Grand Avenue bears don green and gold this holiday season
The Leonard Bearstein Symphony Orchestra, a 45 minute animated Christmas show featuring 18 animated bears will wear Green Bay Packer apparel through Friday, Jan. 6 to support the team. The apparel was donated by Pro Image Fan Fair, a sporting apparel shop that has been located at The Shops of Grand Avenue Mall since 1982. Owner, Jim Tjader donated the items. The Orhestra is one of only 11 Leonard Bearstein Orchestras in the world and one of only four active ones. The 2011 holiday season marks The Shops of Grand Avenue’s 10th anniversary with the singing group of bears.
Racine museum will temporarily close archives
The Racine Heritage Museum will temporarily close its archives from Tuesday, Dec. 27 to Saturday, Feb. 4 in order to integrate new materials into the collection and available for researchers.
One of the major collections that will be integrated into the Archives is from Bob Johnson and his family. Johnson was a long-time volunteer at Racine Heritage Museum, who was also a collector and an accomplished local amateur historian. He lived a long life, so a certain amount of his historical expertise came from his own long memory.
According to the museum, his collection included not just Racine history, but anything that interested his inquisitive mind, as well as personal travels.
"When Bob found a subject he liked, he did an in-depth study of it – which will be instrumental in aiding people who visit the RHM archives to do their own research," said Archivist Mary Nelson.
Visit the Museum’s website at www.racineheritagemuseum.org for more information.
Museum announces holiday hours
The Milwaukee Art Museum has announced that it will be open on Saturday, Dec. 24 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and on Monday, Dec. 26 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The museum will be closed on Christmas Day. The Museum will also be open on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
In addition, the Milwaukee Art Museum’s next monthly Target Free First Thursday is scheduled for Thursday, January 5, 2012. Admission is free for all individuals, and it is the public’s last chance to see Impressionism: Masterworks on Paper for free.
“We are thrilled to be able to offer this opportunity to our visitors,” said Daniel Keegan, Museum director. “Since the program started, over 30,000 people have participated in Target Free First Thursdays. The Museum has three outstanding exhibitions running at the moment, and I encourage everyone to experience them.”
The Museum’s feature exhibition, Impressionism: Masterworks on Paper, runs through January 8, 2012.
Historical society digitizes historic holiday greeting cards
The Wisconsin Historical Society has released a digital archive of more than 50 cards from its holiday greeting card collection which dates back as far as 1845. The collection, which features a significant number of rare cards, will be accessible for viewing online.
The Wisconsin Historical Society launched its Forward! Campaign in 2010. In addition to update existing buildings, a major goal of the campaign is to digitize its vast collection of historic documents and increase the use of technology within the organization. Making the holiday greeting card collection viewable online is a part of that initiative.
Beginning December 19, the collection will be available online here. http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/whi/feature/christmascards/
M&I’s holiday display still a tradition for the community
M&I, a part of BMO Financial Group, has opened its annual Holiday Display. This year’s theme is ‘It’s Toy Time at the North Pole,’ and features more than 150 life-sized costumed animals including lions, kangaroos, penguins, monkeys and bears. The animals are dressed as North Pole toy makers.
For each visitor, M&I, now BMO Harris Bank, will contribute $5 to Hunger Task Force to help in the organization’s efforts to prevent hunger and malnutrition.
“Visiting the holiday display has become a tradition for many families so we wanted to enhance the overall experience by letting those who attend know that their visit will directly help those in need of food and nutrition,” said Brad Chapin, executive vice president, personal banking at BMO Harris Bank.
The lobby display is free and open to the public.
"BMO has come up with such a nice way to help the community, reminding visitors to be thankful and in return helping those who may not be feeling as blessed this time of year," said Sherrie Tussler, executive director of Hunger Task Force.
M&I’s Holiday Display, located in the lobby of the M&I location at 770 N. Water St., will be open until Monday, Jan. 2. Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. On weekends, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day, the display will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The lobby will be closed after 1 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 24; and at 5 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 2.
