Boris Doris O N T H E T O W N
Rainy Days: A torrential downpour did not deter 1,100 die-hard runners at the Locust Street Festival from the 1.8mile walk/run, with four mandatory Lakefront and Miller beer stops. In the pack were the official “Beer Run Fairy” Debra Pyne; pals Kevin Wimer, Kiersten Purves and Victor Cerda; Sally O’Connor and Sue Brumm; and run coordinator Peter Wolbersen, from The Tracks bar. The Weather Gods then smiled on the fest.
Kim Wall, president of Baensch Food Products, held her annual bash, with a Texas-themed party. Stopping by were Donald Sykes; Ron Johnson, Marquette’s community coordinator; Wall’s boyfriend, sculptor Tom Queoff; Miranda Schield from Vollrath Associates; and Lori Vance and Fred Curzan. Outside, John Komives handed out delicious Ma Baensch’s creamy pickled herring.
Circulating were festival coordinators Beth Aultman and Linda Maslow. Dave Hinterberg, sporting a great utility kilt, snapped photos, as did Andy Nunemaker, there with pals Paul Morawski and John Shaw. John La Fave gathered signatures for his Register of Deeds re-run and Mark Shurilla pedaled around. Nate Kraucunas with Cindy Schultz and Lynn Bielawski; Tom and Nell Mussoline and son, Joe; offduty bartender Doug Hogan; Mark Borchardt, recently in The Hagstone Demon; and John Bagrowski, who founded the festival in 1976, also enjoyed the fest.
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In appropriate “arrrr, matey” garb, Keith Eccher and Linda Scholler stopped by after their visit to a dampened Pirate Fest in Port Washington. Pat Goldstein, on her way to Washington, D.C., for a court hearing, was there with Pat Small, one of many in the tieattired set, having purchased one at Woodland Pattern’s “Buy a Bad Tie for a Good Cause” fund-raiser.
Grand Gala: More than 3,000 guests cued up for a Potawatomi extravaganza, previewing the beautifully renovated casino. Jason Gorman, Dream Dance executive chef, whipped up unbelievably delicious small plates, including lobsterwurst and morel mushroom pierogi. Visitors were also treated to $25 gambling tokens and copious amounts of Piper Sonoma. The real Henry Winkler was among several stars signing autographs, while impersonators such as “Cher” and a well-blinged “Sammy Davis Jr.” chatted up the partygoers.
The Luck of the Irish: A dramatic rainbow appeared before the fourth annual McMenamin Irish Dance fund-raiser, held at the beautiful lakeside home of Jeanie and Paul Grunau. After intermittent rain, the skies cleared and more than 180 guests sampled wines and microbrewery beer organized by Downer Wine & Spirits. Company founder Aine McMenamin, her husband, Doug Johnson, organizers and board members Maureen Hall, Victoria Gess, Dawn Gardner-Kasper, Colleen Stowe and Mary Kuehn were thrilled with the turnout. Parents of budding Irish dancers there included Kristin and Alec Fraser, Melissa and Eric Dresselhuys and Gary Johnson and Lisa Hoerchner, who arrived via bicycle in the rain. The lucky raffle winner of 100 bottles of wine was… Kyle Cherek.
The Father, The Son and the Rodeo Entertainer: Milwaukee singer-songwriter-guitarist extraordinaire John Sieger released his new solo CD, The Shaming of the True, at Shank Hall, backed by The Subcontinentals, with guest vocalist Robin Pluer and sax player Bob Jennings.
Drummer Sam Sieger, son of John and Linsey, opened the show with his rocking band of fellow teens, The Calamities. British 6-foot-6-inch Vince Bruce wowed the crowd with feats of daring, flying lassos, cracking whips and a unicycle. Among the enthusiastic crowd were musicians Steve Cohen and Mike Fredrickson; sisters Margaret and Jean Casey; Alterra Coffee’s Kevin and Amy Callahan; Sieger’s songwriting students Paul Novotny, Karla Owsianny and Stephanie Kasper; and Betty Brinn’s Sherri Conway. Hot rumors: a Semi-Twang reunion gig at Shank.
War Women: A full house on opening night at the Off-Broadway Theatre enjoyed the world premiere of Small Pieces Fly to Heaven: Voices of Women in the Iraq War. Coauthors Peggy Hong and Deborah Clifton performed in the production, along with Libby Amato, Maggie Arndt, Alexa Bradley, Erin DeYoung and Megan Kaminsky. The production was enhanced by Fahimeh Vahdat’s art, music by Rachel Raven Lily Sophia and Dena Aronson, and MAM’s Marcie Hoffman, the production consultant.
In the audience were Maggie Arndt’s husband, Peter Arndt; Kerrie Berg and Sean Marks; poets Jeannie Dean and Michelle Czuba, the executive director of National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI); director/producer Ed Morgan; Clifton’s husband, John Kishline, preparing for his cameo as the murdered prison guard in Johnny Depp’s Public Enemies, and their son, actor Sam Kishline. Jennifer Morales and Tina Owen from Bay View’s Broad Vocabulary bookstore peddled books in the lobby, while Gina Bealhen, from Chameleon Hair Lounge, sold Milwaukee Pinups calendars.
Africa Aid: Pat and Paul Geenen hosted a fund-raiser for Sister Josephina Mwoleka’s Tanzania project, attended by dozens of drop-bys, including Joe and Camille Shaw; Frank Miller of Alverno’s Development Department; Judy Gunkel, with the Alzheimer’s Association of Southeastern Wisconsin; Mike Drew and Alice Hanson-Drew; Steve and Kadie Jelenchick; Joe and Joyce Ellwanger; and attorney Susan Gramling.
If you have any tips for Boris and Doris, contact them at borisanddorisott@aol.com. Their next column will appear in the July 3 issue of the Shepherd.
