| Arts
& Humanities
Lake Superior Theatre kicks off season with Lake Stories
Perhaps the oldest Yooper joke of all is: The U.P. has nine months of winter and three months of tough sledding. All the more reason that when we have to turn on the heat in mid-June, we anticipate summer with such fervor.
As a kid growing up in the U.P., summer meant water sports and beach fires…and, being on the big lake.
We lived for blissful sunsets and those days when the bugs blew away to Canada with a warm wind. It was the way we all learned self-reliance and how to survive out of our comfort zone. (You don’t get that from video games—maybe that is why Yooper kids are such high achievers.)
Speaking of achievements, LST held its twelfth annual Lightkeeper event in June at Point Loma, the home of Audrey and Peter Kaufman. Guests enjoyed the spectacular views while they spent the evening “sipping, supping and socializing” in anticipation of the season ahead. They were treated to a sneak preview of the coming shows.
LST is pleased to announce the money generated by the fundraiser, in addition to helping keep ticket prices affordable, is being used to obtain an alternative to the Porta Potties that greeted theatre patrons in the past.
At the event, the winners of the Lake Stories contest were announced. While all of the stories were incredibly moving and will take their place in the preshow fire pit and the program stories, the three selected by the cast were deemed best fit for the show. Constance Arnold, Judy Baldwin, and Tom Feldhusen wrote heartfelt stories about being on the big lake on kayaks, loving the rocks and an annual surprise birthday party.
We look forward to celebrating their memories during the run of Lake Stories.
The Lake Stories contest was so much fun and generated such great stories that we decided to have a second story contest for Last 5 Years.
If your love has stood the test of time (or even if it hasn’t), share your story with us.
Lake Superior Theatre, the Marquette Monthly and Richardson Jewelers announce the “Share Your Love Stories” contest.
In conjunction with the LST production of the elegantly crafted musical The Last 5 Years, you are invited to share your love story.
The LST performance tells the story of Cathy, an aspiring actress, and Jamie, an up-and-coming author, as they travel between the ecstasy of hope and the ache of reality. With the focus on The Last 5 Years, a watch will be a part of the story performed by talented veterans Denise Clark and Jeff Spencer.
Share your love story and win the lady’s Pulsar watch with Swarovski crystal accents donated by Richardson Jewelers and valued at approximately $150.
Additionally, the winning story will be included in the program and the watch will be awarded to the winner at the conclusion of the last performance.
The rules are simple. Submit your love story to Marquette Monthly (810 North Third Street, Marquette MI 49855), or e-mail to LST7625@ yahoo.com
And, please include your contact information so we can reach you.
Of course the story should include nothing that would be out of place in a PG-13 movie.
The deadline for entries is July 24, 2010 and the judges for the contest will be the cast of the show and director Jacqueline Love.
Don’t you just love all that love?
…And, the lovely memories of Little Women. In true Yooper fashion, the cast came together from many areas of the country to participate in this compelling show.
The cast features an equity actress coming home and is packed with incredible talent, a tribute to the generations who have read the story and those who will sing it at LST. This fast moving musical version of Little Women is worthy of applause.
And, applause is due the production of Twelfth Night.
Imagine experiencing Lake Superior’s waves and winds as the cast sails into the show on the national historic schooner, the Coaster II. Niko Economides purchased Coaster II in 2007. It has a history spanning more than seventy-five years on the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, both sides of the equator, and now on the Great Lakes.
If you love maritime adventures, Shakespeare, or, just love a good time, set sail for Twelfth Night.
We do love our lake and are pleased we will be collaborating with the Lake Superior Binational Forum this year to celebrate Lake Superior Day. The Lake Superior Forum is a stakeholder group of U.S. and Canadian volunteers who work together to provide input to governments about lake issues, and educate basin residents about ways to protect and restore the lake.
The event is held annually on the third Sunday in July. (July 18 will be the final performance of Lake Stories).
While celebrating Lake Superior Day during the run of the show (indeed during the summer season) we will pay particular honor to our Great Lake on July 18.
We encourage you to do something that symbolizes your own connection to the lake on that day…and we know given the creativeness and special connections to the lake that were provided during the Lake Stories contest, you will come up with many great ideas to celebrate the unique world treasure we have right here on our doorstep.
This year’s theme is, “Let’s Go Fly A Kite!” to symbolize clean energy sources, such as wind power.
Bring your kite to the Lower Harbor on July 18 or just come that evening and enjoy the unique vista.
You can get more ideas at www.superiorforum.org (click on the Lake Superior Day button). You can e-mail the forum at lakesuperiorday@northland.edu or call (715)682-1489.
