CommunityGal's Blog

Your favorite FOX 6ers will be out at the Wisconsin State Fair on Monday, August 6th!

10 am - 11 am Mark & Kim

11am The FOX 6 Sports Team will host a Q&A session

Noon - 1 pm talk with Ted & Beverly about blogging

1 pm The Official Meteorologists of the Fair -Vince, Bart & Rob will be talking weather

1:30 see Brad & Katrina showing off myfoxmilwaukee.com

2:30 pm Vince will host a special Caching with Condella session

Look for FOX 6 in the Central Mall on Monday !! (and you can save $2 on your admission, go to the summer events page and print the coupon.)

 

We all like a good bargin. So how about experiencing all facets of art for FREE!

Wednesdays are FOX 6-  Milwaukee Country Residents Free Day at the Milwaukee Art Museum.

Every Wednesday residents of Milwaukee County can enjoy the permanent collection of the Milwaukee Art Museum for free. (This does not include admission into the Feature Exhibit) The museum is open form 10 am - 5 pm. Just show a valid ID that lists you as living in Milwaukee County, and you're in.

The Milwaukee Art Museum's collection includes nearly 20,000 works from antiquity to the present. The Museum's permanent holdings include important collections of Old Masters and 19th-and 20th-century art. The Museum's collections of American decorative arts, German Expressionism, folk and Haitian art, and American art after 1960 are among the nation's finest.

Find out more at www.mam.org 

Get your friends together for dinner and support your favorite cause.

On Tuesday night, March 13, hungry Milwaukeeans can contribute to social and economic equity and a healthy environment by simply ordering off the menu at African Hut, Casablanca, Yield, Caf Brucke, Allegro Martini Bar & Eatery, Pedrano's Restaurante, Cempazuchi, PJs Subs & Clubs and Bella's Fat Cat Custard & Jumbo Burgers. Restaurants will contribute a portion of the evenings proceeds to Community Shares of Greater Milwaukee, while diners contribute just the cost of a meal.

The fundraiser called Share a Meal with Community Shares is a win-win situation. Restaurants benefit from increased business on a dreary Tuesday night in March; diners can have fun with friends and order whatever they want and the proceeds go to a great cause.

Community Shares of Greater Milwaukee is working to build a community that ensures social equity and a healthy environment by connecting donors with issues they are passionate about.

For more information, please call (414) 342-0883. To make a reservation go to www.share-a-meal.org

 

 

I was very surprized to learn that Potawatomi Bingo Casino offers FREE comedy nights on Saturdays in the Northern Lights Theater. Yes, FREE.  Shows are at 8 pm & 10 pm. First come, first serve, no tickets required.

 

Seating was not a problem. In fact lots of seats were open. This past Saturday I saw two different comics. Mike, from Cudahy, was very funny. The headliner was Jodi Kerns who featured a lot of humor around female issues. Be prepared for adult humor since you have to be over 18 to enter the casino.

 

Drinks are costly ($7 for a small cocktail), but there is no drink minimum or other requirements, so it really can be a cost effective night out.  Plus, the theater was not smokey so if you can make it through the smoke-filled gaming areas you will be fine in the theater.

 

Enjoy a  cheap night out at the new Bonkers Comedy Club inside Potawatomi. Upcoming performers: 2/17 Brian Green, 2/24 Doug MacCraw and 3/10 Val Storms.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wisconsin's first Steak n Shake has now opened, although they are still doing staff training and will not open for breakfast for about two weeks. It is located on 124th & Burleigh in Tosa.

I remember going to a Steak n Shake years ago in Illinois. But I don't remember it being a sit down restaurant with a waitress. The place had a 30-minute wait today. So I would hold off and go in a few weeks when the crowds slow down. (I guess we were all just too anxious to try something new.)

 

I stuck with their signature items "an original steakburger", "famous french fries" and strawberry "hand-dipped milk shake". I had to take it to go since the place was so busy. But even that took about 10 minutes.  But the drive-thru seemed to be moving along.

 

The fries are small straw type, very good, and come in a pretty good size holder. The burger was good, but the shake was better. Burger reminds of Culvers or Sollys. Fairly flat, so order an "original double" and it won't be that filling.

