No matter the season or the reason, we love a good tradition. One of the best times of year at Evansville Living is planning our November/December issue. Since ours is a bi-monthly publication, we can’t devote an entire issue of the magazine to the holidays, but we certainly dress it up and give it a full dose of holiday cheer.
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, a group of volunteers handed out about 7,000 USDA farm-to-family food boxes per week at Hartke Pool on Evansville’s East Side. Now known as Feed Evansville, the group was only hitting the tip of the food insecurity iceberg.
Madeline Beeson’s parents like to say she started singing even before speaking. She now fosters the next generation of singers through vocal lessons at Beeson Studio of Voice in Downtown Evansville.
Sadia Ragland was born to dance. In 2008, she graced the cover of Evansville Living’s November/December issue, handpicked from a list of local models for her exuding confidence. The issue was also historic, being the only one in the magazine’s 21-year history with two covers.
Having a comfortable living space is essential for any homeowner, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Not only does Enjolé Interiors’ design stylish spaces for their customers, but now they have their own new enchanting environment. The custom interior design studio and retailer for furniture, home decor, accessories, and unique gifts was opened in 2016 on Main Street in Downtown Evansville by owner Sharon Lemond with the help of Director of Operations Tammy Stallings.
Evansville’s East Side is well known and loved for its many takes on the brick Tudor-style abode. But some homes also feature iron emblems dressing up their chimneys. Most come in an “S” shape; some are elongated and tilted to one side, while others are in a Gothic script design. Others feature lions, stars, and even ships with sails unfurled. Beautiful as they are unique, they’re also far from just decorative.
Each year, the Tri-State’s Jewish residents observe Hanukkah by displaying beautiful, nine-branched menorahs. A daily symbol of love, faith, and celebration during the eight-day holiday, each menorah is as unique and different as the owners themselves.
A hedge-laden door is tucked in an inconspicuous corner at the back of an 1860s Victorian house in Downtown Evansville. Its placement looks so natural that you wouldn’t notice it — unless you were looking for it. Inside, a darkened stairwell leads down to the basement and The Red Polka Dot.
Dan Sauls’ deep blue 1969 Dodge Super Bee is the product of nearly 20 years of restoration and a lifetime of nostalgia. Purchased in 2000, the Super Bee is the same year, make, and model as his very first car. Sauls grew up in Evansville as the youngest of five siblings. In the 1970s, his father Virgil purchased a ’69 Super Bee for his children to share. Sauls graduated from Bosse High School in 1982 and sold the car about two years later.
Growing up in my house, we had a Christmas cake every year. They were actually fruitcakes, and my mother was fond of two cakes she ordered through the mail: Collin Street Bakery Regular Deluxe® Fruitcake (made in Corsicana, Texas, since 1896) and Claxton Fruitcake (made in Claxton, Georgia, since 1910). She adored the dense fruity cakes; I liked them, too. My sisters were divided on the issue.
From the shores of the Ohio River to the sandy beaches of Hunting Island, South Carolina, driftwood finds new life inside the third-story workspace of Debbie Krugman Goldman’s Riverside Historic District home. There, she burns intricate patterns onto the smooth, twisted wood, refurbishing an otherwise discarded object.
Set to the delicate traces of “Suite Pastorale: Idylle” by composer Emmanuel Chabrier, sunny yellow irises gracefully bloom underfoot and spread across the surrounding walls before fading from view. A cobblestone street appears, leading to such a lifelike projection of Vincent van Gogh’s 1886 painting “View of Paris” that guests feel perched atop a Seine river overlook. Rather, they’re inside LUME, an immersive exhibit at the Indianapolis Museum of Art on the Newfields campus.
Robin Lawrence has hurdled many obstacles throughout her life, from battling melanoma in the early 2000s to now facing Stage 4 anal and rectal cancer with heavy metastasis to the liver. Through it all, she has maintained her positivity, drawn strength and courage from her beloved daughter and caretaker Kori June, and found a way to inspire others.