As we look out on the beloved lake during the transition of the boat house into a theatre with rehearsals and performances, we hope we can educate and entertain everyone about lake issues. Our recreational opportunities and special places are due in no small part to our cherished great water body, so we invite you to cherish the lake.
In addition to the special season finale on August 18 through 20 of The Lion, the Slave and the Rodent, the boat house will be rocking on August 9 and 10, with a special concert featuring Adam Whittington.
Tickets can be purchased at the LST box office or the City of Marquette Arts & Culture Center Gift Shop. Due to limited seating available, now is the time to get your tickets.
Whittington’s music will be the centerpiece of the evening, but music will just be part of the event.
“It’s going to be more than the music,” Whittington said. “It will be a visual experience as well, utilizing the professional light and sound systems at LST.”
Terrific music at a unique location…Adam invites you to Dream Big and Live It.
One final special season event will take place on August 22. LST will collaborate with Child and Family Services of Marquette to bring you a sequel to Orphan Train. While it still is in the planning stages, we know it will look at the history of foster care, all the way from the Orphan Trains at the turn of the century, to the modern-day story of a girl who faces the challenges of switching homes three times in seven years to reach her ultimate goal: getting into college.
Find details about this performance by visiting www.lakesuperiortheatre.com
The 2010 season again features our Drama and Dreams Playscape Summer Camp, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on August 16 through 19. Enrollment reservations are recommended as space is limited and due to the success of last year’s camp a waiting list is expected. Children with special needs are particularly encouraged to enroll in this one-week theatre camp, where they will work on socialization and communication skills as they learn about theatre, costume and set design, stage make-up, facial expression, voice projection, team building and leadership. Students will sing, tell stories, read poetry, and develop a live performance for family and friends on the evening of August 19. The last day of camp will feature an optional final session and award celebration. Cost is $40 and each child will receive a T-shirt for the final performance.
Instructors will be Rob Shirlin and Monica Nordeen, who received kudos from parents last year.
The camp has been funded this year by a mini-grant from the CUPPAD Regional Commission and support from the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs. This enables LST to offer needs-based scholarships.
For more information and to enroll, contact the Marquette Arts & Culture Center at 228-0472 or art@mqtcty.org
Call to volunteer or if you would like to learn more about Playscape and its opportunities for a group. We are particularly grateful to our grantors: the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs (a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts) and the CUPPAD Regional Commission.
Join LST as we launch our twelfth season of laughing, listening, loving, lingering, longing and leaping. Visit www.lakesuperiortheatre.com or stop by the ticket office in the lower harbor (open daily from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 to 7:00 p.m.) or call 227-ROCK (7625) for the best seat in the house. You will find incredible talent and an amazing vista to enjoy before and after the show. Become a character in our 2010 season and write some new history with family and friends at LST.
—Peggy Frazier
Public libraries aren’t free
Andrew Carnegie used his millions to establish more than 2,500 public libraries around the world. Depending on your viewpoint, he was a sinner or a saint. Carnegie came to the United States with his parents as a young child. He worked odd jobs as a young man, finally rising to prominence as the founder of Carnegie Steel Corporation. He later sold his interests to J.P. Morgan, who merged it with his company, U.S. Steel.
The first Carnegie library was built in his hometown of Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland in 1883. At the beginning of the Carnegie library program, it was limited to places in which Carnegie had an interest or connection. After selling Carnegie Steel, he expanded the program to communities that qualified. The Carnegie Formula was developed to qualify a community for a library. The community must demonstrate the need for a public library, provide a suitable building site, agree to provide an amount of at least ten percent of the building cost for annual operations and provide free service to all. Many of these libraries were open on Sundays, so families could make use of the facilities. Communities did need to make a significant contribution to the construction and operation of a Carnegie library.
Unfortunately, this connection between Andrew Carnegie and public library service has led many people to believe that Carnegie libraries also were endowed with Carnegie funds to operate them in perpetuity. This is not the case, and many people never stop to think about how public libraries are funded. They are surprised to find out most public libraries are operated using public funds generated by taxes, just like police and fire departments, water delivery and treatment plants or recreation programs.
During my thirty years in the library business, I have been amazed by the misconceptions many people hold about public libraries. At one time, while giving a tour to a local civic group, I was asked how we made sure we had enough people “show up” to operate the library? I was confused, and it took some discussion with the questioner to realize she was under the impression that library workers were volunteers who just showed up to work in the library. She was amazed to realize the workers were paid and often required to meet certain educational and degree requirements in order to gain library employment.
