All Cut Up: A Mother's Day gift prize!

Please click the link to All Cut Up Hair Salon's post for a Mother's Day contest, and look for Peri Barnes picture comment - react to vote for Peri & her lovely mom, Betty Barnes! If you have Facebook, please vote for Peri & Betty Barnes, a daughter/mother duo!

https://www.facebook.com/AllCutUp/posts/4011052858974398

Blogophilia 7.14: Writer’s Choice – Rely Local!

Marvin Martian‘s blog topic parameters HERE

Blogophilia and how it works, Over Here

Hard Bonus (2 points): Writer’s Choice – Name a food & beverage (kringle & mocha)

Easy Bonus (1 Point): Writer’s Choice – Mention a place (Petrified Springs Park)

As people may or may not know, I’m a huge backer of supporting local businesses. When we Rely Local, we are supporting a family’s effort to support the area economy, as opposed to huge corporations whose owners are investing outside of the area. You’re literally helping your neighbors get & keep what they need. Who wouldn’t want to take a Sunday stroll through unique & original stores, where you literally can’t find these items anywhere else except for these places?

Here are some individuals I’d like to plug, you might find that their products are picture-perfect, and who couldn’t use a breath of fresh air these days, anyway!

Laura Fogel – Independent Contractor for Mary Kay products: She will match you up with your skin type, skin tone, and help you get that glowing look you’d like! Please check out her products Right Here

Schwenk’s Contracting LLC – for all of your personal needs to be met for general contracting from bathrooms to fencing upgrades! Remember to ask for Joseph Schwenk. Find out more on the website

Amanda Zei – PJM Photos for your individual, family or professional photography needs. Flexible scheduling to fit your day. Check out her Facebook Page, and don’t forget to ask about her Artworks, too!

Sandy Conway Photography – for elegant, personal, pictures for families, individuals, or events, where you want quality photos to remember the special moments in life! Book your appointments today!

Soldwolf – a navy veteran who is writing a Sci-Fi novel, and with enough interest, Deviant Art will set him up with an editor & publisher to turn it into a real book. The chapters are in reverse chronological order. Come read Meeting the Parents (title of book & ch. 1), now, and meet a space navy hero, who is upcoming in his career, and his beloved alien fiancé.

Now to my favorite local stores around here, where the smells & scents are as refreshing as the cherry blossoms in spring!

Bendtsen’s Bakery – authentic Danish bakery with the best kringles you’ll have not just in this country, but here in Racine, as well! This area was nicknamed “little Denmark”, and the kringle is a Danish pastry where they’re still made by hand-rolling the dough, with 7 layers of flakey crust & butter, filled with various delicious fruits, nuts, and more. There’s literally a flavor for everyone! Order some, you won’t be disappointed! (Pecan & apple are the two most popular).

Wilson’s Coffee & Tea – a locally owned shop, on their 2nd generation. They roast their coffee beans in-house, and they have fair trade items, and their teas are good, too. Everything from a breakfast roast, to evening tea, to ethnic blends, they have it! I love their blended mocha (kind of like a mocha shake), it’s delicious! You all need to try one today!

Lighthouse Gallery & Gifts – unique to hold everything Racine, WI – from the photography of the lakefront, famous Wind Point Lighthouse (listed in the top 500 great lakes lighthouses) as well as t-shirts, handbags, coffee mugs, and so much to list! Please check them out!

Petrified Springs Park – it has a full golf course, nature preserve & trails, and play/cookout spots available – in 3 different sections – the green lawns are awesome, wherever you are in the park, and hey, pack your Racine bag with the bakery items, bring the coffee, and have a picnic! Mike & I had our Renewal of Vows here, and it was great. We almost got to get baptized in the river! Come along, have some fun with a relaxing nature walk!

There are so many other neat places too, like Refined Salvage & Pallet Design, Gold Bear Trading Co, Wind Point Lighthouse, various beaches, and hey, just because it’s Wisconsin, it’s more than smelling dairy air! Plenty around here, like the bar & grills, where we serve more than beer, it’s gourmet pub food that can’t be compared, so hey, bring your honey, every day & evening can be date-night!

Topic & Picture: Martien Ecrits

Caption: 1) nature’s canopy 2) Sunday stroll 3) picture-perfect 4) breath of fresh air 5) refreshing 6) cherry blossoms 7) green lawns 8) nature walk 9) (no) smelling dairy air 10) date time

The Quarter Finals! Please vote free!

