A (Random) List of David's Favorites: Part 3

I recently listed some of my memorable events in Three Oaks. Here are a few more off the top of my head:

Our community gathered to celebrate the lives of Amelia and Jim Toler. If there is a way honor the spirit of someone we love and lose, these were heartfelt and appropriate send-offs to two people who brought a lot of passion and creativity to our little town.

The community gathered and offered emotional support and love to Tim and Alberto, the owners of Bailey’s restaurant when it sadly burned down. The same support was given to Kim and me who owned the building. It was one of the worst times in our lives and we received so much kindness from our neighbors. If you ever doubt the strength of a community, going through a tragedy like this restores your faith. I hope none of you ever experience the tragedy but that you get to feel the support of your neighbors.

Watching buildings in town get lovingly restored or rebuilt such as the Featherbone

Factory (not just the Acorn portion,) the building near the library and Mike and Sarah rehabbed, Springdale (which will be reincarnated as a new venture to open very soon,) Ipso Facto, B Books, Studio B, Gallery H, and Woodpecker Property next to Ipso Facto. I hope everyone benefits from their efforts.

Wonderful sculptures appearing (and disappearing) such as the winged woman by Dessa Kirk and the three sculptures that now stand in the area between Elm Street and the Acorn Theater.

The holiday season huge animals made out of lights that were displayed across Harbor Country years ago. Putting them up was a riot. I remember a 40 foot sculpture of a goose falling on Chuck when we were trying to raise it. No one was hurt (including the art) and the process was kind of difficult but fun and rewarding. Russ from Pine Garth, Chuck from Sweethaven, James, Kim and myself from the Warren Woods Inn, along with some others, proudly erected them the first year and people had the wonderful surprise of discovering large animals made of lights in all sorts of places around the area. Art Beat Chicago did a nice piece about them on public television.

Three Oaks had a nice article in the New York Times. So did the Acorn Theater. The Acorn was also shown on three different Home and Garden shows and well as on 160 North hosted by our friend Janet Davies, Rick Kogan also featured many people from Three Oaks and the area on his radio show and his Sidewalks page in the Sunday Chicago Tribune. It’s nice when people outside of Three Oaks notice and acknowledge our little community.

A (Random) List of David's Favorites: Part 2

In my last blog post, I mentioned some highlights of my time in Three Oaks. Here are some more memorable events off the top of my head. Do you have any you would like to add to this list?

The Vickers Theatre decided to project “Cinema Paradiso” onto the side of the theater. People sat on lawn chairs, motorcycles, whatever and watched this film outdoors. The weather and sky in Three Oaks mimicked the weather and sky in the film. When the movie showed a scene where they were projecting a film on the side of a building in a small town in Italy, everyone watching at the Vickers suddenly understood why we were watching it outside projected onto the side of a building and broke into wild spontaneous applause.

The first Three Oaks “Inside Out” street fair was so much fun. Downtown shops moved their inventory outside to the street and we created a simple and fun carnival atmosphere up and down Elm Street.

B Books is often the site of creative gatherings. The one that I want to mention followed a program at the Acorn Theater where Rick Kogan and Charles Osgood interviewed people and showed photos from their first Sidewalks book. After the show, we went to B Books and hung out for awhile before moving the party to Nelson’s Saloon until they shut down. Everyone enjoyed the event so much they didn’t want it to stop so they kept it going until every place was shut down.

Music in the Park began with Shakespeare in the park performed to torchlight. It was charming and fun and anything but pretentious. I remember seeing a young couple, probably around 12 years old and on their first date enjoying the show, the boy beaming with pride that he could take this girl to something this cool and fun.

Finally, I used to love hanging out with Kim Pruitt at her Dawning Gallery. People would come and go, checking out her artwork and gift items as we chatted about everything imaginable. These were smaller moments than the other items but there is beauty in intimacy.

Our First Home Brew Competition

As posted on Jill's blog, eatit-drinkit.com

Yesterday was another monumental day in my life at the shop. I held my first ever Home Brew Competition, and it went quite well, all things considered. All things being I don’t brew, and thus didn’t think things out perfectly before setting deadlines and announcing the contest itself. However, a good number of brewers came through, and we had enough entries and judges for a particularly fun Sunday.

We opened this event to the public, which was not only fun, but highly entertaining for me. Meandering between the judges and the public was fascinating–it goes without saying the two entities did NOT agree on everything. Out of the 16 entries, I have to say I was really impressed with the quality. Sure, there were one or two that were not stand outs. But mostly, everything was not only drinkable, but rather impressive.

Trophies went to People’s Choice (a Pilsner) and the judges “Best in Show” (A Strong Scotch Ale) with a Mexican Lager and American IPA coming in 2nd and 3rd, respectively. But my favorite part of the tasting/judging? A clear “fight” between a husband and wife, both who brewed an American Pale Ale. The judges loved hers, the rest of the people enjoyed his more…for two hours, all we heard was, “anyone have any more of the wife??”