On another tour, I was explaining the laborious task of selecting, ordering, processing and circulating materials. A member of the tour group said, “Well aren’t all of these books free?” He did not realize that the majority of the items in our collection had been selected and purchased. Apparently, he was under the impression that books just arrived during the dark of night, got themselves ready to be put on the shelves and plopped down in the appropriate area. He was amazed to find the library had to pay for books, lights, heat, garbage services, snowplowing, water and other operational expenses just like everyone else. I attribute this phenomena to Carnegie largess. People think libraries are free and they operate mysteriously free of investment or financial support.
Many people think there is a never-ending flow of money to public libraries from the U.S. and Michigan governments. This is untrue. Any federal funds local libraries receive are awarded through competitive grant programs, generally passed through state agencies. With the budget crisis in the State of Michigan, many agencies are receiving less federal money, and trying to keep more of these funds for their own use. Library Services Construction Act (LSCA) funds used to be available for the construction of library facilities. This federal program was changed in the 1990s to be the Library Services Technology Act (LSTA) focusing on developing technology projects. The Library of Michigan receives LSTA funds, and they are used to operate the Michigan Electronic Library (MEL) and the statewide interlibrary loan, delivery and catalog project MelCat. Both programs are extremely valuable to all types of libraries in Michigan, and the library community is praying this funding is maintained.
The State of Michigan approved legislation to fund public libraries in 1979. This Act specified that qualifying public libraries would receive three state aid payments of fifty cents for each resident of the library’s service area each year. This resulted in annual State aid payments of $1.50 per person. Peter White Public Library’s legal service area is 36,145 people. According to state statute, state aid should total $54,217.50 annually. Due to budget cuts, Michigan libraries currently are receiving nineteen cents of the fifty-cent payment or fifty seven cents per person. State aid has been cut sixty-two percent. To compound the reduction of state aid is the fact that Michigan is no longer issuing payments according to schedule. Public libraries cannot count on receiving the state aid they are entitled to by state law when it is to be paid.
Residents of Marquette County are blessed to have six public libraries serving their needs. The Richmond Public Library in Palmer; Republic/Michigamme School Public Library in Republic; Forsyth Township Library in Gwinn; Negaunee Public Library in Negaunee; Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library in Ishpeming and Peter White Public Library in Marquette. Each of these libraries serves a specific geographic area. All of these libraries participate in MichiCard, a statewide reciprocal borrowing program. This allows residents of the service area of one library to request a MichiCard that can be used to check out print materials at other libraries in Marquette County as well as the State of Michigan. Due to state funding cuts, the MichiCard program will not be funded after September 30, 2010. When fully funded, the program guaranteed libraries they would be reimbursed for any items borrowed by a MichiCard patron, but not returned. Peter White Public Library averages $500 per year in lost MichiCard items.
Local libraries are discussing whether or not to continue in the MichiCard program once the financial incentive to do so is removed. On one hand, libraries want to provide access to their collections, on the other, they have to safeguard their collections. Money to purchase books, compact discs, DVDs, newspapers, magazines and other items is getting harder and harder to come by. The loss of $500 in materials is devastating, and many libraries do not have funds to replace lost items.
Public libraries traditionally have strived to spend fifteen percent of their operating budget on materials. Unfortunately, this level of materials spending is rarely attained. Peter White Public Library spends nine to eleven percent on materials annually. As the Board of Trustees struggles to fund all programs and services, materials generally come out on the short end. If you don’t buy books, people may notice, but not as easily as they would notice the results of failing to pay the electric bill. I have never had a donor ask to pay for the monthly electric bill, but donors do like to buy books, magazines and equipment. Stuff they can see and hold is a lot more appealing than water, gas or electricity. It is interesting to note the yearly cost of utilities for Peter White Public Library exceeds the annual materials budget.
Peter White Public Library and Forsyth Township Library are the only libraries in Marquette County with dedicated millage funding. Voters in Forsyth Township approved a one-half mill tax to support the library in 2008. This millage generates approximately $70,000 to fund the library each year.
Peter White Public Library was established in 1891. At that time, voters approved a one mill tax on real and personal property to fund the library. In 1929, that amount was increased an additional half a mill by voters. Prior to 1992, Peter White Public Library was supported by the City of Marquette, yet one-third of the use was generated by nonresidents. In 1992 and 1993, one-mill levies were approved in Chocolay, Marquette, Sands and West Branch Townships. Skandia Township voters approved a millage in 2002.
A dedicated library millage has become very important in this day of shrinking budgets. Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library and Negaunee Public Library both receive appropriations from their city government to operate the library. Both entities serve residents who live outside of the city boundaries, generally without adequate funding from the cities or villages where they live. These nonresidents are getting a free ride at the expense of taxpayers from Negaunee and Ishpeming.
