Kalamazoo is Fourth Best Beer City in America

It’s no secret that there is an abundance of beer in Kalamazoo. Recently, livability.com, a travel website that lists the best cities for certain events and vacations, has ranked Kalamazoo as number four on their top 10 best beer cities in the nation. With Kalamazoo’s mass variety of breweries and brewpubs, it is easy to understand why.

Kalamazoo’s very first brew pub, Olde Peninsula was established in 1996 and is home to their five original in-house brewed beers with occasional seasonal beers available. Current brew master, Dan Kiplinger, can be seen carrying out the brewing process right in the restaurant while patrons enjoy a meal and a cold beer.

Vicki Bolen, general manager of Olde Peninsula, said that people from all over the country, and even abroad, have come in to sample their beer. Beer enthusiasts coming to Michigan for brewery tours usually make an appearance at the restaurant.

“Having Kalamazoo beer week, I think we’ve gotten some state wide, if not nationwide recognition of being a city that has really embraced our beer,” said Bolen. “We get really good feedback. People love our IPA.”

Bolen said that things to look forward to from Olde Peninsula is their double IPA that is currently aging in buffalo traced bourbon barrels and should be available in May.

Because Olde Peninsula is a brewpub and not a brewery, they can only sell their beer on their premises. Unlike brewpubs, Kalamazoo breweries such as Bell’s and Boatyard Brewing Co., have the legal ability to distribute their beers outwards for sale in stores, bars and anywhere else beer is sold. 

Bell’s Brewery is one of Kalamazoo’s most prevalent breweries and has become a staple trademark to the city’s beer culture.  Selling their first beer in September of 1985, Bell’s is the oldest craft brewery East of Colorado.

When Larry Bell, founder of Bell’s Brewery, was starting up his business, he was using a 15-gallon soup pot to brew his beer in. Today, Bell’s has grown into a fully operational brewery with an on-site pub and a new 200-barrel brew house located in Comstock.

Bell’s was the first Michigan brewery to open an onsite pub. Renovations have recently been taken place on the pub adding an additional bar and stage for live performances. Bell’s also opens up a beer garden during the summer months where patrons can sit outside and enjoy a cold beer on a hot day, occasionally catching a show on their outdoor stage.

The major success of Bell’s Brewery has inspired other home brewers to try their luck in the beer industry. Two friends, Dan Gilligan and Brian Steele, were sitting in a garage drinking their homebrew when they had a life changing idea; they were going to start their own brewery.

Boatyard Brewing Co. (BBC) was established by Gilligan and Steele during the summer or 2011 and is in the process of becoming the newest addition to Kalamazoo’s beer scene. Looking to retire from their day jobs in a few years, Gilligan and Steele said that they wanted to do something that they loved, and that’s brewing beer.

“We’re Boatyard Brewery, we’re the happy brewery,” said Steele.

Recently moving their brewing facility from Gilligan’s garage to a warehouse on E. Patterson St., the two men, and their apprentice Dennis Massingill, are working hard to get everything ready for opening day set to be on Dec. 21 of next year.

“We’ve had extremely successful tasting events. We’ve been putting our money to try to create a following rather than open up and go ‘come follow us’,” said Gilligan.  “And we’ve been able to do it. The day we pull the trigger, we’ll pull the trigger and go ‘ka-boom’ rather than just a little trickle.”

 Currently they are brewing their popular Midnight Star and their Pumpkin Ale. Steele said that they have been working for months to get the Pumpkin ale to the taste that they want. He said they want a mellow and well-rounded ale that is not overpowered by spices. Like all of their beers, they’re aiming for drinkability.

 

Community Organization Fights for Immigration Rights

Over 200 students, citizens, immigrants and advocates marched to the State Capital earlier this month, holding signs that read “no human being is illegal”, and “let dreamers drive”. The protesters were rallying against Michigan’s Secretary of State Ruth Johnson’s decision to deny driver’s licenses to those under President Obama’s program, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).

On June 15, the Department of Human Services (DHS) announced that DACA, a program that grants temporary relief for young, undocumented immigrants who were brought to the Unites States as children, to be void to the removal process for up to two years; to be effective immediately.

DACA allows for individuals to receive a workers permit and a valid driver’s license as long as they meet the guidelines set by DHS and have either an education or been honorably discharged from the military.

Early October, Johnson denied deferred recipients a valid driver’s license saying that license can only be granted to immigrants with lawful status and that even though DACA allows for undocumented immigrants to receive work permits; it does not provide that lawful status needed.

