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The Guardian
3 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘A superb place to sit and enjoy': Ballarat church could be reborn as performing arts hub — if artists can raise $2m
Hundreds of people packed the pews of the main chapel of Ballarat's Neill Street Uniting church for its final service in February 2023. But some in the congregation, which had been meeting on the site since it began as a Methodist church in 1861, could already see its next life. Jill Loveland, whose family's involvement with the church dates back to the late 1800s, says her father, Winston Loveland – who was an active member of the church for 96 years – always said the space should be used for performing arts. 'He knew there were lots of buildings to maintain and that it would become unsustainable at some point,' Loveland says. 'So he openly expressed that he thought it would become a wonderful performing arts venue long before there was talk of the church closing. 'He could see how the acoustics of the main church and the beautiful interior were just superb for a place to sit and enjoy.' When the church came up for sale, a group of local creatives saw it as an opportunity to form an association aimed at supporting and developing the local performing arts scene. And so the Ballarat Performing Arts Community was born. 'Members of the church community didn't want to see it sold privately,' says Bpac's general manager, Beth Lamont. 'They were really hoping to see it continue as a community space and they were fully in support of arts organisations using it. 'It just so happens that all of the arts organisations want to use it.' Lamont says the association approached the church and successfully secured a licence agreement in July 2024. Since then, the site has become a community hub for about 20 creative organisations and more than 90 individuals. The Neill Street site has one church, two halls, a caretaker's cottage and 3,000 sq m of land. Its main chapel boasts a 19th-century Fincham and Hobday pipe organ and is one of the largest organs in Ballarat. The space is now being used for performances, mentoring, galas and events. Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning But once the lease expires in February 2026, the property will again go up for private sale. 'The church has a lot of properties and they're hoping to consolidate,' Lamont says. Bpac is on a mission to raise $2m to secure the future of its home base through a dedicated crowdfunding appeal. So far, it has raised just $38,000. The organisation is asking people to pledge to make a contribution after the appeal ends on 31 October – but only if it receives enough pledges to make the full amount. Jeff Moran, a board member and appeal director, says they are approaching clubs, advertising, campaigning to government and philanthropic institutions and staging galas and events to help raise the funds. 'The church has said we'll let you lease it on the understanding that after the lease period we purchase it for a stated price of $2m,' Moran says. 'In good faith, we're setting out to raise it. Sign up to Saved for Later Catch up on the fun stuff with Guardian Australia's culture and lifestyle rundown of pop culture, trends and tips after newsletter promotion 'Every dollar counts. We need to be known in the community. We've got to do absolutely everything and as far and wide as we can.' Loveland says if the property was to stand vacant, it ran the risk of becoming derelict and falling into disrepair. 'The developer could make use of it, but at what cost? How long would it take … given there was no sign of interest during the first round?' she says. 'I think good on Bpac for giving it their best shot. 'It would be a pity to have so much potential [wasted].' Tim Ryan, a Bpac board member, says the sites on the property – including the chapel, which seats 300, and the main hall, which seats 150 – would suit organisations seeking more affordable and intimate venues. 'That's a really important part of that fabric of performing arts where you can have that laboratory to try things out and we can do that here,' he says. 'There's this diversity of space which creates this diversity of product.' The City of Ballarat's community infrastructure plan says the city should investigate the need for a new live performance venue of less than 300 seats. The city's director of economy and experience, Martin Darcy, says they have been working closely with Bpac about their plans for the church. 'All requests for funding must be assessed through a rigorous process which is either connected to a grants program, budget process or a council-approved action from a strategy,' he says. He added that the strategy 'outlines council's commitment to support the theatre and performing arts, as well as all creative communities in the city'. Ryan says Bpac aims to 'be a voice' lobbying for greater support for the performing arts in the regional city. 'There's still lots of work to be done, especially around diversity in the arts, but at least we acknowledge that there's a bit of a gap and we've got to work towards that,' he says
