfaction of producing something herself is the best part. “I walk out to my yard, and I see what’s ready to be harvested,” she says. “I pick it and start thinking about what I’m going to make for dinner because I’ve got that food.” Doisy also enjoys the sense of community she gets from gardening. She says it’s a great way to get to know your neighbors, and she even lets the neighborhood children come see what she’s growing to teach them about how food is produced.

Doisy recommends first-time gardeners start off with a small garden, then add on as you become more comfortable with the process. She suggests using big planters

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Kathy Doisy tends lettuce and tomatoes in her home garden.

The plants require a lot of maintenance, but she has help from her computerized irrigation system.

Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture CCUA hosts free beginner gardening workshops on Saturdays at the Columbia Farmers Market.

Community Gardening Coalition of Columbia and Boone County This group offers plots for people without yards and gardening education sessions.

with moisture-control soil for those who don’t have a yard of their own.

Happy harvesting Carrie Hargrove, the operations director for the Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture, says gardening is a fulfilling way to spend her time. Hargrove has been gardening since 2008 and gets excited for spring because it’s an opportunity to get outside and work with her hands after a long winter. Aside from the notion that growing your own food

is healthier, Hargrove says when you grow your vegetables, there’s a sense of pride and a bond with the food. She says it motivates her to eat healthier because she has grown that food and is proud to eat it. Carrots are her favorite vegetable to grow because they taste better than store-bought ones.

Hargrove suggests making sure your garden is somewhere you can see it: “The more you see it, the more you’ll take care of it, and the more you take care of it, the more success you’ll have.”

Photography by Jeffrey Zide

SIPPING SUSTAINABILITY Barred Owl’s cocktails combine creative flavors from reused ingredients. BY SAVANNAH WALSH

A positive environment Evette Nissen and Deb Anderson are both members of the Columbia Garden Club. It’s Anderson’s third year growing vegetables, but she has nearly 30 years of experience gardening. She says gardening “feeds her spirit,” and she loves the process of growing her own food. Part of what motivates her is the hope that her garden will positively impact the environment. Anderson adds you shouldn’t be afraid to make mistakes when starting your garden because you can learn from them to improve.

Nissen is also a seasoned gardener with about 55 years of experience. “It’s beneficial for the environment,” she says.

“It’s just overall a good benefit for everybody.” Nissen revels in the satisfaction of growing her own food and knowing where her food comes from.

Home gardening promotes a healthy community as well as a healthy lifestyle. It forms bonds across your neighborhood, acting as a conversation starter for people passing by your produce, but farm-totable also connects you to the food you harvest. Even though it’s been a recent trend, the practice has been around for centuries and will probably stick for many years to come.

O

ne chef’s trash is another bartender’s treasure — at least for Barred Owl Butcher & Table’s Bar Manager Andrew Ruth. After bartending for about a decade, Ruth knows his way around a cocktail and is reconstructing the way we think about drinks. He uses deconstructed food leftover from the kitchen — largely citrus, peppers, or berries — to make syrups, shrubs and bitters. These are mixed into cocktails to either enhance flavors or shine as a flavor of their own.

Maintaining a symbiotic relationship between the kitchen and bar makes business sense. Instead of having a “mindset of consumption,” as Ruth says, the team at Barred Owl uses products repeatedly to avoid waste and save money, which can then be used in other areas of the business. When Ruth has a simple syrup surplus, the kitchen uses it to make jam or jelly. He does the same with kitchen scraps to make shrubs, which are his primary way of preserving out-of-season fruits. Shrubs are a sweet yet acidic syrup-concentrate mixture of fruit or vegetable juice, vinegar and sugar. Ruth says this concoction dates back to early American colonialism when extra peaches and other fruits were made into jams and stored in cellars after harvest.

Ruth makes a spicy pepper-cilantro shrub by mixing jalapenos, poblano and

bell peppers, cilantro, lime juice, apple-cider vinegar and sugar. The sugar is used for the maceration process, which pulls out the juices from the fruits and vegetables without cooking down the products.

This process draws out the spicy, acidic, sweet and bitter balance of flavors.

The menu includes a regular and a rotating drink selection that changes with the team’s new creations. The bartenders experiment with anything from celery juice for a “cocktail version of broth” to over-smoked trout for a smoked-trout vodka used for bloody marys. Ruth says knowing your tastes will determine whether the more experimental drinks are for you. “We want people to expand their horizons; we want people to expand their palettes . . . (but) you don’t have to go out on the edge and drink some smoked trout.”

Sustainability is a priority for imports such as citrus, which is used for bitters, grenadine, limoncello and more. Seasonal local produce can be made into a shrub while in season and then stored on a shelf to gradually gain flavor complexity with time. For Ruth, marrying a practical concept with cocktail creativity is the ultimate goal. “I can use scraps from the kitchen; I can make it at the bar; we can make money off of it, and not only that, it tastes really, really good.”

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in

SUPPERS in

SECRET A look inside Peachtree Catering’s exclusive dining experience.

BY SHANNON HENDERSON

M

usic and murmur mingle with the scent of fried decadence near the Sager Braudis art gallery. On the sidewalk stands a joyful man, smudges pressed into his dark-blue full-body apron. It’s nearly Nowruz, the Persian New Year, and Head Chef Ben Hamrah welcomes his friends, family and followers to celebrate in style.

As Loose Loose, a local R&B jazz-fusion band, sounds its snazzy tunes, and impeccably dressed guests socialize over hors d’oeuvres: tangy meat-andrice-stuffed grape leaves and fried pastry-wrapped halloumi cheese drizzled with honey. Amanda Elliott, the co-creator of the event with Hamrah, moves across the room in a black-and-white striped dress. She greets people, quietly directs workers and steps behind a quaint bar to mix her rose-colored cocktail.

Hamrah herds the hungry crowd through a privacy curtain into the secret dining area where olive green satin napkins and golden cutlery shine against a suede tablecloth piled with fruits, nuts and vintage wines. The dinner exudes exclusivity. An extension of Peachtree Catering, a Columbia event-planning business, the Sunday Suppers monthly gathering pairs hyper-local culinary experiments and meticulously planned surroundings with small groups of adventurous foodies.

In order to attend, guests must respond to an email blast — with no information other than that an event will happen — and hope they were quick enough to make the list. Attendees slowly receive details about the time, place and attire but for the most part are going in blind, prepared to be wined, dined and

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often surprised. Hamrah and Elliott purposefully keep the menu a secret so guests keep an open mind. “We’re not designing these menus so we can please people the most,” Hamrah says.

“We’re designing these menus around what we’re most excited about.”

Tonight’s menu features seven courses inspired by Hamrah’s experience growing up in a Persian family.

After a round of finger foods, honeycomb and pickled vegetables, the first dish, a noodle and chickpea soup with robust flavors such as mint and turmeric, sets up the palate for what comes next: a crispy saffron and rose-petal rice. Then herb-roasted eggplant, creamy cucumber atop braised lamb, and mandarin salad with a spaghetti-squash frittata. Each dish is passed around family style, shared between strangers, friends and strangers who become friends.

Elliott says the essence of supper is “an opportunity to learn, especially in this day and age. To learn and grow from the people you get to share a meal

with because we don’t often take that time anymore.”

The price changes for each evening of indulgence, but it’s always the bare minimum to cover the cost of food, drinks and amenities. “Sunday Supper is not about making money,” Hamrah says. “It’s about curating this experience.” Elliot, Hamrah and the beaming faces around this Sunday Supper table agree: when it all comes together — the food, flavors and friendships — the energy is sublime.

Sunday Supper guests mingle at the Sager Braudis art gallery before savoring a seven-course Persianthemed meal.

