Tuesday, May 31, 2011

This Friday at Clifton Opera House

NOTE: Schedule change for Friday, June 3rd at the Clifton Opera House

On Friday evening at 7:30pm , June 3rd, the Ragtime River Boat Rats will kick off a night of ragtime. This talented group of musicians will get your toes tapping!

The Ragtime Riverboat Rats dates back to the early 1980's and features music that is fun and has stood the test of time. They present a program reminiscent of the showboat era with good old ragtime music, some Jolson,Americana, and a strong flavor of patriotism. The music and the mood is happy, lively, and toe tapping. They have created a versatile style and repertoire of Ragtime, Dixeland, Jazz,Golden Oldies and Original Songs about love and travel. The show starts at 7:30pm, box office opens at 6:30pm. Check out their website www.rrrats.com

The Clifton Opera House is owned and operated by the Village of Clifton and staffed by volunteers. Come on out and support the historic jewel of Clifton, we welcome volunteers! Door donation is $7.00, call 937.342.2175 or 937.767.2343 for information or visit the website www.cliftonoperahouse.com.

The band played on

and the chorus too...

Great concert last night, if I do say so myself (any wrong notes you might have heard came from my trumpet, no doubt). The Community Band played well; the Community Chorus was great; and when the power went off, disabling the electric piano just as we were about to start our grand finale, Director James Johnston made do without a microphone to announce the piece and a few good men trotted off into the school to retrieve an acoustic piano for Mary Fahrenbruck who remained stalwart throughout the ordeal.

Artisan Market – Grand Opening

Saturday, June 4, 9:00am - 5:00pm
Union Street Schoolhouse
314 Dayton Street


Grand Opening June 4th ~ Free 15 minute Shiatsu Massages with Julie Moore of "It's Moore Than Massage, It's Shiatsu!", Artist Demo's, Door Prize Entries

The Artisan Market will take place on Saturdays, 9 am - 5 pm, June 4th through October and will feature Jewelry, Metal Art, Massage, Painting, Folk Art, Crafts, and Entrepreneurs of All Kinds.

This fantastic building and grounds, with attractive Dayton Street frontage, is the perfect backdrop for a beautiful market. I would like to invite you to participate in this exciting venture as a vendor and/or a consumer. We hope to see between 20 & 25 booths filled with local artists, antique dealers, crafting, retro, vintage, recycled products, and much more.

For vendor information: visit Union Street Schoolhouse, 314 Dayton Street, Room 210 during Office Hours Thursdays & Fridays 11 am - 5 pm

10' x 10' spaces are available First Come, First Serve

Reservations can be made for Saturdays during office hours or you can arrive on Saturday mornings and choose from open spaces if available @ $28.00 per Saturday

Assigned Spaces - Vendor commits to one month and has assigned booth @ $24.00 per Saturday

Get your creative juices flowing and bring your wares! Contact me at artisanmarketysoh@yahoo.

or by phone Monday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-7 p.m. at 937.206.0034 or 606.206.0034

Vendor spaces still available for Street Fair, June 11th!

We look forward to meeting you!!

--Amanda Swanton-Young
--Robert and Judy Swanton

Yoga Springs Clothes Swap

There are some wonderful events coming up soon so mark your calender. First is a clothes swap at Yoga Springs Studio on Friday June 3rd at 7:15pm. This follows the 6pm "Happy Hour Yoga" class that starts at 6pm. Happy Hour is a fun end of the week class that costs just $5 so why not plan to do both the class and the swap? The lovely Shannon Gleadall will be guiding us and she is always fun. If you need any studio info check out the website at yogasprings.com or call 767-9300.

If you have never been... a clothes 'swap' simply means bring any and all clean, wearable clothes, shoes or accessories that you would like to let go of no matter what season they are for. Pack them in a large, clean 'lawn/leaf' bag and bring them up to the studio on Friday evening 6/3. After yoga class we will quickly, efficiently sort out the bags into sizes and then folks can take whatever appeals to them. Our smaller studio, Chandra, will be our 'fitting room' with a couple of mirrors for look/see. You need not bring something to attend, you need not take away. Simply come and enjoy the fun of it. I have always left every clothes swap I have attended over the past 20 years with treasures. It is great fun and a wonderful way to lighten your load of stuff. We held one in the autumn and it was super. Luan and I will then make sure all the left overs are donated to charity. This is why we need everyone to bring clothes in the sturdy lawn bags. In fact, if you could bring an extra bag all the better.

Carmen Milano
Yoga Instructor
Yoga Springs

Mail: 108 Dayton Street Yellow Springs, OH 45387

By telephone: 937.767.9300

Arts Council creates sticky situation

It’s the World’s First Traveling Gum Wall!