Vancouver Sun
9 hours ago
- Sport
- Vancouver Sun
This Day in History, 1940: The remains of the Denman Arena become an outdoor church
The Denman Arena burned down in a spectacular blaze on Aug. 20, 1936. But part of Vancouver's first big hockey rink remained — the lower concrete walls. So in 1940, the enterprising evangelist Clem Davies decided to turn the site into a 10,000-seat 'out-of-door' stadium for his Sunday night sermons. 'The cement walls of the Arena have been painted light green on the inside, and the pillars which supported the gallery have been removed,' said a story in the June 29, 1940 Vancouver Sun. 'A stage 30 feet by 12 feet has been erected 14 feet above floor level. Workers have built 1,700 benches, each with a seating capacity of six, which have been painted a darker green than the walls. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. 'They spread out across the great floor area, over which crushed stone walks have been laid. A vast backdrop, portraying an ecclesiastical motif, dominates the speaker's rostrum. 'The stage is flanked by purple and gold drapes, and accommodates an electric organ.' The Sun story said the stadium cost $3,500, and had been put together by 50 to 100 volunteers working 'every day since the project began.' It sounds totally over the top, but seemed to work: a photo in July 20, 1940, shows Davies lecturing to a full house. Davies is all but forgotten today, but was a big deal from the 1920s till the 1950s, because he pioneered delivering sermons on radio. When he died at 61 on Dec. 21, 1951, his obituaries said Davies had made 15,000 radio broadcasts over three decades. Davies was born in Birmingham, England, and moved to the U.S. when he was 19. After graduating from Methodist ministerial college in Minnesota, he became a doctor of divinity at Oskaloosa College in Iowa. He came to Victoria in 1922 to preach at Centennial Methodist church, and started doing a radio broadcast in April, 1923, two years before future Alberta premier 'Bible Bill' Aberhart started broadcasting in Calgary. Davies started lecturing at the Empire Theatre, mixing religion with topics of the day. He was identified with British Israelism, which Wikipedia calls 'a pseudo-historical' belief that the British people are 'genetically, racially, and linguistically the direct descendants' of the 10 Lost Tribes of ancient Israel. On Nov. 11, 1925, he did a sermon/lecture at the Victoria City Temple called 'Shall We Join the Ku Klux Klan?' For Davies, the answer was yes — the Victoria Times reported he was chairman of the 'Victoria's first Ku Klux Klan function' at the Crystal Ballroom on Jan. 18, 1926. 'The feature of the evening was a demonstration of the Ku Klux Klan wedding ceremony,' said the Times. 'Fifty Klansmen in full regalia with hoods and flowing robes solemnly paraded up the centre of the hall and up in cross formation to face the platform. As the lights were dimmed, there blazed up the flaring fiery cross, which glowed through the whole hall.' Davies seemed to put his association with the KKK in the closet when he moved to Vancouver about 1937. But he continued to retain some controversial views. He raised eyebrows on Feb. 5, 1938, when he told an audience in the old Hotel Vancouver that when King Edward VIII abdicated to marry Wallis Simpson in 1936, he was hypnotized and drugged by an 'international gang of Jesuits.' According to Davies, the Jesuits in Rome made a wax effigy of the former King, 'encircled it with hypnosis and day after day concentrated upon the figure until they had sublimated it into life.' Still, Davies was popular, with a daily radio show on CKWX and sermons Sunday and Wednesday at the Georgia Auditorium. With the advent of the Second World War, his sermons had titles like 'Samson and Delilah Modernized … Showing How Britain Seduced to Weakness is Now Gaining Strength.' He left Vancouver for Los Angeles in 1941, where he proved as popular as in Canada. He died from malaria, which he contracted on a trip to Africa. The Los Angeles Evening Citizen News reported Davies left an estate of $55,000 to his executive secretary, Eileen Bennett, but nothing to his wife or two kids. He'd been separated from his wife for two decades. jmackie@
Evening Standard
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Evening Standard
That wasn't very socialist of you, Michael Eavis — avoiding inheritance tax is hypocritical
Eavis and Glastonbury are — in case you've been living under a rock for the past 55 years — by-words for socialist principles. Raised in a working-class Methodist farming family, Eavis has maintained working for social good is what 'gets me up in the morning'. As he told the BBC in 2018, he is more concerned with his legacy being 'what I've done for humanity than what I've done for myself'. He refers to 'my socialism,' in interviews. And this is the festival, lest we forget, that became synonymous with the chant 'oh Jeremy Corbyn'.