Organizations, such as Michigan Organizing Projects (MOP), and non-profit organization advocating for justice and equal rights in the community, continue to fight Johnson’s decision in hope to obtain driver’s licenses for individuals under DACA.

“What’s the point of having a work permit if you can’t get to work,” said Tyler Schuette, 24, an intern at Michigan Organizing Project. “In theory if you have two years to live here, you already have some sort of residents.”

Michigan is one of three states, along with Arizona and Nebraska which deny people under DACA a driver’s license.

The protest at the capital resulted in a meeting with the chief of staff for Gov. Snyder, to discuss the controversies surrounding license, said Schuette. Wendy Medrano, campus organizer for MOP, was one of the few who were involved in that meeting, last Wednesday.

 “The secretary of state based her decision off of a little clause … that said there’s a difference between legal presents and legal statues. They’re two very different definitions. We don’t think she’s using the correct definition,” said Medrano. “In all other categories of deferred action, you can apply for a work permit and from there you can apply for a license or state ID but she’s excluding these people who qualify as deferred action from obtaining that, even though under this program, you can get a work permit and social security.”

Medrano said that a group of 10 or 11 people, including students, members of MOP, the United Auto Workers, American Civil Liberties Union, and Michigan Immigration Rights Center, went to discuss economic effects and moral argument for DACA. Students also got a chance to express how Johnson’s decision was affecting them personally. 

Medrano said that she was not allowed to say much about the meeting, but felt that it went very well. She said that their next goal is to get a meeting with Representative Fred Upton, saying that they want him on their side.

MOP’s primary goal is to gain social justice for everyone whether it is gaining legal status for immigrants, housing the homeless, or fighting for worker’s rights, said Schuette.

“Personally, I would like to focus on environmental issues, like working within the local communities here in Kalamazoo to get local and healthy food to families that are affordable so they don’t have to eat processed food,” said Scheutte.

He said that the biggest obstacle that they have to overcome is getting people involved. MOP holds community meetings at member’s homes and churches to discuss problems they would like to fix within the community. Anyone is welcome attend.

“We are trying to expand our base and people and get everyone organized together,” said Schuette. “That’s all we have is people power.”

To get involved with Michigan Organizing Projects, go to their website at http://www.miorganizingprojects.org, and join their mailing list. MOP also has a Facebook and Twitter that will update you on events going on around Mid-Michigan.

 

Requirements and guidelines to apply for DACA:

• Under 31 years of age as of June 15,2012
• Brought to the U.S. while under the age of 16
• Have continuously resided in the U.S. from June 15, 2007 to present
• Entered the U.S. without inspection before June 15, 2012, or individuals whose lawful immigration status expired as of June 15, 2012
• Were physically present in the U.S. on June 15, 2012, and at the time of making the request for consideration of deferred action with USCIS
• Are currently in school, have graduated from high school, have obtained a GED, or have been honorably discharged from the Coast Guard or armed forces
• Have not been convicted of a felony offense, a significant misdemeanor, or more than three misdemeanors and do not pose a threat to national security or public safety
• A completed and passed biographic and biometric background check

Requirement information taken from http://www.immigrationequality.org/issues/immigration-basics/daca/

Multilingual World

A U.S. Department of Education study stated that less than 8 percent of U.S. undergraduates take a foreign language course and foreign language degrees make up for only 1 percent of undergraduate degrees in America.

Alexandra McCormick, 22, is part of that 1 percent.

 McCormick is a senior at WMU majoring in German with a double minor of Russian and communication studies. She said her elementary school offered German, and only German, as a foreign language. She studied that language from first to sixth grade then again when she was a sophomore in high school.

“I spoke German and a little bit of Russian so I figured I’d keep going until I got my degree,” said McCormick. “The professors are amazing. They are all very helpful, as are the language clubs on campus.”

McCormick was president of the German club in 2010 and plans on graduating this April. She said she is going to Germany after graduation for 13 months, then plans on returning to the U.S. in hopes of working for an international advertising company.

Foreign languages education and international studies is necessary in America for preparing students for future leadership roles, says the Committee for Economic Development, a non-profit, business lead, policy organization.

According to the Committee, American students must obtain a well-rounded education that includes superior language learning if America is going to succeed in the 21^st century. It says that other countries are becoming multilingual and the U.S. is falling behind leaving American students linguistically illiterate and culturally incompetent.

According to the 2000 U.S. census, 9 percent of Americans can speak a second language while more than 50 percent of Europeans speak one or more foreign languages.