You might call it Pointillism, or you might say it’s disgusting. No matter what you say, on June 11th the Yellow Springs Arts Council and the jafagirls (“Just Another Flippin’ Artist”) are unveiling the world’s first Traveling Gum Wall. This interactive art project is a fund-raiser for the YS Arts Council. It will include thousands of participants in the creating of a graffiti gem. Each participant will carefully place their freshly chewed gum on the gum wall, and then sign the back of the wall to make a permanent historical record of all contributing artists. The gum, in a dazzling display of glorious colors and viscosity will be available for purchase from the YS Arts Council for a piddling sum. Those with strong jaws and a vision of something they want to create can purchase our gum in packs or even multipacks! After completion, the Traveling Gum Wall will be celebrated at the glitzy, ditzy Gum Ball. Costumes made of gum wrappers are optional. The Traveling Gum Wall will pop up at events throughout the year. Don’t miss your chance to chew for art’s sake. Be a part of creating gum art history!

See links below for more info about Gum Wall

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gum_Wall

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubblegum_Alley

Monday, May 30, 2011

Memorial Day Concert on the lawn

Bring a blanket or some lawn chairs

Click on image to enlarge.


The Yellow Springs Community Band will give a Memorial Day concert tonight (May 30) at 7 p.m. at the Mills Lawn School, outdoors if the weather permits, otherwise in the gym. There will be a special performance with the Yellow Springs Community Chorus on the last number of the program. Come hear your friends, neighbors and relatives make music!

The program:

Star Spangled Banner
Alford - The Vanished Army March
Amazing Grace
Gould - American Salute
Ammerland (Shirley Mullins conducting)
Armed Forces Salute Medley
Chance - Elegy
Hanson "Song of Democracy" with Chorus

Bicyclists coming to town

Since May 1st, 2011, four young men from Scotland have been bicycling from Santa Monica, CA, to the Brooklyn Bridge in New York (3360 miles) to raise money for Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centres in the United Kingdom.

Adam, Andy, Matt & Ben are about two-thirds of the way through their journey now, having experienced mountains, deserts and a tornado!

The Yellow Springs connection to this story is that Adam Kent and his brother Andrew, who’s driving the support van for the team, lived in YS in 1988-89. Their dad, Tony Kent, taught at YSHS on a Fulbright exchange with Lance Jordan. Nancy, Tony, Andrew and Adam lived in the Jordan’s house on Orton Road and have kept in touch with many YS friends. Andrew went to kindergarten at Mills Lawn and Adam attended play groups in town with Nancy. They planned their route to come through YS and have a rest day here, in order to visit local friends and show their Scottish friends our great village.

Bruce Bradtmiller and Carol Cottom will be their hosts. Unless more severe weather slows them down the group will arrive on May 31 and spend June 1 in the village before heading east again on June 2.

The cyclists have already raised almost £9500 for Maggie's Centres. Learn more at cycleusa2011.com.

For questions about their visit in town call Bruce and Carol at 767-1458.

Maxine's Plant & Book Swap: Something for everyone



Plants, hats and books came together at Maxine’s Annual Plant and Book Swap on Sunday, May 29. Old and new friends shared hard cider and snacks, book reviews and gardening tips. Remaining books will be donated to the Planned Parenthood Annual Book Sale.

Photos by Susan Gartner and Corinna Lyon

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Bench to Nowhere: Dreaming of infrastructure

A Cool Town Toon

This Friday at Clifton Opera House



Canceled!


It will be swingin'



Yellow Springs based Swing Shift will play at the Clifton Opera House on Friday, June 3rd. Show starts at 7:30pm. Box office opens at 6:30pm. The opera house air conditioner will be humming to keep up with this "very cool" Swing Shift band.

Swing Shift provides their own unique take on the jazz of the thirties and forties. Their approach to standards and gypsy jazz reflects the long individual experience that each of them has in playing jazz, pop, rock, blues and even bluegrass, as well as the cohesiveness that comes from many years of playing together.

Michael Hitchcock, mandolin and Larry Gault, bass have been playing together since the 1960s. Steve Benson, drums, has been their percussionist since the mid 80s. They joined with Randy Kubilius, guitar, some six years ago to form Swing Shift, drawn together by their mutual love of the music of the Benny Goodman sextet and of the gypsy guitar master Django Reinhardt.

The Clifton Opera House is owned and operated by the Village of Clifton. Located at 5 So Clay Street. Call 937)767-2343 for more information or visit the website at www.villageofclifton.com

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Springer wins DDN/AWW Short Story Contest


Kai Cooley's story "Record Fall" was the winning entry in the Adult category in the 15th annual Dayton Daily News/Antioch Writers' Workshop Short Story Contest this year.



Kai happens to be my neighbor and I recognize the inspiration for this fine piece of writing. Congrats, Kai! Well done.

Dayton Daily News: "Record Fall"

“Fresh”

Feature documentary about sustainable agriculture
Little Art Theatre – June 4th at 4PM (FREE)

The Winter and Summer Farmer’s Markets are jointly sponsoring a local community screening of FRESH, a documentary film by Ana Sofia Joanes that celebrates food architects around the country who are reinventing our food system with sustainable agriculture initiatives.


About the Film

FRESH is a reflection of a rising movement of people and communities across America who are re-inventing our food system. FRESH celebrates food architects who offer a practical vision of a new food paradigm and consumer access to it. Encouraging individuals to take matters into their own hands, FRESH is a guide that empowers people to take an array of actions as energetic as planting urban gardens and creating warm composts from food waste, and as simple as buying locally-grown products and preserving or freezing seasonal produce to eat later in the year.