So we are in the Quarter Finals for Your Favorite Chef! It’s getting to be a nail-biter, people, and after this, it will be the semifinals! After a good, hard run, I did not make it into the next phase, but I'd like to support my fellow advocate, Cecibel, a survivor and advocate.

Please give your continued support to Cecibel, who is in 10th, showing that there were TONS of categories, and the competition is stiff. She did NOT come this far to abandon ship now, so c’mon people! Let’s get her back to the top! We can do this & we got this!

https://favchef.com/2021/cecibel-hull

After making it through the quarter-finals, the contest combines again and goes to the semifinals. The winner of the semifinals will get to be featured in Bon Appetite magazine, and a cash prize of $50,000!

PLEASE VOTE…if won, the PRIZE MONEY will go to a GOOD CAUSE.

Please continue to support me.  I made it to the Quarter-Finals! The Favorite Chef cooking competition is to help children and survivors of childhood sexual abuse. This is my vision if I win the competition.

1. Donate some money to the Dreamcatchers for abused children, the Mama bear effect, and 1 in 6 organizations for their awesome work in spreading awareness about every form of child abuse.

2. Be able to provide online free counseling sessions for survivors with a certified counselor.

3. Self-help or trauma-informed books for survivors and abused children.

4. Buy more books for our online library for our support groups.

5. Toy drive for abused children

6. Provide assistance or resources to abused children and survivors of child sexual abuse.

7. The rest of the funds are to continue our advocacy work and pay for travel expenses for our speaking engagements.

Voting is free every 24 hours.

The Hero votes portion of the proceeds will be donated to Feeding America®, a hunger relief organization with a nationwide network of food banks feeding the hungry.

Cecibel Alexandra Hull

Survivor/ Advocate/ founder

Please vote here 

https://favchef.com/2021/cecibel-hull

Your Favorite Chef! I need your help, please!

So, I check my status on My Favorite Chef, and I climbed to 7th place. I am very excited! If I make it to the top 5 by the end of Thursday, I move to the next round! My hope is that I will be able to win, and not only get featured in Bon Appetite Magazine but also with the cash prize, to open my own food truck, as well. The winnings will be $50,000 - to be split - part for me to open my truck, and the rest to share. Because of my passion to feed people, I will be sharing with the Hospitality Center, the largest meal site in Wisconsin, feeding 40-65 M-F for breakfast, 80-120 M-F for lunch, and countless for dinner on M & T.

Below is my country-style pork ribs, slow roasted in craft beer, seasoned with onion, garlic, salt, pepper, paprika, and other herbs & spices, then grilled on a charcoal grill with my homemade whisky barbecue sauce. With it, steamed premium-grade Japanese rice with furikake (seasoned rice sprinkles, called pah-pah by children, because the way you shake it over the rice, kind of going pah, pah, pah) and fresh roasted green beans in butter, salt, pepper & a dash of garlic powder.

Cast your free vote here: https://favchef.com/2021/lika-m-phipps

I cannot do this without you! Thank you again! You are all very awesome! Supporters will get free samplings, including extra on opening, new developments, and more! Thank you so much for your continued support!

Just remember, if I get to open this food truck up, I will also be doing more to support the local economy such as Malicki's Piggly Wiggly, Matt's Produce, and more, because a food truck will need good stuff to put out! I'm so excited that I made it to the 4th round! Thousands entered. The 1st round came to the top 50 in each category, 2nd down to the top 15, 3rd to the top 10, and this round will decide the top 5! So many good people entered.

Thank you for your support!

Voting for your Favorite Chef ends Sunday, 2/21, at 11PM PST. Every vote helps! Thank you in advance, for helping me get toward being featured in Bon Appetite & a chance to win $20,000 to go toward my professional goals!

https://favchef.com/2021/lika-m-phipps

Calling all music heads!

Aurora: feat. JoJo Holly

Please consider supporting a local starving artist, Jojo Holly, a multi-instrumentalist who tackles real-life issues in her music.

If you like New Age, Fusion, Indie & Progressive Rock, songs include things we deal with in life issues such as mental health and more. A new album is being worked on, let's help get her there! Will you consider joining Aurora, featuring Jojo Holly as a VIP in some form on Patreon? There are perks included: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=45662774&fan_landing=true For more info, please check out these pages: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/auroraprog/about/ Bandcamp: https://auroraprog.bandcamp.com/album/jojo-holly-midi Tumbler: https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/jojo+holly?sort=top

Alert! Not Your Ordinary Election!

