Left: the view of the new stage and the food tent adjacent to the back patio Center: No, Norman wasn’t singing, thankfully. He was the occasional emcee. Right: Contented Cow Operations Manager VanDeWalker; Manger Julie Bixby; proprietor Norman Butler
The mobile stage for this week’s JuneBug is almost ready. The boys from Built by Johnson (Leigh Johnson and Charles Johnson) have constructed it over the past few days… and it was band-tested on Saturday night by Draper Daniels.
The Contented Cow is pleased to host the First Annual JuneBug Festival of Music, June 26-28, 2008. We’re constructing a special stage for the event, adjacent to our riverfront back patio.
Politics and a Pint will be hosted for the next couple of weeks by Kiffi Summa, who has agreed to moderate a discussion on the Northfield city charter. With a guest appearance by Betsey Buckheit (former chair of the Northfield Planning Commission) we expect this to be an interesting talk indeed.
So, put on your summer finery, bring out the band! We’re going to be looking at the foundations upon which we stand … next, at Politics and a Pint!
What: Politics and a Pint Where: The Contented Cow When: Sunday, 22 June 2008, 6-7:30PM
Well, we walked into this one a bit out of step, so I indulged myself by opening with a poem I had written some time ago, “My Lost Tools“. I followed that up with a story about fathers and the lessons they teach. We then wandered around the table and through time as we all brought up little stories about our fathers. We heard of a father who, way back in the mid 50’s, would not let his daughter’s, shall we call them eccentricities, go unrewarded, as he supported her when she would go against the cultural norms for young girls in those days. We heard of another father who was so frugal that he would wait till Christmas eve to buy one of those “Charlie Brown” trees, then would gather up loose branches, drill holes in the trunk and stick those branches in those holes to create a Christmas tree in a ritual that seems to resonate to today. It was a pleasant time and I thank the people who showed up for allowing me to drift into such a non-political topic. Read More »
Well, with no fixed agenda we had a light turnout. Even so, we had an excellent time. Conversation started light, but the keynote speech (by your’s truly) was a real fire starter (not because of the delivery, but because of the topic). Read More »
When I first decided to only continue a casual conversation I was thinking that there was not much to say about anything else, but I have since been working on an freedom awareness issue, so I plan to talk about Freedom, the origins of Memorial Day, Victor Davis-Hansen’s three historical examples, and the like. After I run down on the subject (about 15 minutes I’d bet), we’ll see if there is anyone left to talk about the originally scheduled casual conversation, which I had presaged as … Read More »