Saturday, January 23: BONK! Plays On

Saturday, January 23 from 6-8pm, the Racine Public Library will once again host "BONK!", the free monthly performance series that has quickly become an established entertainment event in downtown Racine. Now being held at the Racine Arts Council 316 Sixth St., the series was created to expose the public to both local and nationally recognized artistic talents. Each event showcases poets, writers, musicians, film makers and other talented artists. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. with seating available on a first come/first served basis. Each BONK! event features a short question and answer session with the artists. Gracing the stage this month will be a unique group of poets, musicians and writers. Join us for performances by poets Carly-Anne Ravnikar and Mike Hauser, and musicians Once Now Ensemble.

Carly-Anne is a graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, where she was the recipient of the Outstanding Graduate Award, the Case Bank Student Leadership Scholarship, the Z-Chi National Scholarship, an Academic Achievement Award, and the Teresa Peck Award. Her poetry has appeared in The Bathroom, Monkey Puzzle, Outhouse, Straylight, and Boo; her visual art has been featured in Outhouse and the Racine Arts Council's Truth, Trust, and Transition exhibition, and her micro play, "Bo(a)r(e)d," was produced by the UW-Parkside Original New Play Festival. She lives in Racine with her partner-in-crime, Nicholas, and two cats.

Mike Hauser is the author of crets crets crets (Rust Buckle Books), Psychic Headset ( Mitzvah Chaps), and There You Are (self published on demand) among other publications. His works also appeared in Sprung Formal, Abraham Lincoln, The Hat, and Dusie, among other fine publications. He co-curates the Salacious Banter Reading Series in Milwaukee, where he lives.

ONCE NOW ENSEMBLE is an improvisational group founded in January 2009 when its members (Carl Raven - drums, Craig Berg - percussion, Frank Marquardt - reeds, Linda Binder - violin, Mark Truesdell - percussion, melodica, and Rick Ollman - guitar, reeds) met at Milwaukee's Woodland Pattern Book Center participating in an event entitled Creating an Ensemble Voice: A Workshop in Collective Musical Improvisation led by Hal Rammel. Two of its members, Carl Raven and Frank Marquardt, had previously performed together in Collective Neurosis. The eclectic group of musicians hit instant rapport and were determined to continue playing when the workshop sessions ended. The newly formed ensemble played a Grand Finale and were well-received at a public performance at Woodland Pattern. As the band has remarked, "Our musical influences include everything from all continents, all eras, all species!"

Local artists and performers are encouraged to consider sharing their talent/craft with the community via the BONK! series. For more information on how to participate or to view video of past performances please visit http://bonkperformanceseries.wordpress.com.

You may also contact the Racine Public Library at 262.619.2571, Becky Spika at becky.spika@racinelibrary.info , or Nick Demske at nick.demske@racinelibrary.info.