Chicago Tribune
6 days ago
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Evanston uncorked: From restaurants to retail stores, the best wine destinations
With so much attention paid to Chicago's vibrant wine scene, suburban Evanston may not come to mind as a destination for wine lovers. After all, this lakeside community — home to Northwestern University — was the epicenter of the American temperance movement. Rooted firmly in its Methodist origins, Evanston remained a dry community from the 1850s until 1972, four decades past the repeal of Prohibition. Today, Evanston is a notably progressive city that's 'a lot more cosmopolitan and diverse than its size would suggest,' says Ellen King, a longtime local and co-owner of Hewn bakery. The wine scene in Evanston is neither obvious nor trendy. Despite its proximity to both Chicago and the greater North Shore, many of its best destinations remain under the radar, suggests Philippe André, an Evanston native who is the U.S. ambassador for Charles Heidsieck Champagne and director of business development for Folio Fine Wine Partners, the importer. Still, a core of tightly knit, independent businesses has shaped a uniquely thriving wine and food culture in Evanston, says restaurateur Amy Morton, a longtime resident and owner of The Barn Steakhouse and LeTour. Evanston restaurant wine destinations from classic to contemporary Oceanique is Evanston's stalwart for classically French cuisine. Open since 1989, it tends to be overlooked in favor of newer, trendier spots, but for serious wine lovers, it's one of Chicagoland's best-kept secrets. André grew up in the restaurant founded by his parents, chef Mark Grosz and general manager Renée André. As a child, he manned the coat check. Later, he spent a decade as wine director, a role he learned from his father, he says. Oceanique's website gives little hint of its extensive wine reserves (you have to email the restaurant for a copy of their abridged list). Over the years, they've amassed a collection of over 5,000 wines, Grosz says, housed in the restaurant's historic meat locker. They take special pride in the quality of wines offered around $50, says Philippe André, who continues to consult on the list. But the crown jewels of Oceanique are its deep reserves of Bordeaux, Burgundy, Piedmont and beyond, many available in single pours via Coravin, a device that extracts samples of wine from a bottle without removing its cork. Savvy collectors will spot rare, well-aged bottles at prices well below most restaurant standards. For those chasing something especially decadent — a jeroboam, or 3-liter bottle, of 1988 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Grands Echézeaux, for example — there's a substantial off-menu stash as well, notes Philippe André. And for those who already have well-stocked cellars, Oceanique's no-corkage Thursdays attract wine geeks from near and far, many who are eager to share and compare, says Grosz. Morton, the daughter of Arnie Morton, founder of the original Morton's Steakhouse, has been an Evanston resident since 2007. The Barn, a tribute to her father, is a classic Chicago steakhouse set up in a 19th-century stable. It's a special-occasion favorite for locals like King, 'but I also love going down that back alley for a glass of wine at the bar,' she says. 'It just feels like you're in a speakeasy.' Apropos of the cuisine, the wine list at The Barn gravitates toward the 'big and bold,' says Morton. It's a compact list designed to give meat lovers exactly what they want, she explains. Familiar brands of Napa cabernet feature prominently, but there are some offbeat standouts too, a well-aged Rioja from La Rioja Alta or an organically grown Châteauneuf-du-Pape from Domaine Bois de Boursan, for example. Diners, especially from the city, are often surprised at its affordability. The idea is 'for guests to come to The Barn and enjoy their entire meal, drinks included, for what they'd normally pay for just a steak downtown,' says Morton. At LeTour, Morton's American take on a French brasserie, you might tuck into roasted chicken or alongside smashburgers and chicken tagine. LeTour's wine list references all the French standards — Burgundy, Bordeaux and the Rhône Valley, for example — while staying manageable in size and approachably priced. Both restaurants also feature a Coravin program allowing small pours from a more premium selection of wines and by request, even wines on their regular menu, says Morton. One of Evanston's more surprising wine finds is the small but inspired list at NaKorn, the contemporary Thai restaurant. NaKorn isn't the kind of place you go to for pad thai, explains King. 'It's where you go to try dishes you might not normally order,' she says, like a Northern Thai herb sausage with a charred banana-pepper relish or rice noodles served with blue crabs in a turmeric-coconut curry. The wine list, seemingly capped at $65, leans fresh and spry with German rieslings, Chablis and Sancerre, alongside crunchy alpine reds from Italy or fragrant syrah from the Northern Rhône. Sunny weather brings Evanston's lakefront to life, along with a vibrant culture of outdoor drinking and dining. Union Pizzeria is one of Evanston's buzziest casual dining spaces, known for wood-fired Neapolitan pizzas and a lively outdoor patio scene. Tucked next to SPACE, the city's go-to music venue, 'it's the perfect place to grab a slice before a concert,' King says. Their wine list focuses on crowd pleasers at wallet-friendly prices, says Heather Behm, its co-owner. But the smattering of lesser-known gems on the list — smoky Italian whites like and or savory Italian reds like and — would all drink gorgeously with pizza as well. Union Squared, a sister restaurant named for their square Detroit-style pies, is cozier indoors but extends out to a backyard beer garden with picnic tables and bocce courts. 