Ben Hamrah (right), the head chef for the evening’s event, calls attention to the hungry crowd to begin the feast.

Photography by Madison Parry

Organic, locally sourced, nutrient rich food

Our entire menu is free of gluten, soy, corn, refined sugar and preservatives.We use mostly organic ingredients, source locally whenever possible and make everything from scratch.

1201 E. Broadway, Ste B Columbia, MO 65201

573-818-2240

nourishcafemarket.com

Missouri Coalition for the Environment of of educating, educating, organizing, organizing, and advocating in and advocating in defense defense of of Missouri's Missouri's people people and and their their environment. environment.

For more information on how to attend Sunday Suppers, contact Peachtree Catering at 875-6608 or visit peachtreebanquet.com.

Our food system is an integral part of Missouri's environment and a healthy food system is both sustainable and equitable. MCE's Food and Farm Program works to diversify Missouri’s farming e c o n o m y , c o n s e r v e f e r t i l e s o il s a n d c l e a n w a t e r , and ensure access to a healthy and secure food supply for all people.

w ww ww w..m mooeen nvviirroon nm meen ntt..oorrg g VOX MAGAZINE • MAY 2019

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WORTH the

WORK For these Columbia restaurants, locally sourced food is a priority.

BY ERIC LEE

W Nourish Café + Market co-owner Kalle LeMone says the restaurant uses as many local vendors as possible, such as Lucky’s and Clovers for its honey.

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hen Kalle LeMone and Kimber Dean opened Nourish Café + Market, the pair didn’t give it a second thought; they knew their cozy eatery would seek locally sourced ingredients to fill the menu. “It’s what we do at home,” LeMone says, “so why would we not do it at our business?”

Nourish is one of many Columbia eateries that work to source locally. The cafe partners with more than 20 local vendors and farmers who provide everything from eggs and cheese to brown rice, flour and wraps. Nourish serves organic food that contains no gluten, soy, corn, refined sugar or preservatives.

Farm-fresh produce isn’t new to Columbia’s food scene. Main Squeeze, which opened in 1997 as a juice bar inside Lakota, also favors mid-Missouri producers.

Main Squeeze owner Leigh Lockhart says her restaurant locally sources 30 percent of its menu to help the environment. Local products don’t have to travel as far, which translates to fewer vehicle emissions. “It’s the perfect circle of we need this product, it’s infinitely better than what we can source elsewhere, and its environmental impact is less,” Lockhart says.

Sanford Speake, owner of Sycamore, which opened in 2005, says he believes ingredients grown locally taste better because the produce grows in soil that hasn’t been stripped of its nutrients, compared to large corporations that grow produce as quickly as possible despite the strain on the soil from constant harvesting.

There are hurdles to sourcing locally, such as expenses and seasonal and geographical limitations, but those factors don’t stop restaurants from putting as much local food on their menus as possible. “There’s no other option,” says LeMone. “It’s just the right thing to do.”

Photography by Yanran Huang

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REINVENTIN

32

RURAL

VOX MAGAZINE • MAY 2019

Photography by Kristoffer Tigue

IN G

The expansion of Spartan Light Metal Products will bring new jobs to town.

Rural communities such as Mexico fight to revitalize their economies and give residents reasons to stick around.

BY KRISTOFFER TIGUE PHOTOGRAPHY BY ZHIHAN HUANG

MISSOURI 33

S

haded under a white canopy in the middle of a dusty field in Mexico, Missouri, Bruce Breitzman addresses an excited crowd from behind a wooden lectern.

It’s early September 2018, and Breitzman, the CEO and president of Spartan Light Metal Products, is one of roughly 80 people in attendance to witness the groundbreaking of the company’s new automotive parts plant, which could bring up to 100 new jobs to town.

The 135,000-square-foot plant, which will be Spartan’s second die-casting plant in Mexico, is expected to be up and running by early next year. It will increase the company’s ability to produce lightweight parts for the world’s growing fleet of hybrid and electric cars. Under a clear sky, Breitzman vows that Spartan remains dedicated to its decadeslong relationship with Mexico.

Roughly two miles from the ceremony, 18-year-old Kylie Yeast sits in class at Mexico High School, eagerly awaiting word regarding her college applications. For years, Yeast has daydreamed of living elsewhere, of getting lost in the anonymity of a big city, of distancing herself from the strict Catholic community that raised her.

To Yeast, staying in Mexico would mean limiting her future and happiness, and she isn’t the only student who feels that way. “I hear it so often,” she says, “people saying, ‘I have to get out of here.’”

Keeping their best and brightest from flying the coop is a problem many rural American towns have faced over the past several decades. U.S. manufacturers have migrated overseas and replaced human jobs with automation, leaving many who relied on factory work without employment. Five million manufacturing jobs have disappeared since 2000.

In Mexico, the A.P. Green plant stood as the region’s backbone for nearly a century, employing about 2,000 people at its peak and supplying the booming American steel industry

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VOX MAGAZINE • MAY 2019

with fire-resistant bricks to line its kilns.

But after decades of decline, the plant shuttered its doors for good in 2002 and sent many workers to search for employment in larger, more diversified cities. Once visited by world leaders such as Winston Churchill and Harry Truman, A.P. Green now sits abandoned and decaying.

Faced with similar situations, rural towns like Mexico have scrambled to reinvent themselves — but the downfall of A.P. Green wasn’t the end of Mexico’s story, says Dana Keller, executive director for the city’s chamber of commerce.

Fretting over its closure is old news, she says. “We’ve got to go, go, go.”

High school student Kylie Yeast says she thinks Mexico has a lot going for it — but she’s still ready to get out.

THE INDUSTRY: A JOB MARKET FOR ROBOT MECHANICS Mexico now hosts a variety of different manufacturers, a community college, a major regional hospital and a growing number of small businesses that have begun to repopulate the once-booming town square. Keller attributes much of the town’s recent success to hard work from its locals. For years now, she says, the city and chamber have collaborated with both community and industry leaders to diversify Mexico’s economy and re-envision the city’s future.

Those groups have particularly ramped up their efforts to entice the city’s youth to plant roots at home by exposing them to other options, such as reconsidering four-year college and instead taking up one of the many available manufacturing gigs in town.

That’s why on a warm October morning, 14-year-old Zack Rudd finds himself traipsing around several manufacturing plants with the rest of his sleepy-eyed eighth-grade class.

It’s the third year the city’s chamber is hosting the tours, which coincide with the national Dream It. Do It. Manufacturing Day, a movement aimed at encouraging youth to join the industry to combat a national worker shortage.

Rudd, who spends much of his time doing activities such as welding and fixing motors with his dad, is enraptured by the trip, especially at a stop where blue sparks soared through the air from feverish welding guns. “I love this place,” Rudd says with restrained excitement.

The efforts include more than just the tours. In early fall 2018, Moberly Area Community College opened a mechatronics lab at its Mexico campus, where students can train to be electricians, machinists or technicians — all jobs in high demand with local manu-

facturers, who donated $200,000 worth of equipment to the lab.

Caroline Groves, director of the MACC Mexico campus, says there are more opportunities now for students to get an education in Mexico and find meaningful work there afterward, especially in the manufacturing and electrical engineering fields.

For companies such as Spartan, the lab could prove a vital streamline to fill the growing need for a skilled workforce in the industry. With the new plant, Spartan will need even more workers who are trained to repair and program the high-tech machinery. Dan Schnaare, who has worked with Spartan for over 30 years maintaining the company’s sophisticated robots, says that when he first started in the 1980s, Spartan’s Mexico plant had just five robots. By the end of the year, it will have close to 100.