 

They have a large menu if you "eat in". It is definately worth checking out..... later. Let me  know how you like it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With all this cold weather, I've been spending more time in the house. So I needed a project. I thought, hey maybe I can enter something into the Pillsbury Bake Off. So I set off on my new challenge. It was a great way to keep the oven on and my mind busy. (Although I got really sick of washing dishes)

It has to be an original recipe and must include at least two items from Pillsbury's list. I thought, I can do that. Well....no I can't. Have you ever tried to create a new dish that actually tastes good?? My attempt at "pineapple split dip" was a dud. The "hot peanut butter roll up" was yucky. Who knew this would be so hard.

Liking to cook clearly does not mean you can create something that tastes good and others might like. So my chance at cooking stardum is fading fast. Unless someone thinks my "tune melt pizza" could be a big winner??

Stay warm everyone!

 

 

If I had a million dollars.... can't get that song out of my head today. So, what would I buy??

Definately a bigger house. Then maybe a motorcycle, followed by a trip some where. But since I don't buy lottery tickets, I don't think my chances are very good unless a rich sugar daddy comes along......so I'll be staying put, but a girl can dream!!

If I had a million dollars, if I had a million dollars, if I had a million dollars..... I'd be rich!

Looks like it is going to be one of the colder weekends of the year. So here are my "hot" picks for staying warm, what are yours??

1. A trip to a steam room. Visit your local athletic club and live in the sauna.

2. Cook, bake and cook some more. Keep the oven going all day by trying new recipes.

3. Have your own "wing ding" by traveling to Racine for the best chicken wings in the state at Bucket's Pub, 2301 Lathrop. They are made fresh to order and feature a great sauce that will give you hot lips.

4. Curl up with the dog in a pile of blankets, drink hot chocolate and watch movies all day.

5. If you can't beat em, join them..... attend the free Ice Fishing Clinic at five Milwaukee County Parks and one Waukesha County Park on Saturday, Feb. 3 beginning on the hour every hour from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. burrrrr

6. Run from building to building at the Milwaukee County Zoo during Family Free Day Saturday Feb 3, 9 am - 4:30 pm. It is a "hot deal", free admission for everyone. But you have to pay for parking.

Stay warm everyone !! (and listen to your mother and wear a hat)

Way to go FOX 6 viewers!! Below is from Wisconsin We Care. The organization that was in charge of the Valentines for Soldiers campaign. You made this possible!


Just wanted to Thank everyone at FOX6 for all the help in our drive . In 4 years this has been the best turn out I have had. Fox 6 is the greatest. Along with the biggest collection Wisconsin We Care has ever had we made contacts with Amvets groups that want to donate cash for shipping costs . Many girl scout troops are out selling cookies for the troops.The eagle scout in Waterford is still collecting for Wisconsin We Care. And the collection filled a 40 foot semi truck full of product to send to our troops. We will continue till all our troops are home . God Bless and hope to work with you again . Jeff and Dana Bukowski


Jeff Bukowski
President
Wisconsin We Care

Just heard about a new club starting in Milwaukee, the "Key Sunday Cinema Club". Members watch a film and then local moderators lead a 45 minute to one hour discussion after the film with the audience.

Films will be the best of independent and foreign films before their local commercial release. The new club will give people a chance to see films and to have a discussion with like-minded people.

The first meeting of Milwaukee's Key Sunday Cinemda Club will be on Jan. 28 at 10 a.m. at the Oriental.

There is a $95 cost to join and be able to attend the screenings.

To learn more, contact the Oriental Theatre
2230 North Farwell Avenue
Milwaukee, WI 53202
414-276-8711

Key Sunday Cinema Club
P.O. Box 29156
Los Angeles, CA 90029
Phone: 1-888-467-0404

Checked out the new Jose's Blue Sumbrero on Bluemound and Barker Road. Their signature item is guacamole freshly made tableside. I have never been a guacamole fan, but I am now! It was terrific.

They have a very expansive menu. I had the mushroom and steak quesadilla - which was good. (But Dos Banditos makes the best). Friend had fish tacos, which she raved about. Another person had a chicken dish, which was also good.

Jose's is worth checking out. A variety of items, fair prices. It is owned by the same folks the own the Chancery and Eddie Martini's.

Bon Appetite' everyone!

Renaissance Theaterworks is currently producing the play "Top Dog Underdog" written by Suzan-Lori Parks. My hopes were high since the play had a lot of buzz and earned a Pulitzer Prize.

