Tea’s Weird Week: I’M YOUR HOST will screen thrice at the Milwaukee Film Festival!
We’ve had to keep this news under our hats for weeks, so I’m thrilled to say that a documentary I’m producer on, I’m Your Host, hits a major milestone by being screened (3 times!) at the Milwaukee Film Festival. Alicia Krupsky is the film’s director, Christopher Kai House is a producer, and many other people helped make it happen. The film was inspired by an article I wrote for Milwaukee Magazine. We won a Brico Forward Fund to help make it happen. In October we staged a couple of “documentary in-progress” screenings at the Twisted Dreams Film Festival and in Kenosha at UW-Parkside.
This will be our official debut and is additionally exciting because after the festival, we’ll be able to submit the film to other fests around the world as well as being able to make it available via streaming platforms/ on DVD. But anyway, that’s getting ahead of ourselves. It’s a great honor to be part of the Milwaukee Film Fest– we’re part of both the Cream City Cinema and Cinema Hooligante line-ups at the fest (cause we’re local AND weird).
I’m Your Host screens:
Monday, April 15, 9pm: Times Cinema
Sunday, April 21, 8:30pm: Avalon Theater
Wednesday, April 24, 9:15pm: Downer Theatre
More MFF info: https://mkefilm.org/mff24
Please Clap Dept.: We are currently fundraising for QWERTYFEST MKE 2024. We got big things planned– the Boston Typewriter Orchestra, a whiskey tasting/ typewriter event, and so much more. Please help us make it happen, every bit helps us make our goal: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/qwertyfest-mke-2024/x/14628551
See Also: Here’s the Milwaukee Magazine article that started I’m Your Host rolling: https://www.milwaukeemag.com/a-look-inside-the-surprisingly-large-web-of-local-horror-hosts/
I also wrote on horror hosts for Atlas Obscura here: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/elvira-svengoolie-local-horror-hosts-history
Tea’s Weird Week: QWERTYFEST MKE 2024 is going to be epic, but we need your help to fundraise it
Hey all, last year me and Molly Snyder launched a new entry in the “City of Festivals” (Milwaukee) called QWERTYFEST MKE, which celebrates writing, innovation, history, creativity… and, of course, typewriters. This year we have ambitious plans for a bigger event. We’re doing an opening night party at Turner Hall (with the Boston Typewriter Orchestra), and presentations and activities throughout the weekend. To help finance this, we’ve set up an Indiegogo fundraiser. Lots of great perks, including QF tickets, t-shirts, and subscriptions to our in-house zine, QWERTY Quarterly. As of right now, we’re at about 30% funded– I’d love to see that bump up to 50% funded by the end of this weekend. The link to that: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/qwertyfest-mke-2024/
Below the photo, you can find a press release with more info on QF and our fundraiser screening of California Typewriter on June 6. Thanks for your support!
Clack on! QWERTYFEST MKE Returns for Expanded Event June 21-23, 2024
QWERTYFEST MKE is inspired by an invention that changed the world–the typewriter and the QWERTY keyboard that we still use today– which was created right here in Milwaukee by Christopher Latham Sholes. We not only celebrate the typewriter and all iterations of the QWERTY keyboard that followed, but Milwaukee history and innovation in general.
We are also excited to give a platform to writers of all genres who create works on those QWERTY keyboards. Milwaukee has many talented writers and artists, and we want you to know about them. QWERTYFEST is co-organized by Milwaukee writers Molly Snyder (senior writer and editor at OnMilwaukee) and Tea Krulos (a freelance journalist and author). Many other local writers, librarians, artists, organizations, and businesses participate to make the festival happen.
At QWERTYFEST, you can try out typewriters and other writing machines, hear spoken word and presentations, participate in workshops, see unique musical performances (including our Friday night headliner, Boston Typewriter Orchestra), socialize at gatherings like our Typewriter Brunch Open Jam, and much more. It is an entertaining and informative weekend.