Throughout the film, we encounter inspiring people, ideas, and initiatives happening around the country right now. At the Growing Power urban farm in Milwaukee, Will Allen is turning three acres of industrial wasteland into a mecca of nutrition for his neighborhood. In Kansas City, we witness David Ball revitalize his community, turning the modern concept of the Supermarket on its head by stocking his Good Natured Family Farm stores with produce from a cooperative of local farmers. And, we journey to Joel Salatin's farm in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley to witness his methods for closing the nutrient cycle, allowing cows, chickens, pigs and natural grasses to flourish and produce without ever an ounce of chemical fertilizer or industrial animal feed.

FRESH tells the stories of real people, connecting audiences not with facts and figures or policy analysis, but with examples of personal initiative and concrete ways to engage in a new food model.

Bench to Nowhere: The energy conundrum

Friday, May 27, 2011

WYSO needs a few good volunteers

Street Fair is Saturday, June 11, 2011

Friends of WYSO,

We need about a few voracious volunteers to help at Street Fair on Saturday, June 11th.

Shifts break down like this:
  • 8:00 - 11:00 AM
  • 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM
  • 2:00 PM - 5:30 PM
To sign up call 937.769.1334 or simply reply to this email. Let us know which shift you prefer.

Thanks for supporting WYSO!

Community Council Annual Meeting

Feedback from local NPs


YS Community Council Annual Meeting held at the Senior Center Thursday evening. YSCC requests and distributes nearly $20,000 in United Way funds for 9 local area organizations. The annual meeting provides an opportunity for the Recipient Organizations to explain how those UW funds help support their mission and improve the quality of life for local residents. Groups represented at the meeting were, YS Senior Center, Clifton Senior Center, YS Food Pantry, Aquatics Club, YSKP, Youth Orchestra, Riding Center and the John Bryan Youth Center. YSCC will be at the St. Fair (near Dino's) on June 11th - stop by and chat if you have questions.

Save the date - Saturday, June 18

Click on image to enlarge.

Two specials coming up on WYSO

WYSO has two program specials coming up in the last week of May

The first is a documentary called "The Road to Moneygall" about President Barack Obama's Irish forebears, including a branch of the family that moved to the Miami Valley in the mid 1800s.

It will be heard Sunday May 29 at 6pm.

President Obama visited the tiny village of Moneygall on Monday, May 23rd, to visit the birthplace of his great - great - great grandfather Falmouth Kearny.

Falmouth Kearny, Obama's ancestor, came to Ohio in 1850 and lived near the intersection of Ross, Pickaway and Fayette Counties

Irish radio producer Mary Phelan came to the area in late April to interview Kearny's descendant, Roger Kearny of Troy, Obama's fourth cousin three times removed, who did genealogical research that connected the Kearny family to Obama. He was producer Mary Phelan's guide on her visit.

"It was very striking to discover how similar the landscape in Fayette County is to that in County Offaly, where the Kearneys came from. Fayette County is like an American version of Moneygall, the small midlands village that the Kearneys left back in the mid nineteenth century," says Phelan.

WYSO is the first North American radio station to air Phelan's documentary, which was produced for Irish Radio.

On Monday, May 30, WYSO will begin a five part series called "The New Face of Wright-Patt." The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Decision, or BRAC, was a big win for Wright Patterson Air Force Base and the entire region is feeling the impact. In the five part series beginning Monday May 30, WYSO will look at how growth at the base is rewriting Dayton's history. The series will air daily on Morning Edition May 30 through Friday June third. It will also be available on the WYSO website, WYSO.org.

The series was produced in collaboration with NPR's "Impact of War" project. NPR editor Danyell Irby visited WYSO to coordinate the editing of the project during the week of May 16.

Memorial Day Concert

Click on image to enlarge.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Destination YS


Arts & Culture


"Cavort" - YS Arts Council Gallery
Saturday, May 28; 1-5 p.m.; 309 Xenia Ave.

"Those Who Can, Teach Art"
Mon - Fri: 9:30 a - 4:30 p; Sat & Sun: 10 a - 4 p
Glen Helen Atrium Gallery - 405 Corry St.
Multimedia by Melina Elum & Elisabeth Ventling Simon

Rhythm of Structure: Bowery & Beyond
Herndon Gallery, Antioch College; Tuesday-Sunday 1-4 pm

Memorial Day Concert
Yellow Springs Community Band & Community Chorus
Monday, May 30; 7 p.m.; Mills Lawn School, 200 S. Walnut St.

Nature & Recreation
Glen Helen Nature Preserve
Wild Edible and Useful Plants Hike
Saturday, May 28; 4 - 6 pm; Trailside Museum

Primitive Plant Hike
Sunday, May 29; 2 - 4 pm; Trailside Museum

Entertainment

Peach's Grill
9 am - 2:30 am
Music at 10 pm; $5 cover
Fri. - The Buffalo Killers
Sat. - Chicago Afrobeat Project

Little Art Theatre
Of Gods And Men
Arctic Son
Saturday, May 28, 3 pm

Food & Farm

Brandeberry Winery
5118 W. Jackson Rd.
Open Th, Fr, Sa at 12pm
Wine for tasting & purchase.