City commissioners struggle to balance their budgets and to determine which city services they can fund. It is not that most commissioners do not like or support libraries—they have difficult choices to make. What if they cut funding for the fire department and a child dies in a house fire? That is a horrific example. Library supporters cannot make the same graphic illustration, but what is the worth of a child’s mind? Do we all subscribe to the same conviction as Andrew Carnegie that “those, who being most anxious and able to help themselves, deserve and will be benefited by help from others” in the form of a public library? If that child does not have access to a public library will he be able to pull himself up by the bootstraps and someday found a Microsoft, Carnegie Steel or eBay? I can assure that more children are impacted on a daily basis by the public library than are children affected by house fires.
This does not mean that city commissioners should direct all fire department funding to public libraries, but it does mean that commissioners should recognize that adequate funding for both services is imperative and must be creatively assured.
I often use the fire department adage to explain how libraries are funded to people who question why they are not entitled to use Peter White Public Library. I had a very nice resident of Negaunee Township visit me one day. He was irritated that he was required to visit Negaunee Public Library to get a library card and MichiCard endorsement, so he could use Peter White Public Library. He did not understand why he had to go the extra step of visiting the library that legally served him to get a card. I finally said, “If your house was on fire, who would you call?” He said he would call the Negaunee Township Fire Department, of course. I then asked “Why wouldn’t you call the City of Marquette Fire Department?” He answered exasperatedly, “Because I don’t pay taxes to support the City of Marquette Fire Department.”
I then explained that Negaunee Township has contracted with the Negaunee Public Library for library services, not Peter White Public Library. Suddenly, it all became clear to him. He was another person who thought, just because a library is called a public library, its services were free to anyone who wandered through the door.
The Lake Superior Community Partnership is working with the cities of Negaunee and Ishpeming as well as other west end entities to explore alternative methods of funding for the second and third largest public libraries in Marquette County. A West End District Library committee has been meeting for more than two years to discuss ways library services could be organized and funded for the benefit of west end citizens. The group wants to ensure that library services continue, and all interested parties share equally in funding those services.
District libraries are established according to state statute. The district library is a legal entity that serves two or more governmental units. A district library must be approved by voters of the participating entities, and a defined millage rate for operations is specified in the ballot question. Board members can be appointed or elected. Establishing a district library is a practical solution to equitable library funding and operation. The West End group has explored a number of district library scenarios. The next step is for city and township board members to support the concept and move forward.
Andrew Carnegie’s support of public libraries in the late 1800s and early 1900s established a legacy unsurpassed today. This legacy once again needs the support of residents and municipalities, so public libraries can flourish and enrich the lives of those they serve.
—Pam Christensen
Vertigo theatre company finding a niché in Marquette
Over the past three years, The Vertigo Theatre Company (VTC) has brought an appreciation and revived interest in community theater to the Marquette area. With a variety of shows under their collective belts and performances in many venues in Marquette, it has been a challenge. With time and dedication comes success. VTC consists of local performers Jeff Spencer, Jacqueline Love and Jessica “Red” Bays.
Many people throughout the region might recognize these three performers and directors or remember their work. Their individual accomplishments are extraordinary and noteworthy.
Originally from Elkhart (Indiana), Spencer graduated from Indiana University-Bloomington in 1989 with a degree in theatre and drama. While there, he appeared on the mainstage in Macbeth, Little Shop of Horrors, Cloud Nine, The Misanthrope and The Oresteia. He also did quite a bit of work in the black box setting, including roles in Twelfth Night and Julius Caesar, and originated the role of Frank in The Yoofo Club. Since moving to Marquette and making his local debut in the PAAC’s Godspell, Spencer has become a staple of the Lake Superior Theatre stage, where he has been seen as Rutledge in 1776, Pseudolus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Moonface in Anything Goes, Bill in Keepers of the Light, and Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He played the role of Howie in Vertigo’s debut production, Rabbit Hole. Most recently Spencer was seen in the title of Macbeth in the VTC production. He serves on the First Nighters Club advisory board, the board for Lake Superior Theatre, and as drama club adviser and director at Marquette Senior High School. The public will recognize Spencer at the front desk of the Holiday Inn in Marquette.
An NMU alum, Jessica “Red” Bays graduated in 2001 with a major in English and minor in theatre. While attending Northern, she appeared in many mainstage productions including Three Sisters, MASH, Top Girls, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Dracula, Good Woman of Szechuan and Much Ado About Nothing. From 1999 to 2001, she toured the United States with “Poetry Alive,” dramatizing poetry at both collegiate and high school levels. In 2002, she was a world premiere member of George Sapio’s Playwriting Award Winner, Ghosts, which earned her an Irene Ryan nomination. While acting professionally in Lansing, Bays was cast as Ouisa Kittredge in Six Degrees of Separation, and was nominated for a Pulsar Award for best leading actress for her interpretation of the role. This role also caught the eye of the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, and she was chosen to headline the 2006 “Night of Scenes” as Ouisa.