QWERTYFEST MKE 2024
Thursday, June 6: QWERTYFEST MKE fundraiser screening of the documentary California Typewriter at Oriental Theatre. We’re thrilled for people to see this film as it shows the versatile ways people can celebrate typewriters (in addition to Tom Hanks, Milwaukee makes a guest appearance, too). Ticket holders also get a free copy of our summer QWERTYFEST preview edition of our in-house publication QWERTY Quarterly. Tickets available here: https://mkefilm.org/oriental-theatre/events/california-typewriter
Friday, June 21: National Typewriter Day Ball at Turner Hall. This will feature live music with headlining guests the Boston Typewriter Orchestra: http://www.bostontypewriterorchestra.com/
There’s also interactive writing and mailing stations, the DarkFusion Systems Gaming Lounge, vendors, a dramatic competition called the Clackathon (as well as a words-per-minute contest called the Quick Brown Fox Typing Contest), storytelling, food and drink, and more.
Saturday, June 22: QWERTYFEST at Mitchell Street Arts. Workshops and presentations on typewriters, writing and creativity, history, and art. We are having a “Whisky Type” after party at Great Lakes Distillery.
Sunday, June 23: QWERTYFEST Activities Day. Typewriter Brunch Open Jam (location TBA), “QWERTY Journey” tour at Forest Home Cemetery, and other activities around town TBA.
We Are Fundraising to Make QWERTYFEST Happen Right Now
As you can imagine, flying in a Boston Typewriter Orchestra, as well as paying for work by local writers, artists, musicians, venue fees, (and typewriter ribbons) adds up. We have these methods of raising money:
Crowdsourcing campaign on Indiegogo. Every little bit helps to make our fundraising goal. We are offering some great perks, including tickets, T-shirts, QQ subscriptions, and more. Our campaign is live here: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/qwertyfest-mke-2024/x/14628551
You can also make a tax-deductible donation to us via a fiscal sponsor. Please email us for more info.
Sponsorships. We have great sponsorship opportunities, including name attachment to elements of our event, ads in our media, banner placement, free tickets, and more. Please email us for more info.
Links/ contact
Contact us at: qwertyfestmke@gmail.com
Website: www.qwertyfest.com
Facebook: facebook.com/qwertyfest
Instagram: instagram.com/qwertyfest_mke
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Tea’s Weird Week: I Wanna Magnet Fish Those Brothel Keys Out of the Milwaukee River
Back in the wild plague year of 2020, I, like many others, was figuring out what to do with myself. With everything shut down, I tried to think of a hobby that would get me out of the house and into (hopefully COVID-19 free) fresh air. Magnet fishing seemed like a good idea.
Magnet fishing is taking a powerful magnet attached to a long, sturdy rope and throwing it into bodies of water to pull out some of the mass of trash dumped by humanity for generations. Bicycles, radiators, license plates, fishing lures, boat parts, pots and pans, etc. Junk fishing seemed fun, so I bought a magnet and gear and… never did go out and do it. I think one of the hang ups was that I was pretty sure I’d find ditched guns in the Milwaukee waterways and was not quite sure about what to do in that situation.
We’ll get back to this, but let’s switch gears for a minute. Recently, I got a copy of the March issue of Milwaukee Magazine. I always enjoy seeing an article of mine that has made it into print, and this issue I wrote a feature on the career of 95-year-old photographer Tom Ferderbar. As I was flipping through the magazine, I was glad to see Matthew J. Prigge’s byline on an article. Matthew has written a great body of work exploring Milwaukee’s interesting and sometimes violent, macabre, and odd history in articles and books like Milwaukee Mayhem: Murder and Mystery in the Cream City’s First Century.
In Milwaukee Magazine, Prigge’s most recent article is titled “Life on the Line,” which delves into the history of Milwaukee’s red light district in the late 1800s and early 1900s, which was called “The Line.” (The article is only available in print for the time being, I will update with a link when it gets posted online).
Prigge reports that the area of The Line was located on River Street (now Edison Street) spread east of the river “from what is now Highland and Wells Streets and as far east as Market Street.” He also writes that a more working class version of The Line ran across the other side of the river “along Wells Street as far west as 6th Street.”
But here is the key line, how this column all ties together. From Prigge’s article:
“Legend had it that when a new house of prostitution, all-night saloon or gambling den would open on The Line, its operator would toss a key into the Milwaukee River. The ritual was a symbol of their intentions in the area- to hold their doors open, to neither be locked in nor locked away.”
Now do you see? It could just be a “legend,” they might have all been eaten by sturgeon or something, but maybe (just maybe) those keys might still be down there. I will try to find them on some magnet fishing expeditions. Will I be successful? Probably not. But as treasure hunters have asked throughout time…
what if I do?
