Lisa Grigsby

About Lisa Grigsby

Lisa Grigsby is a Special Events Director with over thirty years experience in promotions, event coordination and public relations.

Owning Jokers Comedy Cafe for 20 years taught Lisa to maintain a sense of humor under pressure. She credits Leadership Dayton for exposing her to the amazing assets of the region and Clothes That Work for being her reason she stayed in Dayton. Her proudest accomplishment as a past president of the Miami Valley Restaurant Association was creating Restaurant Week, a twice a year tradition that continues to grow and benefit local charities as well. As a foodie, it's only natural that she continues to promote local restaurateurs with DaytonDining.

As a Dayton Catalyst, her desire to have ONE community calendar and advocate for the amazing assets of the region helped create the vision for the relaunch of DaytonMostMetro.

Eudora Brewing Co Introduces New Menu

January 21, 2020 By Lisa Grigsby

Eudora Brewing Co’s new 2020 menu is here! They’ve added some hearty appetizers to get your night started, new sandwiches and burgers to keep it fresh, a drool-worthy dessert and a kids menu for the littles! Take a look below at the full menu, as well as some item previews and killer food and beer pairings to try this week!

Pait the savory, cheesy Poutine with a Mother Fuggle for a well-balanced start to the night!

Dip those Chicken Bites into some Bee’s Knees Honey Mustard while digging a Groove Juice to keep things light and snacky.

End your night with a Cinnamon Pretzel smeared with icing and a Holy Cacao to leave with a satisfites sweet tooth.

Eudora Brewing Company

3022 Wilmington Pike
Kettering, Ohio 45429

Tues- Thurs 4-11pm
Friday 4-midnight
Sat noon- midnight
Sunday noon – 8pm

The Simon & Garfunkel Story Comes to Dayton

January 21, 2020 By Lisa Grigsby

The internationally-acclaimed hit theater show The Simon & Garfunkel Story will stop by the Benjamin and Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center on Sunday, Feb. 9 at 7 p.m. during the coast to coast U.S. tour. Tickets are on sale now at the Ticket Center Stage Box Office, by calling 937-228-3630, 888-228-3630 or online at www.ticketcenterstage.com.

The Simon & Garfunkel Story is an immersive concert-style theater show that chronicles the amazing journey shared by the folk-rock duo, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel. It tells the story from their humble beginnings as Tom & Jerry to their incredible success as one of the best-selling music groups of the ‘60s to their dramatic split in 1970. It culminates with the famous “The Concert in Central Park” reunion in 1981, with more than half a million fans in attendance.

Using state of the art video projection, photos, and original film footage, the show also features a full live band performing all of their hits, including “Mrs. Robinson” (featured in the 1967 film The Graduate), “Cecilia,” “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” “Homeward Bound,” and many more.

With more than 100 million album sales since 1965, Simon & Garfunkel’s perfect harmonies and songs that poignantly captured the times made them one of the most successful folk-rock duos of all time. Over the years, they won 10 Grammy^©Awards and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. In 1977, their Bridge Over Troubled Water album was nominated at the 1977 Brit Awards for Best International Album. In 2003, Simon and Garfunkel were awarded a Grammy^© Lifetime Achievement Award, and the following year saw their “The Sound of Silence” awarded a Grammy Hall of Fame Award^©.

Tickets are on sale now at the Ticket Center Stage Box Office, by calling 937-228-3630, 888-228-3630 or online at www.ticketcenterstage.com.

First inductees Announced For The Funk Music Hall of Fame

January 20, 2020 By Lisa Grigsby

On Saturday, Sept 26th as a part of the 2nd Dayton Funk Symposium held at the University of Dayton, The Funk Music Hall of Fame & Exhibition Center will induct its first class of inductees into The Funk Music Hall of Fame – James Brown, George Clinton & the Parliament Funkadelic and The Ohio Players. As pioneers of a musical genre which came to life during the Civil Rights and Black Power Movements, these artists created a cultural form of expression that allowed Black musicians to speak freely about African American social and cultural life.