'In the summer, we put out balls and scorecards so people can order pizza, enjoy beer or a bottle of wine and play bocce all night,' Behm says. While the patio at LeTour is always an elegant setting, for a distinctly vacation-like vibe, Morton recommends summer cocktails on the rooftop terrace at Five & Dime. Beer and cocktails are mainstays, but the affordable wine selection hints at trendier natural wines more often seen in Chicago hotspots: a pét-nat rosé sparkler from Terres Dorées, or an orange wine from Radikon in northeastern Italy, for example. Despite the rise of big-box liquor outlets in Evanston, the city's independent wine shops can be better resources for distinctive, quality wines and knowledgeable staff who are genuinely excited to talk wine. At The Wine Goddess, you'll find a broad selection of wines that highlight both value and discovery. 'Our specialty is that sweet spot between $15 and $30,' says owner Diana Hamann, with a preference for 'wines from small, family-owned producers — organic if we can swing it.' The store doubles as a wine bar, 'definitely a neighborhood hang,' says Hamann, with a small selection of cheese, charcuterie and other snacks. In warmer months, seating spills outside into a sidewalk café. Vinissimo Wine Shop is a sleek, specialty store that's acutely quality-focused and heavy on Italian wines. The one-man shop, owned and operated by Gaetano Comerci, known to regulars as Guy, has the tailored feel of a wine-concierge service. Whether inexpensive, everyday bottles or highly allocated rarities, selections are deeply personal, explains Comerci. 'Everything is handpicked,' he says, wines with deep stories and interesting people behind them, often from wineries Comerci has visited or worked a harvest at personally. Many of Evanston's restaurants are BYOB-friendly, says Morton, a boon to wine lovers who relish the freedom of bringing their own wines to dine. While not heavily advertised, LeTour and The Barn both allow guests to BYOB for a corkage fee, $20 and $25, respectively, she says. Comerci tends to favor casual BYOB spots without their own wine lists. Kabul House, the Afghan spot known for generous platters of kabobs and hearty vegetable stews, is a favorite, he says. Soban Korean, too, is a unique platform for wine pairings with dishes like stone-pot bibimbap, ramen or grilled bulgogi Kabul House, 2424 Dempster St., Evanston, 847-674-3830, Soban Korean, 819 Noyes St., Evanston, 847-869-4344,
19-06-2025
- General
Archaeologists unearth foundation of 1760s schoolhouse for Black children
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. -- Archaeologists in Virginia have unearthed the foundation of a building from the 1700s that once supported the nation's oldest surviving schoolhouse for Black children, William & Mary announced Wednesday. The university in Williamsburg said the foundation is nearly completely intact. Archaeologists also uncovered a cellar that is layered with centuries of artifacts, including slate pencil fragments and jewelry. The schoolhouse was later used as a dormitory, housing some of the first generations of women to attend college in the U.S. 'The roots of our city and university entwine here," said Katherine A. Rowe, William & Mary's president. "Every layer of history that it reveals gives us new insights into our early republic, from the Williamsburg Bray School through the generations that followed, up through the early 20th century.' The Williamsburg Bray School taught hundreds of mostly enslaved students in the 1760s. The school rationalized slavery within a religious framework. And yet becoming literate also gave them more agency, with students sharing what they learned with family members. The schoolhouse then became a private home before it was incorporated into William & Mary's growing campus. The building was expanded for various purposes, including student housing, and later moved from its original location. Historians identified the structure in 2020 through a scientific method that examines tree rings in lumber. It was then moved to the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, a living history museum that includes parts of the original city. The museum has restored the schoolhouse and is working to identify the students' descendants. Meanwhile, archaeologists with Colonial Williamsburg recently uncovered the foundation and cellar during a major project by William & Mary to renovate a university building, Gates Hall. The school's archaeologists are also involved. Tom Higgins of William & Mary's Center for Archaeological Research said the cellar is not lined with bricks and 'was probably dug soon after the foundations were laid.' Researchers have found handmade ceramics often associated with sites of enslavement and Indigenous communities, the university said. There are also items that appear to be more recent, such as a shard of glass depicting Minerva, Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, war and the arts. From 1924 to 1930, the building housed Methodist women attending William & Mary. 'We know that the girls at Brown Hall were furnishing their dorms,' said Michele Brumfield, senior researcher at the university's archaeological center. 'So maybe they were bringing in things like this.'
