You're home in Owensboro
This isn’t about putting up a good front. This isn’t about grassroots versus astroturf. In fact, we’ll be quite upfront with you about our agenda.
You see, Owensboro, Kentucky’s about more than just barbecue, bluegrass, and a bridge. It’s a place to call home, even from across the ocean (or at least the Ohio). And if you never realized this before, then you’ve certainly tumbled onto the right page.
After all, that’s what this page is about: bringing a bit of home, a bit of Owensboro, directly to you, regardless of which zip code you’re in now.
Basically, the plan here is to present you an authentic, though likely at least somewhat still biased, picture of what’s going on here at home. So get ready.
This is about community, and this is about home.
You’re home in Owensboro.
(Project of GO-EDC)
This Saturday, Owensboro will host the 76th annual Christmas Parade, which will kick off the Christmas season for our community. Our parade is the largest Christmas parade in Kentucky.
The theme for this year’s parade is “River Front Christmas” to celebrate the new riverfront park. The parade will feature performances by our local high school marching bands, floats designed by a wide range of community organizations, and (of course!) Santa Clau Grand Marshalls will be Kathy Lowe and her children and grandchildren, in honor of Owensboro’s own Joe Lowe. Visit www.christmasparade.net for more information and check out the graphic below for the parade route.
We hope to see you there!
Owensboroans—-Don’t forget to exercise your right to vote!
Obsession. Immortality. Blood. These are just a few of the fun things one can expect to encounter at the Theatre Workshop of Owensboro’s production of Dracula.
Rich with both humor and horror, this adaptation of Bram Stoker’s frightening tale revels in the magic, suspense, and lusty seduction of the original tale that started the vampire craze that still exists today.
The production is sponsored by South Central Bank and (fittingly) the Western Kentucky Regional Blood Center. A blood drive will take place today, October 25 from 3:00-7:00 p.m. at the TWO Opryhouse. Those who give blood will be given a complimentary ticket to the show (or another TWO production).
Dracula opens on October 26th, with additional performances on October 27th, 28th (matinee), November 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. Get your tickets today (they are selling fast) by calling (270) 683-5333 or click here to purchase online.
We hope to see you there!
Don’t forget that next weekend is the River City Festival of Films. This grassroots festival features films from throughout the country (some were filmed in Owensboro and feature local actors). The Festival will take place on Saturday, November 3rd from 10:00 am to 10:30pm at Kentucky Wesleyan College (Winchester Building). For more information bvisit the River City Festival of Films website.
From the Messenger Inquirer:
The Empress has worn several names through the years and seen a lot of changes, from silent movies to talkies to live entertainment.
She’s filled with memories of popcorn and Jujubes, first kisses and cinematic grandeur for many Owensboroans.
But she’s still standing and still entertaining audiences a century after her doors first swung open.
“Thing of Beauty Is The Empress,” the headline in the Owensboro Inquirer read.
On Oct. 29, 1912, George A. Bleich opened the city’s first theater designed for movies at 418 Frederica St.
In 1906, John P. Walker had opened a nickelodeon on Second Street between St. Ann and Frederica.
And a second theater —the Tri-State Nickel-Odeon — opened a few months later, farther west in the same block.
The People’s Theatre, which opened in 1909, advertised “three vaudeville acts plus 2,000 feet of motion pictures.”
And The Orpheum, “the Showplace of Main Street,” in 1909 offered vaudeville acts as well as motion pictures, free ice water and baseball scores.
But The Empress was designed just for motion pictures, which were starting to come into their own.
“The town has been given a moving picture theatre creditable indeed,” The Inquirer opined.
“Immense crowds thronged the place” on opening night, the story said.
Designed by architect W.R. Gatlin, the Empress featured marble wainscoting, terrazzo floors, cut-glass door panes and a ladies room off the foyer, which was described as “a novelty.”
Film of the World Series battles between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Giants brought baseball fans in nightly.
The short films in the lineup that first week included “Persistency and obstinacy,” a comedy drama; “Not On The Circus Program,” described as “a splendid drama of circus life;” “His Mother’s Picture,” a railroad story; and “When Edith Played Judge and Jury,” described as “a pathetic western drama.”
The Grand Theatre down where the American Legion Post is now located offered live entertainment that week to compete with the flicks at The Empress.
There was Miss Mabel Sherman, doing a “songologue”; Mr. Lew Woods, a “ventriloquial novelty”; the Mullini Sisters, “a classy musical specialty”; and three photoplay pictures.
But The Empress put Owensboro on the map.
Movie palaces were the wave of the future, and The Empress set the standard locally.
