by Dino Corvino on January 28th, 2010
Today WAE announced that Kari Rasmussen has accepted the position of Director of Wausau Area Events. Kari has been the Events Coordinator for roughly three years, and during that time the prominent events in the community have all seen growth and improvement.
I have known Kari for over a decade, and I think she is a great choice. The naming of someone so familiar to both the community, and to the events, is a wise choice.
In a press release Terry Sturm, the President of Wausau Area Events, said: “We are certainly pleased to have someone of Ms. Rasmussen’s capabilities and talents helping to continue the Wausau Area Events tradition of bringing top-notch entertainment options to the Wausau area. Her familiarity with the organization and the events themselves will make for a very seamless transition as we enter into the 2010 event season. “
Congrats, Kari. We wish you well. Knock ‘em dead!
by Dino Corvino on November 1st, 2009
At Citizen Wausau we consider ourselves as a part of the community, we want to engage in the projects that we see as interesting or valuable. We want to engage the process of growing our city in new and exciting ways, ways that build community. That’s why we’re proud to introduce a new idea: TweetBus.
What is Tweetbus?
TweetBus starts with a simple goal: we want to increase both awareness and use of the Wausau Public Transit System, the bus. Public transit is a vital part of our city’s growth. Sadly, every year Public Transit seems to be attacked around the time of the city budget. So we want to do something fun and progressive that uses technology to create awareness of the Public Transit System.
Members of the CW family will be riding the bus all day on Saturday November 7th. We would love your company, but we’ll get to that in a second. We will be using Twitter to provide a live play-by-play of the day, and you can follow events as they happen on the new TweetBus website.
Want to Join Us?
You can take part in this adventure in any number of ways, from all day participation, to just a run here or there, to simply following along and spreading the world.
- We will be meeting at 8:45am Saturday November 7th at the Downtown Transit Center, and getting on the bus for our day long sojourn. We would love to meet you there, and start the day together. If you cannot make it there, or just want to do a part of the day, see below. We would welcome you to the fun of a day on the bus.
- Follow our progress on Twitter. Participants in the event should use the hashtag #tweetbus at the end of any relevant tweets. You can follow all the #tweetbus posts on the TweetBus website, or by searching for them on Twitter.
- If you plan to participate, share your Twitter username in the comments. We’ll try to put up a list of expected participants later this week!
Twitter on the Go
All you need to participate in TweetBus is a mobile phone. Twitter allows for any number of ways to tweet from your phone; click here for more info. At the very least you can use text messages to update Twitter – just make sure you end them with the #tweetbus hashtag! Smartphone users can do the same or use any of the many Twitter apps that are floating around out there.
Goals
The goals are simple. Increase awareness, use these new tools, and have a little fun. We love seeing the people who read and take part in CW at events, and we hope that this is another way for us to connect. We think that even if it is only a ride or two through out the day, it will be a good cause and some fun. We hope to upload some photos to a Flickr group, and maybe collect some stories of people who ride the bus, the drivers, and all the surrounding good times. Public transit is important, it is a part of the infrastructure of any city, and we want to highlight it here in Wausau.
So again, we are meeting prior to boarding…
Saturday November 7th
8:45 am
Downtown Bus Terminal
We hope to see you there.
by Brad Schjoth on August 26th, 2009
Combat USA, a mixed martial arts promotion put on by the National Combat Association, is slated to deliver an event to the Wausau area in just over two weeks.
The promotion, which features both amateur and professional fights in a hybrid round format, is coming to the Rothschild Pavilion on September 12th at 6:30pm. Established and originating out of Green Bay, Combat USA circulates the entire state of Wisconsin, providing competition to the booming sport on a local level. Tickets are relatively affordable ($20 for general admission), and it is a terrific opportunity for fans of the UFC, WEC and Strikeforce to enjoy some solid fights without spending the cash it would cost to buy a seat in a big arena. You can find out more information here, and it looks as if tickets are now on sale, with the event clearly announced to succeed their event this weekend in the Fox Valley.