Please Clap Dept.: If you’re looking for unique, interesting events in the Milwaukee area, please check out my bi-weekly column for the Shepherd Express, “Madcap Milwaukee Calendar.” You can find the most recent column here: https://shepherdexpress.com/culture/madcap-milwaukee-calendar
See also: Another Milwaukee hidden treasure is one buried by Byron Preiss, author of The Secret. I wrote an article on this about a year ago for Atlas Obscura: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-secret-byron-preiss-milwaukee
I can always tell when AO recycles this story on social media, by the way, because I get at least a couple messages from people who claim they’ve cracked the code. My message to them is always the same– dig it up and find it, and then let me know first so I can get the scoop on writing about it!
Tea’s Weird Week: The Land of Lemuria
Feral House published my 2020 book American Madness, which I consider my best, and I was excited to work with them as they’ve published many fantastic titles exploring the strange corners of the world. I think they knew that Lemuria: A True Story of a Fake Place (by Justin McHenry) would be up my alley in particular, because they sent me an advance copy and asked for a blurb. Here it is:
“Lemuria: A True Story of a Fake Place is a fascinating history of a land that doesn’t exist. McHenry takes us on a journey explaining how this strange theory materialized, from the rainforests of Madagascar to Madame Blavatsky’s drawing room to the hidden city in Mount Shasta and a plunge into the depths of 4chan. It’s a wild ride!”– Tea Krulos, American Madness
That blurb just scratches the surface of how weird this story is, and it’s one of my favorite types– stories where you’re not sure where reality ends and other people’s fantasies (or sometimes delusions) begin. That’s a theme in most of the books I’ve written so far.
You should order Lemuria if you want to fall down a rabbithole reading about how one crackpot after another cobbled together pieces of fake history and mythology to build this strange, non-existent land. And yes, those rascally lemurs are a key part of the theories.
You can buy a copy online here or wherever good books are sold: https://bookshop.org/p/books/lemuria-the-true-story-of-a-fake-place/19663689?ean=9781627311472
New in 2024: I’m writing a new column, “Madcap Milwaukee Calendar” every two weeks for the Shepherd Express. It’s just short blurbs about unique, unusual, nerdy, or just weird events you can check out in the Southeast Wisconsin area. Hey, I like giving fellow weirdos some ink. The columns can be found here: https://shepherdexpress.com/culture/madcap-milwaukee-calendar
Tea’s Weird Week: The Last Train Outta 2023
2023 was quite a year for me. As always, it was a year of challenges, accomplishments, love, and heartbreak. The world keeps on spinning and I keep taking on new projects. Here’s my year in review.
Writing: In May, I was honored to receive two Milwaukee Press Club Excellence in Wisconsin Journalism Awards for two pieces I wrote for Milwaukee Magazine in 2022, “The Last Frame,” and “Wanna Buy a Famous Tugboat?” Freelance writing is a tough gig, but being recognized for your work encourages you on. The majority of articles I wrote this year were for MilMag, but I also began contributing to Atlas Obscura, writing four articles for them. Thanks to my editors Carole and Chris and the rest of the staff at MilMag, and Sarah at Atlas Obscura for giving me some great opportunities.
I did not make much progress on my book project ideas, too much going on, but that needs to change in 2024. I used to write TWW as a weekly column, but week after week this column fell by the wayside. I didn’t have the bandwidth for the TWW podcast either. That’s just the way it goes– sometimes you have to sacrifice some ideas so others may move forward. TWW will return in 2024, but it’ll be on a “when I can, I can” type of basis.
QWERTYFEST MKE: Big in 2023– I helped launch a new event in Milwaukee this year, QWERTYFEST MKE (June 23-25). This was good for me because as much as I like weird paranormal stuff, monsters, and subcultures, I also just like all aspects of writing. So this was a nice change of pace for me. QF celebrates the typewriter/ QWERTY keyboard, invented here in Milwaukee as well as writing and innovation in general. Thanks so much to Molly Snyder for being willing to take a leap of faith with me on this exciting new endeavor. Very excited for QF 24! Save the date: QWERTYFEST MKE–June 21-23, 2024.
