Waterfront Wednesday & Steamboat Race

I've been looking forward to this Waterfront Wednesday show since it was first announced.  And I've never even heard of the headliner, Nicole Atkins. I "discovered" Abigail Washburn at Bonnaroo 2008 when she was playing with her exquisite Sparrow Quartet, featuring our own Ben Sollee and her future husband Bela Fleck. I love me a lady with a banjo, and I've been a fan ever since.

Don't forget that Waterfront Wednesday is still relocated to the Big Four Lawn because of the late spring floods.  I didn't mind the venue change all that much last month when we went to see Over the Rhine, but the sound was nowhere near as good as the classic site.

Also, I had totally forgotten that tomorrow is also the rescheduled Kentucky Derby Festival Great Steamboat Race, also a victim of the spring floods.  I know you would've been able to see the race from the classic Waterfront Wednesday site, but I'm not 100% sure about the Big Four Lawn.

Seeing that I will be out of town for July's Waterfront Wednesday, I'm going to really make this one count.  Packing a picnic, going for the whole shebang, and hoping to see a couple of racing steamboats.

Welcome to Louisville, Qannik!

Welcome Qannik, the newest resident of Louisville Zoo's Glacier Run.  The poor sweetie was abandoned by her mother in Alaska in April.  She arrived at the Zoo via UPS late last night.  The Zoo is officially tweeting Qannik's experience at @QannickTheCubLZ, but there's a cutie-pie unauthorized tweeter at @QannikBear.

I haven't been back to the Louisville Zoo since Scotty the baby elephant died. That wasn't really a conscious decision, but I was utterly heartbroken when Scotty died.  Then Misha, the sweet little gorilla baby who had to be transferred to Columbus when she was wounded by other gorillas in Louisville, died.  And, I've always been of two minds about zoos and aquariums, you know? (That being said, when I was looking for a job post-Katrina, I applied to the education departments of every zoo and aquarium I could think of... never got a single call back.  I guess they want you to, you know, know something about animals/fish.)

But not only do we now have a wee polar bear for the newly reopened Glacier Run, we also have a new baby girl giraffe born last Monday.

So it's time to go back to the zoo.  Welcome, Qannik!  Sorry it's so hot. Just you wait til December, dear.

A Great City Deserves a Great Publication

Unless you, like Fairdale Bigfoot, live under a rock, you heard the news that Gannett absolutely gutted the Courier-Journal yesterday, laying off 50 employees, 24 of them editorial staff. Goodbye Velocity, goodbye a lot of the Neighborhood coverage.  Arts and uber-local reporting... gutted.

As Roommate tweeted today: "From out here in the docks, it looks like the @courierjournal has become 'Sports Unillustrated.'"

And apologies to the terrific sports staff at the C-J, especially those I am "twitter friends" with, but yes... Roommate is right.  I don't know if any of the sports staff got the sack, but it has long irked me that when you pull up the C-J website, the very first section is sports.  Before local news. Shows you where the editorial priorities are.  And I love sports, I do. But that's embarrassing.

I'm not fool enough to believe that the C-J made that layout choice in a vacuum. I know I live in a sports-obsessed town, and most of the time I'm pleased as punch that I do. But it is a decision, and it's a terrible one in my opinion. If newspapers were all about catering to the masses, every paper would be People Magazine, or at best USA Today-- all Kardashians and Fantasy Football.

Anyway, based on the unscientific evidence of my Twitter feed, lots of Louisvillagers were just heartbroken about this decision. And I was surprised how very hard I took it myself.  I only know one of the laid-off editorial staffers (I think) personally. So this wasn't about just hurting very badly for a friend (although, I was).  And honestly, I haven't subscribed to the paper for years (before you say I'm part of the problem: [a] we all know subscription money doesn't keep papers in business and [b] I read it regularly online). I've always been disappointed with the C-J, especially coming here from New Orleans when the Times-Picayune was cranking out its post-Katrina consistent brilliance.

But I felt sad for personal reasons too. My first job out of college was as the Assistant to the Editor of this newspaper. (I'd never been to the website before. I briefly got insanely excited when I saw the archive section... but the archives start 10 years after I worked there, give or take.) In addition to running around doing crazy errands for the Diva Editor, I also worked as an entertainment reporter.  My "beat"?  Foxwoods Casino.  Highlights of my job: interviewing Tom Jones and Ted Neeley ("Jesus" from Jesus Christ Superstar), writing my only front-page piece about the music scene in Mystic, CT, and covering the Mashantucket Pequot tribe's cultural news.  I hated every part of my job except the arts reporting. I loved the arts reporting. And occasionally when I get antsy about my chosen field (as I am right now), I kick myself for not pursuing that as my career (hence, this blog).