Vice President of Operations Ted Waltemate says that the number of people learning how to work with this type of machinery is declining. “We’ve got to be training these kids in school systems not only to go to four-year colleges and to get psychology degrees but to do twoyear technical programs and skill trades,” he says. “It’s just going to be increasingly demanding.”

THE ARTS: AN ESCAPE AND A REVIVAL Many towns around Missouri are working to use art, culture and history as a way to spur economic growth. A study commissioned by the Missouri Arts Council estimates that in 2015 alone, the state’s arts and culture industry generated more than $1 billion in total statewide economic activity.

For example, Hannibal, a town of 18,000, hosts an annual arts festival that brought in $35,000 for the Hannibal Arts Council last year and generates hundreds of thousands of dollars in economic activity overall. And in the town of Sweet Springs, which has a population of about 1,400, two local philanthropists are raising money to renovate three historic buildings with hopes of creating a new community space, including an arts studio and fitness area.

In Mexico, Presser Hall was the abandoned, neglected remains of the early 20th century women’s seminary Hardin College until 1987, when the Presser Hall Restoration Society formed to save it from demolition by turning it into a community rental space. In 2007, Lois Brace was hired to spearhead the charge to catapult it into a full-blown arts center.

Then, in 2017, the Mexico community raised $3.5 million in private dona-

Mark Korman is the owner of Fluid Power Support, one of the stops during the manufacturing tour Mexico students go on each fall.

tions to renovate the historic building as a show of faith in its worth. It is now the regionally renowned Presser Performing Arts Center, a modern arts facility that rivals those in urban centers like St. Louis and Kansas City, with Brace at the helm as its founding executive artistic director.

I’VE ALWAYS FELT LIKE MEXICO IS A VERY SPECIAL PLACE. – Melissa Trierweiler, Presser camp director “I’ve always felt like Mexico is a very special place and certainly now with the expansion of Presser,” says Melissa Trierweiler, who attended the center’s summer camps as a teen and is now a camp director there. “It’s a really thriving moment.”

Amidst those flourishing at Presser is Yeast, whose shoulder-length curls tremor with each step she takes as she VOX MAGAZINE •MAY 2019

35

strides onto the stage. Her owlish eyes, magnified by wire-rimmed glasses, brim with rage.

“I never dreamed of such audacity!” she screams, towering above a handful of younger girls.

The girls cower and fall into line.

“Miss Minchin!” they call back in fear.

Yeast has been acting for 10 years at Presser, where she’s recently been cast in several leading roles for its annual plays.

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VOX MAGAZINE • MAY 2019

Last summer, Yeast played Miss Minchin, the main antagonist in A Little Princess.

Theater has played an important role in Yeast’s life; at times, it has provided her an escape from a turbulent reality. Yeast describes growing up in a neglectful household. Her mother, who raised Yeast and her younger sister as a single parent, faced numerous addictions, including opioids. Couple that with working nights, and Yeast’s mom

Barbara Wilson has owned Kate’s Hallmark Shop for nine years. She says she feels rejuvenated by the “fresh ideas and endless energy” of young people opening new businesses in Mexico.

Mexico’s population is about 11,500 — twice what it was in the early 1900s.

essentially left her and her sister to their own devices. In eighth grade, for example, Yeast skipped 74 days of school.

Her mother also often failed to pick her up from rehearsal at Presser, and Brace had taken Yeast home with her on multiple occasions. She did so again on one night in 2016 and noticed that Yeast had developed a bad rash from what turned out to be a long-unaddressed vitamin D deficiency. “She was abandoned,” Brace says. “She was neglected. She was raising herself.” Soon after, Brace invited Yeast to stay for good.

The sense of belonging that Yeast found at Presser is common among those who get involved with the institution. Hundreds of children filter through the center every year to see plays or participate in summer camps.

Many who have spent their childhoods at Presser say it changed their lives.

Brace hopes Presser plays its own role in Mexico’s transformation by continuing to attract attention from around the country and give locals a reason to stay.

The center already sees roughly 22,000

Photography courtesy of State Historical Society of Missouri

people shuffle through its doors each year. “I think the key to our future is reinventing,” Brace says. “Taking a space that’s been abandoned and maybe recycling it, finding a better purpose for it.”

THE TOWN SQUARE: A SPACE FOR NEW GROWTH The number of applications for business licenses has also increased in Mexico — from 37 in 2015 to 107 in 2018. At only 22 years old, Marissa Lightsey holds one of those licenses.

In spring of 2018, Lightsey opened the doors of The Wild Child, Mexico’s only children’s apparel store, in the heart of the city’s town square. The idea initially sprung from the fact that she couldn’t find clothes in Mexico for her own child. Lightsey saw this paucity as a business opportunity, and having lived in Mexico nearly her whole life, she was more than happy to take a chance on her hometown. Plus, Lightsey believed that Mexico’s improving economy would increase her chances of success at home over Columbia, for example, which she believes already has a saturated market.

Case in point: Last fall, Lightsey bought the inventory from a boutique closing in Columbia, which resulted in her hauling two truckloads of clothes back to her store in Mexico. The Wild Child has been doing so well that Lightsey moved the shop into a bigger location in March.

Lightsey isn’t the first young Mexico native to open up shop there in recent years. According to Missouri Business Alert, Lightsey was inspired by April Thomas, who opened her women’s clothing boutique, The Sparkly Pig, when she was 26. Both women hope their successes will be like blueprints for others considering entrepreneurial endeavors in town.

In fact, Lightsey thinks that Mexico is on the verge of a renaissance. “I think we’ve already kind of reached a turning point,” she says. “We’re definitely where we need to be.”

THE COMMUNITY: A PLACE TO CALL HOME As for the new Spartan plant, Breitzman says things are progressing on schedule.

It’s got a roof and walls, and the floors are in the process of being poured. It’s still too early to start hiring, but Breit-

The success April Thomas has had with her business, The Sparkly Pig, inspired Marissa Lightsey (top) to open her own store, The Wild Child.

zman is hopeful that when the company does start taking applications, it’ll have a robust pool of candidates coming from Mexico and its new college programs.

“I guarantee we will be tapping into all resources and trying to work with the community to make it a win-win for everybody,” he says.

The day after the Spartan groundbreaking ceremony, Southwest Baptist University called Yeast as she drove to rehearsal at Presser. Not only was the school accepting her application, but it was also offering her an $8,500 scholarship.

Yeast says she pulled the car over, a lump swelling in her throat. “I just got so nervous,” she says. “I think I was just so happy to leave Mexico.”

Other acceptance letters followed; Missouri Baptist University, William Woods University and the University of Central Missouri.

But with her GPA tainted from playing hooky and the cost of tuition skyrocketing, Yeast was limited to the only school she wanted to attend and could also afford: Berea College, a four-year tuition-free Christian university.

Berea rejected her application, Yeast says, but wrote her a personal letter suggesting she go to a community college, get her grades up, then reapply. So this fall, Yeast will start her first semester at MACC in Mexico. “I have two more years to get my grades up and have a kick-butt GPA, so there’s no way they can say no to me,” she says.

Yeast also says she’s had a change of heart when it comes to Mexico. Ever since the Braces took her into their home, she has rediscovered her faith in both religion and family. Fleeing far away doesn’t seem so important anymore.

“I’m going to miss being in Mexico,” Yeast says. “Presser is so close to me, and so are Lois and Craig.”

Brace says that wherever Yeast ends up, she’ll always be welcome at their home and at Presser. That was the point of building it, Brace says — to give Mexico’s youth something worth coming back to. “For the kids that do stay or come back to serve,” she says, “it’s home.”

