Author to share his 30-year journey from book to movie By Eileen Millard news@thewoodstockindependent.com What’s it like to have a great idea for a book, get a movie deal before you’ve even finished writing it, and then wait 30 years before the movie hits the silver screen? Writer Jay Bonansinga will share his story at […]
By Eileen Millard news@thewoodstockindependent.com Whether it’s a simple bouquet of the first daffodils of spring, or plans for a state dinner at the White House, Laura Dowling says it is all about evoking emotions with color, form, and flowers. Dowling was White House chief floral designer from 2009 to 2015 during the Obama years. She […]
By Eileen Millard news@thewoodstockindependent.com Frances Palmer thinks there is an artist in all of us; it is just a matter of finding that particular talent and passion. Her journey began early in life. “I always wanted to be an artist,” she said. “Since I was a child, I took art classes and planned to go […]
By Eileen Millard news@thewoodstockindependent.com When Homer Hickam speaks Oct. 19 as part of the Woodstock Opera House Creative Living Series, he’ll probably mention his best-known book, “Rocket Boys,” and his career in aerospace engineering at NASA. Then again, he might talk about growing up in Coalwood, W.Va. Or maybe about scuba diving, World War II […]
By Eileen Millard news@thewoodstockindependent.com “Explorer” is a rather unusual occupation to fill in on a résumé. Asked how he arrived at his calling, Will Steger said, “Basically, I put my boots on and did it.” Steger is well-known as an educator, author, climate change activist, photographer, and advocate for preserving the Arctic. Among his many […]
By Eileen Millard news@thewoodstockindependent.com Broadway musicals, according to Michael Weber, are a fusion of “opera … operetta … [and] the world of American vaudeville.” Weber, artistic director of Chicago’s Porchlight Music Theatre, will talking about the Broadway musical, one of America’s unique theater traditions, at the next Creative Living Series presentation on Thursday, March 16. […]
By Eileen Millard news@thewoodstockindependent.com “I was thinking about doing a book about the fabulous dressmaking during the Gilded Age,” said Alison Hawthorne Deming, award-winning poet, essayist and nonfiction author. “I cared about the history. … We have lost the stories of the craftspeople and entrepreneurial women.” Two of those dressmakers were Deming’s grandmother and great-grandmother, […]
Creative Living speaker weaves fashionable tale Poet and essayist Alison Hawthorne Deming will be the next speaker in the Creative Living series at 10 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 16, at the Opera House. According to a news release, Deming’s book, “A Woven World,” stitches together two seemingly disparate endeavors: high-fashion dressmaking and ocean-edge fishing. The book […]
As the AIDS epidemic swept through the United States in the 1980s, news coverage tended to focus on New York City and San Francisco. Largely ignored was the Chicago story, including a pioneering AIDS unit at Illinois Masonic Hospital (now Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center) that became a model for the nation. That story gets […]
Staff Report news@thewoodstockindependent.com The Woodstock Fine Arts Association, the oldest resident company of the Woodstock Opera House, has continued its support of the historic theater with its latest donation of $20,000. The contribution has been earmarked toward replacement of the ceiling in the Opera House Community Room, which serves as a gallery for local artists […]
Larry Lough is editor of The Independent and reports local news.
Janet Dovidio has been a freelance correspondent for The Independent for eight years.
Susan W. Murray wrote for The Independent, covering various beats, from 2005 to 2008.
Tricia Carzoli is a freelance writer and photographer that on community news.