It is the first time in quite a span that an MMA event has been held in the Wausau vicinity, and it only makes sense considering the substantial growth in popularity the sport has shown in the area. Up until now, Combat USA and other promotions similar to it (Konquer the Kage, King of the Cage, etc.) have traveled to larger metro areas hours from the Central Wisconsin landscape, or have taken advantage of the large amount of traffic to the Northwoods casinos. However, this scheduled stop is heavily warranted, as I can personally tell you, as a writer for Wisconsin Combat Sports and an avid mixed martial arts fan myself, Wausau, and the communities to all directions, are catching the fever of the sport, and recognizing it for what it truly strives to be.
Lah Thao, an accomplished mixed martial arts fighter, established Rising Son MMA in Wausau back in January. He was the top-ranked competitor in the state at 135-pounds until he took extended time off to start his adventure into teaching the skilled sport he loves. After an eighteen-month layoff, he returns to the cage September 19th in Tomahawk. But, back in July, Lah laid out to me the landscape of what has now become the Wausau area MMA scene, and how big the boom has become over the course of his career:
We usually have probably about 15-20 MMA guys that come regularly on the Monday, Wednesday, and Friday nights. And then we have about five or six grapplers that come regularly. Then we do a tae-kwon-do class and with that we have another 20 taekwondo students.
That statement, coupled with the craziness you’ll typically find at your favorite local establishment the Saturday night of a UFC event, it is instantly apparent the love and fandom for mixed martial arts that has come to rest in our community.
If you appreciate the heart and dedication put forth by any of the fighters that step into competition; if you enjoy the sheer physical power and prowess it takes to go one-on-one with an opponent; or if you are simply railed by the thrill of the action–support the sport and local fighters. I will see you September 12th.
by Cheryl Mathis on June 4th, 2009
Oh the nervous excitement. Oh the glorious tension of wondering what will come next.
No, I didn’t sign up for an online matchmaker site. I signed up at United Way’s Volunteer Connection site, and I sent out some emails to local organizations offering my limited time and skills to help with something … ANYTHING … in my community.
http://www.unitedwaymc.org/
I live in a large neighborhood full of homes, full of families and elderly people, full of needs and small ways where someone like me could help them. I could bring over a meal, wash their kitchen floor, change their sheets. I want to get connected.
As a family we’ve been exploring the wonderful world of gardening this year, and we would love to get involved on a community level. I want to get connected to that as well.
I think it takes a village to raise a child, and it takes a village to make a community. Each of us has our own skill set, even if it’s just knowing how to use the internet (yes, I’m talking to you). We each have ways we can contribute to our fellow man, to our neighbors, to our community as a whole or to an individual community member. Opening up our lives and our schedules to someone else or something else is a vital part of life, I think. We should always be open to change, to something better, to something deeper. I hope I am.
by Dino Corvino on February 19th, 2009
We found this on Facebook. Looks like the line-up is done. Thoughts?
“Wausau Area Events Presents the 18th Annual Big Bull Falls Blues Festival!
Appearing Live…
Hounds Tooth
Otis & The Alligators
Shannon Curfman
RJ Mischo
Albert Cummings
Liz Manderville & The Blue Points
Smokin Joe Kubek
Tab Benoit”
by Dino Corvino on January 22nd, 2009
Hello everyone, as the new year swarms us with the possibilities and changes, we here at Citizen Wausau seek to bring new voices to the table. Recently we added a few, and you will learn about them later, but before we get there, we wanted to seek more voices from the wealth that is this fine city.
It is my hope that we can find the following:
1. A city council reporter/correspondent. While I love attending these meetings, I am sometimes unable to. I would love to be able to have a regular contributor there to give us a rundown on what they had seen and heard. The minutes of these meetings reflect the record, but there is something all together different in watching the faces and body language of the folks on the council.