And Gannett mauled its arts reporting today.

A great city deserves a great publication. And we just don't have one.

Normally I would say: "I may be biased because I know this person personally and can't distance myself from her work." But no. I won't add that disclaimer. One of the laid-off editorial staff was Erin Keane, and I can empirically say that she was one of the best, if not the best, writers at the C-J. Her arts reporting was grown-up, sophisticated writing for readers who were invested in the fabulous Louisville arts scene. Her articles were beautifully-conceived, well-researched, and often challenging.  I will fess up to having to employ Dictionary.com a couple of times when her diction eluded me. When I finally met her after reading her reporting for a while, I was honestly a little fan-girly.  Hell, how many times over the years have I written a theater review and linked to her review and said, "I can't say it better than Erin Keane already did"??

For the C-J to lay off its most literate and literary writer?-- it's an insult to the readership.

My heart broke for her, personally.  But my heart breaks for this city.

I'll say it again. A great city deserves a great publication. And we just don't have one.

The LEO is... fine.  I admit, I read it rarely.  I don't know what the general public sentiment is, but my gut says that it went a bit south post-Stephen George and when it went glossy (and when it lost Phillip M. Bailey to WFPL).  Louisville Magazine has a stable of solid writers but only features a handful of good articles each month.  I don't think anyone would argue with me if I said that the magazine was 85% advertising of some kind. There's some quality reporting being done on some of the local blogs, but no one in their right mind would call it quality writing.

It was a sad day for Louisville.  And a disconcerting day for me.  I never in a blue moon thought that I would remake myself as an arts reporter this late in my life, but to discover that the newspaper in my city had such a low regard for arts and local reporting... terrible.

Louisvillager wins Miss Congeniality USA

Congrats to Kia Hampton, already an award-winning singer and performer, for winning Miss Congeniality in this year's Miss USA Pageant.

Check out Kia's ReverbNation page, where you can listen to some of her music and view her bio.  Miss Kentucky USA 2011 has already won the Kentucky and Indiana Idol contest in 2006 and been featured on BET's Welcome to Dreamland television program in 2009.  (And while this isn't mentioned in her bio, it's worth noting that according to pictures/videos on the site, she also recorded a special Christmas commercial for, of course, KIA car dealers.)

Louisvillagers have been doing well with the beauty pageant circuit lately.  Alexandria Mills won Miss World last year.  And let's face it, if you can't be Miss USA, then you want to be Miss Congeniality, right?  Congrats, Kia!

Grayson Capps @ Phoenix Hill 6/25

Dear, dear readers, I love you all from the bottom of my heart. But when are you going to start believing me when I say that I have impeccable taste in music, huh?  If I say "go to this show" then REALLY, you need to go to that show.  I am not a music junkie.  I won't just go see any show.  We're blessed here in Louisville to have an abundance of great options for music-seeing.  But I'm downright picky.

As I promised Galactic at Headliners was A-MAZ-ING!  Not only did they bring the New Orleans jam-funk to Louisville, they brought Corey freaking Glover as their lead singer.  Corey Glover, folks.  Lead singer of Living Color. One of the first notable non-white, hard rock/heavy metal singer ever.  Dude went on to star in the touring production of the greatest musical of all time (Jesus Christ Superstar) singing arguably the most demanding stage role in the history of musical theater (Judas) for, like, 4 years.  Pinch me, I'm still totally in awe. Really. What a night.

And now I know why I weighed considerably less when I lived in New Orleans, despite the awesome food. I used to go out to see live NOLA music weekly.  I danced those pounds off.

So speaking of NOLA music, Grayson Capps is coming to Phoenix Hill on 6/25.  I will likely not be in town, but sweet pickles, you NEED to go see this man.  I saw him loads of times when he/we lived in New Orleans.  And he played a show at the old PourHaus here just a few months or so after Roommate and I moved here... and we bought him a drink and totally bonded over post-Katrina life in exile.  I went to see him (alone) at Phoenix Hill a couple of years later...  He's amazing.  New Orleans blues.  Killer voice.  Fabulous story teller.  And, of course, it doesn't hurt that he's beautiful to look at.

