EDGERTON
Ready for some heartwarming fun that will bring a tear to your eye?
No, it isnt a romantic comedy or an elementary school recital. Its Edgertons annual Chilimania festival.
After a year lost to the pandemic, this fiery fiesta returns with chili tasting, salsa dipping and Bloody Mary sipping on Saturday, Sept. 11one day after the events Country Edge music program.
Taking front and center throughout the day Saturday is a series of chili and salsa contests, one of which is an official Chili Appreciation Society International event. According to Chilimanias website, passionate chili cookers throughout the Midwest, and as far as Texas make their way to Edgerton to have their food judged as part of CASI competitions.
In anticipation for both the CASI and traditional chili cookoffs, visitors are invited to take part in Saturdays public chili tasting at 3 p.m. Armed with spoons and cups, tasters are welcome to try as many chilis as they would like, but supplies go fast.
After the tastings, visitors are encouraged to fill out ballots selecting their favorite chilis, which will determine who takes home the Peoples Choice Award.
At stake are individual trophies and cash prizes, with CASI contest winners earning points toward future competitions.
On average, Chilimania attracts about 5,000 people across the two days, organizers said. Proceeds fund scholarships to high school seniors in Edgerton, and donations are made to community-based groups and projects.
David Luellwitz, who is organizing the chili cookoff with his wife, Susan, said enthusiasm has grown for this years event.
People are excited, they really are, he said. We were devastated we couldnt have it last year because its a big fundraiser.
For Joshua Ciafullo, executive chef at Edgerton Hospital, this years Chilimania offers an opportunity at redemption. After entering his first contest four years ago, he was convinced his chili had what it took to win.
What was it that kept him from taking the prize? I ran out of chili, he said.
Ciafullo plans to be better prepared this time around.
(I told myself) If I ever do it again, I know to bring extra chili and try to be the last one standing, he said.
In 15 years as a chef, Ciafullo has crafted meat dishes into crowd-pleasers. He said that when we previously worked in the restaurant at Coachmans Golf Resort in Edgerton, people raved about his sweet and spicy chili.
That popularity carried over through the years as his coworkers and other employees at the hospital helped choose his entries alongside Ciafullos cheesy beer brat chili.
Ciafullo hopes the latter of the two can help bring home the best chili title, since 2019s winners were all from out of state.
He said his chili, speaks to Wisconsin: beer, brats, cheese.
Winning at Chilimania isnt Ciafullos only ambition, however, as he is also looking to draw attention to the hospitals restaurant.
Hopefully, people can see that a hospital chef isnt just a boring type of chef, he said. I do love to bring flavors and spices.
In addition to the culinary contests, both nights of the event will be chock-full of music performances from country artists and classic rock cover bands.
To kick off the weekend, folk blues duo Brothers Quinn takes the stage at 5 p.m. Friday to open Country Edge. Top-40 country band Bella Cain is up next, opening for the Achy Breaky Heart-break kid Billy Ray Cyrus, who hits the stage at 9:45 p.m.
Steel drum act Bahama Bob gets things started at 11 a.m. Saturday, setting the mood for Chilimanias festivities ahead of the nights lineup of tribute groups Back in Black, Def Leggend, The Blooze Brothers and Fooz Fighters.Whether you come for the music, food, drinks or all three, Chilimania offfers a bit of everything.
It will definitely be a blast, Ciafullo said.
red hot chili peppers with isolated background
-
Greg Little
Kicks Editor
JANESVLLE
In a perfect world, playwright Jim Lyke and his friend Tony Huml would still be tweaking aspects of Postnuptial Agreement, their 2015 original story about a man dying from cancer who seeks a new partner for his wife once hes gone.
Sadly, we dont live in a perfect world. Huml, a beloved educator, basketball coach and entrepreneur who conceptualized the story, died in 2020 after a five-year battle with medullary thyroid cancer.
Though Huml lived long enough to witness the show performed live on stage, he and Lykes dream of seeing it on the big screen never quite materialized. At least not yet.
But as Lyke and Janesville Performing Arts Center Executive Director Nathan Burkart prepare for a third engagement of the show this month, Lyke holds out hope a film version of Postnuptial still might come to pass.
From Day One, when Tony came up with the idea, it was always for it to be a film, Lyke said. He wanted to make a movie of this story, so we kept meeting and talking about doing this as a film.
The visual aspect of film was what made the premise particularly intriguing.
You can do a lot more things on film, Lyke added. When youre on stage, youre basically working with theater of the mind, and there is only so much you can do with props and staging. With film, if I want a scene to take place in a park, we take cameras to the park. For a scene at a school, we go to a school.
But when JPAC approached Lyke about another stage play wrapping another of his original works, Mirror Image, Lyke saw an opportunity. He approached Huml with an idea.
I said I wanted to write this as a play so, within a year, the story would be out, and we wouldnt have to twiddle our thumbs with film, Lyke recalled. He said, Absolutely.
As it turns out, the decision was a blessing. Not only did Huml get to see his story performed, he was granted the satisfaction of seeing it reprised in 2017 and presented to sold-out houses.
Now, as Postnuptial prepares for its third run with a one-weekend engagement Sept. 9-12 at JPAC, Lyke has given the script a facelift with a potential celluloid future in mind.
Its a pretty substantial rewrite, and Im really happy with how it came out, he said. Im happy with the script, and I think its going to work really well. Its like when you make Spiderman, and then the origin story is different.
Updated as a film script, Postnuptial now boasts enough changes that Lyke suggests those who saw the show previously consider coming out again for a second look.
I had three dozen drafts of this on my hard drive, he said. When I got the opportunity to re-present it at JPAC, I had all of these new ideas and scenes and things. I decided it was an opportunity to, instead of doing the same things, go at it from another perspective, so it has a lot of new dialogue. I also massaged some of the characters and relationships and added some scenes that were not in the first one.
