Racine & Me May 6, 2018: DO MORE 24, The Racine Zoo, Gender-Swapped Quasimodo, and the Hot and Dirty Brass Band

Jacob Kittilstad welcomed spring weather to the area before talking to The United Way of Racine County about their new fundraising endeavor.  For the first time ever they will be participating in the online effort called DO MORE 24. The event gives local non-profits a chance to use the online donation system set up by the United Way. Organizers say smaller groups trying to raise money often do not have the resources to set up websites that have donation features on their own – and the 24 hour event in Racine County already has 80+ organizations signed on to be featured. Click here for more information

Next, The Racine Zoo stopped by to talk about a few of their events coming up in May. Their Wild 5k Run/Walk(which raises money for the zoo) is happening on May 12 – and in honor of that, animal caregivers brought along a Vietnamese Walking Stick. They also talked about another event happening on the same day: the Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day. That event is meant to connect families with community resources related to mental health including support. Zoo staff also brought out an alligator to talk about their upcoming Mother’s Day Brunch. Why an alligator? Well the animal might not look like it, but alligator mothers are some of the most supportive in the animal kingdom – caring for their young up to two years with alligator mothers often carrying the little ones in their mouths for protection. 

The school year is almost over and many students are wrapping up their end-of-the-year projects. That includes Carthage College senior Zach Preiwisch who will soon be premiering his musical production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. He says his version is special because he cast a woman to play Quasimodo and he explained to Jacob why that switch is meaningful. The segment also included a special performance of Out There – where the lead actress revealed the physical stature she plans to take during the performance. The event is scheduled for Thursday, May 19 at 7:30 p.m. at the A.F. Seibert Chapel at Carthage College (2001 Alford Park Drive, Kenosha). The show is free to the public.

Finally, The Hot and Dirty Brass Band joined Jacob in the studio to talk about their New Orleans-style jazz/funk band. Trombone Player Michael Clobes grew up in Racine and says the groups came together last year – and they’ve gotten a great response from audiences ever since. They have plans to play more gigs this year – and to cap off their appearance they played their version of Big Fine Woman. Click here to learn more about where you can hear the band or click here to visit their Facebook page

Guests: Rodney Prunty – United Way of Racine County President and CEO, Susan Sandvick – United Way of Racine County Manager of Investor Relations, Aszya Summers – Racine Zoo Conservation Education Manager, Amber Olsen – Racine Zoo Special Events/Sales Manager, Zach Preiwisch – “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” Director, Lydia Haasl – “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” Music Director, Darien Hiller – Actress portraying Quasimodo in “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”, Michael Clobes – Plays Trombone for The Hot and Dirty Brass Band, Kevin Klemme – Plays Trumpet for The Hot and Dirty Brass Band, Matt Cordier – Drummer for The Hot and Dirty Brass Band, John Vollmar – Plays Tenor Saxophone for The Hot and Dirty Brass Band, Kyle Samuelson – Sousaphonist for The Hot and Dirty Brass Band