10-10-2025

Tickets are on sale now for the Friends of the East Troy Lions Public Library’s annual play fundraiser. This year’s play will be held a few weeks later this year: November 7, 8, 9 and 14, 15, 16. Friday and Saturday night performances will be at 7:30pm while Sundays will begin at 2:00pm.

The move to November was made for two reasons. October tends to be very busy with Homecoming and Halloween, and Director Mary Hubbard Nugent wanted to select a holiday theme script. She delivered with the one act Black and Blue Friday by Karen Jones for the Thanksgiving first act and selections from Robert Fulghum’s Uh-Oh. Here Comes Christmas!

Jason and Jodi Neu are once again donating their space at the Honey Creek Collective for all six performances. Last year’s audiences can testify to how nice it was to have a gathering space to socialize before the performance. We will once again offer beverages and a small charcuterie board for purchase before the play. Friends President Claudia Felske and I are making a few changes to last year’s board to give it a holiday flair.

HGA’s renderings will also be on display both weekends. The Tuesday in between, November 11^th, is our Town Hall Meeting with HGA. That is the best opportunity for community members to give their feedback as the architectural team will be at the Town Hall Meeting, but plenty of Friends and staff will be there at the library to lend an ear and pass on reactions.

Audience members are also encouraged to take part in a Secret Santa gift exchange. This is basically a White Elephant with holiday wrappings. Participants should bring a wrapped white elephant gift, which will be gathered before the play. They will then select one at intermission. For those of you unfamiliar with this tradition a white elephant is essentially a gift most people wouldn’t want. The only time I’ve attended this type of exchange I received a pickle picker upper. I was delighted. A friend received a questionable cake topper she then used for her friends who were at that party post wedding gathering. We were delighted.

Thanks to Off the Square Players for their continued dedication to raising money for the Friends and Pioneer Drama Services and Dramatic Publishing who own the rights to the pieces. Tickets are $20 each and are available at the library or at the door.

Reading Now: UnWholly by Neal Shusterman (Book 2 of the dystopian Unwind series)

Listening to Now: Hunters of Dune by Brian Herbert (First of two books written from outlines and other notes Frank Herbert created before his death.)