VOX MAGAZINE • MAY 2019

37

EVERY AMERICAN WASTES 290 POUNDS OF FOOD A YEAR

DRINKS WITH A VIEW P. 43

ONE CHEF, FULL HOUSE P. 44

Snappy summer salads Local eateries suggest three recipes to give your plate and your palate a much-needed refresh.

BY EMMA VEIDT Asparagus, arugula, radishes and strawberries hit peak ripeness in May and June. Whether you’re looking to impress dinner guests or support local farmers, add some seasonal color to your menu with recipes created by Erica Parker, co-owner of Hallsville’s Sage Garden, and Kalle Lemone, co-founder of Columbia’s Nourish Café and Market.

PRESTO: PESTO PASTA SALAD Chickpea pasta provides more protein and fiber than traditional wheat pasta, and adding arugula helps this salad pack a healthy punch. “Arugula is one of my favorite greens,” Lemone says. “It’s really peppery, really detoxifying — and so is asparagus as well.” Not a pesto fan? Try topping with lemon-infused olive oil instead.

Salad recipe

KALE’N IT

1 9-ounce box chickpea flour-based rotini pasta

Even the most veggie-averse will crave this take on kale salad. “It sounds weird, but if you rub it until the kale turns dark green, the flavor completely changes,” Parker says.

“I could eat a whole bundle of kale by myself that way.”

1 bunch asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces 1 bunch arugula 1 avocado, diced into 1/2- to 1-inch cubes 1/2 cup pistachios, toasted 1/2 cup goat cheese Fill a medium bowl with ice water, and set aside. In a small skillet over medium

Recipe

heat, bring enough water to cover aspara-

1 bundle raw kale

gus to a rolling boil. Blanch asparagus by

2 tablespoons oil of your choice

boiling for 30 seconds, then drain and place

Juice of 1/2 lemon

into ice water. Drain again once it’s cool.

A pinch kosher salt

Cook pasta according to box directions

Chop raw kale, and place in a large

and drain. Transfer cooked pasta to a medium

bowl. Drizzle oil, lemon juice and

bowl, and combine with asparagus, arugula,

salt on top of the kale. Massage the

avocado, toasted pistachios and goat cheese.

leaves for two to three minutes

Stir in desired amount of pesto.

to soften. Top with your favorite seasonal mix-ins, such as microgreens, radishes, strawberries or sunflower seeds.

Pesto recipe 1 bunch parsley 2 cloves garlic

DRESS IT UP

Recipe

1 cup walnuts, toasted

If you already have a favorite salad recipe on hand, top it with this simple, light dressing. Parker says her daughter even uses it as a dip for cucumbers and carrot sticks. This versatile dressing is sugar-, gluten- and dairy-free. Adjust ingredient amounts to your own taste.

Juice of 1 lemon

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1/2 onion of your choice

1/2 to 1 cup olive oil

1/3 cup oil of your choice

Combine dry ingredients in a food

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

processor, and pulse. In a separate

2 cloves garlic, minced

bowl, combine wet ingredients,

1 teaspoon dried oregano

and pour into food processor

Photography by Tristen Rouse

1 teaspoon dried thyme

until pesto reaches desired

1 teaspoon dried parsley

texture. Blend until fully

1 teaspoon kosher salt

incorporated.

Combine all ingredients in blender and puree together.

VOX MAGAZINE • MAY 2019

39

E AT & DRINK TRENDS

Health at your door A Missouri-based food delivery company creates nutritious, microwave-ready meals.

BY CARY LITTLEJOHN

Y

ou’ve just gotten home after a long day. You don’t feel like cooking, but you don’t want to eat fast food … again. What can you do?

Your new solution might be a St. Louis-based company called Fit-Flavors, which specializes in healthy meals you can make in just a few minutes. Fit-Flavors offers deliverable, prepackaged options for all three meals of the day, plus plenty of picks for snacks.

Now serving Columbia, Fit-Flavors is a local alternative to other popular meal-kit options, such as Blue Apron and

HelloFresh. The meals are made from scratch and aren’t meant to sit in the freezer for weeks; each meal’s expiration date is just five days from delivery, which founder and owner Jillian Tedesco says reflects the freshness and quality of the ingredients they use.

The company also offers nutrition counseling from a registered dietitian on staff, as well as email newsletters with

FIND OUT MORE fit-flavors.com 314-744-9048 info@fit-flavors.com

nutrition and health information.

The company is about “more than just getting food delivered to your door,” Marketing Manager Nikki Ownby says.

The mission of Fit-Flavors is to educate the public about just how important your diet is to your overall health. “We really envision a world where nutrition is simple and sustainable, and food is enjoyable.”

Free to Public

Mr. Stinky Feet & the Hiccups Thursday, May 2, 2019 | 6 p.m.

Stephens Lake Park, 100 Old Hwy 63 (Beach entrance to park) Daniel Boone Regional Library and Columbia Parks and Recreation present a show that will get the little ones wiggling and jiggling with Mr Stinky Feet, beloved family entertainer!

RJ’s Italian Ice will be vending.

Sponsored By:

Presented By:

MISSOURIAN COLUMBIA’S LOCAL NEWSPAPER

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VOX MAGAZINE • MAY 2019

Photography courtesy of Nikki Ownby

E AT + DRI N K BARS

Drinks with a view From a towering 112 feet to a mere 9 feet, rooftops in Columbia are taking bars to new heights.

BY PATE MCCUIEN

THE

Pressed.

B R O A D W A Y

W

hat do you get when you combine great weather and drinking? Rooftop bars, of course.

We checked with Columbia’s Community Development department on the exact heights of the five downtown locales. So, whether you prefer a bird’s-eye view or something a little closer to the ground, you can choose the lofty outdoor space for you.

The Roof 112 feet, 5 inches 1111 East Broadway Located inside the Broadway Hotel, The Roof is the tallest rooftop bar in Columbia. The outdoor portion is warmed with heat lamps, so bargoers can use the space even when it’s chilly.

The cozy yet sleek environment includes comfortable couches, padded chairs and a large glass fireplace.

Good for: a first date Pressed 90 feet 803 E. Walnut St. Pressed, which opened in October, is one of the newest bars in Columbia. The bar has a great view facing the west side of town. Kelsey Parker, the bar manager, thinks the bar’s trendy ambiance is different from others in Columbia because it gives off a big-city feel.

Good for: watching the sunset with cocktails and appetizers The Heidelberg 15 feet, 2 inches 410 S. 9th St. Lovingly referred to as “the Berg,” this bar prides itself on being a cool and comfortable place to hang out. “We have a great location and a nice view of campus,” bar manager Richard Walls says. Here, you’ll most likely see the occasional professor or businessperson unwinding with a drink or two.

Good for: dinner and drinks with family or friends

BA R & GRILL

THE HEIDELBERG

Harpo’s 13 feet, 5 inches 29 S. 10th St. Harpo’s, which opened in 1971, is known for its drink specials such as $2 Tuesday. Its Rooftop Skyy Bar is a prime location for the partier who is looking for a place to cool off after spending time in one of the TopGolf Swing Suites.

Good for: watching baseball games outside Campus Bar & Grill 9 feet, 4 inches 304 S. 9th St. Campus Bar & Grill has gone by several different names over the years: Sudsuckers, Big 12 and now Campus Bar & Grill.

When the weather is nice, you need to get there early to get a coveted table outside. Catch numerous students here on Sundays enjoying the burger deals.

Good for: enjoying pitchers of beer with a view

Illustrations by Kellyn Nettles

VOX MAGAZINE • MAY 2019

41

E AT + DRINK DAY IN THE LIFE

job is quite unlike that because he’s a personal chef for 97 women for the whole school year. Not every sorority has this type of arrangement with a cook, so that makes Lammers’ job special in the MU Greek life community.