QWERTY Quarterly: I am very proud of this humble little publication (the official publication of QWERTYFEST MKE), which features a mix of articles, fiction, poetry, columns, art, and fun pages. We celebrated each issue with release parties at Voyageur Book Shop, Mitchell Street Arts, and Woodland Pattern Book Center. We have had great contributors from locally and beyond. I think of it as a photocopied, Milwaukee version of The New Yorker. Me and Molly are editors, along with our excellent art director Alicia Krupsky and fantastic poetry editor Peter Burzyński. Our winter issue just came out and is “hygge” themed. Buy an issue (or a subscription– a nice holiday gift) here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/qwertyquarterly
Milwaukee Paranormal Conference: I’ve been director of MPC since 2015. This year we returned to the Irish Cultural and Heritage Center (where year one and three took place) on October 14. I was pretty stressed out the day before the conference, but day of I think it was one of the smoothest MPCs ever. Thanks to everyone who helped! 2024 date TBA. Follow MPC on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/milwaukeeparanormalconference
I’m Your Host: I was producer on this documentary directed by Alicia Krupsky, loosely based on a MilMag article I wrote, “Terror on the Tube,” (print version title). Alicia kicked some serious ass on this one. Last year, we won a Brico Forward Fund which provided things like money for costs and free legal advice. We had a work-in-progress screening at Milwaukee Twisted Dreams Film Festival, where it won audience favorite, and another screening at UW-Parkside in Kenosha, where we were given a special award of recognition by Kenosha Community Media. The documentary will continue to be submitted to film fests in 2024 and eventually will be available as a DVD/ online stream.
Check out the trailer on Alicia’s site here: https://aliciakrupsky.me/I-m-Your-Host
Milwaukee Krampusnacht: The Big Beast of the Year, Krampusnacht continues to grow and every year some things move smoother, but new challenges pop up. The event was Dec. 3 and returned to the Brewery District, expanding into some new businesses there. This year I received many compliments from all sorts of people locally and visiting from out-of-state praising the overall vibe of the event. It’s a huge group effort and it’s not about being greedy or shitty but having a good time together and supporting local artists, crafters, musicians, performers, and local business. We already got great ideas for next year, but as the event expands, I need help with organizing various aspects of it. If you have an interest and are reliable, contact me and we can talk about how it might benefit you.
Milwaukee Krampusnacht Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/180734318942836
Save the date: Milwaukee Krampusnacht– Sunday, Dec.1, 2024.
Also: Continued to fill in shifts at my friends’ fantastic bookstore, Lion’s Tooth, and led tours for American Ghost Walks. Both great local businesses!
Psychic Detective Roberts predicts this for 2024
1. I will be writing a new bi-weekly column for the Shepherd Express, “Madcap Milwaukee Calendar” that shares interesting and unique events happening in the Milwaukee area. First column will be posted next week!
2. Continue work on co-authoring Paranormal Road Trip.
3. Undisclosed non-fiction book project.
4. Working on a short documentary about my friend, cosmic prankster Mark Gubin, titled Welcome to Cleveland.
5. Undisclosed fiction book project.
6. And, of course, I will continue to work on the established annual events I mentioned above and continue to seek freelance writing opportunities.
Tea’s Weird Week: Report: Krulos says October will be “Frickin’ Bananas”
Hey there, the TWW column (and podcast) has really fallen by the wayside this year. I’ve just been too golldang busy, I tell ya. Lots to do. And it’s only getting busier– since circa 2015 (the year my book Monster Hunters was published) October has been quite a busy month for me. It is, you see, to weirdos what June is to the wedding industry. Everyone want to tap into some creepy expertise and get a little spooo-kay.
This October is even busier than usual. Here’s what I got going on.
American Ghost Walks: I lead tours for AGW, they’re a good mix of Milwaukee history and ghost stories. Any time of year is a good time for a ghost tour, but there’s of course a big bump in interest in the autumnal season. I generally lead Third Ward tours Friday nights and Shadow of City Hall tours on Saturdays. AGW can help you book me for private tours, too. Check it out: www.americanghostwalks.com/wisconsin/milwaukee
Milwaukee Paranormal Conference: 8 years! MPC is happening this year with a Friday the 13th Fest pre-party at the Falcon Bowl on Oct.13, Saturday, Oct. 14th the conference returns to the Irish Cultural and Heritage Center and is FREE, Activities Day is Sunday, Oct. 15 at various locations. See schedule and get tickets here: milwaukeeparacon.com
I’m Your Host Work-in-Progress Premiere: Alicia Krupsky has done such a great job putting together this documentary on horror hosts from the Kenosha area. I’m a producer and this was inspired by an article I wrote for Milwaukee Magazine. I saw an almost final cut and it hit the right notes. I laughed out loud, got a little teary eyed and just enjoyed seeing the story unfold. A work-in-progress premiere takes place Friday Oct. 20th at the Twisted Dreams Film Festival at Times Cinema, 9pm, free after party at Bay View Bowl. Tickets and more info on Twisted Dreams: www.twisteddreamsff.com
What happens with I’m Your Host after that? We have a Kenosha screening on Saturday, Nov. 11 at UW-Parkside Student Center Cinema and are going to continue to submit it to film festivals.
