Just a few friendly reminders....

Hi All!  Happy Wednesday!

I was just over at the Allis taking care of some website updates and thought I'd post a friendly reminder about some upcoming events!

This Sunday is of course indoor Cafe at the Villa.  Doors open at 10 am, and Bella's will be here with the usual coffee and pastries.  No brunch this month.  Not to worry, though! Brunch will return to the balcony in June.  As for indoors, well, there simply isn't enough space.  We want to maximize your viewing pleasure and hopefully things will be less crowded this month.  Music will be by Tangos Stas and Friends.

With Spring around the corner, Gail is hard at work getting the gardens ready for the opening in June.  She needs your help!  If you are volunteer in the gardens, the first two volunteer days will be May 14 and 21 from 8:30 am to noon.  Contact Gail at gjaeger@cavtmuseums.org, 414-271-3656 x211 to sign up!

That should do it!

Plein Air Art and Garden Sale and Allis Garden Restoration

Lest we forget, the Charles Allis is also experiencing the early stages of Spring fever too, and the gardens there are also spectacular in the Spring and Summer months.  To get everyone excited about Spring, planting gardens, and being eco-friendly, the Charles Allis Art Museum will be hosting a Plein Air Art and Garden Sale on Saturday, May 14.  I must admit I am very excited about this event!  Our lovely Ann has put together a press release announcing this event, so without further ado, take it away Ann!

The Charles Allis Art Museum will host Plein Air Art and Garden Sale - "From Our Garden to Yours" on Saturday, May 14 from 9 am to 4 pm.  Local Plein Air artists will paint in the Allis museum's English garden beginning on Thursday, May 12.  Their completed works will be ready for sale at 2:30 pm during Saturday's festivities. 

Additional activities include viewing Plein Air landscapes in the Charles and Sarah Allis collection, the sale of plants, crafts for kids, garden giveaways, and a presentation by The Green Team, Sustainable Landscape Management.  The Green Team will speak about the Allis garden's transformation and display one of their eco-friendly lawn mowers. 

The Charles Allis event staff thanks Johnson's Nursery, The Flower Source and The Green Team for their sponsorship of Plein Air Art and Garden Sale-"From Our Garden to Yours." 

Plan to attend this family, admission-free day at Milwaukee's Charles Allis Art Museum located at 1801 N. Prospect Avenue.

I am very excited about purchasing plants, and also about hearing from the Green Team.  Being interested in environmental science and "green" practices myself, I am always excited about local organizations developing new and innovative ways to help reduce our carbon footprint AND they are helping us do great restorations to the gardens at the Allis in the coming seasons.  To learn more about their philosophy and their practices, please visit The Green Team's website here.

And to get you all excited about "greener pastures" over at the Allis, here are some photos graciously donated by our very own Patty Redeker and Dennis Felber. 

Photo by Dennis Felber

Photo by Dennis Felber

Photo by Dennis Felber

Photo by Patty Redeker

Photo by Patty Redeker

Photo by Dennis Felber

Photo by Patty Redeker

Hope to see you all at the Allis on May 14th!

Please check back often for more information about the garden restoration at the Allis by The Green Team.

For more press releases from the Charles Allis and Villa Terrace museums, please visit the "News" tabs on both our websites, or click here for the Charles Allis and here for the Villa Terrace.

John Gurda is Coming to the Allis!

Author and historian John Gurda will be coming to the Charles Allis Art Museum to talk about the Allis Family and their role in the rise of manufacturing.  It should be a very interesting talk, especially for anyone familiar with farming and the Allis-Chalmers Corporation and curious about the history of the Allis family and the East Side of Milwaukee!

The lecture starts at 7 pm on Wednesday, April 27 and is $15 for members and $20 for non-members.  For an additional $10, you can come at 6 pm to take part in a cocktail hour in which John Gurda himself will answer all of your questions and socialize with the audience.

Reservations are strongly recommended.  To make a reservation by phone, please call 414-271-3656 ext. 215.  Tickets can also be purchased online at our online store.

Hope to see you all there!

Our summer courtyard tenants have returned..

Last summer was my first summer here working with the Villa, and as such I had a lot to learn not only about my job, but about the nuances and traditions that have been occurring here for many years.  One of the first Cafes of the season, my coworkers and I were setting up with Patty from Zilli's when I noticed a morning dove above the lights at the side door from the pantry to the courtyard.  I swore it wasn't real...I was so close to it and it didn't even flinch.  I called Patty over and she said "Oh yeah, that's Jezebel, she's here every year."  No way, I thought, you are definitely pulling my leg.  For several minutes I exclaimed that there was no way that bird was real, while Patty insisted she was not trying to play a trick on me.  Finally, I got up as close as I could to the bird, so close I could have reached out and touched it, when she blinked.  I was so startled that I laughed hysterically for probably five minutes!  After that, I saw Jezebel (named by our Katie Shorts) and her two batches of adorable babies every Sunday morning at Cafe.