Voting begins 02/16/2021 @ 10AM/PST, 11AM/MST, 12PM/CST, 1PM/EST - Don't forget to come vote for your Favorite Chef! It's an opportunity to win a kitchen gadget & be featured in Bon Appetit Magazine to win $20,000 toward my career!

https://favchef.com/2021/lika-m-phipps

Last chance! Please take it, especially to Racine area readers!

 It's a last-minute push, in hopes that we can get enough people to sign...  Win or lose, we at least tried.  Hopefully, with enough sponsors, we can get this going.

Please sign the petition link below, to help save The 1928 Capitol Theater! Share with your friends, please!

https://www.thepetitionsite.com/677/887/162/overturn-the-raze-order-on-the-1928-capitol-theater-in-racine/?fbclid=IwAR1PIBz5EwZNHHBTmj9Rt1L9ApMGGP86q4Q3LoHOEpzYmbUbuf5RAKdWNK4

The Capitol Theater set to be razed 02/03/2021

Historic 1928 Movie Theater

 

Originally, this theater was built for both sound & silent movies. There was a Wurlitzer organ inside, and would bring in people from literally all over the planet to see & hear the organ play during silent movies and other shows. I vaguely remember coming to this theater in it’s original format, being that I lived in Tokyo until 1977, and visited Racine about 4 times from the time I was born before permanently living here.

In 1976, it was “twinned”. The organ was removed, to accommodate two smaller theaters and renamed The Park. At first, it was part of the Marcus Theaters that hosted a variety of movies along with Racine’s other theaters which only had 2-4 screens each. When Westgate & Regency theaters opened, the other theaters closed, and this one became a value cinema. During my teen years, it was a nice spot to meet friends, whether to see an affordable movie or to start an adventure going elsewhere.

On 01/19/2021, Racine’s City Council met virtually, with a public portion regarding this historical building. We had 6 votes in favor of saving the building, 8 votes opposed. 1 absent. If we could possibly call or email our mayor & alderman, that would be appreciated greatly.

Please call/write to thank them for supporting the theater:

• District 1 – Coe – Jeff.Coe@cityofracine.org 262-637-0531
• District 2 – Jones – Mollie.Jones@cityofracine.org 262-634-2971
• District 9 – Jung – Trevor.Jung@cityofracine.org 262-721-6400
• District 11 – Land – Mary.Land@cityofracine.org 262-456-6585
• District 6 – Peterson – Jeffrey.Peterson@cityofracine.org 262-321-4410
• District 13 – Taft – Natalia.Taft@cityofracine.org 262-234-5225

Please call/write to those who voted no, and ask them to reconsider their position to see if a special meeting can be called to put a 3 month hold on the raze. This would be very helpful in being able to come up with the funds. Please be respectful, we can draw more with honey than vinegar.

• District 7 – Horton – Maurice.Horton@cityofracine.org 262-770-8377
• District 15 – Lemke – Melissa.Lemke@cityofracine.org 262-994-8943
• District 5 – Levie – Jennifer.Levie@cityofracine.org 414-364-2192
• District 14 – Meekma – Jason.Meekma@cityofracine.org 262-488-4694
• District 10 – Peete – Sam.Peete@cityofracine.org 262-230-2017
• District 4 – Santiago – Edwin.Santiagojr@cityofracine.org 262-822-8302
• District 3 – Tate – John.TateII@cityofracine.org 262-770-5183
• District 8 – West – Marcus.West@cityofracine.org 262-930-2200

Here is a sample message:

Dear Mayor/Alderman (Insert Last Name);

Thank you for your hard work you do for the citizens of Racine. As a constituent, I am asking you to reconsider the raze order of the Capitol Theater on February 3. Please hold a special meeting to make a new motion, and encourage you to visit the building since it has a landmark status. I’d like to request a 3-month pause to give citizens a chance to raise money for repairing the building envelope. Preservation Racine is actively doing a pledge drive, as well as a charity Go Fund Me to help pay for the project. I support the project/organization. There is also a petition that has several hundred signers who also support saving the theater.