C'mon people.  Listen to me already.  I was right about Low Anthem, Trombone Shorty, Galactic... I'm right about Grayson Capps, too.  I would not lead you astray.

Andrea Davidson wins Tipperary Song of Peace Award

If you're a lover of all things British, you're an Anglophile.  But if you're a lover of all things Irish... you're what? I'm a sucker for all things Irish and have been since I was a wee child.  I grew up listening to Ma tell me Irish fairy tales and stories of the Irish rebels.  I loved it all so much that my undergraduate concentration was in modern Irish Lit (my thesis: fish & fishermen in the poetry and prose of William Butler Yeats) (I earned an A+, btw).

I don't normally like to cut and paste a whole press release, but this is something really special.  Andrea Davidson rocked my world when she opened up for Charlie Mars last summer. So lovely and talented. And now she's won a beautiful award.  Tipperary = a small city in Ireland.  And here is the press release:

Kentucky singer/songwriter Andrea Davidson was the clear winner of the Tipperary Song of Peace Final in Tipperary, Ireland on Saturday June 4th. Scoring a perfect 10 from each of the four judges, Andrea beat off strong international competition to take the top prize of €1,500 plus Tipperary Crystal Trophy. The Final was one of a number of peace related events that took place in Tipperary and was organised by Tipperary Peace Convention.
In the days prior to the Song Contest, the Tipperary International Peace Award was presented to Afghan Human Rights Activist, Dr. Sima Samar. The Song Contest Final was held in the Tipperary Excel and along with Andrea Davidson from Kentucky. U.S.A. it also featured finalists from Germany, England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland. 

The song that Andrea performed in the Final was titled "Natchez Trace" and is one of a vast collection of original compositions from this talented singer/songwriter. The song was perfomed by Andrea and featured Scott Moore on fiddle.
Professionally Andrea has played well over 1,000 shows ranging from clubs to festivals and theatres. She has toured extensively and recently completed a musical residency in Santa Monica, California. 

Andrea was a very popular winner with the Tipperary audience and received a huge ovation when the result was announced and returned to the stage to perform a reprise of the winning song. She also performed the winning song at an Ecumenical Service in St. Mary's Church, Tipperary on Sunday June 5th 

During her stay in Tipperary, Andrea also performed for the puipls of Shronell National School as well as 'gigging' with the other contestants in Tony Lowry's Pub. The Best Irish Entry in the Song of Peace Contest was composed by Co. Down songwriter Ken Warke. Titled "Love is Everything", the song was performed in the final by well known Tipperary singer, Margi Maxwell and they received the Mick Tuohy Memorial Cup for being the winners of this category.

Galactic at Headliners 6/17

I tweeted and blogged relentlessly about two of the best music shows to hit Louisville this year.  If you didn't see Trombone Shorty or Low Anthem at Headliners over these past couple of months, I'm so sorry you didn't follow my advice.

Trombone Shorty was energetic, sexy, funky, and wonderful.  His album, BACKATOWN, was my favorite album of 2010.

The Low Anthem, hailing from Providence, RI, are pretty much my favorite new-ish band now, and their show at Headliners was so good that it left many members of the crowd wiping away tears. They were featured in a number of top ten lists of "Bands you need to see at Bonnaroo 2011."  Their Bonnaroo 2009 show was transcendentally amazing.  In a few weeks, they start a national tour opening for Mumford and Sons, and I swear to you, they're better than Mumford and Sons. I know that may be indy-rock heresy, but they do what Mumford and Sons do... better.  But the crowd at Headliners? Tiny.

I don't think the crowd at the Galactic show will be tiny.  First of all, they've been gaining a loyal following for around a dozen years.  But seriously folks, I do NOT lead you wrong when it comes to music-- go see Galactic on June 17 (Friday) if you like a little funk, a little jazz, and a little New Orleans infusion.  Tickets are on sale for $17 or $20 at the show.

I am SUPER picky about music, but I love me some Galactic.  Back when I lived in NOLA, a couple of the members of Galactic were parents at the school where I taught.  Every year just before Jazz Fest, they would come in and play a show for the little kids... the K-6 kids... and you've never seen pure music appreciation until you've seen a hundred or so teeny tiny girls dancing their behinds off to pure NOLA funk and jazz.  Awesome.

Can't wait.