Again, I’m not a brewer…but if anything was going to inspire me to start, this was it. J and I have tossed around the idea over, and over, and over again. He has a head for math and science, and I…well, clearly, I’m at home in the kitchen. And yesterday has us contemplating what we could do differently, and the fun we’d likely have with new brews cooking in our basement.

David's Favorites...

As I sit here trying to recover from a busy week of shows, I look forward to the magic acts coming this Thursday and the Guitars of Spain coming on Saturday. Both Chris Carter and

The Guitars of Spain have been performing at the Acorn Theater ever since we were a new performance space. Looking back, here are a few of the highlights of events in Three Oaks that pop into my mind off the top of my head. I think top ten lists are passé so I’m just making a random list of memorable moments.

• Our first show in Three Oaks was in conjunction with and presented at the Vickers Theatre. It was a variety show with a number of great performers. The performer who really hit it big was David Sedaris who read from his new book, Naked. In the late show, he read one of the funniest and filthiest sections of the book. This show was probably about 14 years ago and people still talk about it.
• Springdale had some great parties but the one that I want to mention was their first outdoor bash with a great band called “Jump” (formerly Jump Little Children.) It was a great party that brought everyone together for a really fun time.
• Blue Gallery was once called Out of the Blue. Owner Sean teamed up with present owner Judy and her friend Valerie and put together a show and party that brought great energy to Three Oaks. I think of Abby Heche dancing in the gallery window. People filling the gallery and spilled out onto the street showing that there is a lot of life on the streets of downtown Three Oaks if you throw a good party.
• Amelia of “Rubbish Designs” was the mastermind and creative spirit who created a fashion show when Elm Street was torn up for reconstruction. It was an inspired evening that showcased the talents of many members of our community including emcee Donna Blue. It was also a great party. I guess I like great parties.

It is Wednesday evening and I’m resting up in anticipation of a busy weekend. We have four consecutive nights of music, each one really different. We are proud of the diversity of performers we present and these weekend highlights that range. Tomorrow, William Fitzsimmons will make his Acorn Theater debut. William is a moody singer/songwriter with melancholy songs. His music is moody and intimate. On Friday, Emile Pandolfi will return with his dramatic piano playing. His arrangements are exciting and flamboyant. He varies his tempos, dynamics, and makes even the best-known songs his own. On Saturday, the popular Other 3 Tenors return to the Acorn. They have sold out their shows in the past and we hope this year will be no exception. They have beautiful voices and you can compare and contrast the styles of these opera singers of varied backgrounds. Like Emile, they are fun and playful as well as musical, combining showmanship with musicality. Finally, the weekend will end with a concert by the charming and intimate folk style of Richie Havens. Though Woodstock may have made him famous, time has not diminished his ability to excite an audience. His stories combined with his music make you feel like you are leaving the theater with a new friend that you met at a great party.

The Rain Doesn't Stop Us!

A storm hit the Acorn Theater on Friday around 6:30 PM . . . a storm of

biblical proportions. We heard that it knocked out hundreds of thousands

of homes of power in Chicago. But as it made it way across the warm waters

of Lake Michigan, the storm gained strength.

In Three Oaks it met the Acorn Theater with particular force. The wind

and rain blew off part of our roof before we lost power. Water, water,

water. and only one mop.

With no electricity, flashlights and candles in hand, we took a cheerful

audience and enjoyed an unforgettable show. Congratulations to the

winner, Merrie Greenfield. My favorite story of hers came from the

suggestion “recalled meatballs” and her story involved an Eastern

European woman trying to get compensation for meat she used to make a huge

meatball sandwich for an American Idol finale party where everyone got

sick. Storied by candlelight turned out to be really fun and cool.

Big Vs. Little

I have mixed emotions about presenting well-known performers at the Acorn Theater. Meeting some of these people is a thrill because they are so great to be around. Shawn Mullins, Poi Dog Pondering, Peter Yarrow, and Richie Havens come to mind. If you stuck around after their shows, you got to experience firsthand how friendly they are. They also performed great shows and really excited the audience. I am looking forward to meeting Marshall Crenshaw and presenting him for the first time. Another wonderful thing about presenting the bigger names is the amount of press and buzz we receive. performers such as Lesley Gore, Nathan Gunn, Jim Brickman, Jefferson Starship, Leon Redbone, The Platters, The Pacifica Quartet, and The Cowboy Junkies garnered a lot of media attention. It is also great to have sell-out crowds and enthusiastic audiences. On the other hand, we present so many really talented performers who deserve as much attention. Remember, there are a lot of amazingly talented people who will give you a great night of entertainment. Come to the big shows, but also try some of the less famous performers. You may discover an unexpected treat. Plus, you will be the cool person who "saw them when." I would love to hear what artists gave you that surprise moment where you were moved and thrilled. The Carolina Chocolate Drops, Mark O'Connor, Corky Siegel, and the drama "Tops or Bottoms" were a few of mine.