Five years ago, he started as a sous chef, spending most of his time cooking the food in Theta’s kitchen. After one year on the job, he was promoted to head chef, where he now manages more behind-the-scenes duties such as payroll, bookkeeping and purchasing supplies. Through his time at the sorority, he has fulfilled his passion of serving food while building relationships with his customers ­— the women of Theta.

Here’s what a 10-hour day looks like for Lammers.

Compliments to the sorority chef

Lammers is also a personal chef for an elderly man. He delivers and cooks his meals once a week.

From scrambled eggs to build-your-own burgers to the pasta bar, Chris Lammers spices up the meals served at Kappa Alpha Theta.

BY TAYA WHITE

T

here isn’t a day that goes by where Chris Lammers isn’t thinking about food, changing up menus or testing new recipes.

But if you’re cooking for a house of 97 women during the week, food is always on the mind.

Lammers works as head chef and food director for Kappa Alpha Theta, Alpha Mu chapter at MU. He cooks three meals per day Monday through Thursday and two meals on Friday and Sunday. He first found out about this job at Theta while trying to build a career in hospitality, and he stayed because he was creating meals that challenged him professionally. “I try to provide a variety of food that’s going to be restaurant quality,” he says.

Lammers, who was born and raised in Columbia, always knew he had a future working with food but never thought his talent would lead him to work in a sorority house. He knew nothing about MU

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Greek life, and most of his experience came from working in restaurants. His interest in cooking started early — he worked at the former Everett’s Restaurant & Lounge in Columbia when he was a teenager. Then, he decided to attend culinary school in Scottsdale, Arizona.

After graduating, Lammers moved back to Columbia to be closer to relatives and to start his own family.

Around the house, he has a trusted reputation. Kathy Pickett, house mom of Theta, says he is very easy to work with and that she relies on his commitment to the sorority. “He has a general interest in the people and the girls and never complains about having to fix different dishes for different girls,” Pickett says.

“He’s an asset to our house.”

Lammers’ current job isn’t the most conventional position for a chef. There are plenty of cooks who work in restaurants who prepare a standard menu for thousands of diners a day, but Lammers’

ABOUT THE CHEF • Attended Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Scottsdale • Sous chef for winning team in 2013 Mid-Missouri Taste of Elegance competition • Works as an online health coach and personal chef in addition to his position at Kappa Alpha Theta

8:30 or 9 a.m. Five days a week, Lammers begins his day in the kitchen around 8:30 a.m. His assistant arrives at the house earlier to start cooking breakfast, which is served 7 to 9:30 a.m.

Because he arrives closer to the end of breakfast, Lammers jumps right into cooking. A common favorite is the chocolate chip pancakes, he says.

11 a.m. When breakfast ends, the race is on to get the food broken down so lunch can be ready by 11 a.m. sharp. Lammers’ staff of three is cooking nonstop. They work hard to get plenty of food out in time for the first round of girls.

The quick turnaround between breakfast and lunch makes this the tightest part of the day. Lammers says preparing for lunch is usually down to the wire. As long as there are women lining up to fix their plates, there needs to be food coming out of the kitchen.

2 p.m. After lunch, the kitchen staff has some downtime before dinner. This is mostly when he manages the paperwork, which includes placing food orders and sending emails to Pickett or figuring out next week’s meals.

Since taking over as head chef, Lammers said he is doing his best to elevate the quality of food for the women of Theta. Part of that includes introducing new flavors and bringing different food to the table. Some popular dishes at the Photography by Yanran Huang

E AT + DRI N K DAY IN THE LIFE

house include build-your-own selections such as the pasta bar or sandwich options, which the women are able to customize.

When thinking about new recipes, he knows he needs to try to meet everyone’s needs. He has some help doing that, says Lily Coit, Theta’s chief external affairs officer. The facility relations director or housing manager for Theta will inform Lammers of any women living in the house who have specific dietary needs.

“It’s a challenge at times coming up with new creations and new stuff to keep them pretty enticed with the food,” Lammers says. “Then you’ve got your special needs like gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian. I always try to provide a wide variety that’s going to please everyone.”

5 to 6:30 p.m. Lammers then has to put a dinner together that lasts for an hour and a half. After factoring in time to clean up, a typical work day for Lammers ends around 7 p.m. He leaves the sorority house with one of his goals as a chef accomplished: providing quality

Photography by Yanran Huang

Lammers says Chinese food, build-your-own selections and the salad bar are among the most popular dishes he creates at the sorority house.

service and brightening someone’s day through the power of food.

The weekends require much less effort, Lammers says. On Saturdays, the kitchen is closed. Brunch and dinner are served on Sundays. On some occasions, the house uses a catering service on weekends. This is more common during football season or on

Mom and Dad’s weekends, he says.

Although Lammers never imagined he would become a sorority house chef, he has been able to grow as a cook and as a person because of this experience.

Lammers and the Theta women plan on creating and enjoying more build-yourown selections and new recipes that will be discovered in the years to come.

VOX MAGAZINE •MAY 2019

43

Discover the unsearchable

T:21�

Find a trail near you at DiscoverTheForest.org

S:21�

Discover the forest

MAYOR’S NEXT MOVES P.47

MID-MO MAINSTAYS P.48

By updating gender parameters, colleges pave the way for a more inclusive future.

Meet in the middle CoMo institutions strive for inclusivity and recognize that identity is more than biology.

BY MACKENZY MIDDLEBROOKS Columbia stands out as an exception in a state that is rated in the lowest category for LGBTQ equality by the Human Rights Commission, providing nondiscriminatory employment and health care for its transgender citizens. The colleges of this college town also lead the wave of progressive equality.

Photography by Antranik Tavitian

VOX MAGAZINE • MAY 2019

45

CITY LIFE EQUALITY

In fall 2019, Stephens College will allow more women to enroll by expanding its definition of womanhood and gender. It will now admit “students ... who identify and live as women,” according to the school’s FAQ page.

Following the lead of other women’s colleges, Stephens’ board of trustees unanimously approved the new policy in November 2018 and wrote that it had “recommitted to its singular mission of educating women.”

However, the school will also cease admitting and enrolling students who now identify as men or are transitioning from female to male, saying “it is logically consistent that it also acknowledges both sex and gender in its definition of manhood.” This means that while the college is accepting trans identities, current students who identify as men will no longer be able to attend the college.

Overall, Columbia was deemed one of the most LGBTQ-friendly cities in the state, according to a 2017 study by the Human Rights Commission. The city scored a perfect 100 and earned

points for providing municipal services for trans citizens. At MU Health, providers must ask for the sex a patient was assigned at birth but will use a patient’s preferred pronouns, according to its website. There are also 20 buildings on MU’s campus that contain gender-neutral bathrooms, the result of an attempt to create a more welcoming environment for people of all genders. In Missouri, trans individuals can change the gender listed on their driver’s license with a form signed by their health care provider.

CoMo stands out in Missouri as one of the more welcoming cities for the LGBTQ community. The municipal services received a perfect score on the Human Rights Commission study.

Currently at Stephens College, there are students who do not fall into the gender binary of man or woman, and students say the school needs to do more to support them. Most of the potential resources for the Stephens LGBTQ community are found at MU, but it’s not very likely that Stephens students reach out to MU communities, says MJ Jonen, a Stephens senior studying creative writing.

It is crucial that Stephens students and faculty receive more education on LGBTQ issues, Jonen says. “Too often students have been misgendered after repeatedly stating their pronouns, and there has been nothing done about it.”

Emile Eller, a Stephens fashion design student, has faced a similar struggle.