Public Radio Rock 'n' Stroll

We love some Ben Sollee 'round these parts (read my post about meeting Sollee at HullabaLou last year, but make sure you read the comments too).  And we love our Public Radio.  This weekend, Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield presents Rock 'n' Stroll 2011-- a 5k walk around Iroquois Park followed by a concert featuring Ben Sollee and Nashville's David Mead.

From the website:

Stroll through Iroquois Park with all of your friends and fellow fans of Public Radio…When the walk/ride is over you will be treated to an outstanding performance by two WFPK  favorites!  Bike-lover and cello-slayer Ben Sollee and his full band will perform  songs from his exciting new album, Inclusions AND Nashville songwriter David Mead will open the show with his impeccable melodies.

Read more: http://www.wfpk.org/rock-n-stroll/#ixzz1PULfp9gg


The stroll and walk is $25 and includes membership to Louisville Public Media (if you don't already have one) a t-shirt, and the show.   $20 gets you access to the show alone.

Tickets are on sale now at http://www.ticketfly.com/event/38529/, earX-tacy and the front desk at Louisville Public Media. (619 S. Fourth Street)



Schedule of Events5:00pm Walkers and Bikers begin
6:30pm Walkers and Bikers admission to Amphitheater
7:00pm Doors open to the General Public
8:00pm Music Begins

Another Earth Doesn't Disappoint

So, I'm thrilled to report that William Mapother's ANOTHER EARTH did not disappoint. The film lived up to and surpassed the promise of its exquisite trailer.  And while Mapother holds down a stunning performance, the movie belongs to Brit Marling. According to Mapother at the Q&A following the event, Marling, a 26 year-old Georgetown University grad, didn't even have a SAG card when she co-wrote and filmed ANOTHER EARTH. She just wanted to be an actress, so she co-wrote this film with the director.  Her performance as the tortured Rhoda... there just aren't words for it. I don't know how awards nominations work, but good Lord if this woman isn't nominated for Best Actress left and right, there's no justice in the world.

According to Mapother, this film was made for 20% of the budget of the next cheapest film in its Sundance category, where it won a Special Jury prize and the Alfred P. Sloan feature prize for movies involving science and technology.

The last time I've seen a movie this quiet and beautiful may be when I saw ONCE.  I felt on the verge of tears for days after seeing that movie (no hyperbole there).  And I feel that way about ANOTHER EARTH, a movie about unrelenting and un-healable sorrows. It's gorgeous.

The movie opens in limited release on July 22.  Visit the official website here. STAY AWAY FROM SPOILERS.

Kentuckiana Pride Festival: June 17 & 18

After seeing ANOTHER EARTH yesterday at the Kentucky Center, Roommate and I hopped over to the Greek Festival for a quick bite. I'm not a huge fan of Greek food, but for just $5 I got a hummus and a small Greek salad that was a sufficient dinner.  And the Greek salad? Best I've ever had. I kind of want to go back today to have more-- this time I'll order a large.

But the best part of our brief stay at the Greek Festival was when the 6-piece band started to play and the dance floor filled with eager, soon-to-be-sweaty dancers of all ages.  I don't know what the Greek dances are called, but it's so nice to see that people are clearly still teaching them to the younger generations. A good quarter of the dancers were in their teens and early-twenties. Looked like the wedding scene from My Big Fat Greek Wedding... is that tacky to say?

All that is to say, I loves me a festival on the Belvedere.  And during the summer it seems like there's a festival nearly every weekend.  Good for us.

The next one is the Kentuckiana Pride Festival.  The event is presented by the Kentucky Pride Foundation, whose mission states:

Kentuckiana Pride Foundation is a volunteer-based non-profit promoting the gay, lesbian, bisexual, queer/questioning and intersexed (GLBTQI) community in Kentuckiana's social, cultural and economic landscape. Each year on the Belvedere in downtown Louisville, we hold the Kentuckiana Pride Festival, a place where the GLBTQI community and its supporters can meet and celebrate, enjoying a variety of food, entertainment, and showcases from local and regional businesses and organizations.

The festivities start on June 17 at 8pm with the Festival Parade.  The parade starts at Tryangles at 209 S. Preston and makes its way down Market to Main and the Belvedere.  Friday night's festivities on the Belvedere start when the parade arrives and continue til 11p.  And they're free!

