Support the arts--no cost to you!

Alert! Alert! Alert! It has come to our shocked attention that not every PAF supporter, friend, and family member is funneling free money to the arts at every opportunity! Here are three great ways to support PAF without spending an extra cent yourself. Please take advantage!

Modernistic Carpet Cleaning has made a fabulous offer: When you place your residential or commercial cleaning or restoration order, just tell the scheduler that you'd like your order to benefit Gull Lake Schools. Modernistic will automatically donate 10 per cent of your order to the Performing Arts Foundation and the Gull Lake athletic boosters. Just call 629-4500 or 385-3377 to schedule your pre-holiday cleaning. Check their website here. Thanks to the Hitows for this wonderful gift!

Harding's Markets have a community donation program that couldn't be easier. Next time you're in Harding's, pick up one of their eScrip Community Cards at the checkout. Just phone the 800 number on the card to activate it, tell them what group you'd like your purchases to benefit (and that would be the GLCS Performing Arts Foundation!), and then show the card whenever you shop at Harding's. A percentage of your purchases go to PAF, no further effort required. More info at the eScrip website.

The Meijer Community Rewards program is slightly more complicated than it used to be, but if you use a Meijer credit card they will donate 1 per cent of your eligible purchases to your chosen organization(s); if you pay with cash, they'll donate 0.5 per cent. Check the details and sign up at their website. Again, no extra cost to you!

And just a mention of our pals at Katie & Christy's mid-Lakes Screen Printing, who created our great PAF-wear. In addition to printing, monogramming and personalization, they have a tanning salon and do lake rentals. They're at 121 E. Orchard in Delton, (269) 623-8340. E-mail midlakes@mei.net or check their website. Print this out as a $10 Reward Coupon to be used towards the purchase of a Gull Lake varsity jacket.

Happy Halloween to all, a great time of year for costumers, actors, and storytellers. Wednesday, October 31, events: The Scream Team, a squad of storytelling students from the high school, will be telling spooky stories to elementary school kids all day at the high school. And don't miss Halloween in the Park, 5:30 to 7:30 on Halloween on the Village Green in Richland, a great safe trick-or-treating event for kids, sponsored by the Richland Area Business Association. Wonder if that familiar-looking gorilla will be back this year? Boo, y'all!

A radio spotting plus Halloween events for young and old

Is it possible to experience a radio "sighting"? "Hearing" just sounds wrong. But I did happen to hear our own Robin Nott on local radio station WMUK during its current fund drive. He spoke most eloquently--as he does--about the great value of storytelling in our lives. WMUK (102.1 FM) is trying to shorten its fund drive this year, but you may still have a chance to hear that nice piece from Robin again--and, of course, to support public radio as well.

And it finally feels a little like fall, which means that Halloween is on its way. Take special note of these two Halloween-related events:

Sorry, kids. NOT for children, in spite of the characters featured: The Great Pumpkin Massacre is the upcoming late-night offering at the Whole Art Theatre Studio Space. Charlie Brown and co. encounter a Great Pumpkin who proves to be a serial killer in this dark parody of the Peanuts specials. And, let's see . . . Who should play the Great Pumpkin? Gull Lake's Adam Carter, of course, now a member of the comedy improv group Crawlspace Eviction and frequent star of area stages. Adults should not miss this black comedy at Whole Art Theatre Studio Space, 246 N. Kalamazoo Mall, 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, October 19 and 20, and October 26 and 27. Your $5 ticket also gets you free coffee and doughnuts, apparently.

Children should instead go to the Richland Area Business Association's Halloween in the Park, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 31--yes, Halloween itself--on the Village Green in Richland. It's a safe place to go trick-or-treating, and it's FOR children!

October is hopping!

It's all in full swing! Get out your calendar and write these dates down so you don't miss anything. Lots of community and arts events, including some great chances to see Gull Lake alumni in action. Go!

Friday and Saturday, Oct. 5 and 6: Gull Lake's own Jordan Lunardini and the Bad Beat play fantastic blues and rock at the Stagecoach Barn at the Blackhawk, M-89 and C Avenue in Richland, 9 p.m.

Sunday, Oct. 7: Kellogg Biological Station Share the Harvest Open House, 1 - 5 p.m. Bring the family to visit the Kellogg Manor House, the Bird Sanctuary, the Dairy Center, and the Farming Systems Center. Admission and all the fun activities are free, but visitors are encouraged to bring a non-perishable food item for the food bank.

Sunday, Oct. 7: Flosstradamus plays on a bill with other top Chicago alternative musicians at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, 1 - 6 p.m. Flosstradamus has been playing dates all over the country and returns to home base in Chicago for this very prestigious AND cool event celebrating the MCA's 40th anniversary.

Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 8 and 9: Gull Lake Area Rotary Club Spaghetti Dinner at the new Gull Lake High School, 5 - 7:30 p.m., $10 adults, $5 kids. More info in previous post.

