2008 Talent Contest

Congratulations to this year's Mid-Winter Talent Contest winners!

Bruce Holmes - First Place

Chris Head - 1st Runner-Up

Leon Walls - 2nd Runner-Up

They will be performing in a Winner's Showcase concert
on Saturday, May 3rd. Thanks to all this year's contestants. You are
all winners in our book! Thanks to our volunteer panels of judges for
donating their time.

The spring brings the return of some favorite annual events and some
exciting new performers to The Coffee House stage. In a blast from the
past, the Milwaukee Musicians Co-op returns March 1st to celebrate the
26th Anniversary of the Milwaukee Musicians Coop, known for its
original music. And mark your calendar for our 21st Annual Earth Day
Poetry Reading/Concert on April 19th. The Coffee House is proud to
have been hosting this event since its inception 21 years ago.

---

Pictures from our 40th Anniversary Show

---

We need YOU to keep The Coffee House going for another 40 years!

If you enjoy attending events at The Coffee House, or if you're a performer who appreciates having a great venue to perform at, consider joining our volunteer team. We always can use more volunteers to staff the door and set-up & tear-down the refreshments. Be creative! If you have a great idea, join our board and chair a new committee for your idea. For example, two years ago a volunteer got the idea for and organized our first Gallery Night event.

We also have the following specific needs:

Book-keeper - We currently have a treasurer who takes care of our banking needs. We are in need of a book-keeping volunteer to spend 20 - 30 minutes a week or an hour or two a month inputting data and generating periodic reports of our income, expenses and attendance.

PR Person - The PR person sends out press releases to the media to get our events listed in the calendar sections of monthlies, weeklies and website calendars. Most of this is now done via email. You could research those that are mailed to see if they too can be emailed. Attention to detail and dependability in meeting press deadlines is required.

Booking Person - The booking person books all performers except the monthly Food Pantry Benefits and Living Activism Nights and organizes and runs the annual talent contest (Talent Contest could be split off to be a separate job). Must respond in a timely fashion to requests for bookings that come in via mail, email and voice-mail. Must meet time deadlines for calendar printing and press releases. Must send out confirmation "contracts" to all scheduled performers to ensure that the performers have all the information they need and that the dates are accurate.

If you are interested in any of these volunteer jobs, please come to our next board meeting or contact us via email through www.the-coffee-house.com or our info line, 414-534-4612. All of these positions report to the board and The Coffee House Board will have the final decision in who to appoint to these jobs.

---

History

The Coffee House was founded in 1967 by the late Rev. Alan Davis of Lutheran Campus Ministry and Rev. Chuck Witt and Ms. Agnes Zeidler of Redeemer Lutheran Church as an outreach to the surrounding community including Marquette University. Over the years we have hosted a variety of programming including films, jazz, poetry, dances, a clown troupe and folk and acoustic music. We were the home of Theatre X until they acquired their own theater in 1972.

Open Hours

The Coffee House is open for performances from Labor Day through Memorial Day every Friday and Saturday night and two Sundays a month.

Open Mics

Many performers have had their first experience in front of an audience on our stage at our twice a month “open mic.” The supportive atmosphere nurtures new performers. Now well-known performers such as Paul Cebar, Bill Camplin and Pamela Means performed on our stage at the start of their careers.

Food Pantry Benefits

The first Friday of each month is reserved for a food pantry benefit. The entertainers donate their time for these events. Patrons are asked to bring two cans of food and $3.00 for admission. The food and half the money goes to the Central City Churches food pantry. The other half of the money goes to keep The Coffee House going.

“Living Activism” Program

In the late 1960s The Coffee House stressed its role as an open and friendly place for discussion on social issues. We saw a need for this again in today's world and in 2001 added a "Living Activism" night to our monthly schedule. Activist groups put on a program consisting of both a presentation about their organization or issues and entertainment. The second Sunday of the month has been reserved for "Living Activism.” A free-will donation is asked at the door with all the money going to the featured activist organization.

The mission of "Living Activism" is to aid groups in reaching a new audience and signing up new volunteers while raising awareness and money for their group. By taking care of the set-up needs of an event, we allow the groups to focus their energy on their issues. Featured groups have included Casa Maria, Hunger Task Force, Peace Action Center, Lutheran Volunteer Corp., Literacy Services, Urban Ecology Center, and W.A.V.E. (Wis. Anti-Violence Effort).

Staffing

The Coffee House has been run mainly by volunteers all these years. Volunteers do everything from greeting patrons at the door at each performance, making the coffee and tea, booking the entertainment, creating the printed calendar of events and preparing it for mailing, managing the mailing list, buying the supplies, sending out press releases to the media, creating posters and managing the treasury. Two paid managers have key-carry responsibility and set up and run the sound equipment.

Invitation

We are proud to be one of the longest running non-profit Coffee Houses in America. We hope you will stop in for an event. We would love to share The Coffee House with you!

Managers: Sandy Weisto & Joe Holland
Telephone during open hours: (414) 534-4612
The Coffee House Information Line: (414) 534-4612

We serve coffee, herbal teas, soda, and baked goods. Free parking is available in our lighted lot. The Coffee House is wheelchair-accessible.