Good MID-WINTER from the TORNADO TAVERN GALLERY!!

We have just about recovered from the weeks of frigid temperatures. Most of the people in the country use propane for heating and are going through the supply like crazy. One Door County propane supplier started to ration propane to 100 gallons per delivery. The last few days have really helped in that recovery. The average one foot of snow preceding the January thaw is greatly diminished. During the winter months life is much different from the “season” months. There are fewer cars around although people are finding out about our winter activities. I see more ice fishing shanties on the bay. The numbers of ATV/snowmobile trails seem to be more numerous, as are the “pedestrian” trails. I see the big ships coming into Sturgeon Bay, looks like there is ten or twelve getting repaired in the ship yards.

The TORNADO TAVERN GALLERY is planning for our next season; we start our season in February. Our first show will be the Mid-Winter Art show on February 10 & 11. The show is in a new location at the Crystal Falls Banquet Facility in New London, Wisconsin. The show is a fund raiser for the Wolf River Art League.

The next few weeks have many historical events and celebrations;

February 1 - IMBOLIC - Imbolc, Oimelc (Feast of Torches), Brigid`s Day (Irish), Candlemas (Christian) and others celebrated on February 2 and the preceding eve. The festival falls on the midpoint between the winter solstice and spring equinox, Celts use full moon nearest midpoint. It recognizes the “return” or “birth” of the sun, the first signs of spring. It is celebrated as a fire festival.

Imbolic is one of 8 neopagan sabbats, or holidays, that make up the Wheel of the Year. We celebrate the cycles of time to honor that which is beyond our control and, perhaps, beyond our understanding.

The 8 neopagan sabbats, or holidays that many Wiccans and neopagans observe are; Yule, Imbolc, Ostara, Beltane, Midsummer, Lughnasadh, Mabon, and Samhain.

January 31 – DISFEST - Disfest or Disablot which is a day of sacrifice honoring the Disir. The Disir are all the female relatives from the eons of time that have passed over. They over see as well as protect their living family members. In some homes every candle and light is lit in the house to honor them. It is a day of remembrance and honoring the females that passed over and to thank them for their loving protection.

This is a time for giving thanks for other unseen protectors. A sacrifice of the very best food and drink in the house is given to the Land Wights (Landvættir). Land Wights are spirits of the land. They protect and promote the flourishing of the specific places where they live.

January 21 2010 - In a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court rules in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission that the government cannot restrict the spending of corporations for political campaigns

January 22 1371 - Robert II of Scotland is crowned - First King of the House of Stewart

January 22 1973 - The Supreme Court legalized some abortions in Roe v. Wade.

January 25 - BURNS DAY - Robert Burns (January 25, 1759 – July 21, 1796) was a poet and a lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland, and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best-known of the poets who have written in the Scots language, although much of his writing is also in English and a 'light' Scots dialect which would have been accessible to a wider audience than simply Scottish people. At various times in his career, he wrote in English, and in these pieces, his political or civil commentary is often at its most blunt.

January 26 – Australia Day - 1788, the first European settlers landed in Sydney, Australia.

January 26 1837 - Michigan became the 26th state in the United States.

January 27 1932 - 1st State Unemployment Insurance Act enacted (Wisconsin)

January 28 1986 - The Lego brick is patented

January 29 1834 - President Jackson orders 1st use of Federal troops to suppress a labor dispute

January 30 1876 - Battle of the Little Big Horn

February 1 1789 - Chinese troops driven out of the Vietnam capital of Thang Long

February 2 - Groundhog's Day - 1887 - The first gathering at Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa. to wait for the groundhog's shadow occurred.

February 2 - Frank Sinatra’s singing debut in Indianapolis with Tommy Dorsey Band

February 3 1959 - Rock singers, Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and Big Bopper died in a plane crash. The "Daty that the Music Died"

February 4 1789 - George Washington and John Adams are elected the president and vice president of the United States.

February 4 2004 - The Massachusetts Supreme Court declared that "gays" had the right to marry.

The Tornado Tavern Gallery wishes all a satisfying New Year

With that wish I recognize the new year with a renewed focus on regular blogs. Last year was a challenging year for me, the biggest challenge was vascular and a surprise. Triple bypass, who knew? On the bright side my friends and family comment that I am livelier and “with it” so all seems to be well.

The Tornado Tavern Gallery will not have regular hours for the foreseeable future, probably until my partner has more time. We will continue to open “by appointment” and do road shows/demonstrations. We will gladly consider events suggested by you the reader. The focus of this blog will change a little. We will continue to let you know about coming events and publicize events.

I will also write about my other avocations, mainly history.

Such as:

1/17/1706 - Birthday of Benjamin Franklin a “Founding Father of the United States” and a Polymath, a product of “The Enlightenment” and a true modern “Renaissance Man”.

1/7/1789 - Was the first US Presidential Election, as expected by most George Washington was elected. However, it seems to me that those voting wanted a more permanent “president”. Fortunately Washington had other ideas. By the way, at that time the only citizens who were allowed to vote were white males, who owned property.