Current Cuisine
237 Xenia Ave.
Mon-Sat 9a-7p; Sun 10a-6p
Open Memorial Day
A Taste of Americana
Friday & Saturday

YS Farmer's Markets
Kings Yard & Corner Cone
Saturdays, 7am - 12pm
Both on Walnut St.

Bench to Nowhere: Stormy weather

A Cool Town Toon

Area Teachers Highlight AWW Faculty

Antioch Writers' Workshop registration still open

The current trend to shop, eat, and act locally also applies to the classroom with the 2011 Antioch Writers' Workshop faculty, many of whom call the area home. "This area has a unique and diverse resource of writers and teachers, all of whom have distinct voices and extensive knowledge about writing and publishing," said Antioch Writers' Workshop Director Sharon Short.

The Antioch Writers' Workshop Full-Week experience will include an afternoon poetry seminar led by Jamey Dunham of West Chester, an afternoon fiction seminar led by Martha Moody of Centerville, an afternoon fiction seminar by former Dayton area resident Lucrecia Guerrero, and First Book Speaker Kristina Purnhagen McBride of Centerville. Young writers will have an opportunity to work with Kettering resident Katrina Kittle during the Workshop's Young Writers' Seminar.

Rebecca Morean of Yellow Springs will lead the Focus on Form afternoon seminar, which will also feature local guests Ron Rollins (Kettering) teaching nonfiction, and Julie Moore (Cedarville) teaching poetry.

All of the Workshop's Saturday Seminar teachers also reside in the area. Keynoter and instructor Tim Waggoner will travel from Centerville and will be joined by session teachers Chuck Freeland (Dayton), Kristina McBride and Rebecca Morean.

"The energy in a workshop setting like AWW is moving and palpable. Writers feed off one another's excitement and dedication, and learn so much as they talk through all the issues that crop up during the writing process," said Saturday Seminar session teacher and First Book Speaker Kristina Purnhagen McBride. "In the Dayton area alone, we have fiction and non-fiction writers, writers for all ages and writers of many different genres. This provides attendants of the workshop an opportunity to meet and connect with people who have tapped into different channels in the industry and learn the different paths each person has taken to publication."

The registration deadline for the quickly filling full-week experience is June 9, but the deadline for the Morning Only, Afternoon Only, and Saturday Seminar registration has been extended to July 2. "These A La Carte options are a great way for local writers with a limited schedule to still take advantage of the workshop-or to give it a try before committing to the Full Week schedule and seminars," said AWW Director Sharon Short. "We had several writers last year who attended the Saturday Seminar or the Morning Classes as a first experience with the Antioch Writers' Workshop, and they're returning this year for the Full Week experience."

For detailed biographies of the 2011 Faculty and information on how to register for the 2011 Antioch Writers' Workshop, visit antiochwritersworkshop.com or email info@antiochwritersworkshop.com.

The Antioch Writers' Workshop will be held July 9-15, 2011 in partnership with Antioch University Midwest and with support from the Yellow Springs Community Foundation; Ohio Arts Council; The Frank Pace, Jr. Foundation; and WYSO (media sponsor).

Rocky & Pee Wee: What a night!

Yellow Springs and Ohio in the Early Days of the Civil War

A Yellow Springs Historical Society program

Sunday, June 12, 2:00 - 4:00 p.m., Yellow Springs Senior Center Great Room

And So It Began...Yellow Springs and Ohio in the Early Days of the Civil War

In recognition of the 150th anniversary of the firing on Fort Sumter, Civil War memorabilia collector and Yellow Springs Historical Society board president Dave Neuhardt will discuss the events leading to the Civil War and the early days of the war as they affected Ohio, Greene County and Yellow Springs.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Are we protected?




We've got green space; we've got affordable housing; we are soon to get solar panels. What ain't we got as a string of tornadoes is bearing down on us from the west? We ain't got two of our three tornado sirens, according to a report on WHIO-TV Channel 7 this evening.

Channel 7 is reporting that the sirens in Yellow Springs are in need of repair and they have not worked for months, failing again on Monday night to alert residents to a tornado warning.

WHIO-TV: 2 Tornado Sirens Failed To Sound In Yellow Springs

Scene Around Town

Hot off the SD card...

An anonymous caller alerted me to the fact that this house on E. Davis Street is being demolished today.