October Reading Material I’ve Written Just for You
Monster Hunters (2015, Chicago Review Press). This book is about my adventure hanging out with paranormal investigators around the country.
Wisconsin Legends & Lore (2020, History Press). Collects tall tales, folklore, urban legends, etc. from around the state. It sells well this time of year.
Chicago Mothman (2023, Tea Set Press). An e-book that looks into the cases and investigators surrounding the “Chicago Mothman” sightings.
Don’t got a few bucks to support your poor old pal Krulos? I get it. Many TWW columns are creepy, kooky, all together ooky (and free to read), here’s just a couple that strike the right October mood:
TWW: I Love Those Old Monster Movies
TWW: The Ghost Hunter’s Daughter
TWW: Paranormal Real Estate Mogul
Have a Happy October and Stay Spooky, my Friends!
Wisconsin Horror Host Documentary “I’m Your Host” Work-in-Progress Premiere in Milwaukee October 20, Kenosha screening November 11
“Horror hosts” are people who dress up as a creepy kooky character of their own invention and create a show (network, cable access, or Internet) where they introduce and screen old B-horror movies. Some famous examples are Vampira, Elvira, and Svengoolie.
As cable access and the internet made creating horror host shows more accessible, shows shot in homemade sets in basements and spare rooms proliferated across the country.
I’m Your Host was inspired after Milwaukee journalist Tea Krulos began to notice an unusually high concentration of horror host shows in Kenosha, Wisconsin, including Dr. Destruction’s Crimson Theater (on air for over 20 years), his former collaborator Deadgar Winter’s Deadgar’s Dark Coffin Classics, Deadgar’s former co-hosts new show Hexen Arcane, and Nightmare Cinema starring Uncle Wolfman. Krulos wrote about this scene for the October 2021 issue of Milwaukee Magazine.
I’m Your Host follows the laughter and spooky fun as well as the difficult human moments of this unique group of people.
I’m Your Host is directed by Milwaukee artist and filmmaker Alicia Krupsky (BFA). Tea Krulos and Christopher Kai House are producers. The documentary has a work-in-progress premiere at the Twisted Dreams Film Festival on Friday, October 20 at 8:30pm at Times Cinema (5906 W. Vliet St.). Tickets: https://omniwebticketing6.com/theatre2/?schdate=2023-10-20
A free, horror host themed after party will take place at Bay View Bowl (2416 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.) The party starts at 11pm on October 20.
A Kenosha screening at the UW-Parkside Student Center Cinema (930 Wood Rd, Kenosha) takes place Saturday, November 11 at 7:30pm. Tickets are just $5 and available here: https://milwaukeekrampusnacht.ticketbud.com/i-m-your-host-kenosha-screening
Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/4386935464864864/
Here’s the trailer:
Contact:
Alicia Krupsky: aliciakrupskaya@gmail.com
Tea Krulos: teakrulos@gmail.com
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Tea’s Weird Week: LetMeMicroMachinesManMyWayThroughWhatIGotGoingOn
SomeofyouyoungonesmightnotbefamiliarwithJohnMoschittaJr.,thesuperfasttalkingspokespersonforMicroMachinesandFedExcommercials. Here’savideosoyoucangetafeelforwhatI’msayinghere:
IgotalotgoingonsoIgottogetthroughthiscolumnquickly. Here’swhatI’mworkingonthesedays:
-TablingatKenoshaBookFestivalTOMORROWowjeezIbetterpack.
-FillinginshiftsatLion’sTooth.
-LeadingtoursforAmericanGhostWalks.
CohostingtheTea’sWeirdWeekpodcastweusuallygoliveSundayeveningsintheTea’sWeirdWeekFacebookgroupsotuneinandcheckitout.
FreelancingforMilwaukeeMagazineandotherpublications,checkoutthisfeatureIwroteonLakeMichigansurfersCowabunga.