Since her return to Marquette, Bays has appeared in Lake Superior Theatre’s production of Proof as Claire, NMU’s production of Cat on A Hot Tin Roof as Big Mama, Vertigo’s premier production of Rabbit Hole as Becca, and most recently, as Lady Macbeth in Macbeth. She serves on the First Nighters Club advisory board and works at the Marquette Arts and Culture Center. She was awarded the 2009 Marquette County Arts Award for “Outstanding Performance Artist.”
Last, but certainly not least is Jacqueline Love, a summa cum laude graduate of NMU with a double major in theatre and graduate-bound English. She was named outstanding graduate in theatre, and was the first recipient of the Dr. James L. Rapport Theatre Scholarship. While completing her education, Love appeared in such shows as Lysistrata, Fiddler on the Roof, Top Girls and Three Sisters, in addition to numerous lab shows and staged readings. After graduation, she completed a graduate artistic internship at Forest Roberts Theatre, coordinating the Panowski Playwrighting Competition and serving as FRT’s house manager.
Since then, Love has continued to be active in theatre, working with Lake Superior Theatre on productions of Beacon on the Rock, Haywire and Proof. Love’s work with various local arts groups earned her the Marquette Arts & Culture Center award for Outstanding Arts Volunteer in 2005. In September 2008, Love was seen in the Vertigo debut production of Rabbit Hole, and tackled the role of Helen in Neil LaBute’s Fat Pig. Most recently, she was seen as Lady Macduff in VTC’s production of Macbeth. Love is a member of the First Nighters Club advisory board, and continues to be active with the Marquette Arts and Culture Center. Currently, she is employed at Pathways in Marquette.
With a three-some of this caliber why are people still asking “Who or what is VTC?” The explanation is simple. Performing in a variety of found spaces and venues in the Marquette area has been a challenge and VTC’s goal is to find a permanent home and eventually have a steady and renewable patron list. With the help of several area theatres, Vertigo is well on its way to becoming Marquette’s only year-round community theater group.
Vertigo Theatre Company strives to produce theatre that is both thought-provoking and of the highest quality. Ultimately, its performers want both artists and audiences to come away from a performance challenged and enriched.
This summer, residents can see the VTC production of The Last 5 Years—at The Lake Superior Theatre Boathouse. This musical is something like a modern I Do I Do. It is an elegantly crafted chamber musical centered around two characters. This couple simultaneously tells the story of their relationship—one from start to finish, the other from finish to start. With Spencer and Denise Clark as the performers traveling between ecstasy of hope and ache of reality, this will be a special show. It is the first Vertigo collaboration with LST.
On the Web site, VTC notes that: “Here in Marquette, we are fortunate to have an embarrassment of riches with regard to theatre. There are groups that produce children’s theatre, community theatre, historical musicals, and family fare. Northern Michigan University also has an excellent theatre program that produces quality shows. But there wasn’t a venue for adults to be cast in age-appropriate roles, in drama geared toward adults. Vertigo was formed to fill that void. When you see a Vertigo show, you'll see something you won’t see anywhere else.”
For details, visit www.vertigotheatre company.art.officelive.com
—Bobby Glenn Brown
Marquette plays host to multiple summer festivals
The month of July is a busy one for Marquette arts, music and community supporters, as four major events are taking place. The Hiawatha Music Festival, the Blueberry Festival and Blueberry Dance Festival, and Art on the Rocks not only draw in attendees from the state and region, but are traditions for local residents to enjoy. Here’s a rundown on what’s new with each event and what to expect this year.
Hiawatha Traditional Music Festival
This year marks the thirty-second time the Hiawatha Traditional Music Festival has brought musicians and fans together in the Marquette area, and as usual for the last few decades, it will be held at Tourist Park. It’s scheduled for the weekend of July 16 to 18, and advance tickets are available until 6:00 p.m. on July 13.
Festival coordinator Maggie Morgan said attendees won’t see any major changes this year, although minor changes have been made to improve traffic flow through the park.
The major draw at this year’s festival is the performers, which include Big Medicine and Bryan Bowers as headliners, but also Hot Club of Cowtown, Dixie Bee-Liners, Green Grass Cloggers, The Elder Bullies, Fishtank Ensemble, Bayou Grenouille, De Temps Antan, Claudia Schmidt and Charlie Parr, among others.