Brown, Clinton and The Ohio Players are Funk pioneers who attributed to the birthing of the different forms of the Funk genre such as P-Funk, Jazz-Funk, Fusion Funk and Electro Funk just to name a few. Today we celebrate those who brought it to life by forever remembering their wonderful legacies as our first inductees.

James Brown Photo by James Mccauley/REX/Shutterstock

James Brown, “The Godfather of Soul”, can also be called “the Founding Father of Funk.’ His famous song, “Say it Loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud!” was an anthem that placed Funk music as part of the cause to advance Black pride and empowerment. Brown is not only known for his contributions to social change, he is also noted for creating the then funky new sound called “On the One!” – the defining beat of Funk music that distinguishes it from other genres. He will always be remembered as the musician who developed this signature groove emphasizing the downbeat. His unique style remains recognizable in the music of countless musicians who have adopted his Funky sound. His songs, “Say it Loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud” and “Soul Power” caused Funk and Soul music to become deeply connected to the issues surrounding urban black communities and racial injustice. All in all, his lyrics instilled confidence, pride and awareness among Black Americans.

George Clinton

George Clinton & Parliament-Funkadelic Funkadelic is the visionary leader of a large collection of musician groups including, Parliament & Funkadelic, Brides of Funkenstein, and Parlet. Also, he opened the door for Bootsy Collins’ Bootsy’s Rubberband. Clinton created the cultural art form known as P-Funk which included many kinds of expressions including a fashion revolution, distinctive album cover art, and cartoon characters. Who can forget Clinton’s Parliament-Funkadelic outfits that made Funk the ultimate psychedelic experience. His musical contributions prompted many R&B acts to adopt Funky types of dress sampling not only his music but his eccentric funky style. P-Funk is James Brown’s sound with an outer space underwater out of this world touch that leaves dancers with two fingers up and a thumb on the side on the dance floor.

The Ohio Players

Last but not least, we choose to recognize our own The Ohio Players, Dayton Ohio from (Westbound Records to Mercury Records). All of the bands from this city and surrounding areas — Faze-O, Lakeside, Sun, Heatwave, Dayton, Platypus, Slave, Roger and Zapp and many, many others – drew inspiration from the success of The Ohio Players. They were Dayton’s first band to reach gold and platinum status with worldwide album sales. This pioneering band bridged Funk with jazz, and rhythm and blues. It’s horns, chords, high-pitched harmonies and iconic lead voices, solidified the Funk sound. Amazing artist like Junie Morrison’s voice on Pain, and Funky Worm as well as Sugarfoot’s “Owl Gerl” exemplify the sweet sounds of Funk!

Please join The Funk Music Hall of Fame & Exhibition Center, by welcoming these phenomenal artists as their first inductees. Stay tuned for details on the Induction ceremony.

17 Montgomery County Artists Awarded Opportunity Grants for 2020

January 17, 2020 By Lisa Grigsby

The Artist Opportunity Grant program, which is funded by the Montgomery County Arts and Cultural District (MCACD) and administered by Culture Works, provides funding for Montgomery County artists of all disciplines to pursue professional development opportunities and complete new works. Applications for funding are reviewed by an independent panel of artists, arts administrators, educators, and community leaders.

Based on the recommendations of the 2019-20 grant panel, 17 local artists will receive grants totaling $39,336 in 2020–the largest amount ever awarded through the program.

Read about their upcoming projects below:

LEROY BEAN

Opportunity: Travel to France for the 2020 Conference on James Baldwin for academics, artists, and activists celebrating the 50th anniversary of Baldwin’s arrival in Saint-Paul de Vence. Bean will be engaged in scholarly exploration of all things Baldwin and social justice, developing his skills in creative writing under the facilitation of Cornelius Eady, a co-founder of Cave Canem.