“I don’t think, at an institutional level, Stephens takes the time to understand trans issues or support trans students,” Eller says. “It’s never the first thought.”

Despite growing pains, the wave of equality is getting stronger. In fall 2019, more of Columbia can “dream up,” as Stephens says.

Don’t mis s Taco Tues day and Soul Food Everyday !

Located in Vandiver Plaza | 1301 Vandiver Dr, Suite E - Columbia OPEN TUESDAY TO SUNDAY | 10:30 am - 6:00 pm Dine In • Carry Out 573-424-3718 Menu Changes Daily • 10 Minutes From Downtown

Mrs G’s A Touch Of Soul 46

VOX MAGAZINE • MAY 2019

Photography by Antranik Tavitian

I N T HE LO O P OUR CITY

Treece’s to-do list surveyed city activists As the mayor enters his second term, Vox uld focus on next. to learn what changes they believe he sho

BY MATT ANTONIC

as mayor after being reelected in early Brian Treece has earned another term mbia’s political landscape, but there Colu April. He might be a familiar face in ahead lenges to tackle as the mayor looks are plenty of new and existing chal mbia Colu the with As Q& in preelection to the next three years. Treece said g ovin impr s, hood hbor neig ning strengthe Missourian that he wants to continue rs. dolla transparency in the use of taxpayer the city’s infrastructure and ensuring p k Haim and Traci Wilson-Kleekam Mar a, Skal Three local leaders — Karl ests. e and other requ — are speaking their minds on thes

As Columbia has grown, City Councilman Karl Skala says utilities and community services need attention before residents put too much strain on our outdated system. According to the city’s wastewater and stormwater integrated management plan, repair to existing failing pipes will cost roughly $100 million but could end up costing as much as $175 million in 20 years if left unaddressed.

“We have to deal with water and electricity and sewer, and we also have to deal with police and fire and those soft kinds of infrastructure, as well,” Skala says.

es Carbon emissions from homes, business of the s third twoup e mak ts plan l and industria s to need city the says Haim s. sion emis city’s tions and acquire more renewable energy solu s. urce implement these reso te Columbia currently runs a loan and reba heat r program to encourage private solar wate to s need city the er installments, but Haim says ered and continue pushing for more wind-pow , should think I , goal “The gy. ener solar-powered le as wab be to switch over to 100 percent rene quickly as possible.”

Illustrations by Kellyn Nettles and courtesy of Pixabay, photography by Jennifer Mosbrucker, Hailey Hofer and Emily Shepherd/Archive

Mark Ha im, cacy gro director of the n onp up Mid-M mayor an issouri P rofit advod city sh e acewo ould imp to offset lement d rks, says the the impa evelop ct o careless expansio f growth and als ment fees o discou n lack of a — espec rage ffo ia years. “F rdable housing lly with a noticea in Colum b or the in fra bia in re le sewage cent , our roa structure costs, e d xp s, our ele lines, all of the dif ctric line anding our ferent se s, our w it costs m rv ater ice on somethin ey to do that. Gro s that are provid ed, g you ha w th in a ve to live c but you with and ommunity is shouldn ’t encou a rage spra ccommodate, wl.”

Since the resignation of former city manager Mike Matthes in November, as well as the subsequent resignation of ex-police chief Ken Burton in December, Traci Wilson-Kleekamp, director of Race Matters, Friends, says she is looking for positive adjustments within city leadership.

To Wilson-Kleekamp, community policing needs to be practiced through the appropriate lens of being a guardian for the community instead of a guard dog. She adds that internal changes to the toxic culture must play a role in this transition. “Community policing is not just about how (officers) engage with people in the public; it is about how they engage with each other.”

VOX MAGAZINE • MAY 2019

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CITY LIFE BUSINESS

Staying put With masterful craft and hometown familiarity, three artisans have made a career out of personal service.

BY WILL JARVIS

W

hen Kenny Greene started making jewelry almost 40 years ago, he viewed it as an artistic endeavor and a way to create something beautiful and practical. It was also personal; decades after making wedding rings for his first clients, the Monarch Jewelry owner is providing the same services for those customers’ children. “They keep coming back,” he says. “I’m the family jeweler.” Greene is but one of Columbia’s many long-standing small business owners who have seen industry change, generations of population turnover and an intimate perspective on how commerce stays tied to community. Three owners lend their perspectives on supplying lasting services with a personal touch in their own words. Interviews have been edited for length and clarity.

Monarch Jewelry Years in business: 35 1019 E. Walnut St. When I was about 23, I was a free spirit, and I started traveling around, exploring life in those halcyon days. I was able to meet some folks that had a place out west in Washington state, and I learned to do Navajo-style silversmithing.

Jewelry is an art form first and foremost. So any time spent doing art is rewarding in itself. My whole life is about the arts; I don’t punch the clock.

Jewelers are fond of saying jewelry is the second-oldest profession. It’s been going on forever, and it’s cyclical.

Everything is an occasion. It’s making something people want to remember, something sentimental. It’s like building a house; it’s like putting together a car for somebody, that kind of thing. I’m both a tradesman, but I’m also a craftsman and an artist. — Kenny Greene, owner

Greene has been in his current location for 10 years, where he makes artwork.

He also teaches a jewelry-making class at Columbia College.

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VOX MAGAZINE • MAY 2019

Photography by N. Andrew Dent III

C I T Y LI FE BUSINESS

My Secret Garden Years in business: 39 823 E. Broadway In 1989, I got a storefront. I had a $10,000 loan, and I bought a delivery vehicle, a red 1956 Chevy Nomad. I thought, nobody’s going to know who I am.

But if they see a fancy car with flowers and the My Secret Garden logo, they’ll remember that. When people would ask, “Where did you get those beautiful flowers?” I didn’t want it to be the name of a store. They’d say, “Oh, from My Secret Garden.” It’s personal.

I love flowers and plants and, most of all, I love making people happy every day.

I just wait for that moment when I can see the customer’s eyes when they see their flowers. I’ve always considered myself very rich. Rich in life. I don’t have a lot of money, but I have a talent that I can share. I’d rather make the flowers for the party than be at the party all night. — Ruth LaHue, owner

A Cut Above the Rest Years in business: 25 203 N. Providence Road I look at hair as an accessory. It pulls your look together.

It’s your reflection to other people. In 1990, I went to cosmetology school and got my license. In 1994, an opportunity came up for me to open my own salon. You pass out cards, pass out flyers. But mainly, I think word of mouth is the best. If you do a really good job on one client, they’re going to tell their friends.

I still have one client that I had from the cosmetology school. I’ve known her for over 20 years, and she’s like family. We always have a conversation when she comes in. You catch up, see what’s going on. Eighty-five percent of this is relationships. Fifteen percent is technical. People who have longevity in it, I believe it’s a gift. — Debra Harris, owner

Photography by Ethan Weston and N. Andrew Dent III

LaHue started My Secret Garden out of her home in 1979 before getting her first storefront.

Ever since then, she’s been doing what she loves.

Harris, also known by her stylist name Diva Dee, loves the fact that her job allows her to be her own boss.