There is already enough pledge money for the first round of roof repairs, and for portions of the needed exterior brick work! A New Orleans style music group, STELLA, has offered to do a fundraising performance here to help Save the Capitol-Park Theater! Thank you again, for your time and efforts.

Sincerely, (Your Name)

Not present: Please ask him where he sits on the issue & ask if he can support it.

District 12 – Perez – Henry.Perez@cityofracine.org 262-676-2364

Mayor Cory Mason – Webform here – 262-636-9111

For the pledges, if the building is razed anyway, you don’t give up anything. With the fundraiser, the monies will go to Preservation Racine to go toward helping other historical buildings. Let’s keep a part of Racine history. For more up to date information, please visit Friends of the Capitol Theater on Facebook. Thank you for reading & your support!

The twinned Park theaters

The Capitol Theater: A Part of Racine History

The Capitol, built in 1928, just before WWII broke out, with an old Wurlitzer organ that was built in. It could show both sound & silent movies. In 1976, the organ was sadly taken out, “twinned” to create 2 smaller theaters that was renamed The Park (for it’s proximity to Washington Park & Park High School) would become one of the 1st Value Cinemas where older movies would come back at a cheaper price for people to watch. Being that I lived near there, I’ve seen many movies, used it as a meetup place, and so many fond memories of the architecture… In the fall of 1987, not long after I graduated high school, it closed down. The current owner wanted to be able to use one theater for movies and the other as kind of a museum and collected a lot of Racine antiques. But, due to health problems (that I can relate to), things happened… Here are some important links, in hopes local people especially, or those who would be interested in future visiting to have a look at what we’re missing out on.

How ornate, intricate, majestic, antique, unique, awesome, so many different adjectives come to mind...  I remember wanting to come in, possibly to see an old movie, or maybe the Rocky Horror Picture Show, or whatever it could be. I think it would be neat to go in dressed as a flapper, just to celebrate the era this was erected.

I remember wanting to come in, possibly to see an old movie, or maybe the Rocky Horror Picture Show, or whatever it could be.  I think it would be neat to go in dressed as a flapper, just to celebrate the era this was erected.

To learn more about The Capitol/Park Theater, please visit the website - there is an option to be able to pledge money to help restore the building. If nothing happens, you won’t be asked to give the pledge.  A Go Fund Me has been set up to raise funds to buy the building. It is a tax-deductible donation, and if the building ends up not being acquired for the purposes of Preservation Racine, which an organization that works to preserve historic landmarks, buildings, and more, locally.  You can passively support the organization on Facebook.

Please also consider signing the petition to send to the Mayor of Racine, WI & City Council of Racine right here.  I encourage local & regional people to sign & share a memory by commenting. Those who support keeping & updating the building is especially encouraged to comment, especially if there is a design to visit or share an experience of lost local history near you that you wish you still had. Thanks in advance for reading & hopefully supporting!

This is our last chance!  The raze could start as early as 02/03/2021.  City Council decided that on 02/19/2021.  We are asking everyone to write their alderman to please put a 3-month pause on razing the theater.  The aldermen who voted no are:

District 7 - Horton - Maurice.Horton@cityofracine.org

District 15 - Lemke - Melissa.Lemke@cityofracine.org

District 5 - Levie - Jennifer.Levie@cityofracine.org

District 14 - Meekma - Jason.Meekma@cityofracine.org

District 10 - Peete - Sam.Peete@cityofracine.org

District 4 - Santiago - Edwin.Santiagojr@cityofracine.org

District 3 - Tate - John.TateII@cityofracine.org

District 8 - West - Marcus.West@cityofracine.org

Please send a big thank you to those who voted yes:

District 1 - Coe - Jeff.Coe@cityofracine.org

District 2 - Jones - Mollie.Jones@cityofracine.org

District 9 - Jung - Trevor.Jung@cityofracine.org

District 11 - Land - Mary.Land@cityofracine.org

District 6 - Peterson - Jeffrey.Peterson@cityofracine.org

District 13 - Taft - Natalia.Taft@cityofracine.org

Not sure if he was not present or abstained:

District 12 - Perez - Henry.Perez@cityofracine.org

Whether you agree or disagree with their vote, please be respectful.  We catch more bees with honey than vinegar.

*Fun Fact* - A New Orleans style music group, STELLA, has offered to do a fundraising performance here to help Save the Capitol-Park Theater!