Thursday, Oct. 11: Please note time change! Performing Arts Foundation meeting, usually held on the second Thursday of the month, will not meet on Oct. 11. We'll meet this month on October 18 instead! See below.

Friday, Oct. 12 through Oct. 27: Shakespeare's MacBeth at the Parish Theatre at the Civic in Kalamazoo, with at least two PAC alumni that I know of: Stacy Bartell serving as tech director, and James Perra as Lennox.

Saturday, Oct. 13: Jordan Lunardini and the Bad Beat play blues at Billy's Lounge, 1437 Wealthy SE in Grand Rapids, 9 p.m., $5. (It's a bar, so we assume you need to be 21 or over.)

Sunday, Oct. 14: Rich Ridenour, piano, and Barry Ross, violin, play Mozart, Billy Joel, hillbilly fiddle, and everything in between in the first Village Green Arts concert of the season at First Presbyterian Church in Richland, 3 p.m., freewill donation.

Thursday, Oct. 18: New date, this month only: Performing Arts Foundation meeting, 6:30, Richland Area Community Center. All are invited.

Friday, Oct. 26: Give yourself a Halloween scare at the Murder Mystery specialty dinner, 6:30 p.m. at the W.K. Kellogg Manor House at Kellogg Biological Station. Cost is $60 per person plus tax and gratuity. The Theatre Arts Production Company will perform the Murder Mystery. Reservations required. Call the KBS Conference Center, (269) 671-2400 or e-mail conference@kbs.msu.edu for info or reservations.

Wednesday, Oct. 31: Fractal plays at Kraftbrau in Kalamazoo for a Halloween show with Bones Brothers and Ceiling Star, 9 p.m, $5.

Looking ahead: Call now for tickets for a cooking class--"Quick and Easy Holiday Foods"--with Deanna House on Thursday, November 1, 6:30 p.m. at the Richland Area Community Center. Tickets are $8 in advance, $10 at the door. Call Faye at 629-9430 for tickets.

Find a date between Nov. 15 and Dec. 15 and put the Whole Art Theatre's production of Bat Boy on your calendar. GL alumnus Adam Carter is the choreographer and alumna Lisa Watson is assistant stage manager for this musical ripped from the tabloid headlines.

Rotary Spaghetti Dinner

Good eats, good company, good music, and doing good, too. What more could you want? Mark your calendar right now for the Gull Lake Area Rotary Club's annual all-you-can-eat Spaghetti Dinner on Monday and Tuesday, October 8 and 9, from 5 to 7:30 p.m.

This year, the event will be at the NEW Gull Lake High School on North 34th Street. Rotary has partnered with the high school to offer entertainment by the band and choral group. This is a great venue to enjoy dinner and chat with friends. And if you haven't spent any time at the new high school building yet, you'll be impressed!

Tickets are $10.00 per adult and $5.00 for children 5-12 (under 5 are free). Carry-out dinners are available. You can buy your tickets ahead of time from Rotary members or e-mail Rotary for more info.

This is a primary fund-raiser for Gull Lake Area Rotary Club. Over the years, GLARC has supported many local, regional and international projects through monetary donations and through lots of volunteer hours: Gull Lake High School Scholarship, GL School Readiness Program, GL student to White Water Student Affairs, Cheff Center Projects, GLHS Grad Bash, GL Pathway of Pride, GLHS Volunteens, GL Little League, Older Bunch for Lunch, Kalamazoo County Child Abuse, American Cancer Society Relay for Life, GL Fifth Grade Camp, Richland Area Community Center, Sherman Lake YMCA Center, Gryphon Place, Open Door Next Door, GLMS Integrated Education School Project at Sherman Lake Y, Richland Township Park Projects, Gull Road Park Benches, Richland Horse Park Volunteers, Richland Community Hall refurbishing, Thirsting to Serve water project in Dominican Republic, Casa Amparo Project in Mexico, Concert in the Park at Sherman Lake Y, Red Cross Blood Drive, Polio World Eradication Program, and more.

Buon apetito a tutti!

Get active--for free--September 22-29

It's a new school year, whether you're actually in school or not, so why not make a new school-year resolution to get more active? Next week the Sherman Lake YMCA is participating in the Y's nationwide program, America On the Move.

The idea is to get everyone in our community moving a little more. Start with a lovely one-mile walk. They'll be led Monday through Friday next week at 7 a.m. and 9:30 a.m., and afternoon walks will happen Monday through Thursday at 5:30 p.m.

The Y is also offering FREE membership for the week to all community members. You can join a group fitness class like Zumba or spinning, swim in the pool, play a game of basketball, lift weights, or use a treadmill.

So . . . no excuse not to get moving. For more info, click here or contact Kay Barker at 269-731-3009 or accounting@ymcasl.org.