“Every year, we just all think it’s the best lineup we’ve ever had,” Morgan said. Some of the performers are old favorites coming back, like Hot Club of Cowtown and Schmidt, while others are new to the festival, such as Bryan Bowers, who plays autoharp as well as being a singer and storyteller.
“It’s very exciting to have a performer of his caliber call us up and say he’d like to come to our little festival,” Morgan said.
The rate for adult weekend advance tickets is $60, but other prices for camping, teens, seniors, children and single-day rates are available at www.hiawathamusic.org or by calling 226-8575.
Blueberry Festival
Marquette’s downtown-based Blueberry Festival is planned for July 30 this year as an all-day event from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The locations are varied and include the Downtown and Third Street shopping districts, the Marquette Commons, and the Marquette Arts & Culture Center in Peter White Public Library.
The festival is sponsored by the Downtown Development Authority and is the ninth annual celebration.
“The streets will be bustling with sidewalk sales, food vendors, crafters and children’s activities,” said Becky Salmon of the DDA. Several blocks of Downtown streets will be closed for the festival, which also will feature arcade jumps, pony rides, and displays from the Marquette City Fire Department.
Salmon said the two main linchpins of the festival are, appropriately, blueberries, and live music. Local farmers will be selling fresh produce, including plenty of blueberries, and downtown restaurants are rolling out blueberry food specials, including blueberry ice cream and blueberry beer. Along with the theme of the festival, many shops will offer “blue” specials, Salmon added.
“New this year is the Blueberry Bead Challenge sponsored by Bella Beads,” she said.
Live music will round out the festival with the “Blueberry Jam,” held at Washington and Front streets, and featuring local bands including the Flat Broke Blues Band, Fast Eddie and Ham, Jim and Ray, and the Les Ross Sr. Band.
A youth talent show will take place at 11:00 a.m. in Downtown Marquette, featuring youth ages three to eighteen, in different age categories and a variety of talents. Auditions are scheduled for July 28 in the community room at Peter White Public Library. For details, contact Nikke Nason at 228-0472 or nnason@mqtcty.org
More information about the Blueberry Festival is available at www.downtownmarquette.org or by calling 228-9475.
Blueberry Dance Festival
The Blueberry Dance Festival is scheduled to be concurrent with the Blueberry Festival, and is sponsored by the Marquette City Arts and Culture Center and Second Skin Shop. It’s the third annual event, planned for July 29 to 31, with performances by both hip-hop and modern dance artists, and a competition drawing dancers from across the U.P.
Star performers planned for the weekend are Byron “Illastik” Reynolds and Deborah Choszczyk. Reynolds is a hip-hop artist who has worked with Pink, Ciara and Genuwine, and was featured in the movie Save the Last Dance. He’ll also conduct a hip-hop workshop. Choszczyk is the dance director at Lake Superior State University and will teach modern and improvisation classes.
Other workshops include Highland dance, salsa and Latin dance, swing, belly dance, yoga, ballet, clogging and folk dancing classes.
Nason, arts administration director for the center, said the dance festival boomed last year and this year looks like it will be just as big.
“This year, the competition at Kaufman on July 31 at 10:00 a.m., is proving to be bigger than ever with twice the amount of advance sign-ups,” Nason said.
Dancers will compete with blue-themed performances for a prize of a $200 gift certificate to Marquette’s Second Skin Shop, and the winners will perform at a ticketed evening performance on July 31. For more information, or to register, call 228-0472, e-mail nnason@mqtcty.org or visit www.mqtcty.org/arts.html
Art on the Rocks
One of the longest-running summer arts events in Marquette surely is Art on the Rocks, which is in its fifty-second year this July, sponsored by the Lake Superior Art Association.
It is the second year the juried festival will be held at the Mattson Lower Harbor Park, and is planned for July 31 and August 1. It’s at the same time as the Blueberry and Blueberry Dance festivals, which together provide a full weekend for locals and visitors.
The new location has been good to the festival, said Mary Earle, Art on the Rocks coproducer.
“The move from Presque Isle Park was a big success for both the artists and the businesses of Downtown Marquette,” she said. “Several restaurant owners stated that last year’s show brought in a record numbers of customers.”
Earle said many returning artists are going to be at the art show this year, but many new artists will be exhibiting their work as well.
A signature poster has been created for the 2010 Art on the Rocks, by invited artist Jake Jacobs Photography, as well as a logo by graphic designer Kathleen G. Webber that will be featured on a sky blue T-shirt at the show.
Webber grew up in Houghton, graduated from Houghton High School, and attended Kendall College of Art & Design in Grand Rapids and now is the owner of iDesyn Graphics LLC in Marquette.