Report on Alternative Media in Thailand & Burma

Two events at Nonstop

1—Screening of Burma VJ (2009) by Anders Ostergaard
Thursday, June 2 @ 7:00 PM

2—Report from Keiko Sei, media journalist (from Bangkok, via skype),
Saturday, June 4 @ 1:00 PM

Both events at Nonstop Institute
305 N. Walnut St., Yellow Springs
donation

Burma VJ (2009), an award-winning documentary by Anders Ostergaard, chronicles young Burmese mediamakers who risk their lives and imprisonment to document political actions, such as the street demonstrations of 2007 where monks and citizens marched in Rangoon/Yangon and elsewhere to resist the Burmese junta. These young video journalists smuggle their tapes out of the country, making them available to international news media and the Burmese diaspora, who re-broadcast their reporting via satellite. This documentary offers insight into high-risk journalism, dissidence in a police state, and international networking, while at the same time providing a thorough documentation of the historical and dramatic days of September 2007. Among its many awards, Burma VJ received the Berlin Film Festival’s International Human Rights Award and Sundance’s World Cinema Documentary Editing Award.

Keiko Sei is a media journalist, curator, teacher and advocate for independent media who lives in Bangkok, Thailand. She is currently working with a support team for a Thai internet provider who is being prosecuted and faces decades in prison for anti-government statements made by a citizen blogger, a case that has important implications for international policies regarding freedom of speech on the internet. In Chiang Mai, on the border of Thailand and Burma, Sei has trained immigrant groups to produce media to focus international attention on human rights abuses in this region. In a report about this work she observed, “In many ways the Thai-Burma border is an experimental lab where these people who have completely different modes of culture must invent a way to act together.” Her work with diverse regional groups has respected “old” and existing regional communication practices while recognizing the strategic benefits of inventing or grafting “new” media forms in response to specific political and cultural conditions.

Keiko Sei will speak to the Yellow Springs audience live via skype about her work and contemporary media politics in Thailand, Burma, and other countries in SE Asia. Short projects to be screened in conjunction with her talk include a report by the Karen Back Pack Health Worker Team, who carry medicines and surgical supplies into a contested and heavily mined border region. These media and health workers trek for weeks, do health education and health care in remote villages, and use video cameras to document their work and the testimonies of human rights abuses by witnesses and victims. Also, Sei and Yellow Springs artist Migiwa Orimo will dialogue on their current respective but shared projects—research into independent and citizen journalists in Japan following the ongoing nuclear crisis precipitated by the March earthquake and tsunami.

Keiko Sei’s work with media art over the last two decades has been primarily focused on Eastern Europe and South East Asia. After coordinating independent international video projects in Tokyo, Sei moved to Budapest in 1988, and later Prague, where she collaborated on a series of cultural symposia and formative media art exhibitions in the region including The Media Are With Us!— The Role of Television in the Romanian Revolution (Budapest, 1990) and POLITIK-UM/new Engagement (Prague, 2002). During this period she also chaired the video studio at the Technical University in Brno, Czech Republic (1998-2001). Also over the last decade she was invited to work with independent media in the Caucasus region and Kazakhstan by Soros Foundation initiatives in new technologies. She has written for publications world wide including Art & Text (Australia), Impulse (Canada), Umelec/Artist (Czech Republic), Literarny Noviny/Literature Journal (Czech Republic), springerin (Austria), and currently writes for Thai and Burmese exile media. Sei was South East Asia regional curator for the Documenta 12 International Magazines Project (2008).

Chris Hill’s interview with Keiko Sei was published in The Aesthetics of Risk (ed. John Welchman) in 2008, and portions will be posted at Nonstop’s website: nonstopinstitute.org.

Class of 2020

Click on image to enlarge.

Special Wednesday show at Clifton Opera House

Wheels and The Appleseed Collective

The Clifton Opera House will host a very special program on Wednesday, June 1st. Wheels and The Appleseed Collective will take the stage at 7 p.m. and Clifton will never be the same again! Two high energy bands will rock the auditorium, don't miss it this blending of gypsy/dixieland/bluegrass/folk and whatever else they throw in!

The Appleseed Collective is a 4-piece Americana-jazz-folk outfit from Ann Arbor, MI featuring mandolin, fiddle, guitar, bass, washboard and shared/harmony vocals. The Appleseed Collective formed somewhat randomly and with surprising initial inertia. With almost all members of the group writing songs the sound is eclectic; equal parts their own character and influence that ranges back to the turn of the century.


Hailing from Yellow Springs, Wheels plays a folky, high-energy mixture of everything from bluegrass to rock n’ roll. Known for their trademark three-part harmony vocals, the band consists of Rory Papania on guitar, Sam Salazar playing mandolin and ukulele, Jamie Scott providing percussion and harmonica, and Sam Crawford laying down the bass. Their sound is shaped by an eclectic set of musicians, and the band lists The Avett Brothers, Dr. Dog, and The Band among their biggest influences. Show after show, Wheels delivers an energetic and engaging performance, and every member continually looks to expand their musical horizons.

The Clifton Opera House is located at 5 So Clay Street, Clifton. Owned and operated by the Village of Clifton. Box office will open at 6pm. Advance tickets are available 937.767.2343.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

The Road to Moneygall

Special programming on WYSO

Irish radio producer Mary Phelan came to the area to interview Roger Kearny of Troy, Pesident Obama’s fourth cousin three times removed.

91.3 WYSO has two program specials coming up in the last week of May.

The first is a documentary called “The Road to Moneygall” about President Barack Obama’s Irish forebears, including a branch of the family that moved to the Miami Valley in the mid 1800s.