2. High School sports. Last week I had the great pleasure of going to a high school basketball game. It was amazing. We would love for more high school age folks to be involved in CW, and maybe this is a start.
3. The PAF. While the PAF is a highly successful thing, we would love to spend more time talking to someone from there. We think it is a valuable resource and a shining light for the entire state. This needs to be broad enough to encompass the WCT and all the other Community Theatre projects.
4. Wausau Area Events. This might just be a summer time slot, unless we can find someone who would like to dig around like I would love to see them dig around. WAE does things every day, it seems like, over the summer months.
There will of course be more possibilities, but those four pop into mind right away. Please leave a comment if you are interested in providing us with posts on any of the above subjects. You don’t have to be a regular contributor if you don’t have the time to invest, but we’d love to read whatever you can provide. If you have ideas for other “beats” around town, leave a comment about those as well. You can also email us for further information.
by Tom Neal on October 21st, 2008
I want to write this right. I want to refrain from typical, prideful, parental gushing. After all, who really wants to hear the beaming, boasting Dad who goes on and on about watching his kid excel on the athletic field or making all As or bagging their first trophy deer? Not me. But Dino pretty much said I had to write this! (And no one says you have to read this.) So …
Parents witness all sorts of proud moments, times when their kids shine. But what I’m thinking and feeling is less about shining, and more about carrying on, embracing a tradition, making a connection with something intrinsic and personal.
Recently, I watched my son Ian play lead guitar as he and his friends in Freedown opened the show at the Fillmor for Scott Holt (a national act!). A long way from their one-song gig a year ago at the East High School variety show. Back then, the kids were nervous … and so was I. It can be unsettling to put it out there in front of people. I sat in that auditorium and dreaded the possibility that they would murder (and not in a good way) Led Zeppelin’s Immigrant Song. But they came off well and the crowd liked them. I was relieved, and pleased. But it’s just one tune.
In short order, Dino asked if they’d like to open for Scott Holt in Woodruff in March of this year. Yes! They had three months to prepare a set list and pull their chops together. Long story short — they put on a great show in the smoky bar and even jammed with the headliner. Thankfully, they’re not into screaming and rapping and being all negative and Goth. They play rock. Good rock. Maybe what you’d call progressive alternative rock.
From there, it’s been teen nights at the Fillmor and Rockwater, a gig at the Harley dealership for the Big Ride, a long night at a bar in Park Falls. The boys have been paying their dues. Timbuk 3: “Things are goin’ great, and they’re only gettin’ better!” Increasingly, their tunes are tightly arranged, polished, with shifty changes, breaks, bridges, interplay, melody, power, physicality, even humor.
For this Fillmor show, as usual, Ian expressed no apprehension beforehand, no nervousness about being watched by a large “barful” of people. Freedown practices a lot, honing their craft, creating new tunes and arrangements. They have achieved a level of confidence that comes across on stage. They’re almost blasé. Cool.
I, on the other hand, still get the pre-show jitters. Am I living vicariously? Or just being a dad? I rush over with a pocketful of picks because Ian forgot to bring any. Agonize that there won’t be a good-size crowd. Worry that the sound will be bad, that his guitar won’t be loud enough. Hope that he’ll have fun. Hope that people will enjoy and applaud. Fear that the band will be ignored. I don’t want the kids to be disappointed.