1/8/1815 - A small army of regulars, under Andrew Jackson, defeated a larger British army at what was named “The Battle of New Orleans” at Chalmette in Louisiana. The War of 1812 was actually over, but apparently Jackson didn’t know that. Jackson, as president, also was a driver of the removal of the Cherokee and other First Nation groups from the Southeastern states. This later became known as “The Trail of Tears”.

1/7/1610 - Galileo Galilei, an Italian astronomer and mathematician, discovered the moons of Jupiter with a “homemade” telescope; of course at that time all telescopes were “homemade”. The moons were named Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. Io was a Priestess of Hera and one of Zeus’s lovers. Europa was the mother of King Minos of Crete and another of Zeus’s lovers. Ganymede was the cupbearer of the Greek gods and another of Zeus’s lovers. Calisto (or Callisto) was a nymph, daughter of Lycaon, associated with the goddess of the hunt Artemis. Calisto was also one of Zeus’s lovers. Keep in mind that Zeus is the Greek equivalent of Roman god Jupiter. This discovery disproved the Aristotelian geocentric universe.

1/15/1559 - Elizabeth I, the “Virgin Queen”, was crowned in Westminster Abbey. Elizabeth I was the daughter of Anne Boleyn and King Henry VIII.

1/16/1547 - Ivan IV Vasilyevich or “Ivan the Terrible” or a better modern translation “Ivan the Formidable” is crowned the first of Russia. Ivan conquered a huge area and forcibly moved Russia from a medieval state into an empire. It’s difficult to tell how he got his nickname he did conquer a great area but he was also very hard on the Russian nobility, killing his eldest son in a fit of rage.

1/9/1431 - The British begin the laborious trial against Jeanne d’Arc, “The Maid of Orleans”, Joan of Arc. To the French Joan of Arc was a hero of the “Hundred Years War. She was executed on May 30, 1431, exonerated in 1456, and canonized by the Roman Catholic Church in 1920.

1/13/1397 - John of Gaunt marries Katherine Swynford his third wife,  after years of being lovers. John of Gaunt, or the English version of Ghent, was an English nobleman of the “House of Plantagenet”. As a younger brother of Edward, the Black Prince, John exercised great influence over the English throne during the minority of Edward's son, King Richard II, and the ensuing periods of political strife. He also became one of the richest men of the time.

In the next couple of weeks we will be celebrating the following;

January 9^th - Day of Remembrance for Raud the Strong. - Raud the Strong was a Norse Seior priest and seafaring warrior, who resisted conversion to Christianity in the late 10th century AD. He was executed by King Olaf Trggvason of Norway for not converting to Christianity.

January 12^th – St. Distaff Day - This is a holiday that was originally dedicated to Frigg/Frigga, a Norse goddess of the household. The distaff is tool used in spinning and often used to represent the household. In the 13^th century “Saga of Eric the Red” there is a seiokona, named Thorbjorg, who carried a distaff for her symbol and was buried with it. The holiday celebrated when women were finished cleaning up after Yule and could return to household work. It was probably celebrated mostly by those poor neglected husbands.

The next Tornado Tavern Gallery show will be Wolf River Arts League’s Mid-Winter Art Show on February 10^th & 11^th in New London. The show will not be at the High School as in past years. This year’s show will be just North of New London near Highway 54. More information to follow or check their website.

The Tornado Tavern Gallery will be at the Mid-winter Arts Show at the New London High School this weekend.

GREETINGS ALL!

And a wonderful day it is, a little cold but bright and crisp.

The Tornado Tavern Gallery will be at the Mid-winter Arts Show at the New London High School this weekend. Hours are February 11 & 12, 10:00 to 3:00. 

The event is organized by the Wolf River Art League and is called the Mid-winter Art Show. The New London High School is located at 1700 Klatt Road in New London.

GREETINGS from the TORNADO TAVERN GALLERY

There has been a long time between postings; we have been reevaluating our business. We find that our best days are when we meet our customers halfway at offsite events. So, for the foreseeable future, we will stop regular hours at the gallery. We will offer classes from us and other artists from time to time and will open the gallery for those days. We will keep our name, Tornado Tavern Gallery, for when we eventually reopen the gallery.

We will continue using this blog and our FaceBook page to keep customers informed and to advertise the events we are participating in and our onsite classes. We will also include artists, programs and events that we are most interested in. Please let us know if you have suggestions for our blog.

We are announcing several winter events that we will be vending at;

March 4^th we will be at the Fox Valley / Green Bay Spirit Fair fundraiser at the Fox Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. The event starts at 9:00 am to 4:00 pm and is located at 2600 E. Philip Lane in Appleton. This event is a fundraiser for their annual Spirit Fair scheduled for July 22^nd at Pierce Park in Appleton.

April 22^nd we will be at the Sheboygan Area Spirit Fair at the Windjammer Banquet Hall (in the Lakeshore Lanes). The event starts at 10:00 am to 5:00 pm and is located at 2519 S. Business Dr. in Sheboygan.