It will be heard Sunday May 29 at 6pm.

President Obama visited the tiny village of Moneygall on Monday, May 23rd, to visit the birthplace of his great - great - great grandfather Falmouth Kearny.

Falmouth Kearny, Obama’s ancestor, came to Ohio in 1850 and lived near the intersection of Ross, Pickaway and Fayette Counties

Irish radio producer Mary Phelan came to the area in late April to interview Kearny’s descendant, Roger Kearny of Troy, Obama’s fourth cousin three times removed, who did genealogical research that connected the Kearny family to Obama. . He was producer Mary Phelan’s guide on her visit.

“It was very striking to discover how similar the landscape in Fayette County is to that in County Offaly, where the Kearneys came from. Fayette County is like an American version of Moneygall, the small midlands village that the Kearneys left back in the mid nineteenth century,” says Phelan.

WYSO is the first North American radio station to air Phelan’s documentary, which was produced for Irish Radio.

On Monday, May 30, WYSO will begin a five part series called “The New Face of Wright-Patt.” The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Decision, or BRAC, was a big win for Wright Patterson Air Force Base and the entire region is feeling the impact. In the five part series beginning Monday May 30, WYSO will look at how growth at the base is rewriting Dayton’s history. The series will air daily on Morning Edition May 30 through Friday June third. It will also be available on the WYSO website, WYSO.org.

The series was produced in collaboration with NPR’s “Impact of War” project. NPR editor Danyell Irby visited WYSO to coordinate the editing of the project during the week of May 16.

Maxine's Plant & Book Swap

You’re Invited to
Maxine’s Annual Plant and Book Swap
Sunday, May 29, 2011

Come anytime between 1-5 p.m.
422 North Park Place
Yellow Springs, OH

Bring 1-10 plants and take home the same number of different plants.

Bring your discarded and read books for a book swap. Those left over will be donated to the Planned Parenthood Annual Book Sale.

Light refreshments will be served. You are invited to wear your garden hat. Call Maxine at 760-7715 with any questions. Tell your friends and bring them along!

Band rehearsal interrupted by severe weather

Tornado warnings send Community Band musicians scurrying for shelter

We were in the middle of "Amazing Grace" in the high school music room last night when the lights went out. It was 8 o'clock. Our momentum carried us through a few more measures in the dark, until we realized that this wasn't just a flicker. Then out came the cell phones, calling homes to see if lights were out elsewhere in the village and to find out if there were any tornado warnings. The answer to both those questions was yes. So, all 50-or-so of us put down our precious instruments and headed for the school office, the only interior room in the building to which we had access. Strains of "Dance Band on the Titanic" were playing in my head.

After a half-hour, another cell phone call informed us that the threat was over. But, we still had no lights. We huddled in the hall and agreed to schedule another rehearsal for 6 p.m. on Sunday, so we will be ready for our concert on Monday.

If you are a Community Band member who missed rehearsal last night, we hope to see you in the music room on Sunday at 6 p.m. If you are not in the band, we hope to see you on Monday at 7 p.m. at Mills Lawn School for a rousing Memorial Day Concert. We will be outdoors on the front lawn if the weather is good, in the gym if not.

This Saturday at Clifton Opera House

North River Band

Get your boots ready for scootin', the North River Band is coming back to the Clifton Opera House on Saturday, May 28th! How to describe them? "Old country style" with an occasional bluegrassy, rockabilly, or old rock and roll tune thrown in to keep your toes tapping.

Clifton's own Michael Smith has been playing acoustic music since the '80's. His early days were filled with bluegrass and country with his "Honeycreek Bluegrass Band". These days his influences include Johnny Cash, Ian Tyson, John Prine, Doc Watson, Tom Russell, and Stevie Ray Vaughan, and he'll still do some bluegrass if requested, just ask!

The North River Band was formed to entertain you at 2009's Old Clifton Days' festival. Michael's backed up by Dan Meyers on the bass, Robert Conoway on rhythm guitar and vocals, and Izzie Beegle on the violin. This talented bunch of musicians will have you rockin'! Check their website for their performance schedule. www.northriverband.com. The Clifton Opera House is located at 5 So. Clay Street, Clifton. The Box office opens at 6:30pm, concert at 7:30pm. Door donation $7.00 Contact 937.767.2343 for more information or visit the website www.villageofclifton.com.

Monday, May 23, 2011

Bench to Nowhere: Old news

A Cool Town Toon

Rocky & Pee Wee: The weather report

Scene Around Town


This tree treat is particularly noteworthy because it's not visible to motorists, only pedestrians. Does anyone know who the artist is?

Photos by Susan Gartner

New exhibit to start in Glen Building next week

Glen Helen Atrium Gallery Exhibition:
Close to Home: Paintings and Prints by Pat Robinow and Sherraid Scott
June 2 through 29, 2011

Glen Helen Atrium Gallery is showing Close to Home: Paintings and Prints by Pat Robinow and Sherraid Scott, from June 2 - 29, 2011. Robinow and Scott regularly paint outdoors and this exhibition opens a wide lens on our local landscape. The public is invited to meet the artists at the opening reception on Sunday June 5, from 2 - 4 pm. At 3 pm Scott will do a wood block demonstration and will also show some of her etching plates.

