What We've Been Calling "The Big K"

For about six months, we have been attempting to keep a secret about Kavarna's future. Today, after months of furtive meetings and hushed conversations, it is finally time to lay the rumors to rest and to announce our intention to move Kavarna into the River Center.

Since its inception, we have been excited and curious about the redevelopment of Green Bay's river front. It represents an important and necessary shift in our city's relationship to the Fox. For 150 years, the river was used primarily as an industrial resource; its banks were lined with factories, warehouses, fish canneries, and mills. With some notable exceptions, the Fox River has been de-industrialized. Finally we are able to put it at the very center of Green Bay's public life, which is where we would like Kavarna to be. This past Summer, we initiated an ongoing conversation with the developers, and together we have found an incredible new home for Kavarna in the River Center.

Picture a larger Kavarna with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Fox River; directly on the boardwalk. Take your Lemon Ginger Green Iced Tea to go and listen to the music in the amphitheater on a warm Summer night. Or, take some chilled Pinot out to our café terrace and have a conversation with your friend as the sun sets over the Neville Museum. Or, book a private party on Kavarna's second story mezzanine! Kavarna will be able to be even more things to more people in a larger and more flexible space that we can call our own.

And don't worry, we promise we'll only change for the better! We're very serious about trying to pin down what makes Kavarna Kavarna, so that we can move that across the river too. We won't be moving until 2009, so there's plenty of time to make sure we do things right!

(The rendering above is pretty old, look for a more current one in tomorrow's newspaper!)

Holiday Cheer

That's all in the future, what we're focused on right now is Christmas and the holidays. St. Nick finally found his way from his tomb in Bari, Italy to Kavarna, so the employees will be unwrapping their gifts! Every 15th song is now a holiday song (we hope to increase the ratio to every third or fourth)! Rudolph Mochas are being served, eggnog lattes will begin this week, and there are enough gingerbread biscotti to satisfy the gingerphiles! If there are any coffee lovers on your list, the Alterra coffee gift boxes have arrived. Kavarna is ready to serve your holiday needs.

Johanna is enjoying all of it immensely. Last year, she was too young to understand that something special was happening. This year she's getting much more out of it. We took her to see the Prange's exhibit at the Neville Public Museum; she was kind of ambivalent about Santa (she doesn't really know who he is yet, she'll learn). Next year, she'll have a little brother or sister to share all of it with. We're expecting another child in Spring, which is our other big piece of news!

Matthew O'Grady this Thursday at 7 pm

We're wrapping up our Fall/Winter 2007 music series this Thursday evening with Green Bay-based singer/songwriter Matthew O'Grady! Jazz guitarist Stefan Hall gave him a glowing recommendation a couple of weeks ago, so we're very much looking forward to it. Matthew writes personal music in a folk idiom that I think we'll all enjoy. Our own Josh Gordon will open the show.

We'll be there, Johanna is Josh's biggest fan! Every time we bring her to Kavarna, she runs into the kitchen and shouts, "Djhosh!" We don't expect you to be as excited as the world's most excitable toddler, but we hope that we'll see many of you there.

And, if we don't see you in person, have a wonderful holiday!

—Linda and Alex Galt

If you've been at Kavarna in the past two weeks, you've probably noticed that we've mounted a new exhibit of paintings by David Klein and Norbert Kox. Klein is a factory worker from West Bend, Wisconsin who began painting in 1992. Since then he has exhibited his expressionist work at the Neville Public Museum, Milwaukee Public Museum, the John Michael Kohler Arts Center, the Intuit Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art in Chicago, and numerous others. He has published his paintings in Art in America, Milwaukee Museum, and Raw Vision.

Norbert Kox is a visionary artist who currently splits his time between New Franken, Wisconsin and the Bahamas. He came to national attention when New York's Catholic League protested his 1999 show at the Neville Public Museum. They objected to Kox's apocalpytic vision of Christianity and his criticism of organized religion. Kox's work have taken on a completely different tone since he began wintering in the Bahamas. The islands are now at the center of his cosmography. The five unmounted paintings at Kavarna are the first exhibition in Green Bay of this new work.

Thursday Night Music at Kavarna is free, smoke-free, open to all ages, and happens twice a month.

Adam Mackintosh: Adam Mackintosh is one of Pat MacDonald's colleagues at the Steel Bridge Fest in Sturgeon Bay. He says, "I'm a song person. I've constructed them, discovered them and have often times simply been possessed by them." That sounds really good to us. Check out his songs at myspace.com/adammackintosh. Galynne Goodwill will open the show! evening starts at 7. This will be a phenomenal evening of music, prepare to be amazed! I'm not just saying that...

Rev. Eddie Danger: Last seen at Kavarna's very first ukulele night, the Reverend Eddie Danger will return to Kavarna to perform on thirty separate instruments. Ed Danger has picked up a lot influences and his travels, his music can be hard to pin down, having strains of various folk musics, rhythm and blues, and jazz. This spectacle will begin at 7pm with an opening act to be announced!

Tom Vollman: We're pleased to be presenting Milwaukee's Tom Vollman for the first time at Kavarna. He's often compared to Bruce Springsteen, Ryan Adams, and other songwriters who have tapped into the folk tradition to describe the modern condition. He's the singer for the band, Moonshine Sway, but if you go online you'll see that he's gained more attention as a solo performer. Opening act to be announced, evening begins at 7pm.

Galynne Goodwill and Mark On Drums: Galynne and Mark are two of our very favorite regional performers. You've probably seen Mark providing that cool, shuffly rhythm behind Dale Anderson and the Delta Jets. He's also a talented songwriter and singer. Galynne has performed extensively by herself and with the Voices of Eve. This past Summer they got married and now they perform together. We've yet to find an opening act, evening begins at 7pm.

Instrumental Guitar: Stefan Hall and Dan Weaver: on March 13th, we will be hosting an evening of instrumental guitar music featuring UWGB professor Stefan Hall playing jazz and virtuoso Dan Weaver playing classical guitar music. So get ready to hear plenty of "Nuages" and Villa-Lobos! We have had Dan Weaver perform at Kavarna before and he is remarkable.

Jeff Mirkes will recognize some of these! If you're not signed up for Jeff's eNewsletter "What's Up Downtown," you can sign up at downtowngreenbay.com.

• » December 12th, 4 am: St. Willebrord Parish presents "Mananitas" (a celebration of the Lady of Our Guadalupe), featuring live music. The time is not a type. Sounds intriguing! The parish is at 209 S. Adams St.
• » December 14th, 11 am - 1 pm: "The 25 Greatest Moments in Lambeau Field History" by Cliff Christl booksigning. An opportunity for a last minute gift for your most deserving Packers fan.
• » December 15th, 6 pm: Victoria Vox at Art Garage. I guess she's allowed to play at places other than Kavarna... It's a suggested donation of $20.
• » December 16th, 3 pm: "Sing We Now Noel" Green Bay Boys Choir, Christmas concert. Grace Lutheran Church, 321 S. Madison St. $10.
• » Are you a student at UWGB? Have you considered traveling overseas to pursue scholastic research or other educational opportunities? Maybe you're the parent or friend of such a student.. The deadline for the Tony Galt Memorial Travel Scholarship is coming up on December 19th. My father strongly believed that foreign travel was an essential part of an education. After he passed away, my mother and I decided to create a memorial scholarship that would give $2500.00 to one student each year to finance overseas travel that would enhance their education. This can take the form of independent research or participating in an academic program abroad. If you or anyone you know would like to know how to apply for this incredible opportunity, please contact UWGB's office of International Education.

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