But the big day for the Festival is Saturday.  Performers start at noonish and run until 11pm or so.  I will admit to having been sucked into a couple of Ru Paul's Drag Race marathons, so I was kind of psyched to see Jade Sotomayor and Phoenix were on the bill.  Saturday's admission is $5, and there will be food and drinks and other vendors. Saturday's schedule:

12:00pm	Opening Ceremony: Pride Interfaith
1:00pm	Sibella
2:15pm	Dangerous Liaison
4:00pm	Sienna
4:45pm	Elliot Truman
5:30pm	Galaxy Girls
6:15pm	The Blue Umbrellas
7:30pm	Jenn Stout
8:45pm	La Boy Le Femme
9:00pm	Performances by: Cazwell Roxy Cottontail Adam Barta From RuPaul's Drag Race: Jade Sotomayor Phoenix

Please note, times are subject to change.

Listen Louisville, back in the day, long before I knew a dang thing about Louisville, I used to intellectually lump Tennessee & Kentucky together.  You know, like, "Tennessee... Kentucky... same diff!" Now I know that's just not true, but we do live across a border from a state that passed a law that makes it against the law to use the word "gay" in a public school classroom.  While this festival is largely aimed at the LGBTQI members of the Louisville community, you know some a**holes from other communities will be out there with their signs and their bigotry.  So, you know.... go.... whether you're LGBTQI or not.  Go to the parade, swing by the fest, bring your kids. I have a pretty strong feeling that if you're reading my blog, you know why and you know what I mean.

And enjoy a little George Takei Vs. Tennessee's "Don't Say Gay" law while you're at it.

Summer To-Do List: Swim

Let's just get this out of the way: no one really wants to see me in a bathing suit. That's cool. I'm fine with that. I had my salad days of being the girl with the smoking body.  I did. Those days are over. Maybe not for good (but probably for good), but at least for now.

But that doesn't change the fact that I want to swim. I want to hang out by a pool. And I need to make that happen this summer.

Lakeside has become my Xanadu. My Dulcinea. My Holy Grail.  Oh my sweet swimmies, I want to be invited to Lakeside just to see it. I don't have to swim. I don't have to sully your pool with my ordinary-person juices. I just want... to see it.  Awesome Louisvillager, Brigid Kaelin teaches swim classes there.  And plays gigs there.  Swoon... that just makes her 100X cooler in my eyes.

I don't want to join a gym or community center.  So I think my next best bet (indoor pools don't count, BTW) is to book a night at the Galt House, the only downtown hotel with an outdoor pool.

Or I can go to the Quarry.  Which I know nothing about but has been a looming mythologized presence for the past few summers.  When Roommate gets home from his Florida adventures, I think I will enlist him in a road trip.

Flyover Film Festival 3 & Another Earth

I'd never call myself a "film buff." That implies some level of scholarship and knowledge.  But I did just see two movies in a row on Monday (X-Men: First Class and Water for Elephants), and I'm going to another one tomorrow (Cave of Forgotten Dreams). I love movies. I probably average a movie in the theaters every two weeks or so. During the summer, it's easily once a week.

If you follow my tweets, you know that I spent the weekend with a friend I hadn't seen in fifteen years. And if you follow my tweets, you know that he, for lack of a better word, challenged me in a lot of ways. (You can go to this twitter hashtag for a lot of the story.)

I've never met anyone who changed so much that even the shadow of the person I once knew is nearly imperceptible. He's grown up to be a good man and a happy man, so there's no judgement here at all.  He's equal parts Gandhi, Ravi Shankar, and all those crazy hippy stereotypes that drive many of us nuts.  But this new man is one that has almost nothing in common with the woman I've become. Except our shared memories.

Visitor has lived so far outside of my life experience for so long that when I asked him if he had any pop culture guilty pleasures-- movies, tv, books read for entertainment pleasure only-- he had nothing.  I'm a pop culture nerd. Heck, I used to teach a course on pop culture.  He said, "My guilty pleasure is electricity." And all I could think was, "Really? Because I know that Tivo recorded a particularly exciting episode of 'Doctor Who' last night, and I wish you'd take a nap or something so I can find out what all the fuss on Twitter has been about.'"

But in the end the visit was incredibly meaningful, and I will look back on it fondly, always.  Maybe once in a lifetime do you ever have the chance to spend time with someone who has had you on a pedestal for 22 years.

His parting wish for me was that I should "treat myself better."

What he meant: You should take up yoga and qijong. You should find a spiritual healer who performs massages so you can work on the 20-something-years of pain and sadness you've stored in your muscles. You should supplement your cancer drugs with plant medicines.