Through the years, it wore at least two other names — The Center and The Malco.
At the time it closed, on Jan. 19, 1989 — after a showing of Bill Murray’s “Scrooged” — the Theater Historical Society of America listed the Owensboro theater as the nation’s second-oldest theater continuously showing movies.
Only the Palace in Los Angeles, which opened in 1911, was older.
Later that year, Beverly ‘‘Goldie” Payne moved her Goldie’s Best Little Opryhouse in Kentucky into the old theater.
And she continued to fill it with crowds from several states for her live shows on Friday and Saturday nights until her retirement at the end of 2008.
Now, Theatre Workshop of Owensboro owns the old theater, using it for plays and concerts.
On Nov. 16, TWO will throw a belated birthday bash for the historic theater, celebrating its heritage and “giving the community a glimpse of its future.”
Tickets are $75 (which includes a champagne reception), $40 and $20. Discounts are available for members.
The theater is currently being renovated. Proceeds from the birthday bash will go toward the renovations.
Stephen Coppick, TWO’s executive director, said the renovations have uncovered part of the original terrazzo floor.
When the party ends, The Empress will begin its second century.
Keith Lawrence, 691-7301, klawrence@messenger-inquirer.com
This season Third Tuesday Writers Coffeehouse begins a series of evenings featuring guest curators who invite writers and musicians they enjoy to perform with them in Owensboro. Tom C. Hunley will curate October’s coffeehouse. The author of several books of poetry, Hunley is an English professor at Western Kentucky University, the book review editor for Poemeleon, and the founder of Steel Toe Books. Hispoems have been featured on Garrison Keillor’s NPR program, The Writer’s Almanac.He will read his work, along with poet Brittany Cheak, fiction writer Andrew Bergman, creative nonfiction writer Morgan Isson, and the litcore rock band Manley Pointer.
The coffeehouse takes place 6 to 9:30 p.m., Oct. 16, 2012, in Gambrinus at 116 E. Second St., Owensboro, Ky. Music by Jim Houston and Fred Wetzel begins at 6 p.m., featured writers at 7 p.m. Open Mic begins at 9 p.m. for area writers to perform their original work. There is no admission charge. You must be 21 to enter. More information is available at www.facebook.com/thirdtuesday.
Reid’s Orchard’s annual Apple Festival takes place on this weekend (Saturday, Oct. 20th and Sunday, Oct. 21st)! Come on out and enjoy the weekend, which includes craft booths, food, carnival rides, more!
This year marks the 26th anniversary of the Apple Festival. It has grown from a yearly crowd of 3,000 to over 25,000 attendees. This community tradition truly marks the beginning of the fall season!
Thursday is Date Night in Downtown Owensboro! On October 18th, Downtown Date Night (live in Riverfront Crossing) will feature the Owensboro Symphony Orchestra’s Second Street Band, and will have lots of great prizes and specials at downtown businesses! These two fellas will tell you all about it!
The River City Festival of Films will return this November—check out the video above to see the trailer for one of this year’s participants, The Boogeyman.
The River City Festival of Films is Owensboro’s 1st All Genre Film Festival. Verite Cinema, the Owensboro based production company behind the award-winning A Mind Beside Itself and Hallows Eve: Slaughter on Second Street and Kentucky Wesleyan College will host year two of The River City Festival of Films on Saturday, November 3, 2012 from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on the Wesleyan campus. The all-genre charity event will celebrate the art of independent films and the diverse mix of talented filmmakers in the region and beyond.
The production company, in operation since 2007, showcases the abilities of aspiring artists in the area and gives local/regional talent a viable venue to screen their work to the community and achieve recognition for their efforts. According to P. J. Starks of Verite Cinema, the group advocates continuing education to learn the many facets of production, both behind the scenes and before the camera. “Independent filmmaking is engaging, and we bring a unique and exciting opportunity to view local talent and meet them face-to-face,” remarked Starks.
Attendees will be able to speak one-on-one with filmmakers, including Hollywood artists from Kentucky, following the screenings, and industry professionals will present workshops and master classes.
Starks shared, “We are creating an experience like no other in the Owensboro area with the opportunity to learn about the world of professional acting, screenwriting and directing. It’s a great way to get industry tips and secrets.”
The day long event will screen both features and shorts, present live music by local musicians and give those who attend a chance to meet many different artists from production companies to writers to actors and the like.
