Racine & Me July 8, 2018: State Sen. Bob Wirch, the Racine Calliope, Peter and the Starcatcher, and Animal Crackers

NOW: Racine & Me July 8, 2018: State Sen. Bob Wirch, the Racine Calliope, Peter and the Starcatcher, and Animal Crackers
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Jacob Kittilstad abandoned the studio to visit the 4th Fest of Greater Racine parade – which is touted to be the largest Fourth of July parade in the Midwest. Racine/Kenosha State Senator Bob Wirch stopped by during the balmy visit outdoors to talk about his political priorities which include raising the minimum wage. He also talked about why he’s supporting Randy Bryce for Congress and how he feels about hecklers along parade routes (he’s all for them).

The Racine Calliope is back in action at this year’s 4th Fest parade and it’s looking as good as ever! Recently the circus-style organ was rehabbed in Missouri – which is no easy task considering felt, leather, and metal are integrated into the 80-plus-year-old instrument. Jacob talked to the man who plays the calliope during the parade and learns about his background as a musician (He currently plays at Mt. Pleasant Lutheran Church AKA “The Spaceship Church”). Check out more information about that church here

The Racine Theatre Guild is looking ahead to their next production which includes a lot of characters that people already know. Peter and the Starcatcher basically works as a prequel to “Peter Pan” and spells out what led to the character dynamics at play in Neverland. The cast is not a huge group of people but they depict more than one hundred characters though pantomime.  Click here for more information about the production


And it is the 32nd year of the Animal Crackers Concert Series put on by the Racine Zoo. Staff brought in “Laurel” the Green Tree Python to help promote the shows (and showed an amazing proficiency to talk about details of the event while handling a rather energetic animal!) The music theme running throughout the shows is Jazz – and organizers share the secret to having a good time at the events because they do go on rain-or-shine. Click here for more information about the concert series

Guests: Bob Wirch – Racine/Kenosha State Senator (D), Michael Becker – Racine Calliope Player, Joycelyn Fish – Racine Theatre Guild Director of Marketing and Development, Beth Heidorn – Racine Zoo Executive Director

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