 “Most other countries, if not all, start teaching English to children at least at the junior high level, but often before,” said Cynthia Running-Johnson, foreign language department chair and professor of French at Western Michigan University. “By the time they’ve graduated from high school, they’ve had years of English and usually another language as well.”

Running-Johnson said that WMU’s foreign language department offers nine different languages and 13 study abroad programs.

Knowing a foreign language helps with job opportunities, the understanding of language as a whole and the understanding of different cultures.

“By learning the language, you learn aspects of the culture,” said Running-Johnson. “There are so many ways in which knowing a different language ends up influencing your life.”

Running-Johnson said that the United States is one of the few countries that don’t teach a foreign language throughout grade school. According to the U.S. Department of Education, 31 percent of U.S. elementary schools report teaching a foreign language. Seventy-nine percent of these schools focus only on introductory material rather that achieving overall proficiency.

According to Running-Johnson, many international businesses and government organizations throughout the world use English most commonly as their means of communication.

Lauren Egle, 25, from Chicago, graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Spanish from Truman State University of Missouri in 2010 and moved to Kalamazoo to become a medical interpreter.

 “My job consists of interacting with people who I wouldn’t be able to if I didn’t speak another language. I’ve met a lot of interesting and amazing people doing what I do.”

She said that studying abroad in Spain for 10 weeks really opened her eyes on how pompous Americans are in their ideas about language.

“Almost everyone I met in Spain was working on their fifth, sometimes even sixth, language,” said Egle. “Communication is the number one activity humans participate in every day and not being able to communicate because of a language barrier is frustrating.”

WMU student and Russian native Yulia Leonov, 21, came to America when she was 14 years old. Now working toward her communication and women studies degree, she said she had no problem fitting into the American lifestyle through language.

“I was already fluent in English by the time we moved to the States,” said Leonov. “They were teaching us English words in first grade and progressively as we went from one grade to the next.”

Leonov said that it was a normal concept to be learning multiple languages while in school in Russia. It came as a surprise to her that her new American friends weren’t doing the same thing.

“There was definitely a strong sense of hesitation when I would speak Russian to my parents in front of people who couldn’t understand us,” said Leonov. “I think in a way people felt uncomfortable because they’ve never heard Russian before. They felt inferior because it was something different, something new. In Russia, people wouldn’t even think twice if they heard someone speaking English, they would jump right into the conversation.”

Jenna Strague, a 25-year-old grad student of WMU took her degree in Spanish and put it to work. She moved to Madrid for a year right after her graduation in 2010, and is now working for a broadcasting company right inside the city called Abby Broadcasting Productions.

“Learning Spanish has changes my life,” said Strague. “It has given me the opportunity to travel and live out my dreams of going abroad. I wouldn’t have had the confidence to go across seas if I didn’t know the language.”

Strague came back to Kalamazoo in early January to spend some time with her family but will return to Madrid early summer.  She said that she is trying to learn French so she can go to Africa next year on a mission trip with her church in Madrid, and teach young children English.

“Language is a beautiful thing and the more we know, the better off we are,” said Strague.

Kalamazoo’s Train Station: Transporting more than just passengers

Trains have been around since the 18^th century transporting all types of goods, passengers and news around the world. Today, trains supply more than just transportation of tangible objects; they carry dreamers, thinkers, adventurers; they transport hope and friendships, curiosity and faith. Trains are the gateway to a new beginning and reconnections for friends and family.

Kalamazoo Mich. has one train station located right in the heart of down town on the corner of W. Kalamazoo Avenue and Burdick Street. At this station, lives character.  From the eccentric passersby’s who wonder the tracks all night and day, to the charismatic ticket-holders eagerly waiting to board their train, there is never a dull second at Kalamazoo’s Metro Transit.

Michael Earal, a Kalamazoo Gospel Mission resident, can be found walking the tracks while fearlessly talking to strangers who show up along the way. His curiosity about life makes it impossible for even the most antisocial person to ignore him.

“I’m just going for a walk,” said Earal. “Enjoying this beautiful day. Want to take my picture?”

All in one swoop of a motion, Earal posed for a photo even before his question is answered. Throwing his arms high in the air, he expressed emotions of pride and confidence. Earal then continued on his way, walking off into the sunlight.

As the evening continued on, a man named Rick Rigsby sits on an empty bench. He is surrounded by luggage and is staring down the tracks. Rigsby waits patiently for his west bound train to take him home to his wife and kids in Port Huron, Mich.

