Storm clouds loomed–and my camera battery died just as the parade started, of course–but the Washington Island Fair carried on in fine form. The island’s oldest resident holds court with her attendants The American Legion, three men strong Breakfast of champions Kate bravely staffs the air rifle shoot Blue ribbon beets Winner: tallest corn
“Well we’ll ne-ver have this night to live a-ga-in. So why not [beat] live it up [beat] while we can?”–“Northern Lights” So runs the hedonistic chorus to the unofficial island anthem, the traditional sing-along finale to the annual “Under the Big Top” concert. The penultimate event in the W.I. Music Festival, it’s the island talent … Continued
Surprise guests en route on the 12:15 ferry! Unprecedented . . . And I’m sort of ridiculously excited. I didn’t realize how hungry I was for friendly, familiar faces until one called from Egg Harbor at 8 AM. Even before the call I was feeling at a loss for words. Spent most of yesterday fighting … Continued
That’s what I called Washington Island last year, in a blog post about a weekend trip up here. I think I was trying for a sort of tongue-in-cheek, self-conscious hyperbole (Wisconsin? Paradise?), but obviously my writing skills weren’t up to snuff, because the phrase turned up, attributed to me with utmost sincerity, on the Death’s … Continued
Willi Lehner, who was supposed to lead a cheese tasting here tomorrow, has cancelled. Darnit. If you wonder why I am bummed, check out Sula’s profile from May of this year (linked to below but I’ll do it again here) as well as recent coverage in the New York Times and the Isthmus. I tried some … Continued
Anthony Bourdain does Hot Doug’s.
. . . but you can’t make anyone buy it if it’s cheaper at the Pick n Save. Farmers who bring their stuff to the city, whether Chicago’s Green City Market or Madison’s Dane County Farmers’ Market, are fighting shoppers off with sticks this year. In Door County, not so much. An illuminating letter from … Continued
For an alleged food writer, I’ve done a lousy job of posting any actual, like, food content on the blog. Well. No more. Saturday I sat in on “Indian Cooking in the Heartland,” a class led by Madison-based Neeta Saluja. Author of Six Spices: A Simple Concept of Indian Cooking, Saluja’s on a mission … Continued
Got stuff going on but nothing to show for it at the mo. Also, my hands hurt. So I direct you instead to SMITH magazine, where my friends Sari and Josh have a great little web comic up today, called The Beekeeper. It tucks snugly into the theme of “nature in the city,” around which … Continued