The show also features Pebble Corner, an area of art activities for kids, and food and beverages from Vango’s in Marquette.
For details, visit www.artontherocks.org or call 249-4328 or 225-1952.
—Kim Hoyum
Festival offers varied musical fare
The Upper Peninsula is host to an enthralling variety of quality music, thanks to Pine Mountain Music Festival. This is the festival’s twentieth season, and it includes some unusually tantalizing musical fare.
Coming up in early July is “A Night of Tango!” with Stas Venglevski and his quartet, and featuring the music of Piazzolla and other Argentinean composers. Besides Stas Venglevski on the bayan (a Russian accordion), the group includes Nell Buchman on the piano, Roza Borisova on the cello and Frank Almond on the violin. Almond is the concertmaster of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and former concertmaster of the Rotterdam Philharmonic under Valery Gergiev.
The Tango concert will be on July 6 at Reynolds Recital Hall in Marquette; July 7 at Calumet Theatre; and July 9 at Crystal Theatre in Crystal Falls. Tickets are $20 for adults, and $10 for students and children.
Two chamber music groups—the Belden Piano Quartet and the violin-cello Duo Piacevole—will present seven concerts across the U.P. They will be in Ontonagon on June 30, Ironwood on July 1, Escanaba on July 5, Munising on July 6, Marquette on July 7, Iron Mountain on July 14, and Houghton on July 17. Tickets are $12 for adults, and $10 for students. These intimate concerts will showcase the purity, clarity and passion of chamber music.
The Festival’s resident opera artists will present “An Evening of Art Song” on July 9 at Grace United Methodist Church in Houghton. Tickets are $15 for adults, and $10 for students and children. This is an opportunity to hear songs from Schubert to Bernstein, many of which are favorites of the singers themselves.
Ralph Votapek returns to the festival this year to give a piano recital on July 11 in Marquette and on July 14 in Houghton. This consummate pianist was the first winner of the Van Cliburn Competition and has an active career as recitalist and guest artist with major symphony orchestras. He has appeared with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra no fewer than sixteen times, and for the last four decades he has made biannual tours to Latin America.
To climax the season, the great Verdi opera La Traviata will be performed on July 13 at Kaufman Auditorium in Marquette; July 15 at Norway-Vulcan Fine Arts Center in Norway; and July 18 at Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts in Houghton. All events are at 7:30 p.m. except the Houghton performance which is at 3:00 p.m. Tickets are $30 for adults, and $10 for students and children.
The singers for the opera will be the eight resident opera artists who were selected by nationwide auditions from more than 460 applicants. The opera will be sung in Italian, with English subtitles over the stage so the action can be easily followed. An orchestra of twenty-one will be in the pit. This opera, with its sublime music and the story of love lost and regained too late, is a favorite with experienced opera-goers and an ideal introduction for first-time opera-goers.
In addition to the July events described above, the festival already has presented a Jerome Kern and Irving Berlin Revue in five U.P. towns, the Bergonzi String Quartet in three, and a program called “In the Beginning...”, which included Evan Premo’s opera The Diaries of Adam and Eve, and a newly commissioned piece from Premo called “Oday-Daywayigun: Original Man Comes to Witness Mother Earth,” celebrating the Anishinaabe creation story.
Pine Mountain Music Festival presents a season of opera, classical and popular music each June and July in the Marquette area, the Dickinson County area, the Keweenaw Peninsula and other towns in the Upper Peninsula. Headquartered in Hancock, it is supported by donations, ticket sales and grants. Visit www.pmmf.org or call (888)309-7861 for more information, or call (877)746-3999 for tickets.
—Peter Van Pelt
Murder, money make enticing reads
Page One: Whiteout
by Nancy Barr
Nancy Barr is back with the third and final installment of her Page One mystery series, and finally, she provides an answer to the question readers have long been asking: Who killed Robin Hamilton’s fiancé, Mitch?
The main character of Barr’s Page One novels is Robin Hamilton, a newspaper reporter who worked successfully at a major newspaper in Chicago while being engaged to a police officer. After Mitch was killed in a setup, Robin decided to return home to Escanaba and work for the local newspaper. While not fully ready to face the loss of Mitch, Robin encountered a couple of other murders she investigated as a reporter, which were told in Barr’s previous novels Page One: Hit and Run and Page One: Vanished.
Now, nine months after Mitch’s death, his friend on the force, Nick Granati, a Chicago cop, tells Robin he thinks he has a lead into Mitch’s death, a lead that involves possible drug trafficking. Robin is ready to help solve her fiancé’s murder and bring his killer to justice, but she little expects the twists and turns that will occur before the crime is solved.