About the Artist: Leroy Bean is a spoken word poet, published author, and co-founder of Underdog Academy and Baldwin Café from Dayton, Ohio. An artist activist, he uses his gift to describe different aspects of beauty and life that all can relate to, but also to speak truth about racially charged, social and political issues. He has shared stages with accomplished artists such as Sierra Leone, HBO Def poet Black Ice, Sunny Patterson, and Bing Davis and has performed in many venues, including the PNC Arts Annex, Levitt Pavilion, Schuster Center, and Victoria Theatre.

Artist Statement: “Currently I am diving deeper into being a teaching artist, and I have launched my online writing workshop for writers of all kinds to learn communication skills, emotional intelligence, critical thinking, creativity, how to apply literary devices, using writing as a tool of personal wellness, and more! I am also currently working between three poetry book ideas, all of which I am keeping in mind during my trip to France, and I hope to find a residency to be the resource of time, space, and funding I need to manifest either one or all of these projects in 2020.”

uapoetry.com

CURTIS BOWMAN

Opportunity: Attend the Algonkian Writers Retreat for five days of intensive work with established authors on a work in progress.

Artist Statement: “I have been a storyteller all my life, but up to now, most of my writing has been in service of a goal: selling something, recruiting volunteers, to make people laugh at a conference or to teach people at a workshop. Recently, I have been inspired to tell a larger story.”

oikamom.com

CAITLIN CARTWRIGHT

Opportunity: Create a body of work, an interactive workshop, and a gallery show inspired by the events in Dayton, Ohio, in the summer of 2019 focusing on the healing and resilience of our community.

About the Artist: Caitlin Cartwright is a social change artist whose vibrant narrative works combine painting, drawing, and collage to explore the stories that connect people across cultures. Although her intimate works deal with themes of loss and isolation, each piece contains elements of community, comfort, and hope. Many years spent living and working with vulnerable populations in locales such as Madagascar, Namibia, India, and elsewhere influence both the emotional and geographical scope of her pieces. Caitlin earned her BFA from Maryland Institute College of Art, as well as a masters degree in sustainable international development from SIT, and completed a six-moth residency at the Pocosin Arts School of Fine Craft in Columbia, NC. In combination with a long career in global health, she uses art as a storytelling tool for economic empowerment, peace building, and healing and wellness. Caitlin is currently based in Dayton, where she is the Director of Programming at We Care Arts. Her works and collaborative projects continue to be shown both nationally and abroad.

caitlincartwright.com

JANYCE DENISE GLASPER

Opportunity: Create “Black Women Writers A-Z,” a new body of large-scale paintings that depict past and present women writers of African descent having social gatherings much similar to classic literary salons and Harlem rent parties. These works–which will feature authors such as Toni Morrison and Helen Oyeyemi and poets such as Ntozake Shange and Upile Chisala–will be displayed at the Dayton Metro Library Main Branch gallery in August/September 2020.

About the Artist: Janyce Denise Glasper is a multidisciplinary artist, writer, and independent scholar. She has a BFA in drawing from the Art Academy of Cincinnati and post baccalaureate and MFA from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.

Artist Statement: “Through the disciplines of figurative drawing, painting, and writing, my artistic practices emphasize the collective beauty in the Black experience, especially in womanism, a term coined by Alice Walker. My primary goal is to continue dismantling the stereotypical perception of Black bodies.”

jdglasper.wixsite.com/artist-cv

SAM KELLY

Opportunity: Travel to the New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting and Sculpture in New York, NY, to attend the Drawing Marathon and study under acclaimed artist Graham Nickson.

About the Artist: Sam Kelly is an artist currently residing in Dayton, Ohio. He earned a BFA in painting from Wright State University and an MFA in painting from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. He also attended the Chautauqua School of Art. Sam is a member of the Dayton Society of Artists, The Contemporary Dayton, and the Dutoit Gallery. He has exhibited his work both nationally and internationally. Sam has taught at many institutions, including the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, University of Cincinnati, Wright State University, University of Dayton and Indiana University East.