For more information, see www.rivercityfestivaloffilms.com. All proceeds from the screenings will go to benefit a local not for profit charity.THERE IS NO SUBMISSION FEE - Filmmakers may submit their films to:
The River City Festival of Films – KWC
c/o Tamara Coy
3000 Frederica Street
Owensboro, KY 42301
This weekend kicks off what has become an annual trek through Owensboro history, as the Daviess County Public Library and the Owensboro Museum of Science and History present Voices of Elmwood.
Starting at 6:00 PM, attendees will enjoy a hayride through the historic sections of Elmwood Cemetery, and will get to meet the people who shaped the history of this community. Tickets for the tour are $10, and and the event will run October 5, 6, 12, 13, 19, and 20.
The cemetery is located at Old Hartford Road and Breckenridge Street. Tickets are selling fast, so contact the Science & History Museum at 270-687-2732 today!
Congratulations to the Staff and Board of Directors at the International Bluegrass Music Museum on being awarded the 2012 Event of the Year Honor at the Bluegrass Music Awards! This year’s ROMP (in June 2012) drew over 20,000 people and featured such acts as Vince Gill, the Punch Brothers, the Carolina Chocolate Drops, and Old Crow Medicine Show!
We are so excited that this event has received the recognition it so richly deserves! AND…we can’t wait until ROMP 2013!!
Our friends at Gambrinus Libation Emporium know their beer! We are in the middle of the Oktoberfest season so we wanted to let all of our followers know that they have many, many awesome Oktoberfest brews on tap (and by-the-bottle) for you to enjoy. Spaten, Brooklyn Brewery, Great Lakes, Avinger—come down and see our friends John & Adrienne an they will fix you up with a great libation. Or, stop in for one of their great events throughout the week—the Writers Coffeehouse, the $5 meal, Live Team Trivia—and enjoy their daily drink specials.
On October 1, 2012, Famous Bistro (102 W. 2nd St. Owensboro, KY) will present “Oktoberfest: Celebrating Classic German Cuisine with Oktoberfest Beers.” The doors open at 6:00 Dinner Begins Promptly at 7:00. The menu?
1st Course - Pretzels with Beer Cheese and Mustard, paired with - Oktoberfest Marzen Beer
2nd Course - Roast Chicken with Spaetzle, paired with - Oktoberfest Marzen Beer
5th Course – Weinerschnitzle and German Potato Salad, paired with - Oktoberfest Marzen Beer
6th Course - Apple Strudel and German Chocolate Cake, paired with - Oktoberfest Marzen Beer
Ummm…AWESOME!!
On Saturday September 29, 2012, the Owensboro Museum of Science and History will open its doors free of charge, along with over 1,400 other participating venues for the eighth annual Museum Day Live! This immensely successful program, in which the Owensboro Museum of Science and History will emulate the free admission policy of the Smithsonian Institution’s Washington, D.C.-based facilities, encourages learning and the spread of knowledge nationwide.
Inclusive by design, Museum Day Live! fulfills the Smithsonian’s mission to make cultural education accessible to everyone. For one day only, the Owensboro Museum of Science and History will grant free access to visitors who download a Museum Day Live! ticket at Smithsonian.com. Last year’s event drew over 350,000 museum-goers, and this year’s Museum Day Live! is expected to attract close to 400,000 participants.
“We’re thrilled to be part of Smithsonian Magazine’s Museum Day, a day that celebrates the special role and responsibility that museums hold in our communities – to create familiar, comfortable, magical learning centers where knowledge is shared and dreams are created. We especially hope that everyone will visit the Smithsonian.com link, print their ticket and spend the day at the Museum of Science and History, in Downtown Owensboro and at the new Smothers Park!” said Kathy Olson, Executive Director of the Owensboro Museum of Science and History.
The Museum Day Ticket is available to download at www.smithsonian.com/museumday. Visitors who present the official pass will gain free admission to the museum for two people. One ticket is permitted per household, per email address.
For more information about Museum Day Live! 2012 and a list of participating museums and cultural institutions, please visit Smithsonian.com/museumday.
In Owensboro, we are very proud of our food tradition, and on Monday, September 24th, we will have an opportunity to sample it all! Daramic and RiverPark Center present the Taste of Owensboro at RiverPark Center. This is an all-you-can-eat (ALL.YOU.CAN.EAT.) evening of excellent entertainment and cuisine samples.
Over 40 Area restaurants and beverage vendors will be on-hand to let you sample their kitchens’ best. This fabulous evening offers more than just food—there is some great music as well. The event also features a “buffet” of hundreds of items in the silent auction.
For more information and tickets, contact the RiverPark Center Box Office at 270.687.2787 (ticket proceeds benefit RPC’s educational programs).
