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PORTAGE -- The cashew crunch and pecan crunch at Chocolatea are deceiving.

They look like peanut brittle but are soft and taste like toffee. Store owner Polly Kragt has some available daily for customers to taste. Both items cost $14.99 per pound.

Continue reading "Hot-Ticket Item: pecan and cashew crunches from Chocolatea in Portage" »

It's been a trying time for some fans of TWILIGHT. First came news that Catherine Hardwicke would not be calling the shots on NEW MOON, the second film in the series. Then rumors swirled around Taylor Lautner, who played Bella's somewhat shy would-be beau, Jacob: The buzz was that Lautner (formerly of Grand Rapids) would be replaced in the second film. Continue reading "Fear not, 'Twilight" fans: Taylor Lautner will see 'New Moon'" »

KALAMAZOO - Liz Carroll does original but traditional-style Irish tunes, even though she was born and raised on the South Side of Chicago.

"I used to get that when I'd go to Ireland: 'How can you do it?' Well, this isn't that big a stretch, guys," Carroll said from her Chicago home.

She proved how well she did it by winning the All-Ireland Senior Fiddle Championship when she was 18 in 1975. Carroll, who will play at 8:30 p.m. Friday as part of the Cooper's Glenn Festival, further made her mark by composing new reels and fiddle tunes -- something that wasn't typical to do when she was beginning her career, when tradition meant memorizing the old tunes of Ireland.

Her composing and playing talents have earned Carroll recognition from the pubs of Ireland to the White House. Honors include former first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton giving her the National Heritage Fellowship in 1994.

Carroll's parents came from Ireland; Chicago has long had a big folk scene; and she has played fiddle since she was a child, so it should be no big surprise that she can burn up a reel as if raised in a Dublin pub.

Continue reading "Liz Carroll: An Irish fiddler from the Windy City, not the Emerald Isle makes her way to Kalamazoo for the Cooper's Glen Music Festival" »

KALAMAZOO -- Randy Kohrs is a dobro player, songwriter, band leader, studio owner, producer and session musician.

He might as well declare himself an excellent juggler as well. As Kohrs spoke recently via cell phone, he was struggling with a debit-card reader at a Nashville, Tenn., Kroger as he was thinking about an upcoming appearance on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," where he was to play with Little Big Town, one of the many country/bluegrass/Americana groups who grab him when they need a supreme dobro talent.

Of the late-night shows, "I've done them all, except Conan, with Dolly." Kohrs has been a regular player with Dolly Parton in the past decade. He's also played for Dierks Bentley, Cowboy Troy, Hank III, Tom T. Hall, Hank Thompson, Continental Divide and others. Kohrs has been on more than 500 albums since he moved from his home state of Iowa to Nashville in 1994.

Continue reading "Randy Kohrs will juggle musical genres at Cooper's Glen Music Festival" »

KALAMAZOO -- Three years ago, Gregory Sandifer, then 11, couldn't resist the urge to create a collage dedicated to superheroes.

After all, at the time, superheroes and birds were his favorite things to draw.

And the hero he depicted? Why, himself. How cool.

His piece, appropriately titled "Me," pictured at right, was among dozens of others from local Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kalamazoo members displayed at the Radisson Plaza Hotel & Suites, located at 100 W. Michigan Ave. in downtown Kalamazoo. The free exhibit has now become an annual tradition.

This year's show opened Monday. It concludes Jan. 16 with an artists' reception from 5 to 7 p.m. at the site.

The public is invited to check it out.

Continue reading "Budding artists from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kalamazoo showcase their work this week at the Radisson Plaza Hotel in Kalamazoo" »

KALAMAZOO -- Fans of Kalamazoo Civic Theatre's "Cyrano de Bergerac" last year and Western Michigan University's "Moon Over Buffalo," a derivative of "Cyrano," may want to turn to PBS at 8 p.m. Wednesday to see how it's done on Broadway.

Kevin Kline and Jennifer Garner make an intriguing pair as Cyrano and Roxanne when "Great Performances" offers an encore performance of "Cyrano de Bergerac," as performed Jan. 3 and 4 of last year at the Richard Rodgers Theatre.

Continue reading "Fans of the Kalamazoo Civic Theatre's staging last year of 'Cyrano de Bergerac' may wish to tune in Wednesday to PBS" »

KALAMAZOO -- It looks like a few weeks after Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy's solo set at the State Theatre, his band will release a new live DVD.

Tweedy is scheduled to perform at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 29 at the State Theatre, downtown Kalamazoo. Tickets are $27 and they go on sale at 10 a.m. Jan. 7.

In March or February, Wilco will release "Ashes Of American Flag," a DVD of the group playing at the Nashville Ryman Auditorium and the Tulsa Cain Ballroom last February.

Billboard.com reported Wilco is planning to release a new album this summer.

LOS ANGELES -- Want to hear Cameron Crowe's thoughts on winning an Oscar or see how king-sized movie posters are assembled? How about a sneak peek at some of the exclusive exhibitions held at the film academy's Beverly Hills headquarters?

It's all at Oscars.org, the newly revamped Web site of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, officially launching Tuesday. Film fans of all kinds are welcome, said AMPAS Executive Administrator Ric Robertson.

Continue reading "Oscars 2.0: The film academy revamps its Web site" »