Robinow paints in oils and works from direct observation in the traditional genres of landscape and still life. She says, "What motivates my work is the richness of the immediate environment, taking the time to really look."

Scott makes prints using woodblock, lithography and etching techniques and is a member of the Dayton Printmakers' Cooperative. In addition, she paints using watercolors. Scott lived in Japan for twenty years and has exhibited her work in Japan as well as in the United States.

The Gallery is located in the Glen Helen Building at 405 Corry Street in Yellow Springs. Show hours are 9:30 am to 4:30 pm Monday through Friday and 10 am to 4 pm on Saturdays and Sundays. Admission is free. Artwork will be available for purchase with proceeds supporting the Glen Helen Nature Preserve.

For more information call the Glen Helen Ecology Institute at 937.769.1902 or visit www.glenhelen.org.

The Glen Helen Atrium Gallery showcases the work of emerging local and regional visual artists in twelve exhibits each year. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of art goes to the Glen Helen Association, a non-profit organization whose mission is to support preservation and programs at Glen Helen and its 1,000-acre nature preserve.

WYSO garners more honors




According to an article in the Dayton Daily News last week, WYSO has won two 2011 Gabriel Awards. The annual awards are sponsored by The Catholic Academy for Communication Arts Professionals. The station been named Secular Radio Station of the Year and also won an award for “Single News Story Series.”

Dayton Daily News: WYSO receives Gabriel Awards from Catholic group

Sunday, May 22, 2011

This Friday at Clifton Opera House

Get ready, here comes the Corndrinkers! This group has been a Miami Valley "cultural" institution since the mid '70's. The Corndrinkers is an old-time stringband that channels the sound and spirit of the "Golden Age" of country music - the 1920s and 1930s.

With the twin fiddles of Linda Scutt and Barb Kuhns echoing the great north Georgia dance bands and leading the charge, Tom Duffee (banjo), Doug Smith (guitar) and Al Turnbull (bass) have played at festivals throughout Ohio and the Appalachian region.

Box office opens at 6:30pm, show starts at 7:30pm. $7.00 door donation is requestion. For more information call 937.767.2343 or visit the website www.villageofclifton.com. This show is sponsored by WYSO, public radio for the Miami Valley.

Memorial Day Concert

The Yellow Springs Community Band will give a Memorial Day concert on Monday, May 30 at 7 p.m. at the Mills Lawn School, outdoors if the weather permits, otherwise in the gym. There will be a special performance with the Yellow Springs Community Chorus on the last number of the program. Come hear your friends, neighbors and relatives make music!

The program:

Star Spangled Banner
Alford - The Vanished Army March
Amazing Grace
Gould - American Salute
Ammerland (Shirley Mullins conducting)
Armed Forces Salute Medley
Chance - Elegy
Hanson "Song of Democracy" with Chorus

At the Library, Thursday

Click on image to enlarge.

View the trailer.

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Gallery reception at YSAC last night



YSAC Gallery exhibiting artist Bridgette Bogle (center) chats with former gallery committee member Jessica Roller (holding new baby Wren) and current committee co-chair Deb Housh in front of one of Bogle's paintings.

Blue Moon Soup in Kings Yard last night




The group Blue Moon Soup played in Kings yard for the Third Friday Fling last night, which included a variety of music and Soul Fire Tribe dancers afterwards.

Photos by Susan Gartner

Local man scores on Politico




Former resident and YSHS grad Scott Keyes is making his mark as a political commentator from the left. Scott, son of Ralph and Muriel Keyes, is a reporter for ThinkProgress, the blog of the Center for American Progress Action Fund. Recently, he appeared on the ED Show on MSNBC and got a mention on the blog Politico, one of the premier political blogs, for his coverage of a conservative politician. Just recently had a piece published on Politico.

Politico: President Obama easy mark on debt ceiling

Check out Scott Keyes' blog on ThinkProgress.

Latest mural promotes new enrichment program



Last Sunday, participants from a Mills Lawn enrichment program were photographed showing their support in a big way, undeterred by the cold, damp day.

Photos by Susan Gartner

Make it a great weekend!

Top off your Third Weekend Fling in the Springs with a trip to Dayton on Sunday to see Ira Glass.

As of midday Friday there were still a few tickets available for Ira Glass at the Victoria Theatre on Sunday evening at 7:00.

Go to tickercenterstage.com or call 937.228.3630

Guerilla knitting unraveled

By Susan Gartner

On Wednesday, as a YS Arts Council committee member, I spent the afternoon cleaning the gallery in preparation for our Third Friday Fling Opening Reception. While I was dusting the piano in the terrace (there for the playing wink wink) I noticed a blue envelope which had the words “Yellow Springs’ Artists” written on the front. Inside were six photos of the famous Yellow Springs Knit Knot Tree but no note inside the envelope or handwriting on the back of the photos. I recognized the time period as March 2008 when the tree was first…um….dressed. The knitting is brand new and the colors are bright. The knitted sleeves reached so high into the branches that contributors had to stand on a ladder in order to add more yarn. There are piles of snow on the sidewalk. The pictures were taken at the time that the Knit Knot tree was gaining coverage – first local, then national, then international fame – with photos and interviews with its creators Corrine Bayraktaroglu and Nancy Mellon.