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CALENDAR

TO-DO LIST

Your curated guide of what to do in Columbia this month. commedia dell’arte style show that represents stereotypes through the use of masks. May 18, 7:30 p.m., Warehouse Theatre, free, 442-2211

ARTS Bluegrass in a Cave Catch Maplewood Barn Community Theatre’s production of Floyd Collins: A Bluegrass Musical in Columbia to witness the gripping tale of a man trapped in a cave while bluegrass plays in the background. Yes, you read that right. April 24–28, May 1–5, 8 p.m., Maplewood Barn, $12; $3 for children, 227-2276

Mortal (and Fake) Combat At Punches & Pinches, audience members can watch people beat one another up. There’s only one catch: It’s all staged. As a part of the Stephens College Summer Theater Institute, students have the chance to learn different stage skills, and you can watch the whole thing go down. There might even be fake blood involved. May 25, 7:30 p.m., Warehouse Theatre, free, 442-2211

Pippin Before its Broadway success, Pippin was originally created as a student musical. This month, it’s coming full circle as the women of Stephens College put on their version of one prince’s journey. May 3–4, 9–10, 7:30 p.m.; May 5, 2 p.m., Macklanburg Playhouse, $7–18, 876-7199 Alice in Wonderland Although The Warehouse Theatre Company is known for its avant-garde performances, this month it’s sticking to the classics. Sit back and enjoy a family-friendly rendition of Alice in Wonderland where the characters will be giving hugs and posing for photographs afterward. May 3–4, 7 p.m.; May 4–5, 2 p.m., Warehouse Theater, $12; $7 children, 449-4536 Free Comic Book Day 2019 The name pretty much says it all.

Show up at Distant Planet Comics and Collectibles, and you get up to three free comic books on this annual holiday. Plus, you can break out that Superman costume you’ve been waiting for an excuse to wear. May 4, 10 a.m., Distant Planet Comics and Collectibles, free, 228-6537 Movies in the Park Do you want to cry in a public park?

Good news. Columbia Parks and Recreation is kicking off the 2019 season of free movies in the park

CIVIC

with The Greatest Showman, the Oscar-nominated, tear-jerking musical based on the life of P.T. Barnum. May 10, 8:30 p.m., Cosmo Park, free, 874-6341 The Frog Prince We all know the saying, “You have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince.” Well, time to teach your children where it all started during the Missoula Children’s Theatre production of The Frog Prince. May 11, 3 and 6 p.m., Jesse Auditorium, $15; $10 children, 882-3781 Pete Lee Comedian Pete Lee came from the Midwest but made it big time. He was the first stand-up comedian to receive a standing ovation on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

Now, he’s returning to his roots and performing at The Blue Note as part of its new CoMo Comedy Club series.

May 12, 6 p.m., The Blue Note, $20, 874-1944

Photography by Amy Stroth/Archive

Dancing with Missouri Stars Have you always wanted to go to a live taping of Dancing with the Stars?

Now you can — kind of. Missouri Contemporary Ballet is putting on its 13th annual Dancing with Missouri Stars, where local celebrity dancers strut their stuff. May 16, 7 p.m., Holiday Inn Expo Center, $15 students; $20 adults, 219-7134 Zero Tucks Given There’s no better way to celebrate finishing college than attending a drag king show. Luckily, Yin Yang is hosting a graduation-themed performance featuring Spikey Van Dykey, Dickie Rebellion and local drag kings to celebrate the accomplishments of recent grads. May 17, 10 p.m., Yin Yang Night Club, $10–25, 303-5663 Masks & Laughs Mask on, mask off. The target audience of this free, family-friendly play won’t get that reference, but their parents sure will. Come see the

DON’T MISS IT Truck enthusiasts, unite! Have a field day at the Target parking lot in the Columbia Mall, where rain or shine, guests are invited to check out trucks and other vehicles of all shapes and sizes for some admiring, climbing, sitting in and horn honking. May 1, 4–7 p.m., Columbia Mall, Target parking lot, free, 874-7460

2nd Annual Mental Health Awareness Event Logboat Brewing Company is joining in the fight to end mental-health stigma, and you can, too. At the second annual Share the Load of Mental Health event, there will be vendors providing education and awareness, a weightlifting exhibition, music, entertainment and activities for children and families. May 3, 5–8 p.m., Logboat Brewing Company, free, 673-1494 Luau with Your Furry Friends Grab matching hula skirts for you and your dog, and run over to Rock Bridge Animal Hospital for the Pet Luau. You can bring your children and family to this evening full of food, games, water gun races, raffles and face painting.

May 3, 6–8 p.m., Rock Bridge Animal Hospital, free, 443-4501 CoMo Wellness Conference Sara Gottfried is curing old age. OK, not quite. But the author of several New York Times bestselling books is speaking at the third annual CoMo Wellness Conference, and her specialty is in working with her patients to identify how changes in VOX MAGAZINE • MAY 2019

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Bad Decisions, a rap-centered three-man band currently working on an album to follow its successful EP. May 1, 8 p.m., The Blue Note, $12–15 in advance; $18 day of show, 874-1944

their lifestyles can affect their aging and overall wellness. May 4, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., The Crossing, $52–72, 256-4410 Leadercast CoMo 2019 Are your leadership skills lacking? Try taking part in the Leadercast conference, an all-day conference that will break down who and what makes a great manager. May 10, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., The Crossing, $76, 256-4410

The Ghost Wolves and Special Guest The Ghost Wolves are coming to Columbia with a unparalleled sound of haunted southwestern Gothic wilderness in tow. Need to catch up before the show? Seek out its 2017 album, Texa$ Platinum. May 1, 8:30 p.m., Rose Music Hall, $7, 874-1944

Family Fun Fest: Kindness Carnival Spend your whole day devoted to being a good person at the Kindness Carnival. You and other like-minded individuals can watch live performances, participate in art activities, and get your face painted. Plus, it’s highly unlikely that someone will pop your balloons. May 15, 6–8 p.m., Cosmo Park, Free, 874-7460

Daredevils Invade Columbia When trying to define what genre the Ozark Mountain Daredevils fit into, the only logical answer isn’t an answer at all. The band is as genreless as they come, mixing bluegrass, gospel, acoustic country and southern rock ‘n’ roll. It’s a show that can’t be described, making it a must-see.

May 3, 7 p.m., Missouri Theatre, $53–93, 882-3781

Have Fun in Burma Author Rosalie Metro will discuss her book, Have Fun in Burma: A Novel, which explores the complex history of and current violence in the country now called Myanmar. May 18, 10:30 a.m., Boone County History and Culture Center, free, 443-8936 Princess Tea Party If Moana really struck a chord with you, you can now meet her — or, an adult paid to dress like her. At TRYPS Children’s Theater’s Princess Tea Party, you have the chance to take photos and sing and dance with Moana and all the royal friends.

Don’t worry: It’s for all ages. May 19, 1–3 p.m., The Elk’s Lodge, $20, 449-4536

FOOD Bur Oak Brewing Company Summer Kick-Off Itching to debate whether “bags” or “cornhole” is the correct name for your favorite outdoor game? Look no further. At Bur Oak’s Summer Kick-Off, there will be a cornhole (or bags) tournament, food trucks galore and live music to celebrate the sunny season. May 2, 5:30–9 p.m., Bur Oak Brewing Company, Free, 814-2178

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Empty Bowls Enjoy a free meal of soup and bread in support of the Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture at its Empty Bowls event. All donations will go to the Planting for the Pantry Program, which works to secure hunger relief and empower others to grow their own food. May 10, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 4–7 p.m., MU Health Care Pavilion, 514-4174 Missouri Fire Service Charity BBQ Smoke-Out This event might be the only time firefighters actually enjoy seeing smoke. At this full-day charity event, two teams of firefighters will compete in a rib cook-off for the chance to receive the title of Best Ribs in Missouri. More importantly, all proceeds will go to the Firefighter Cancer Support Network and the Missouri Firefighters Museum project. May 11, 12–6

VOX MAGAZINE • MAY 2019

p.m., Mid America Harley-Davidson, $12–200, 999-6000 Women, Wine & Wellness Usually at a chiropractor’s office, you realign your body. Other times, though, you drink wine and eat a boatload of appetizers while raising money for a good cause. If the latter sounds fun to you and you’re a woman, then Women, Wine & Wellness night at Achieve Balance Chiropractic is for you.