I wanted to leave at intermission, but stuck it out to try to determine what this play was all about. The play moves very slow, and never lives us to the billing of "wickedly funny", and never delivers on the "astounding drama" that is suppose to exist between these two brothers.

The two actors were good, I just feel it was a bad story. And at the end, I questioned what I was suppose to take away from it. (I won't spoil it for you by telling you what happens at the end).

Obviously I am not recommending the play. May be I just didn't get it. I'll have to see what "the real" critics say.

The Dine Out Club visited Mardi Gras Restaurant last night. It is located at 7926 W. Capitol in Milwaukee. Restaurant staff hails from New Orleans and indicates this is their "very own bridge between creole, cajun, american and soul food."

We had a group of 16 people, and everyone had a wonderful meal and walked away extrememly full. Mardi Gras has everything from gumbo to fried chicken, short ribs and meatloaf. My favorites were the side dishes: red beans & rice, candied yams, macaroni & chesse, fried corn and corn bread. Yummy! Prices are great. We also tried the desserts: Bread pudding, coconut pinapple cake, sweet potato pie and red velet cake. Crowd favorite was the red velvet cake.

Good food, good value and worth a try!

I was fortunate to join a group from Wisconsin, primarily from St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Sheboygan Falls, that traveled to New Orleans for a week during the holidays to help rebuild some areas. This was the third trip there for some members of the group, and there were also "newbies" like me.

It is amazing how much work still needs to be done. There are portions of neighborhoods that are ghost towns. You might say "it has been a year, why aren't they back to normal". Well, what would you do if someone wants to charge you $8,000 to empty your house to the studs, or when the vendor says it wil be $19,000 to hook your house up to the sewer, and then the City will not allow you to have electricity to your home until it is completly done - so how do you start up power tools or work on your house at night? And there are not enough contractors to go around. So there are all kinds of challenges.

Volunteer groups coming there and mucking out the houses or starting to rebuild homes truly makes a tremendous impact on individuals. Our group cleaned out a few houses, started rebuilding one, and worked at two different churches to start rebuilding spaces and programs. We also visited a church the group worked at on a previous trip. They said it was the Wisconsin volunteers that helped them come back. Just in November, they rededicated their church and started services again. The church felt it would not have been possible without help from Wisconsin and a few other volunteer teams from other states.

We ran into all kinds of our volunteer groups working throughout the city. But I do believe it is going to be years before full neighborhoods are back.

But there are signs of rebirth... the trolly car is back running on Canal Street, lots of retailers are back open, individuals are rebuilding their homes. But there are also no street lights or street signs in many areas, the city has yet to release a plan for rebuilding, and thousands of people have not returned to the city.

This means there is plenty of time for you to take a trip to New Orleans and help out. (particularily people with construction skills) And if you can't travel, we have many people in need in our own community. Contact The Volunteer Center or Habitat for Humanity.

It was a great trip. The best part was meeting some wonderful people and working together to help others. I challenged myself to work on ladders and pound nails (not something I typically do and special thanks to Robert and Dick for their encouragement) and put on a mask, rubber boots and protective gear to try to discover what it is like to see your entire household distroyed and hauled onto the street.(my applause to the mucking team that did this the entire trip).

The tough part... riding in a bus for hours and hours and hours to get there.

But if you can get there, expect to be thanked at the rental car counter, the restaurant, by church members and neighbors. The people of New Orleans truly appreciate it!

Happy New Year!

There are lots of good movies to choose from this holiday season. I had planned to catch "We are Marshall", but it was sold out. So I ended up at "Pursuit of Happyness".

Watching the movie was a little stressful. You really get drawn in to what it would feel like if you were without money and about to be homeless. The fear, the panic.

I am not sure how much the movie stuck to the truth, but you certainly become impressed with the determination of the main character played by Will Smith. He can serve as inspiriration for people to stick to their goals and dreams.

I thought the best actor was actually the young Smith, Will's real life son who also plays his son in this movie. For so young, he was a very good actor.

Overall I thought the movie was slow. So the tension and emotional drain really gets to you since it just keeps going. Maybe I've seen too many action flicks or TV shows that solve problems in just 30 minutes.

I think I may be better served to read the book about Chris Gardner. However, I must ackowledge that the audience did applaud during the film, so it clearly draws you in and you definatley root for him to succeed.

Since I always enjoy a movie based on a true story, I will try again to catch "We Are Marshall".