-WorkingonQWERTYQuarterlyissue2andplanningthereleaseparty.
-Workingonorganizingthe2023MilwaukeeParanormalConference.
-Gettingexcitedaboutthepremiereof”I’mYourHost“attheTwistedDreamsFilmFestival.
OhboyitsureisalotforoneKrulostohandlebutI’llpowerthroughlikeIalwaysdobecausethequickbrownfoxjumpsoverthelazydogastheysay.PleaseexcusemydearAuntSalbutIgottogetgoingcauseIgotlikeamillionbillionthingstodosoIhopeyoursummerisgoingwell,remembertohydrateandputonprotectivesunlotionandhavearealfunswelltimeatthebeachorwhateverandI’llcatchyousoon.
Tea’s Weird Week: If you Don’t Buy QWERTY, you Might End up Feeling Butt-hurty
I think you can see from that column title how I’ve won three Excellence in Journalism Awards. Oh, c’mon, it’s a good one! Well, what can I say– there’s so much great stuff happening with QWERTYFEST MKE, it’s hard to even keep track of it all. If you’re unfamiliar, it’s a weekend long event set up by me and my co-organizer Molly Snyder, happening June 23-25 to celebrate Milwaukee as birthplace of the typewriter and QWERTY keyboard.
Molly has a great breakdown of the event, including schedule and ticket links HERE. Our fundraiser is trying to meet our new stretch goal HERE.
One aspect of the event I’m quite proud of is our official QWERTYFEST publication, QWERTY Quarterly. It’s a zine/ lit journal that features articles, poems, art, columns, fiction, fun pages, and ads from our wonderful sponsors, plus a full fest schedule. Me and Molly are editors, Alicia Krupsky is art director and designer (she also created our logo and “beer and typewriters” design). Peter Burzynski is poetry editor.
The goal here is to keep people engaged with the event year round and showcase work by great writers and artists here in the Milwaukee/ Midwest area. Our next issue will be out Sept. 1. Our Facebook page is HERE.
Here’s ways you can get a copy:
-We’ll be tabling with it outside of Woodland Pattern this Sunday, June 11 at Locust Street Festival.
-It’ll be available throughout our events at QWERTYFEST MKE June 23-25.
-It’s available at Lion’s Tooth, Studio Moonfall (Kenosha), and will soon be available at Woodland Pattern and Quimby’s (Chicago).
-You can get the first issue and a subscription to the next three issue by buying a QWERTYFEST ALL CAPS Pass.
-You can buy a four issue subscription (or a single issue) anywhere in the world and have it mailed directly to you via our Etsy site: www.etsy.com/shop/qwertyquarterly
Please Clap Dept.: The Tea’s Weird Week podcast returns soon!
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My eBook Chicago Mothman: A History and Cultural Study of a Monster Case is available on Kindle now: https://www.amazon.com/Chicago-Mothman-History-Cultural-Monster-ebook/dp/B0BZY598JX/ref=sr_1_3
Tea’s Weird Week: I Won Two Milwaukee Press Club Excellence in Wisconsin Journalism Awards
The Milwaukee Press Club Gridiron Awards were last night at the historic, beautiful (and famously haunted) Pfister Hotel. Yours Truly was there. I had a seat at the big kid’s table with the Milwaukee Magazine staff (I should point out that while I’m a frequent contributor, I’m a freelancer, not staff). That was nice, I got to meet some people in person that I’ve only worked with via email. I sat next to Rich Rovito, a hard working writer who absolutely deserves the five awards he took home.
The ballroom was filled with a who’s who of media– the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel thankfully has enough writers left to fill a table, WUWM was there (Lake Effect host Joy Powers won an award–congrats!–and is always surprised at how tall I am). Concealed Carry Magazine was there, too. I assume they were all packing in case someone tried to run off with their awards.
The awards got over 900 submissions (across all categories), according to MPC. They were judged by other press clubs and organizations around the country. Being judged by my peers is more meaningful to me than some run-of-the-mill online vote popularity contest.
I want to give a heartfelt thanks to all of the Milwaukee Magazine staff– Alli, Archer, Brianna, and especially Carole Nicksin and Chris Drosner for giving me the opportunity to excel. I appreciate their faith in me. Also a big congrats to Matt Ludtke, who won Gold for his fantastic photography on a story I wrote, “The Last Fisherman of Washington Island.”