Robin and Nick have to go to Miami to follow up on the man they believe killed Mitch, but before they even get out of the U.P., Robin’s aunt calls to ask for help in finding one of her missing students from Bay College. When the young man is found dead and foul play clearly is involved, Robin is hesitant to let her aunt continue to investigate the student’s death while she is away, but her aunt has a tendency to do as she likes.
Meanwhile, Robin travels to Miami so to get closer to the man she believes responsible for killing Mitch. To trick this criminal into a confession, Robin disguises herself as an unhappy wife who wants her husband murdered so she can get the money from his insurance policy. At first, things go as planned and the hired killer agrees to meet with her, but is Robin a good enough actress to pull off the bluff?
The suspect list grows as more details are revealed about Mitch’s murder. While Mitch was killed by a hired gun, the question remains—who hired him? Was it the Russian immigrant who made a fortune smuggling weapons to Third World countries? The Vietnamese American who deals in heroin and cocaine? The rich bank V.P. Mitch busted for possession and soliciting? Or someone else entirely off Robin’s radar?
From Miami to Munising, Robin, Nick and Robin’s aunt experience a series of murders and crime, uncover a drug trade in the U.P. and discover Mitch’s death was tied to people within Robin’s own community. Through the process, Robin must come to terms with Mitch’s death, finally going through his journals, which she has avoided until now, so she can find clues that will lead to his killer.
The title Whiteout reflects Robin’s madcap snowmobile chase through a blizzard in her attempt to bring about justice.
Author Nancy Barr grew up in Escanaba and attended Bay de Noc Community College and Lake Superior State University. Her own career as an award-winning journalist for more than ten years informs her writing. She has worked at both the Daily Press in Escanaba and the Daily Mining Gazette in Houghton. While Whiteout is her last Page One novel, I hope many more books will spring from her pen.
Wealth Is a Choice:
How to Choose Wisely
by James Studinger, ChFC
This book’s title says it all. Wealth is a choice. No one gets rich without making the decision to do so, whether it is deciding to buy a lottery ticket or pragmatically planning for retirement. The first thing a person must do is make a conscious decision to have wealth, and then, set goals to achieve it. Of course, the goals must be realistic, which rules out the lottery.
In Wealth Is a Choice, Upper Michigan native James Studinger provides valuable advice for setting realistic goals based on his own experiences and his years of helping clients increase their wealth.
Throughout the book, Studinger relates personal experiences—his childhood in Manistique, his working for a firm that helped prison employees with managing their money in the Marquette Branch Prison, plus various firms he has worked for in Michigan, and examples of the clients he has helped grow their wealth, as well as examples of clients who did not grow wealth and what held them back. He also tells his own story of learning how to handle money so he was not in debt. Studinger began writing Wealth Is a Choice because he wanted to leave his sons a money road map should anything happen to him. That idea grew into one of the best books on money management I have read.
Wealth Is a Choice stands out for many reasons. Unlike most books about wealth that merely explain how to get out of debt and save money, Studinger truly does focus on how to grow money. Beyond just talking about stocks and mutual funds, Studinger makes it clear the ultimate goal is to figure out how much money you will need to retire and then to track your progress regularly toward that goal.
Studinger covers extensively perhaps his most important point—how to find a reliable adviser. He warns us that many advisers try to sell clients products based on how much commission they will receive rather than what is best for the client. He tells us to ask advisers upfront what the benefit is to them, while reminding us that just because one investment will pay off for the adviser more than another, it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t choose the investment that will help the adviser more; we just should choose what makes most sense for our investment needs.
Studinger tells us to ask three basic questions of advisers before we make an investment: What is the rate of return? What is the risk? What is the cost?
Studinger also suggests finding a good software program for tracking investments so you can check continually to see whether you are reaching your goals and then adjust your investing strategies accordingly.
Wealth Is a Choice is easy to read and understand. Studinger writes in a straightforward style, and his honest advice makes it clear he has the reader’s best interests at heart. Humorous cartoons throughout the book illustrate his points, as do effective comparisons, including analogies to football offense and defense and archery anchor points.
No matter your income, this book can be an invaluable tool. A person’s current income does not have to determine whether someone has the choice to become wealthy.
As Studinger points out, wealth is a choice and once you have made that choice to be wealthy, you need to make good choices with whatever amount of money you have—Wealth Is a Choice will teach you how to make those choices wisely.
—Tyler Tichelaar
Editor’s Note: Tichelaar is the author of The Marquette Trilogy. All books reviewed in this column are available in local and online bookstores, unless otherwise noted.
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