Sam’s work expresses a raw and energetic approach. He is interested in the relationship that exists between abstraction and representation. As an artist, he continues to pursue the ability to invoke a painting and drawing with authenticity and intensity for maximum engagement.

samkellyart.com

KELSEY LEE

Opportunity: Travel to Stolzenhagen, Germany to attend Ponderosa’s Winter Artist Exchange residency, which will guide and nourish the development of a new, solo dance performance.

About the Artist: Kelsey Lee is an interdisciplinary artist who holds a BFA degree in Contemporary Dance Performance and Choreography with a double major in Psychology from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Lee fuses her trainings in ballet, contemporary dance styles, and theatre with the intention of generating empathy in an accessible and mindful approach through performance and education.

www.kelseyleedances.com

JOSH MERRITT

Opportunity: Attend the 2020 Glass Art Society Annual Conference in Smaland, Sweden to study new techniques and technological advances in glass blowing.

Artist Statement: “I began blowing glass in 2009 as an apprentice. I studied, created, and now enjoy teaching numerous glass art techniques, including vessels, ornaments, flowers and more.

In 2016, I moved to Columbus and enrolled at The Ohio State University. At OSU’s glass program, I continued to develop my skill and passion for glassblowing. I also expanded into other areas such as stained glass, fusing, engraving and sandblasting.

The magic of glass never ceases to amaze me: the challenge of creating an intricate glass piece; the delicate balance of heating and cooling at different times and stages; the planning and teamwork required for success. It all comes together into an intense moment from which either fine art or floor shards are created.”

jlmglass.studio

HYACINTH PAUL

Opportunity: Attend a seven-day plein air painting workshop in Provence and a four-day art tour in Barcelona with Dr. Yves M. Larocque (Ph.D.)–an art instructor, art theoretician, art historian, and artist–to learn the essential skill of painting plein air and to increase her knowledge of art by visiting museums with an art historian.

About the Artist: Dr. Hyacinth Paul is a retired scientist and Professor who recently started her career as an artist. Within the last year, Dr. Paul has exhibited in more than 10 solo/group exhibitions, as well as donated and sold her paintings. She currently showcases her work at Front street gallery in Dayton, Ohio, and has a significant online presence.

Artist Statement: “My work is both abstract and realistic, mostly done in oil, acrylics, and mixed media. My paintings are very colorful because I believe that color sparks synesthesia and involuntarily evokes feelings of joy. I look forward to improving my work as an artist and delving deeper into the question of whether color plays a role in uplifting the general well-being of individuals and thereby alleviating depression.”

fineartamerica.com/profiles/hyacinth-paul

JONATHAN PINCUS

Opportunity: Create an exhibition of new, original oil paintings reimagining Norman Rockwell’s four freedoms paintings that will be exhibited in conjunction with Peace Dayton 2020 to promote community, thoughtful dialogue, mutual understanding, healing, peace, civil engagement, and civic discourse.

About the Artist: Jonathan Pincus, MFA, is the Artist-in-Residence at the Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine. An artist and educator, he divides his time between his professional studio art practice, based at Front Street Studios, and teaching at Wright State and the University of Dayton.

SARAH ROBERTSON

Opportunity: Travel to Pittsburgh, PA to attend the Kinderflute+Blockiflute certification course, which is considered by flute teachers as one of the ideal methods to teach young children flute. The unique method is designed to help flute students find and establish their innate potential as musicians and human beings. Through learning to listen, fingering their notes, producing a beautiful tone, reading music, composing, and creatively expressing themselves, students are firing areas of the brain to make learning in all areas more productive.