“I live here to work and go home when the to-do list is ready for me,” said Rigsby with a chuckle.

Rigsby said that he and his wife are both ex-military and settled down in Port Huron after they retired. But when he couldn’t find a job, he had to move to Kalamazoo to work in order to support his wife, 11-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son. He’s been living apart from his family since 2008.

“The economy did this to us,” said Rigsby. “I would like to retire again and move home.”

Separation from loved ones seemed to be a common theme of passengers at the station.

Two teenagers sit inside of the station, holding hands as they wait for the west bound train. Pete Quaghana, 18, a resident of Kalamazoo, shows her support by waiting with Kyle Hall, 16, a musician from Chicago, while he waits for his train to take him back home.

“We met at a show in Chicago and felt an instant connection,” said Quaghana. “We just take turns visiting one another. It’s hard, but worth it.”

The couple sat as close to one another as possible without sitting on each other’s laps. They talked quietly together wearing smiles of happiness and spurting out laughs of compassion. They said that from the moment that they leave each other, they start counting down the days until they can be together again.

“The ride home is the hardest,” said Hall. “I have to sit in the same seat for hours with nothing to distract my thoughts about how much I miss Petey already.”

Back outside the station doors sits Cory McMullen, 25, with the opposite reactions about the train ride back to his home in Detroit.

McMullen quietly waits for his train that is to reunite him with his kids. McMullen spent the last five days visiting his parents in his home town of Kalamazoo. He said the mother of his children live in Detroit, so he moved out there to be closer to them.

“I love Kalamazoo, but where my parents live is super country, and there really isn’t a lot to do,” said McMullen. “I’m excited to see my kids and get back into my daily routine with them.”

McMullen was a quiet man with a kind smile. At first glance he gave off the impression that he didn’t want to be bothered. But when approached, his demeanor changed from unreceptive to welcoming.

As the nights go on, people board and exit their trains, some more excited than others. For some it is a reunion with loved ones and for others, just a departure. A little bit of everyone is left at that station making the atmosphere dense and chaotic but with a sense of subtitle serenity that defines the city of Kalamazoo.

The Heidelberg Project

Twenty-Five years ago, a young man from Detroit changed his once violent and drug filled neighborhood to an outdoor art museum. By picking up a paintbrush, he turned damaged and abandoned buildings into living, breathing, pieces of art.

Tyree Guyton, 56, is the founder of the Heidelberg Project (HP); a non-profit organization that aims to create unity in the community and helping young children learn and appreciate art.

 “This was an environment that had been overwhelmed by crime and violence,” said Jessica Williams, project coordinator of the Young Association of Heidelberg.  “Tyree desired to use art to stop the blight of violence in his neighborhood.”

 Along with painting, Guyton would collect random, everyday objects and create art out of them by making sculptures or decorating trees, sidewalks and abandoned houses. He generated an outdoor museum for the community to come enjoy and contribute to.

 Guyton started his journey with the “Polka-Dot House” which was where he was living at the time, said Williams. He started painting small circles in a variety of different colors until they covered the whole house.

 “The circles were to allow people to understand the diversity of human kind,” said Williams. “We are connected in this circle.”

 The “Polka-Dot House” is still inhabited by Guyton’s family today and has been renamed “The New White House” in respect to President Obama, said Williams.

 “The Party Animal” house is decorated fully with various stuffed animals that are stapled to the exterior. Back before the HP, this house always hosted crazy night life. Williams said that people would party there until the sun came up.

 Everything that is placed in Heidelberg has a meaning. Shoes are representations of people, the painted faces represent the face of God that is in all of us and the taxi cabs are to remind the viewers that there is no need to be rushing life, said Williams.

 A tree decorated with hundreds of shoes laced along the trunk up to the branches, stands just off to the left of the “New White House”. This tree is a representation of the African American’s that were hung after the abolishment of slavery, said Williams. This piece of art is called “Soles of the Most High” and represents lifting up the souls of the community.

 Another house such as the “Obstruction of Justice” house, was created to represent the oppression that the judicial system implicates on African Americans, said Williams. This house was created with pieces from two former buildings that Guyton worked on, but were torn down by the city.

“The Heidelberg Project wasn’t taken well by the city at first. It was thought of as an eyesore and didn’t have any meaning,” said Williams.

Today, about 270,000 people visit the HP a year, said Williams. People have come from Japan, China and Switzerland to view Guyton’s art.

There is more to the HP than just the art that is showcased on the two block radius; there are also art programs and workshops that help young local children to learn art. Lectures are also conducted at local Universities to explain the history of the HP verses the history of Detroit.