May 17, 6–8 p.m., Achieve Balance Chiropractic, $10, 442-5520

MUSIC Marc Rebillet and Friends Come to CoMo The Dallas-based DJ is bringing his creative production techniques to Columbia, but he won’t be alone. Rebillet will be joined by Diggy Splash and The

DON’T MISS IT Country music legend Kenny Chesney takes over Mizzou Arena just before the semester ends.

The tour is in support of his 2018 album, Songs for the Saints, and it is sure to rattle the bleachers with his southern sound. May 2, 7 p.m., Mizzou Arena, $27-57, 8826501

Cassadee Pope: CMT Next Women of Country Tour Independent recording artist and country music star Cassadee Pope ditched her old label to release music on her own terms. Now, she’s heading out on tour to promote and perform tracks from her newest album and is bringing Clare Dunn and Hannah Ellis along for the ride. May 4, 8:30 p.m., The Blue Note, $15, 874-1944 Scarlett O’Hara ft. Various Artists Scarlett O’Hara, a five-piece band, recently released a new LP Welcome Back to the Brodeo, and to celebrate, it’s bringing four more bands on tour with it. There’s no good reason to miss that. May 7, 7:30 p.m., Rose Park, $8, 874-1944 Sister Hazel This Gainesville, Florida, group has been on your radio for years since its 1997 song “All For You” was a smash hit. But that’s not all the band’s got — its new album, Fire, was released earlier this year, and now the band is going on tour to share it live. May 10, 9 p.m., The Blue Note, $15 floor; $20 reserved balcony, 874-1944 Photography courtesy of AP Images

CALENDAR

Sad and Glad at Once Karen Meat, a band that firmly believes that pop songs can be both sad and fun, is bringing its 1960s girl-pop vocals to Cafe Berlin in support of its recent project, She’s Drunk Like The Rest Of Us. May 11, 8 p.m., Cafe Berlin, all ages, $5, 441-0400

Special dayS deServe Special mealS Brunch at the Berg!

Sofar Sounds Have you ever been meandering a random venue and thought, “I wish I could see a concert here.” You might be in luck. Sofar Sounds next show is coming up, and the venue could be anywhere. You won’t find out where it is or who is playing until the day before.

May 17, 8 p.m., TBD, $20, sofarsounds.com/ columbia-mo Flow Steadily Steady Flow, a band from the Midwest, is best known for bringing a new type of sound to genre of funk. After all, it has been described as “the future of funk” by Rose Music Hall. Plus, CoMo’s own Dumpster Kitty will be there to get the crowd warmed up. May 17, 9 p.m., Rose Music Hall, $8, 874-1944 Steven Curtis Chapman Take yourself to church with Steven Curtis Chapman, one of the most successful artists in the Christian music scene. He brings five Grammys, an American Music Award and 48 No. 1 singles to Columbia (not physically, probably), along with his new album, Deeper Roots: Where the Bluegrass Grows.

May 18, 7:30 p.m., The Blue Note, $52 general admission, 874-1944 Fleetwood Mac Tribute: Orchard Fire “Go Your Own Way” down to Rose Park for this Orchard Fire homage to one of the greatest bands of all time. “Don’t Stop” groovin’ to the tribute band and its opener, the Jessy Johnsen Band, as a “Landslide” of great tunes rain down. This show will be so off “The Chain,” you’ll have beautiful “Dreams” about it. May 18, 8 p.m., Rose Park, $6 in advance; $8 day of, 874-1944 Dream Chambers and Eve Maret at Cafe Berlin Get weird with experimental pop music outfit Dream Chambers at this free Cafe Berlin show, featuring Eve Maret and her recently released pop album, No More Running. The show is for all ages.

May 24, 9 p.m., Cafe Berlin, Free, 441-0400 Buckcherry: A Summerfest Concert Event Remember that one song by Buckcherry that was popular in, like, 2008? Well, you’re in luck. Chances are high that they will perform said song at its raucous Summerfest show with support from Joyous Wolf. May 31, 7 p.m., Rose Park, $25, 874-1944

Sunday Brunch Buffet 10 am - 1pm Mother’s Day - May 12th Graduation - May 19th 410 S 9th Street | Columbia 573-449-6927

www.theheidelberg.com

Steven Tharp

Alison Robuck

Spring Night An Evening of Romances

Maria Trevor

Music for Harp, String Quartet, Oboe, Tenor & Piano

7 pm 6:45pm Pre-Concert

Friday, May 3, 2019 First Baptist Church

1112 E Broadway in Columbia

$20 Gen /$10 Student | 573.825.0079 | OdysseyMissouri.org

Esterhazy Quartet VOX MAGAZINE • MAY 2019

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CALENDAR

SPORTS

May 1 | 4-7 p.m.

Columbia Mall - Target Wing Parking Lot Trucks and other vehicles of all shapes and sizes will be on display for admiring, climbing, sitting in, and horn honking! This event is held rain or shine and is FREE for all.

Jumpstart Spark a Life 5K Not all children begin races on equal footing. Join Jumpstart in helping close the socioeconomic gap that children living in poverty face when entering school through this 5K race.

Raise money for a great cause, and get a free T-shirt in the process. May 4, Flat Branch Park, 9–11 a.m., $30 registration, 864-9161 El Chupacabra Grondo Ditch the tequila and appropriation usually affiliated with Cinco de Mayo, and instead bike your heart out with this 63-mile gravel grind. The course runs from Bur Oak Brewery through Callaway and Audrain counties and back into Columbia on I-70 Drive. May 5, 8:30 a.m., Bur Oak Brewery, $30, 814-2178

This event is coordinated by:

Sponsored By:

M

MISSOURIAN

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It’s not just radio, it’s community radio.

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Mizzou Baseball vs. Florida The Tigers hope to continue their successful season on the diamond against the Gators. Head over to Taylor Stadium to take in a day at the ballpark before the team heads to the SEC tournament. May 18, 2 p.m., Taylor Stadium, tickets vary, 882-6501 The Hairy Hundred If the 63-mile course of El Chupacabra Grondo is too short for you, consider the aptly named Hairy Hundred, a 100-mile gravel riding event that begins and ends at Katfish Katy’s. Afterward, reward yourself with a meal from The Station House.

May 19, 8 a.m., Katfish Katy’s, $30–40, 424-5973 Golf Classic for Kids Tee off at this event sponsored by Great Circle to support local children’s mental-health needs. Can’t drive a ball into the ocean? No worries, there’ll be other games, awards and a bar. May 20, 10 a.m., Columbia Country Club, $375–1,500, 442-8331 MKT Secret Access Trail Ride If you’re new to biking, take it easy with this 10-mile round trip ride. Over the course of the ride, you’ll be taught the ins and outs of the MKT Trail (photo above). It will also highlight access to neighborhoods and popular retail locations.

May 21, 6:30–8 p.m., meet at Flat Branch Park, ages 16+, Free, 874-7460

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VOX MAGAZINE • MAY 2019

Photography by Liv Paggiarino/Archive

photo finish

Look out below!

PHOTOGRAPHY BY HILLARY TAN Firefighters Chris Spurling and Kyle Schuster pour boxes of Easter eggs off of the firetruck’s ladder as part of the first-ever Egg-A-Palooza at Cosmo Park. Volunteers spread some of the roughly 10,000 eggs around the park before the big drop so all the plastic eggs weren’t clustered under the ladder. The event also featured crafts, food trucks and, of course, the Easter bunny.

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