These morning doves are a fixture in our Courtyard. Despite putting wire over the lights so they can't build their nests inside the top of the lights, they have returned, apparently building their nests on top of the wire netting.  These two have definitely made the Villa Courtyard their home, and I for one am happy they are back!

They don't even try to walk away even when you get right up next to them!

Getting Excited!

First, I have noticed many visitors viewing the blog in the past week or so and wanted to say welcome and thanks for stopping by!  It is such a great feeling to get to share what's going on here with everyone, and to know there are people out there reading!

Today, the sun is shining and the air is warm with hints of Spring again.  Our wonderful gardener Gail has been hard at work in the gardens already, and you can definitely tell that there is an excitement about Spring around here.

Patty, our Membership and Development Coordinator (among many other things) also happens to be a very talented photographer, and more often than not throughout the year she can be seen wandering around the Villa and Allis taking pictures of our various events and scenery.  She graciously passed on some of her lovely pictures to share with you all!  I am sure there will be many more to come!

Gail, our Estate Gardener, working on the flower pots in the Courtyard last Spring.  Soon those pots will be back in the Courtyard again!

According to the description, this is a Crocus.  The color is spectacular!

Time to bring the flower pots out of storage for Spring.

Yes, of course the bugs will return too.  But they do bring with them their own treasures as well, and with any luck the dragon flies will cover the sky above the gardens like last year.  It is definitely a sight to see!

Everyone is working hard to make sure we have a colorful, successful, and exciting Spring and Summer season.  I'll be sure to keep you up to date on everything that goes on, and be sure to stop by and visit!

Spring is Coming!

As I sit inside the Villa for Public Hours today, I noticed bright lights shining through the double doors that go to the courtyard, into the Main Room.  When I got up to get a better view, I saw the sun shining brightly, hopefully, into the courtyard, and it was beautiful!  Out on the Terrace, the view was just as lovely.  It is days like these that get me really excited about Spring coming, and make me feel extra lucky to work here.  It almost transports you, and for a second with the waters of Lake Michigan shining teal blue, this house really lives up to its namesake, Sopre Mare, "Above the Sea".

Enjoy! 

Tea Time at the Villa Terrace!

A few weeks ago, we hosted a wonderful tea at the Villa Terrace Museum, envisioned and executed by our talented Ann Steinbach.  A variety of cupcakes were served, which were beautiful and turned out to be the highlight of the day, prompting us to change the name to the "Cupcake Tea" the next time around.  An assortment of Rishi Teas were also served.  Ann graciously took pictures and provided a write up in much more eloquent detail than I could ever do, and I have included both pictures and her description below.  Be sure to keep an eye out for the next Cupcake Tea!  It is certainly not to be missed!

From Ann: 

On February 19, 2011, when tray after gorgeous tray of cupcakes were whisked briskly into the Villa’s side door, through kitchen and pantry, to the Great Hall, everyone in their path lost eyeballs and jaws.  It was as if exquisite dishes were waltzing fast, past castle staff, on their swift way to a king.

Each passing tray was more inventive, more fantastical, than the last.  Meant for mortals gathering for tea, these lavishly adorned cakes were fit for gods.  Beautiful, ornamental, monuments.  Little Taj Mahals. 

There were tiny cream puffs and mini éclairs nestled into mountains of butter cream atop some.  There were sugared fruits, candies, sparkle dust, wedges of white and dark chocolate on others.  Cakes topped with teapot-shaped cutout cookies, their spouts dipped in chocolate.  Cakes crowned with intricately molded chocolate teapots and hearts.

There were pastel colors and black and white checks, papers ruffled to resemble flowers, ribbons, and bows.  Every single detail schemed and fashioned from the imagination, the magical mind, the deft hands of artist/baker Marianne Olson. 

Guests also enjoyed three flavors of Rishi Tea: Wild Rose White, Raspberry Green and Cinnamon Plum. 

In addition to exploring the Villa Terrace mansion, guests also visited Formed, the new ceramics show and the Villa’s permanent collection of metal works by renowned sculptor Cyril Colnik.  Complimentary hand messages were given in the formal dining room by Wanda Beals and Marilyn Heckert of the Milwaukee School of Message.

It was a grand affair!

Sunday Morning Cafe at the Villa Terrace

Good morning everyone!  As I write this, we are enjoying a lovely, albeit chilly, Sunday morning here at the Villa Terrace Indoor Cafe series.  This morning, we are enjoying lovely guitar music from Canadian classical guitarist Edel Munoz.

Only a few more months and we will be enjoying Cafe in the courtyard again!  If you have not attended an indoor cafe before, be sure to swing by next month, April 3, when we host Tangos with Stas and Friends.  It's sure to be a great time!

General admission is $5, $3 for students and seniors over 62, and free to Members.
We also offer a catered breakfast from Zilli's for $19.  Call 414-271-3656 Ext. 215 to make a reservation!

Welcome!

Welcome to the new Villa Terrace and Charles Allis Museums Blog.  Here we will post upcoming announcements and events, pictures of our events and exhibitions and share other news and stories as they relate to our beautiful museums!  Check back often and thank you for visiting!