Another program involves emerging artist to showcase their art in a showroom type atmosphere. Every year the HP hosts an event that pulls dancers, drama and fine art students from Julliard, Wayne State and the University of Michigan, to perform free and local shows in Detroit. There is also a workshop that the students teach creativity and self-esteem to their attendees.

Guyton’s goal was to produce interconnectivity within the community and to create knowledge and growth with art all while eliminating the violence that is so prevalent in Detroit. To learn more about the Heidelberg Project, visit their official site at http://www.heidelberg.org.

Kalamazoo’s 19th Annual Blues Festival Has High Expectations

This weekend will mark the 19^th anniversary of Kalamazoo’s Blues Festival, put on by Kalamazoo Valley Blues Association (KVBA). At 4pm on Thursday, July 12, the festival will open their gates at Kalamazoo’s Arcadia Creek Festival site, with music starting at 5pm and continuing all night.

With this year’s duo stages, there will be continuous live music from open to close on all three nights. Along with endless music, Blues Fest will also have food and drink vendors, music workshops, and merchandise tables set up so fans can meet their favorite blues artist and pick up a CD or some apparel.

Thursday’s line-up will include Jim Klein band, Blues Time, Bosco Gee Blues Band, Crossroads the Resurrection, and regional headliner Stacy Mitchhart who will go at 9pm.

Blues Fest opens their gates on Friday at 4pm with music lasting well into the night. The line-up kicks off with Marble Garden at 5pm, followed by Marci Linn, Anthony Gomes, Shaun Murphy, Popa Chubby and ending with Kalamazoo’s own, Seventh Son.

“Everyone who knows blues knows these guys [Seventh Son],” said Michael Gee of Bosco Gee Blues Band and board member of KVBA. “They are just an incredible band.”

Saturday is the final day of Blues Fest and is stacked with 12 hours of non-stop music. Marisa & The Madcats will start off the day followed by Duffield Caron Project, JR Clark, Frog & The Beeftones, Stan Budzynski, Steve Hilger Band, Hoopties with Twyla Bird Song, Jimmy Johnson, Kelley Hunt, Tommy Castro and closing down the festival is Brian Michael Fisher (BMF) who will go on at 11:30pm.

“All of the bands we have this year play at a national act caliber. There’s not a weak link in the schedule,” said Gee. 

Between blues shredder Poppa Chubby, slide guitar master Stan Dudzynski to the fun and rowdy horns of Seventh Son, Blues Fest is worth much more than the ticket price to get in. Thursday’s admission is 5 dollars, Friday’s is 10 dollars and Saturday is 12 dollars.

All profits made by Blues Fest will either be divided up and donated to multiple charities, put in a fund for a potential scholarship award or saved and used to start the process of putting on Blues Fest again next year, said Gee.

Gee said that between the economy and all the changes within the KVBA, there was a chance that Blues Fest wasn’t going to happen this year.

“Cooperation between the people who have been around for a while and the new members of KVBA, really made this all possible to happen,” said Gee. “We’re really excited to start planning for our 20^th anniversary show next year.”

Gee would like to thank all the sponsors who helped make this year’s Blues Fest possible. Sponsors include: Firekeepers Casino, Imperial Beverages/Labatt, 411 Club, WIN 98.5, News Channel 3 CW7, ECCU, The Union, Portage Printer, and Zeigler Honda of Kalamazoo.

So grab your dancing shoes and head over to the Arcadia Creek Festival Site this Thursday through Saturday to enjoy a weekend full of great blues bands, tons of delicious food and high energy fun that will last from when the gates open to long after the sun sets.

 

 

If anyone is interested in becoming a member of KVBA, you can join online at KVBA.org.

Step Afrika: Bringing Moves and Culture to Miller Auditorium

Something happened in WMU’s Miller Auditorium Tuesday night. As crowds of students, faculty and citizens filed into the building, scrambling to get their tickets and hang up their jackets, a high energy of excitement and anticipation followed. Step Afrika, a professional step dancing group, was about to take stage and perform for a nearly packed house.

“Having met the executive director, C. Brian Williams yesterday, and two of his dancers, I expect it to be tremendous fun. Some of my students are probably going to jump up on the stage,” said associate professor of art, Paul Solomon. “Tonight’s a night to just have fun with the beat the rhythm and the incredible dancers.”