Traditions enrich the holiday season by allowing loved ones to recognize the culture and history that has shaped their identities. They add meaning to our experiences and enhance a sense of belonging with others. In an uncertain world, we find security in something remaining the same over time that can also be passed down through the generations. When we move from one phase of life to the next, the traditions we cherish and our values can remain a constant. The smells, tastes, and sounds we look forward to each year are predictable, familiar, and comforting.
The next time you attend an event at the Tropicana Conference Center on N.W. First Street, turn and look at the flood wall running along the property line of the adjacent OneMain Financial building. The large expanse beyond was once a whole neighborhood that disappeared to the wrecking ball, urban renewal, and maybe a bit of social anxiety in the late 1950s.
“Life has loveliness to sell,” Sara Teasdale wrote in her 1918 poem “Barter.” Indeed, innkeepers Ryan and Lucinda Embry enjoy and share that loveliness at Sophie Grace’s Bed and Breakfast. Nestled on tranquil Maple Hill less than a mile from downtown New Harmony, Indiana, the Arts & Crafts Tudor-style home sparks imagination while its peaceful surroundings calm the spirit.
Christmas time tends to be filled with merriment — a pleasant season of good tidings and joy. But what happens when the jolly holiday turns into yuletide terror?
If you enjoy hitting the town but want an alcohol-free drinking experience, you aren’t alone. Data from the global market research firm Mintel found 45 percent of millennials would give up alcoholic beverages to improve their health in 2019. Enter mocktails. Non-alcoholic cocktails are increasingly popular with anyone looking for a drink that sacrifices alcohol but not flavor and aesthetic. Several Tri-State businesses already take an inclusive approach to the non-alcoholic movement by featuring these unique drinks on their menus.
Holiday cooking is the ideal opportunity to perfect a new recipe for a receptive audience, but the biggest stumbling block is often knowing where to start. For holiday gatherings, Pam Riley Heironimus — a retired chef who used to command the kitchen at Evansville’s famed Petroleum Club — recommends two easy recipes of her own creation: chimichurri salmon side en papilotte, and baked Brief en Croute with honey mustard, Granny Smith apples, and caramelized onions.
Celebrating Christmas in a large family like the Guerzinis isn’t too different from any other family. We decorate the house, find that special tree, bake cookies, and wrap presents. Christmas Eve, we head to Newburgh United Methodist Church for a candlelight service, and Christmas Day, we tear into the hard work Santa and his elves (now that I’m older, I call them “Mom”) put into wrapping presents. Again, Christmas in a large family isn’t all that different … just bigger.
Deep in the small garage workshop behind his Sandborn, Indiana, home in Knox County, you can find Tom O. Reed absorbed in his craft, sanding away on homemade wooden kitchen utensils. But these are no ordinary cooking tools. Each has an artistic flair that resembles an accent piece in any kitchen, yet still provides function as a usable tool.
Many chain restaurants fill their menus with common but complicated and overpriced dishes, but Drake’s keeps it simple and sticks to what it does best — beer, burgers, and sushi. Originating in 2007 in Lexington, Kentucky, Drake’s is owned by Bluegrass Hospitality Group and has since expanded to 18 locations across Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, Alabama, and Illinois.
With Giving Tuesday already under our belts, many Evansville nonprofits and organizations are making it easy to keep the charitable spirit alive during the holiday season. Donating time, money, or even a bit of extra Christmas cheer is all it takes to make a difference this December. Here are a few ways you can give back locally.
The Christmas season has arrived, and there’s no shortage of events to celebrate this merry holiday this weekend. Get in the Christmas spirit with Evansville Living’s staff pick events. Christmas at Germania Maennerchor 7 p.m. Dec. 3-4 Germania Maennerchor, 916 N. Fulton Ave.
Jennifer and Naj Sassi had big plans for their new restaurant when they took over from the previous owner of Kabob Xpress about one year ago. Since then, they’ve offered Tri-State residents their own take on Middle Eastern cuisine by delivering on their mantra of always making the food fresh.
Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish celebration commemorating the rededication of the Second Temple during the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire in second century B.C. Meaning “dedication” in Hebrew, Hanukkah starts on Nov. 28 this year and is celebrated with the lighting of the menorah (a multibranched candelabrum used for Jewish religious rituals), traditional food, gifts, and games such as dreidel.
This past summer, when Evansville Living was invited to a media preview of The LUME, an immersive Vincent van Gogh experience at Newfields in Indianapolis, we jumped at the chance to see the much-anticipated show firsthand. (Read the full story, “Il-LUME-inating Experience,” on page 21 in Evansville Living’s November/December 2021 issue, on newsstands now).
Happy Thanksgiving! This week is about spending time with loved ones and counting your blessings. There are also plenty of ways to get out and enjoy Evansville’s holiday festivities with friends and family. Check out these Thanksgiving weekend events. Ritzy’s Fantasy of Lights Nov. 25-Jan. 1 5-9 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays; 5-10 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays Garvin Park, 1600 N. Main St.
At roughly 7 a.m. this Sunday, Nov. 21, several explosive charges will detonate, and the 18-story tower at 420 Main St. will crumble to the ground, taking with it 50 years of Evansville’s memories.
Combine a cup of talent with two tablespoons of ambition, fold in a heaping spoonful of memories, and add a dash of fate. That’s the special recipe that led Newburgh, Indiana, resident Lexi Bailey to whip up her own baking business about four years ago. “I’ve been baking 9-10 years,” she says. “My grandmother baked when I was growing up. Once, during snow days off school, I watched ‘Cupcake Wars’ and made six dozen cupcakes that week.”
Thanksgiving is a day for family, fun, and frantically cooking a gourmet meal from scratch. This year, if you’re ditching the cookbooks or experiencing a burnt turkey-related emergency, local restaurants are offering an alternative. Dine in for Thanksgiving-themed specials, or order ahead and pick up a fully prepared meal that’s big enough to feed the whole family and tasty enough to please even the pickiest relative.
There’s much to be thankful for in the Tri-State this holiday season. In addition to feasting, there are plenty of Thanksgiving Day activities and opportunities to help others. 2021 Gobbler Gathering Nov. 23 Evansville Rescue Mission, 500 E. Walnut St.
Christkindlmarkt is a German tradition like no other. Those traveling the streets of Germany and Austria during the holiday season are greeted with colorful decorations, hearty food, hot drinks, homemade chocolates and candies, heartwarming Christmas carols, and hundreds of craft and vendor booths. But Tri-State residents don’t have to travel to Europe to enjoy this annual event. This vibrant tradition finds a home in Evansville this Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Germania Maennerchor’s building at 916 N. Fulton Ave.
The donut balls at Donut Bank are on par with the rest of its popular bakery menu, but the November Donut Ball of the Month is standing out from the rest. Red velvet cake traditionally is a careful blend of key ingredients like cocoa powder, vinegar, and buttermilk that produces a milder taste than chocolate and a sponge cake of finer consistency. Donut Bank’s donut balls offer the best of both words: a velvety cake interior coated in a delectable donut glaze.
Drawing influences from melodic artists like the Indigo Girls, Stevie Ray Vaughan, James Taylor, and John Mayer, Evansville Living readers’ choice for 2021’s “Best Local Band” has spent the last decade bringing a distinct musical harmony to the area and embracing a universal message of peace, love, and unity.
The Evansville arts community is thriving. Whether you browsed the abundance of local artwork at Haynie’s Corner’s First Fridays over the summer or were inspired by artists featured in recent issues of Evansville Living such as Britton Starr, Janice King, and Clint Vaught, there are many ways to see all the artistic works of local artisans and craftspeople. Consider the following events — like the Old Courthouse Craft Show, Old North Fair Trade Market Artisan Fair, and Bosse Band Craft Show — as you make your way through the city this weekend.