I couldn’t tell whether the anonymous person who left the photos intended for them to be forwarded to Jafagirls (“Just Another Flippin’ Artist”) Nancy and Corrine or for YSAC. I took the photos home with me to scan them and get them into YSAC archives and then planned to forward them to the artists.

On Thursday I received the following mass e-mail from Corrine:

“Subject line: Knit graffiti trashed. Someone cut down the yarnbombing on the tree outside the senior center sometime last night and this morning and threw the knitting into the rubbish bin outside the front of the senior center and placed two crochet pieces into the free box. Which leads me to believe perhaps this is a local person.”

“I can’t speak for Nancy, but I consider it spiteful and cowardly that someone took it upon themselves to cut it down. I don’t care if they thought it looked shabby. Obviously they planned it since it requires a good pair of scissors to cut down such a large installation. Nancy and I have a reason for wanting to remove our own knit graffiti (and we were planning on removing this soon) as we try to reuse and recycle the knitting for other projects for charity fundraisers etc. (such as Tecumseh Land Trust, and the Knit Knot storytelling box) or return pieces others made. This particular yarnbombing was featured in a children’s book in Holland and we would have liked to have been able to take pics of it being taken down for our scrapbook. So as you can imagine I am peeved. If you know someone who is thinking the yarnbombing is looking shabby and they want it removed, please ask them to contact Nancy or I. We are more than happy to remove yarnbombing that is past its due date.”

The coincidental timing of the photos and the knit-knot-hatchet-job is certainly suspect but I’m not sure if there is a connection. I’m wondering if the yarnbombing-destroyer is misguided or misinformed and hasn’t been paying attention to the “life cycle” of textiles created by Nancy and Corrine. The two women have created and coordinated many colorful and clever public arts ideas involving many villagers (including me) since moving to town. The Jafagirls are all about community. Community is their middle name. Some of their ideas have been brief, one-time activities like Kiss in the Springs (2009) and others have been much more involved and on-going like their bench beautification efforts using yarn and felt, swapping out pieces after a few months time and redoing whole efforts when needed. When their work starts to look worn and ratty, like what happened to the Flower Power flowers attached to the railings at Brother Bears Coffeehouse, Nancy and Corrine remove the work.

As a new Jafagirl initiate and YSAC member, I am taken aback by this anti-art attack. Lucky for us, Corrine and Nancy are not new to this type of cowardly criticism. From experience I know they will come back even bolder and I look forward to their inspired response.

Whether it’s the harsh effects of an Ohio winter or a Draconian critique from an anonymous villager, Nancy and Corrine recognize that when creating public art, you can’t have an emotional attachment to the work or expect it to be up for any length of time. Afterall, knit happens.

Thanks, you two, for all the many ways you keep this town vibrant, unique, creative, and colorful and thank you especially for including me in your ideas.

Friday, May 20, 2011

Local woman to perform at A World A'Fair tonight

Friday night between 5 & 7 p.m.


The theme of this year's A World A'Fair at the Dayton Convention Center, May 20-22, is weddings from around the world. May Cheow Dixon, daughter of Amy Lee and Virgil Hervey will be performing in a staged traditional Chinese wedding ceremony on behalf of of the Dayton Association of Chinese Americans (DACA). The wedding ceremonies will be performed as the International Festival of delicious foods goes on around them.

At the Herndon


Just a reminder that this Saturday (May 21) at the Antioch's Herndon Gallery we will be having an artist's reception for the amazing John Sims, in honor of the opening of his new multimedia and multi-artist show, 'Rhythm of Structure: Mathematics, Art and Poetic Reflection." The reception is from 6-9. Come check out the show and meet the artist! And please pass this along to any other contemporary art lovers...

For more information contact anne bohlen 937-286-8455 or jean gregorek 937-286-5934.

Here is how John was described by the artzine "Bomb":

John Sims is a conceptual artist who is creating a catalogue of projects spanning the mathematical art to the socio-political. In the fall of 2008, he completed Square Roots: A Quilted Manifesto for exhibition at the Wilmer Jennings Gallery, Kenkeleba House in New York. This project presented a collection of 13 quilts done in collaboration with Amish quilters that focused on the visual manifestation of Pi and the Pythagorean mathematics. The project also included his video installation by his alter ego Johannes Curtis Schwarzenstein, an AfroGermanJewish MathArtPoet and the music blues composition based on Pi. His political project Recoloration Proclamation started with re-coloring the Confederate flag to shift its paradigms surrounding white supremacy, leading to the controversial piece, "The Proper Way to Hang a Confederate Flag," the various remixing of "Dixie," and to the recoloring of other flags from other countries.