You've seen them--little wooden shanties on Lake Macatawa.  You've met them - they are your cousins, uncles, brothers or friends and they LOVE ice fishing.  In a cold world, on a cold day, on a frozen lake, it is a secret culture that thrives right here amongst us.  With music and comedy, enter the world of the ice fishing culture and Packer-obsessed Wisconsinites-and in fact, a comic phenomenon of our own upper Midwest!

For More Information  

Catie Curtis debuts tracks off her new disk,"Stretch Limousine on Fire," during her debut Summer in the Studio Series performance. Her vivid songwriting combines insightful lyrics with addictive melodies and energy. Catie's recordings (released on EMI, Rykodisc, Vanguard and Compass), engaging live shows and an impressive touring career (in the US and Europe) have earned her rave reviews and wide recognition.

Her songs have been featured on Dawson's Creek, Felicity, Alias, Chicago Hope, and Grey's Anatomy, as well as in several independent films. She's toured extensively with Mary Chapin Carpenter and with the original Lilith Fair.

Catie was named grand prize winner of the International Songwriting Competition, for her song "People Look Around", co-written with Mark Erelli.  In January 2009, she performed at the Human Rights Campaign's official Obama inaugural ball, and in 2010, she performed at the White House.

Saugatuck Center for the Arts

This week the Chamber Music Festival of Saugatuck welcomes four performers with a rich professional, as well as personal, history.  Ralph Votapek, winner of the first Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, has earned well-deserved renown in a remarkable career; his daughter, Kathryn Votapek, is an eminent violinist and violist; and Kathryn happens to be married to Aaron Berofsky, one of the world's most sought-after violin soloists and a professor at the University of Michigan.  Cellist Andrew Smith may not be related by blood but is by professional kinship as the founder of the Adriatic Chamber Music Festival in Italy, where the Votapeks frequently perform.  

"They say that talent "runs in the family", notes CMFS Artistic Director Jennifer Walvoord.  "There is perhaps no better example of this than the Votapek family.  And we are thrilled to welcome Andrew to the CMFS stage for the first time."

For More Information

Arguably the most famous and talented actress in theater history lives again on the Red Barn Theater stage July 30 and 31 as Carol Dunitz stars in the one-woman musical 'Bernhardt on Broadway.'  Set in the 1890s when Sarah Bernhardt -- the world's first superstar -- was at the height of her powers, the musical, written and performed by Dunitz, is an expose about a woman who overcame every obstacle to achieve unheard of worldwide fame.

Duniz, who has a doctorate in Speech Communication and Theater, read more than eighty books as well as countless articles before starting work on the play.  She wrote all 12 songs featured in 'Bernhardt' and, according to one expert, "captures the essential characgter of Sarah Bernhardt and serves up the divine spirit of the woman and artist with toe-tapping tunes."

In this production, Dunitz practically inhabits the spirit of Bernhardt and forthrightly addresses the audience to reveal all her foibles and charm.  "All my research enabled me to develop a very clear picture of Sarah Bernhardt and the demons that drove her to persist" against all odds. 

Dunitz is uniquely qualified to carry off this achievement as a scholar and performer who has been writing music since she was nine.

For More Information

With impeccably smooth vocal harmonies and exceptional acoustic rhythms, The Adams Family weaves musical magic with classic favorites from the '50s and '60s - Folk, Doo-wop, Classic Rock, and more.

Combining decades of professional experience, this is a crowd pleasing quartet thanks to their superb acoustical performances and an outstanding repertoire that ranges from gentle ballads to jazzy vocal classics. Songs include Sh-boom (The Chords), Itty Bitty Pretty One (The Alley Cats), One Fine Day (The Chiffons), Dream a little Dream (The Mamas and the Papas), Only You (The Platters), Worried Man (Kingston Trio) and many more hits that we grew up with.

For More Information