Finally, Dino does the introduction and they break into their first number. For me, it’s not like watching a raggedy garage band or typical high school or bar cover band; to me, it’s more like a performance, a concert. And I’m glued to my spot, everyone and everything else just seems to “go away.” I watch every move, listen to every note, anticipate how a guitar lick will finish out, or zero in on drummer Danny’s spot-on fills. After the first tune, I erupt in applause. I make loud noises, like, “Wooo!” and “Yeah!” as if to draw everyone’s attention to the enormity of what’s happening on stage. “Everyone! You must give this your attention! Don’t miss this!” I want everyone to know that my kid’s playing the guitar, but have to settle for knowing that only a handful in attendance are aware of the fact. Next tune: I’m literally feeling a tremble, heart flutter, whatever the heck it was. Adrenaline? Vodka? Pride? Best of all, I snap out of my trance, look around and see virtually everyone’s eyes glued to the stage. Heads bobbing. Smiles and nods of affirmation. I see a professional bass player standing near me in rapt attention with a big grin. I talk to Ian’s former guitar instructor, who obviously is impressed. They play like grownups, cool grownups (sort of a rare animal), and these kids are barely 17. I’m humbled by them. My high school band was never this cool! But that’s okay. I’m a fan.
At risk of sounding like a dumb lyric, I have to say that I was raised on rock. I never grew out of it, never let it go. I think it has a magic quality to it … when it’s done well. It can also be dumb. And in many cases, too many, it is dumb to the extreme. But here, I feel a sense of fulfillment — something is happening that constitutes a cultural continuity, another generation of kids who actually “get it” when it comes to rock. They’re not rejecting or trashing tradition; they’re embracing it, and building on it. And my kid is right in the thick of it.
So, here’s my son; I have a photo of him at about age two “playing” a guitar of mine on the couch, I gave him his first guitar and first lessons, his first listen to Led Zeppelin III, his first ticket to a Rolling Stones concert, his wah-wah pedal. He’s playing well … heck, he’s killing. Better than I ever was, by far. I think to myself, he’s a natural. But that implies some sort of freakish, unfair advantage. Truth is, he’s been exposed to music all his life, been encouraged without being pushed and been supported when he decided to pursue it. But, really, this is all his own doing. He’s worked hard at it. Researched it. Internalized it. And it is paying him back with interest.
He has told us that he’s never happier than when he’s playing. It’s right up there among my happier moments too, to see and hear him having so much fun. And I sense the band’s joy is infecting the people in the crowd. These older people. Watching the kids.
Afterward, after their encore, he walks up to me lugging his amp. I give him a hug, say the band was great. He says he screwed up in about six songs. He’s almost embarrassed. Mostly, he’s like a laborer that just got off his shift. Tired. Spent. Hungry. But it’s also evident that he is living a dream.
It will be similar for Jane and me next week when Ian’s younger sister Molly dances in Wausau Dance Theatre’s Thriller. Maybe I’ll cajole Jane into writing about how it feels to see her little girl on stage, being a dancer, enjoying performing for a packed Grand Theater, after weeks of rehearsals.
These are the moments. This is what it’s all about.
by Cheryl Mathis on October 13th, 2008
Friday night brought a fantastic line-up of music to Downtown Wausau. I had the pleasure of being at The Fillmor for the all but the first of a three-band marquee, missing the first only because I was on a roady road trip with some guitar guys until 7:30.
Aaron Williams stood on the stage, oozing subdued sexual energy. Maybe it was his broody black hat tipped forward across his lean angular face and the effortless cool of his clothes. His forearm muscles were sinews, strong cords pulling at the guitar, drawing the music out in a frenzy of the beat, the guitar a machine strapped across his body. It was funk, it was rock, it was blues. He pursed his lips like he was sucking the fumes steaming off his guitar. He seemed lost in the music, mesmerized and manic at the same time.
ZT Auner on the bass guitar was a sight to see. Rail thin body, blue bandana across his forehead, he stood with his feet planted in place, twisting out once in a while when the riff traveled down his body and escaped out his toes. Moving mostly from the hips, he leaned and tilted his upper body to move with the chords and the flow. His face gave the distinct impression that he was on the climax of physical ecstasy, and he was just doing his part to keep the magic going on just another minute longer.
Their music was less melody and more art installation at times. Aaron tweaked and manipulated a lick and put it forth as modern art.
