September / October 2011

Vote for the Best of Evansville – your opportunity to name the best of the best in Evansville! The 11th annual Best of Evansville competition is your chance to vote for your favorites. So, what people and places stand out

For years, my parents — regular season ticket holders for the Indianapolis Colts — have found a theme from fans in the stands: “Evansvillians like the Colts?” Yes, Evansvillians like the Colts. When the NFL season debuts Sept. 11, tailgate

Who is he? Kenny Page Jr. Where is he? Alvord Boulevard Why is he there? To help others finish a half-marathon, even though he can’t. At the bottom of the Alvord Boulevard overpass at the Lloyd Expressway, a red-haired man

The classic drink at the Kentucky Derby? The mint julep. But the whiskey, water, sugar, and mint leaf cocktail isn’t the only attraction. The twin spires of Churchill Downs in Louisville, the garland of roses, and big hats and bold

Inside the Memorial Baptist Church gym on a Monday night, the lights dimmed, and a glow from the projector heightened my anxiety. Someone pushed “Play” on the DVD player, and the Beachbody workout ChaLean Extreme — a nonstop, cardio-heavy, fat

Sometimes, it feels like there are more Band-Aids and bugs floating in Lloyd Pool than swimmers, and before the first practice of the current season, young swimmers had to wait for a dead bird to be fished out of the

Last fall, I traveled on Wisconsin’s Great River Road, a National Scenic Byway. The passage meanders through 33 historic Mississippi River towns and provides 250 miles of scenery vibrant with rich fall colors. It borders wetlands and bluffs known as

Nearly one year ago, the Evansville Living staff met to discuss the editorial calendar for the year when someone lofted the idea for a music issue. The objection: Isn’t the River City for cover bands? The answer sounded like music

One year after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in lower Manhattan and Washington, D.C., Evansville Living dedicated coverage to the loss and heartache felt hundreds of miles away. Among the pages, we honored the heroes at Ground Zero and in

Aaron Dewees joined the U.S. Army in August 2001. He is from a long line of veterans. His paternal grandfather served in World War II, and his maternal grandfather fought in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam

Kate Kasenow was finishing her master’s degree at Savannah College of Art and Design in 2010 when an editor of Archaia Entertainment called. Archaia is a graphic novel publisher, and for Kasenow, the editor’s offer — to finish a green-lighted

When I step into Casino Aztar’s new restaurant the Riverside Cookery, I feel like I am stepping into Memaw’s kitchen. Memaw is my fictional Southern grandmother who wears muumuus and always opens her house for hearty helpings of comfort food.

When cooking for children, keep in mind the ease of execution and taste. In kid terms: Is it done yet? Is it yummy? Now, is it done yet? To create a recipe geared toward the younger crop (now back in

In the Lithograph displayed on the second floor of the Evansville Museum of Arts, History and Science is Jane Avril’s bent leg. She has it thrust upward, ready for a kick, but in the still of this piece, her leg

Ri Ra Irish Pub is synonymous with live music, drink specials, and a night out with friends. But by day, this evening hot spot, going strong for five years on Riverside Drive across from Casino Aztar, transitions into a lunch

Of course you have considered the impending 9/11 anniversary before picking up this magazine. Through a decade of war and sweeping changes to the American life, Sept. 11, 2001, suddenly feels like yesterday. Our sense of place informs our experience

Orange Leaf (701 N. Burkhardt Road) has opened on the East Side. The self-serve yogurt chain has 70 flavors (16 offered at a time) ranging from the standard vanilla or chocolate to fancier flavors of red velvet, snickerdoodle, or gingerbread.

There are two reasons to love Bill Monroe. One is more apparent than the other: Monroe is the father of bluegrass music. He invented the working-class-heralding, finger-plucking genre outside of Owensboro, Ky., where, decades later, an International Bluegrass Music Museum

Ten years ago, Dr. George Rapp founded a satellite gallery for Indianapolis’ long-running Hoosier Salon in nearby New Harmony. The site showcased local art and demonstrated the appeal of the artist-heavy haven of New Harmony. For three years, Rapp backed

So beloved is the 1939 Greyhound terminal, built in the Art Moderne style and clad in enameled steel panels, that it has been depicted on postcards.  Now, four years after it was left vacant, the terminal received new hope in

Monday, Jan. 7, 1861, was a chilly evening in Evansville. A formally dressed crowd of prosperous citizens had gathered at the Mozart Hall, located on Lower First Street (roughly where the parking lot of Vectren’s Downtown headquarters is now), for

Inside the Jackson home, an imposing old structure in Evansville’s Riverside Historic District, is a constant babble. It’s soft and lighthearted, punctuated with bits of song and the patter of feet traveling up and down the three stories. The rooms

I love fall. The cooler temperatures make relaxing outside tolerable, but it’s also Mother Nature’s reminder to prepare for the upcoming winter — and beyond — because groundwork in the fall months leads to an impressive garden next year. Here, ways to

Like a love letter, the lyrics tell of longing — the deep kind only properly expressed through the rhythmic poetry of a song. The Watson Twins, Chandra and Leigh, have been singing their first album’s title track “Southern Manners” across

For more than 140 years, the monks of St. Meinrad Archabbey in Ferdinand, Ind., have operated an on-site printing facility. Originally designed for in-house needs, it wasn’t long before Abbey Press was rolling out custom orders in support of the

Plenty of purists believe certain liquors should have no ice. The smoky peat of Scotch should be enjoyed, they argue, without ice melting into the liquor. But I’m not a drink dictator. Scotch for a cocktail? That’s divine, and a

Lambert D. Johnson placed his home inside a subdivision that would later take the name Johnson Place. He was the scion of Mead Johnson, an Evansville-based baby formula manufacturer, and his plot of land on the East Side later became

A flimsy tower of baseball cards teeters next to a precarious stack of boxes (cigar and oatmeal crème pie) and various papers, the latter perched atop a small jewelry box and collectively lassoed by a small plastic cowboy figurine. This

In our September/October 2011 issue, you read about talented musicians in the River City. Now hear them. Right here. Namaste makes rock music, and the members of this five-piece jam band know their instruments well. Below, listen to their song

A Tragedy Remembered – Our feature “9/11 Remembered” shows how the terrorist attacks a decade ago affected our city, but the tragedy remains deeply rooted in Manhattan. New York magazine is as brilliant as it is innovative, and the publication