Step Afrika is the first professional step dance company in the world performing all over the country and abroad since 1994.  Stepping is a form of dance originating in the 1900s by African American fraternities and sororities. It’s a combination of stomps, claps and call and response sequences that make a statement. Stepping has spread throughout America and is now being used in school systems, churches and other community organizations nationwide.

The show consisted of a combination of tap, modern, ballet and African influenced dances. Step Afrika’s sharp movements and precise togetherness had the audience on the edge of their seats asking for more.

Within ten minutes of the show starting, a step off was conducted between the “ladies and the fellas”. It was the crowd’s responsibility to pick the winning team by applauding and cheering for who they thought had the best performance. The ladies won both rounds gaining extra “hoots and hollers” when ending their round one routine with a 360-jump, landing in the splits.

“That was fun and all but I think I like it better when we step together,” said the mediator right before inviting a handful of volunteers out of the audience to come on stage and learn a step. “Welcome to Step Afrika workshop.”

Not only did Step Afrika display the traditional step movements originating in America, but they cultured their audience by performing dances from Southern Africa as well. Step Afrika was more than a performance. They brought history, culture, excitement, and interaction to the crowd. They installed life lessons displaying of the benefits of working together and being strong.

“It was awesome! Amazing! We don’t want to leave,” said Amanda Shelton, 21 and Ashlee Wade, 20; both WMU students as they were heading out of the show.

People interested in learning more about Step Afrika or stepping in general, checkout their website, http://www.stepafrika.org.

Family Reunion Festival: Alread Dead Tapes and Records

The second annual Family Reunion festival will be held in Kalamazoo on September 20-22. Twenty-eight bands, traveling from all over the country, will be coming together and playing for three days.

Family Reunion is put on by Already Dead Tapes, a cassette and vinyl label run by Sean Hartman, 23, and Joshua Tabbia.

“Family Reunion  started last year  as a festival for the label. Bringing together local bands, bands from out of town and from all over the country, that either have a release on the label or are going to have one soon,” said Hartman.

Expanding from last year’s 1 day, 12 band festival, Hartman hopes that making the festival larger with more than twice the number of bands and expanding it to three days, will encourage people to come out and experience something new.

 “One of the ideas behind the festival is to encourage people to come out and see bands that they’ve never heard before,” said Hartman. “I booked this festival not necessarily to bring bands in that I think will draw a whole bunch of people and make a whole lot of money, but bands that I really care about and like their music a whole lot and want other people to listen to them. I don’t expect a lot of people to know most of these bands. It’s a festival for discovering new music.”

Kalamazoo’s own Alex Quinlan will start off the festival at 6pm on Thursday at the No Fun House. Back to back shows will continue throughout the night, ending with Spectral Being starting at 11:15pm and playing until midnight.

Friday kicks off with Jeremy Ruggles & The Echo Chamber Family Band at Louis Trophy House at 6pm. Ann Arbor’s, Saturday Looks Good to Me, will close out the night starting at 11:15pm and ending at midnight.

Saturday’s line up consists of Morseville Bridge from Flint, at 6pm at Louie’s Trophy House. Other bands to check out are The Reptillian, at 6:45pm, followed by Chicago’s, The New Diet, at 7:30 and Br’er, from Philadelphia at 8:15. Forget The Times Family Arkestra, will be closing down Louie’s, going on at 11:15 pm.

“Normally we play as a three or a four piece,” said Hartman, the vocals, guitarist, harmonica and didgeridoo player for Forget The Times. “We got a bunch of extra musicians to play with us. There will be 12 of us playing together on Saturday.”

There will be an after-party on Saturday night at Wayne Manor. Wearwolf, from Kalamazoo, will start it off at 1am followed by Braining, from St. Louis. Kalamazoo’s, Anybody but the Cops, plays at 2am with The Grow Fangs, from Minneapolis, closing down the festival going on at 2:30am.

Presale tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at alreadydeadtapes.com. First 50 presale ticket buyers will receive a free compilation cassette tape. First 25 presale weekend pass tickets are $12. After that, ticket prices will range from $14-$16. Tickets can also be purchased at the door on the days of the shows.  

There will also be a fundraiser show on September 2 at the Milhouse. Admission is free but donations will be accepted. All donations will go to the bands traveling and playing the Family Reunion Festival. Artist who will be playing the fundraising show are Rotten Wood Moon, Sleepeater, Great American Witch Hunt and Spectral Being. The show starts at 9pm.

To find the addresses to the Fundraising show, the Thursday show and Saturday night after-party, email Sean at ditkalamazoo@gmail.com.