When Scott Holt came on stage, the mood changed. He summoned the ghosts on stage with Dalai Lama-blessed incense burning on side stage. Audience members were easily entranced by the performance. He began effortlessly spinning out the licks, a spider wrapping a web around a grateful prey. The masterful riffs felt like an afterthought in his worshipful meditation at the feet of all the other rock and blues gods who have gone before him.
From such subtle fingering against the strings, this sweet blues aria sang out. His voice went from a playful shout to an exasperated sigh to a low sexual growl that purred into the microphone. He was first rock god and then delicately sensitive lover. Watching him onstage with a song was like a delicious foreplay with a man who has all the time in the world to make you feel every last sigh and shudder.
Without an ego, he stepped back several times to let his bass guitarist Richard Sanders take the spotlight and do his thing. Sanders playfully tickled out songs on the bass like he was sharing a great joke with a friend who had seen it all, too. Marshall Weaver on drums, with a smile on his face, looked happy to chase after them both with frenetic and skillful beats. At times, Holt was the conductor on stage, orchestrating the best of the blues, leading his players through tight tempos and structured, but impromptu, melodies. Sanders and Weaver followed him intently, rising to the occasion, playing their roles in the blues man’s show.
Yeah. You could say that Scott Holt can play the guitar. You could also say that Beethoven could compose, that Renoir could paint, that Frank Lloyd Wright could design a building. For me, his level of mastery was very apparent. He was so confident with his instrument that he could start ignoring all the rules of guitar playing and could create new sounds and new beats that were totally outside the box. That’s a comfort level not often seen. As a man who says that the blues should not be sad, he romped on stage, having his playtime, soaring through creative covers and originals.
by Cheryl Mathis on August 29th, 2008
If you’re like me, you’re always looking for a kick in the rear to get in another exercise. On the long list of priorities, exercising doesn’t seem as pressing as washing last week’s dishes.
Keep your eyes open, and you might get that kick. Recently, I was kicked when I started noticing how many of my fellow citizens are including exercise as a regular part of their day. Whether it’s the nightly dog walk or even the sweat-inducing jog, my neighbors are out there on the sidewalks, in the parks and going in and out of the Y. I applaud them.
If you live in town like I do, you know about all the community spaces. I get so inspired when I see those spaces used for a good workout. After all, what else should it be used for? We are a community of people, all struggling with something, and together we can support each other with our goals, even if it’s just an encouraging wave and friendly smile to someone who is trying to include fitness in one’s daily life.
I dare you to keep your eyes open this next week and count how many people you see using our community spaces to exercise, and I dare you to join them.
by Cheryl Mathis on May 16th, 2008
Living consciously in your own body, the one you are stuck with, takes some energy. So many of us live in our heads. We read and we write, we watch TV and talk to friends, we eat. All done with our heads for the most part. But what we do above the necks has a direct effect on our bodies, either from what we’re thinking and talking about, from what we’re watching and reading, and certainly from what we’re putting in our mouths.
I encourage all of you to start living in your body again. Feel it move, the muscles ripple, the joints pivot and creak, heck… even feel the fat jiggle. Let the bliss that happens when you feel a soft breeze across your skin sink deeper and really feel your body move. Notice the bounce you get in your step after you’ve shared some good belly laughs with a friend. Sense the quiet and calm in your body after you spend some time reading and meditating.
This week should be frisbee week. Bring a frisbee to a park and toss it, fling it, skip it, chase after it. Move your body in response to what the frisbee asks you to do — crouch low to catch it, stretch out your arm to send it flying, and sprint where the wind blows it off course.
If you don’t have a buddy to throw a frisbee at, don’t feel embarrassed to do it on your own. I used to spend hours outside playing by myself when I was a kid. You might feel like an idiot at first, but you might get someone to feel sorry for you and join you out of pity. You’ll be doing them a favor, and you’ll be interacting with other citizens in this great city of ours. I don’t see a downside.