About the Artist: Sarah Robertson holds a Bachelor of Music in Flute Performance from Indiana University of South Bend and a Master of Music in Music Education from Wright State University. She has over 15 years of professional experience as a performer, conductor, freelance musician, solo and ensemble adjudicator, and music educator. Presently, along with operating her private studio, she teaches Kindermusik, subs in local ensembles, and performs with the Springboro Wind Symphony and with her flute trio, Ama la Vita.

Artist Statement: “I am a flutist who is just as passionate about music education as I am about performing, and I am so excited to bring that passion to the young children of Dayton! As a Kindermusik teacher, I thrive on instilling a love for music in the youngest of music makers and I cannot wait to do so through Kinderflute as well!”

www.sanddollarmusic.com

YETUNDE RODRIGUEZ

Opportunity: Study with the artist Amira Rahim through her intensive eight-week painting e-course in order to develop skills to transition block prints into strong collectible paintings.

About the Artist: Yetunde Rodriguez is a textile artist and designer with a focus on block printing. Yetunde taps into her Nigerian heritage for inspiration. She creates bold, meaningful images interpreted in a joyful celebration of color.

Yetunde has a background in graphic design, with a BA from Hampton University. She has done a little bit of a lot over the years. She has taught both young and old, with the firm belief that when you teach, you learn.

She continues to teach, partnering with local arts organizations and public libraries to lead workshops and give presentations. She is passionate about empowering youth to see the possibilities in using creativity to shape their future and achieve their goals. Yetunde aims to leave her mark wherever she goes, and she believes that life can be made just a little more interesting with a few simple materials, some simple shapes, and fun colors!

yetunderodriguez.com

KATE HUSER SANTUCCI

Opportunity: Travel to Seattle to attend a studio workshop with encaustic artist Alicia Tormey, where participants will learn new techniques, work on professional marketing and the business of being an artist, learn how to ship encaustic paintings, and continue to develop their personal voices as encaustic painters.

About the Artist: Kate Huser Santucci graduated from Wright State University with a BFA in visual art, concentrating in sculpture. She now primarily works in mixed-media encaustic painting, using beeswax and pigments to create multi-layered images that reference her interest in the natural sciences.

Artist Statement: “In my current body of work, I use mixed-media encaustic painting techniques to explore themes such as time–both on a cosmic and human scale–communication outside of the human sphere, and the way things change, both for people during a single lifetime and for the universe we are in. I often use images of microbes, plants, animals, bones, and water to tell the story of the way we change and evolve. The work involves multiple layers and textures, inviting the viewer to look deeper into the piece and glimpse imagery floating beneath the surface of the wax.”

www.katehusersantucci.com

JESSECA YNEZ SIMMONS

Opportunity: Travel to New York City and Los Angeles to conduct on-camera interviews with four crucial interview subjects for “We Will Not Turn To Stone”–a feature-length hybrid documentary that re-conceptualizes Medusa, one of the most infamous mythic females of all time, through a non-patriarchal lens. Too quick to decapitate, too fearful of turning to stone, we finally look up to meet Medusa’s gaze.

About the Artist: Jesseca Ynez Simmons is a documentary filmmaker and has a special interest in hybridization. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Media Production at the University of Dayton and a Sustainability Scholar for the Hanley Sustainability Institute.

Artist Statement: “I create documentaries that explore the superimposed realm of reality and fantasy; what one experiences with both open and closed eyes. By letting the explicit factual and imaginative qualities of a story graze on the same plane, it is possible to gain something more than if they were treated separately. I aspire to push these boundaries by letting narrative and experimental techniques of cinema bleed into my documentary films.”

www.jessecaysimmons.com

A. SLATE

Opportunity: Stage a one-woman show that brings Lifelines and Legacies–an autobiography of short stories and poetry–to life in a dramatic, theatrical way.

About the Artist: A. Slate is a poet, spoken word artist, actress, and founder of The WRITElife Village Organization- where young people can express themselves, creatively, without judgment, bias, or fear through poetry.