What I heard: You should spend the day after he leaves in a movie theater with a giant popcorn and a giant root beer.

Because that's how I roll...

If I rolled with a little more cash, I would totally buy an all-access pass to this weekend's Flyover Film Festival.  It's only $75 for a four-day pass!  This is the third annual festival for the Louisville Film Society whose mission states:

We believe cinema art can take many forms, from the industrially-produced blockbuster to the hand-crafted experimental work.  We aim to share a vision of film as a transformative art and encourage  participation in all aspects of film culture by diverse audiences.

What I am most excited about, and what I almost certainly attend, is the area premier of ANOTHER EARTH.  I've blogged about it before; it's the fantastic-looking, very well-received sci-fi film starring our very own Louisvillager William Mapother.  And the fact that I have a mad little celebru-crush on the man actually has very little to do with my excitement about this movie.  (Although, yes, one of the event organizers sent me an email and referenced my crush... I wasn't at all embarrassed or anything!) But he will be there doing a Q&A afterwards. Seriously folks, watch the trailer... it looks SO good.

We're so lucky to live in a city that supports the arts like we do (although the Louisville Orchestra might not agree). I'm excited that we've sustained this fabulous film festival for three years.  I hope it continues to grow strong.  And I hope that next year I have better cash flow, so I can totally film-geek-out for an all-access pass.

What Makes Happy Hour Happier?

Live music, of course!

I've blogged about Alex Wright before in a wonkily-formatted blog post that disappeared on me.  Crazy that.

Anyway, tomorrow Alex is playing a happy hour gig at 6pm at Zazoo's with Dewey Kincade.  Yes, Alex is a friend, but I wouldn't steer y'all wrong.  If he wasn't great-- which he is-- I would casually ignore this show.  But you'll like him.  And it's Thursday.  Happy Hour.  Weren't you going to get happy hour drinks anyway? Of course you were.  So do it at Zazoo's and support a new member of the Louisville music scene.  And a nice guy.

Shrek: The Musical at the Kentucky Center

What has happened to me?

When I was in high school, I was crazy about musical theater.  I couldn't/can't carry a tune, but I was a hardcore dancer so there was always a place for me in every musical production. I either mouthed the words or sang softly as a member of the chorus, but if there was a dancing part... that was mine.

In college I transitioned into straight drama.  Directed OTHELLO my junior year of college.  Stage managed theater a bit.  Did a bit of acting work.  But by the time I graduated college, I thought I had figured it out:  I love plays, but musicals are dumb.

And I've carried that banner ever since: plays = good. musicals = silly.

But this year, the Broadway Across America folks have changed my perspective entirely.  I fell in love with LEGALLY BLONDE, I totally dug JERSEY BOYS... And perhaps most surprising, I thought SHREK: The Musical was adorable and absolutely fun.

SHREK is here in Louisville til Sunday. If you liked the movie, you'll love the musical.  The dragon alone is worth the price of admission.  I was worried that it would be a Disney-on-Ice-style production aimed at kids with tween-level jokes, but it's even more sophisticated and "adult" than the movie at times.

Go. Take the kids. I'd expect that kid ages 10-15 would be totally tweaked by the production.  But you really need to be an adult to get all the best jokes.  As I said, Carrie Compere as the Dragon, is worth the price of your tickets... and her curtain-call dress may be the best ball gown/red carpet dress ever.

Who knew? Right? Maybe I was wrong all along?

Need Some (Used) New Work Clothes?

... While supporting a great cause?  Go to Dress for Success' Summer Inventory Clearance Sale at the Horseshoe Casino.

I'm a big fan of Dress for Success. Not only do they provide career counseling and training for women living in poverty, but they also supply an interview suit and a week's worth of work outfits to women using their services. The lack of professional clothes should never be an obstacle to getting a new job.  Not exactly an apt analogy, but I still remember as a teenager getting a job at a diner and having to shell out $70 for a uniform before I even got my first paycheck or tips. I had to borrow money from my mom, and as my job started during off-season in a tourist town, it probably took me two weeks' of part-time work to pay her back.

The Dress for Success sale is Thursday June 9 from 5p-8p, June 10 from 2p-8p, and June 11 from 11a-3p.  The first 350 people to donate a gently used or new suit will get a $5 off coupon for Paula Deen's Buffet.  All procedes from the sale (they're reducing inventory to make room for new donations) go directly back to their programs.  No children allowed (I guess because it's in a casino?) and plus sizes are limited.