Burkart, who wasnt at JPAC when the play was originally staged, said he doesnt want to make a carbon copy of what was done before. Instead, he wants the shows focus to be on Humls memory.
It falls on me as director to make sure his memory is still there, Burkart said. Its not the same as him being there physically, but what weve talked about are other ways we can make sure his memory lives on with this. This is much bigger than the person directing or the people performing. This is about what this person did over the last few years of his life, and he deserves to be part of that.
Lyke stands in agreement, and though he has compiled a script-writing resume filled with titles loved by local audiences, he said working with Huml on Postnuptial was a career benchmark.
This one has certainly driven me more than any other play, he said. Usually they are written and performed, and I move on. This one, I cant let it go because I keep looking for ways to make it the best it can be. Every draft, every change, every new thought ... I ran everything by him. I wanted his blessing on everything we did, and I wanted him to be happy with it. That was the main objective.
I wont be satisfied until I see this thing on screen and I can say, Tony, we did it.
Smoke billowed from the pile driver at the Rock River Thresheree during the 2020 event near Edgerton.
A nearly restored Samson Model-M tractor sits in a building at Steve Agnews farm in rural Milton. Agnew will display the tractor Aug. 30-Sept. 2 at the Rock River Thresheree.
Archie Morton Sr. takes a seat on the wheel of his 1970 Golden Demonstrator while showing the International Harvester hes collected inside his garage. Mortons son John owns a dozen International Harvester machines that he and his father have showcased at the Rock River Thresheree for the past 27 years. Their tractors range from 1941 to 1957 models, plus the 1970 demonstrator.
Steve Agnew talks about his Samson Model-M tractor that he has been restoring and plans to display at the Rock River Thresheree this year. He bought the Janesville-made tractor from a man in Tomah, who found it on the East Coast.
This 40-ton Bucyrus 41B dragline, restored by Edgertons Mike Fergason, will be on display Labor Day weekend during this years Rock River Thresheree near Edgerton.
Mike Fergason of Edgerton poses with a Bucyrus 41B dragline that he spent 21 years restoring. The 40-ton machine will be on display Labor Day weekend during this years Rock River Thresheree near Edgerton.
EDGERTONThe 65th Annual Rock River Thresheree is scheduled for Labor Day weekend, Sept. 3-6, at Threshermens Park on Highway 51 between Janesville and Edgerton.
Grounds will be open from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. each day.
In reaching the milestone of 65th annual, the thresheree has become a staple in the Milton/Edgerton area, attracting thousands of people each year across the four-day weekend.
Members of the organization are eager to gather after last years cancellation due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Everybody is chomping to show off their equipment again, says Charlie Hendrickson, vice president and director of Rock River Thresheree Inc.. Were going to have some unique demonstrations.
This years focus will be on steam-powered equipment. Much of the equipment remains permanently on the grounds, but other piecesincluding a steam shovel brought in by the Northern Illinois Steam Power Club in Sycamore, Illinoiswill be on display. Hendrickson said he hopes to also have a steam-powered log hauler from northern Wisconsin.
Another unique feature will be the debut of a fully restored and operating Bucyrus 41B Dragline. Owned by group member Mike Furgason of Edgerton, the 40-ton machine was pulled from a farm in Canada and transported to Furgasons property, where he spent 21 years bringing it back to life.
Hendrickson calls the restored machine a mechanical masterpiece.
What he did there is just unbelievable, Hendrickson said of Fergasons work to restore the machine.
Visitors can also expect the usual displays and demonstrations. The Parade of Power is scheduled for 2 p.m. daily in the Natural Amphitheater. The saw mill and shingle mill will be operating, and potato digging is planned at 11 a.m. Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
Threshing demonstrations tend to be popular with visitors. With wheat on the ground, organizers bundle it just as they did 100 years ago.
And then we demonstrate how they would thresh the wheat from the straw, Hendrickson said. Today, this work would be done by a combine.
Adding to the list of things to do at the event, Hendrickson said, You can drive your first tractor. A popular opportunity for kids, this involves adults riding along and handling most of the machinery operation while kids steer.
The Museum of Agriculture and Industry will have working steam engines and antique agricultural equipment. Visitors can see a steam-powered pile driver run hourly after 10 a.m.
Also on display will be a log cabin, the Sears House, military encampments and a steam calliope, the latter of which also operates daily. The kiddie pedal pull, pony rides and barrel train and Cannonball steam engine rides offer even more to do.
With so much going on, visitors can easily spend the whole day taking it all in.
To satisfy ones hunger, Hendrickson said there will be food available for purchase.
Breakfast will be available, as will chicken nuggets, burgers and steamed sweet corn for snacks or lunch. Another favorite is ice cream bars from Kents Big Bar, which has been attending the thresheree for at least 40 years, Hendrickson said.
Food can be found around the grounds with a dairy building offering malts and other treats.
The organization strives to preserve and share the impact steam-powered equipment had in bringing the Midwest to its current agricultural leadership standing.
Before the steam engine, Hendrickson said, it was horses. There was no bigger jump in agriculture than from horsepower to steam power.
Aside from the agricultural equipment and demonstrations, there also will be an antique car and truck show and a large flea market. About 100 cars and trucks will be on display at any one time over the weekend.
Hendrickson said he only knows of three people who were at the first thresheree in 1955. Nevertheless, he calls the event a reunion for family and friends, all of whom share the same interest.
Were not hobbyists, he explained. Were preservationists.
Group of cheerful active senior people having fun playing football on the lawn in the backyard, gathered in circle, holding hands all together in the middle before the match
red orange autumn leaves isolated on the white background