Artist Statement: “In this one-woman show, where life is a poem and everyone is writing, telling stories of triumph, grace, gratitude and love, I am inviting you into the worlds that I have created for myself as a single mother, high school dropout, and young grandmother suffering from mental illness. Now standing before the world whole and grateful, finding reasons to give thanks for it all. Healing is a process. Grace refines.”

JUDE WALSH

Opportunity: Enroll in the Write Your Memoir in Six Months intensive mentoring experience to expand her craft from personal essay (short) to memoir (book length).

About the Artist: Jude Walsh is a writer and life coach dedicated to helping women not just survive midlife divorce but also thrive as they create a beautiful new reality. A Writing Mindset and Legacy Writing teacher, she is also active in the literary community and has been published in numerous magazines and anthologies. Jude travels frequently, writes daily, and leans into the abundant adventure her life has become. She lives with her son and three lively dogs in Dayton, Ohio.

secondbloomcoaching.com

ERIC WRIGHT

Opportunity: Travel to London, England to study photographic technique from one of the preeminent street and portrait photographers, Alan Schaller.

About the Artist: Eric Wright grew up in Dayton and found photography as an artistic outlet while in high school. Life took him away from it for awhile, but now it is one of the deepest passions in his life.

Artist Statement: “Learning and growing as an artist is something I am always working on; adding new skills and approaches and then giving them time to gel in new ways in my work. This year, I am looking forward to working on my street photography along with my black and white photography skills in both digital and film so I can deepen my understanding of people going about their daily lives.”

www.flywrightphotography.com

MICAH ZAVACKY

Opportunity: Frame recent work and create additional work for two upcoming solo exhibitions at Front Street – Dutoit Gallery in April and the Wright State University Alumni Gallery in May.

About the Artist: Micah Zavacky grew up in Dayton, Ohio, where he attended Wright State University, completing a BFA in Studio Art in 2014. After completing his MFA in Studio Art at Illinois State University, Micah returned home and has been teaching at the University of Dayton since 2018 and continuing his artistic practice.

Artist Statement: “I am indebted to early ventures with en plein air painting because it instilled a reverence, love, and dedication to the natural world. Primarily, my work represents plant forms, gardens, and landscapes (woods, river-views, and meadows). My practice has pushed me to become an avid gardener, composter, and builder; in turn, these activities have deepened my understanding and commitment to my artwork and the earth.”

www.micahzavacky.com

Dayton’s 2020 Fish Fry Guide

January 17, 2020 By Lisa Grigsby

This weekend marks the official beginning of Fish Fry Season in Dayton!

Dayton came by its fish fry tradition many years ago. Many of the European settlers who flocked to the Gem City and many of those immigrants were Catholic, and the tradition of foregoing the consumption of meat on Fridays made the fish fry a natural evolution.

The fish fry tradition developed even further during the Prohibition era, when fish fries became a way for former alcohol-purveying establishments to stay in business. Many went so far as to conceal their illicit speakeasies beneath the intoxicating aroma of frying fish, offering free or low-cost fish to those who imbibed.

As time moved forward, fish fries became an easy way to avoid meat while enjoying a night out and eating affordably. The tradition grew from there, providing Dayton families an opportunity to go out to dinner without breaking the bank.

Many places in town have fish fries and after much searching, asking and eating, here are some of the best places in the city to catch a fish fry. You’ll also notice Fish Frys aren’t just on Friday anymore!

And, as always, if we’ve forgotten your favorite, please share it with others by posting a comment below or emailing us.

January 2020

Our Lady of the Rosary Fish Fry

Our Lady of the Rosary Church

January 10 @ 5:00 pm – 10:30 pm

|Recurring Event (See all) $15 – $17

All you can eat Fresh Icelandic cod, Hot Polish Sausage, Fresh Sausage, Chicken Strips, French Fries, Cabbage and Noodles, Salad,…