Action-packed September calendar

Where to begin? September is picking up speed, so I'll just bring your attention to the Performing Arts Foundation regular meeting this Thursday, September 13, at 6:30 p.m. at the Richland Area Community Center--you're all invited--and then give you a little calendar of the many events coming up in September. Please send along further listings for school, community, and arts-related events. And arts alumni, we're especially glad to hear about performances you're involved in, even if they're far away. You never know who will have the opportunity to show up.

Okay, here's your action-packed September:

Thursday 13: PAF meeting, 6:30 p.m. at Richland Area Community Center.

Friday 14 and Saturday 15: Richland Oktoberfest, Richland Village green, admission $5 after 5 p.m. each day. See previous post for more info.

Sunday 16 and Monday 17: Auditions, Whole Art Theatre, for Trevor Stafanick's "The Great Pumpkin Massacre," directed by Tara Sytsma, late-night performances October 19, 20, 26, and 27 at the Whole Art Studio, 246 N. Kalamazoo Mall. Whole Art is also looking for volunteer directors for their Late Night Series. Call 345-7529 for info.

Thursday 20 and onward: If you happen to be near Ypsilanti, you can catch former Gull Lake teacher Brian Evely in "Hollywood Nights," a fictionalized version of Carol Burnett's biography. 8 p.m., September 20, 21, 22, 23 and 27, 28, 29, plus a 2 p.m. matinee September 23 at the Riverside Arts Center in Ypsilanti, 76 North Huron. 734-483-7345 for reservations. Tickets are $16, $11 for students and seniors.

Friday 21 and Saturday 22: Crawlspace Eviction, improv comedy, 8 p.m. at the Whole Art Studio, 246 N. Kalamazoo Mall. Their show "Menopause with a Cause" kicks off the troupe's fifth season. Tickets are $7 for students, $10 for adults at the door. Gull Lake Performing Arts Company alumnus Adam Carter is usually part of the hijinks.

Sunday 23 and Monday 24: Auditions for "Bat Boy: The Musical" at Whole Art Theatre main stage at the Epic Center, performances November 15 - December 15. Call 345-7529 for info.

Week of September 24: Music and dance classes for all ages, infant to adult, begin 5-week sessions at Kalamazoo School of Music and Dance studio at Gull Road and Sprinkle. Try your feet at tap, ballet, hip hop, etc. Cost $38-58. Details at their website.

Saturday 29: Auditions for the improvisational comedy troupe Crawlspace Eviction, noon to 5 p.m. at the Whole Art Theatre's Epic Center stage. If you want to get involved in comedic writing, improvised or scripted performance, film/television work, piano accompaniment, or various technical opportunities, head on down and show what you can do.

Must-do items for September

And it is already September! Here are a couple of items to put on your calendar right away:

Bobbaroo, Saturday, September 8, starting 4 p.m.
State Theater, Kalamazoo
$6 minimum donation

Bands include Gull Lake's own Combat Corduroy as well as Frontier Ruckus, Eyes of an Enemy, Asphodel Fields, Patience Patients, Olivet, Red Amendment, Fernelity, The Giving Tree, Daywalker and the Skychild, The Kinds, and Common Shiner.

Come out for a great concert--well, a festival, really--to benefit Bob Hill, a 2005 Gull Lake grad who suffers from a genetic eye disease called keretoconus. Bob started going blind his senior year of high school. Last year a benefit concert at the Richland Area Community Center raised $1,200 to give Bob a corneal transplant in one eye. This Saturday's concert will, we hope, raise enough donations to pay for Bob's second transplant. Any extra money raised will be donated to the next candidate for a benefit concert.

If you can't make it to the concert, you can still donate via First Presbyterian Church in Richland (8047 Church Street, Richland, MI 49083), marking your check "Bobbaroo."


Richland Oktoberfest, September 14-15
Richland Village green, 4 - 11 p.m. Friday, 1 - 11 p.m. Saturday
Admission $5 after 4 p.m. each day

Come enjoy the fun of fall with music, great food, and Saturday daytime activities for kids, sponsored by the Richland Area Business Association. There will be food from Richland Pub, Blackhawk Bar and Grill, and Lakeside Deli, and beer, wine, pop, and water will be available. Some highlights:

Friday, September 14
5 - 7:30 p.m.: Matt Giraud, soloist
7:30 - 11 p.m.: HD5/Classic Fix Band, classic, southern and pop rock

Saturday, September 15
1 - 5 p.m.: Carnival games and petting zoo sponsored by Richland Bible Church
1 - 6 p.m.: Project Safe Kids, fingerprints and Amber Alert information taken on children for their parents to keep on file, sponsored by Richland Police and Lindsay's Run
1 - 7 p.m.: Bouncy sponsored by Gull Lake Community Volunteers
5:30 - 6 p.m.: Puppet show sponsored by RBC
5 - 7 p.m.: Rock climbing wall sponsored by Sherman Lake YMCA
1 - 5 p.m.: Dunk tank sponsored by Richland Fire Association
6 - 6:45 p.m.: Magician Alan Smola sponsored by Richland Village Drug Store
7 - 11 p.m.: Drop 35, dance band

See you there!