I’m going to tell you a bit about my two Excellence in Wisconsin Journalism award winners, both in the “soft news” category. Soft news refers to pieces on entertainment and lifestyle as opposed to “hard news” on politics, crime, business (my first MPC award was in the short hard news category, 2021).
The Last Frame (GOLD- Best Short Soft Story)
www.milwaukeemag.com/the-future-of-this-riverwest-institution-is-uncertain
This story already won the best award possible– the approval of former Falcon Bowl owner Lynn Opinski. I’m told she read the article out loud at the bar and enjoyed it. I think a sure bet when looking for a soft news story is to look for a place or event or institution that has a lot of love from a community and try to explore why that is.
In this case I had a good head start– I’ve hung out at Falcon Bowl on and off since my early 20s, so I know firsthand that it is a favorite gathering place for the good people of Riverwest and beyond. I wrote this while the future of the business was unknown, the Riverwest Investment Cooperative (which was another unique aspect to this story) was still in negotiations with new business operators.
Here’s what I think made this article a winner.
1. A strong opening. I can’t tell you what a rush it is when someone gives you a good quote and you can visualize the quote marks hanging around it. I thought Vince Bushell would be a good interview for this article and his story in the opening really paved the path for the rest:
One evening, Vince Bushell was strolling down Clarke Street when the night erupted into sound. The bells of St. Casimir Church were tolling the evening hour; bowling balls were crashing into pins in the basement of Falcon Bowl; somewhere in between, a punk band was screeching out a rehearsal in an attic.
Bushell, sometimes referred to as the “Mayor of Riverwest” for the number of community projects he’s helped foster, had an epiphany: He was hearing the “collective soul of Riverwest floating up and down the street between St. Casimir’s steeple and the lanes of Falcon Bowl.”
2. Lots of color. Magazine pieces need a lot of “color,” (a word for description) and I kept that in mind. What does the place sound like? “The clatter of balls striking pins punctuates her sentences as she talks from behind the counter.” What does it look like, feel like? “Orange and tan plastic seats, beer holders on the scoring tables, racks filled with bowling balls in purple, blue, mottled and standard black – it all feels as comfy as your uncle’s rec room.”
3. A strong ending. I knew it would be key for me to witness the last day of league bowling for the season before the transition to new business owners. I hung out and then captured this end of an era:
Then, at 10:39 p.m., the last ball rolls down lane 4, delivered by a bowler named Ricky. After hitting two strikes, he ends the night with two pins left standing. The crowd cheers and heads upstairs for another round at the bar. The lane lights are shut off. And that’s it … for now.
An update: I’m glad to say that the new Falcon Bowl owners are doing a fantastic job giving the building some needed updates while still retaining the wonderful soul of the place so we can all continue to enjoy visiting, hopefully for many more years.
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Wanna Buy a Famous Tugboat? (SILVER-Best Soft Feature- Online)
www.milwaukeemag.com/wanna-buy-a-famous-tugboat
Where to start with Mark Gubin? I’ve described him as a “cosmic prankster” for his famous roof, which reads WELCOME TO CLEVELAND (it’s on the flight path to Mitchell International here in Milwaukee). My editor Chris passed on an email from Mark (who often ignores media requests), explaining he was looking for press because he wanted to sell his beloved historic tugboat, the Solomon Juneau. The first thing I do when figuring out a story is to Google the person or place to see what’s already out there, so when I saw Mark was the guy with the roof, I was instantly very interested in the story.
Mark made this easy as he’s the ultimate, boss level Milwaukee character. It would be pretty hard to write a dull piece about him.
There were some big struggles with this story internally, but I’m not going to get into that. I’m just happy that this story happened and received this recognition. Most of all, I’m glad I made a new friend– me and Mark get lunch together almost every Thursday. I’m working with two talented local filmmakers, Alicia Krupsky and Stephen Vincent Anderson (also working with me on I’m Your Host) to create a short documentary about Mark. We’ve done most of the interviewing for that already. The working title, of course…Welcome to Cleveland.
Freelancing is tough work. Getting recognitions like this helps you to carry on. I’m grateful to everyone who supports me.
If you’d like to support me and a bunch of other writers, artists, and musicians, I ask you to please consider supporting QWERTYFEST MKE by making a donation, buying tickets, and helping spread the word: linktr.ee/qwertyfest_mke
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