The Milwaukee Post

MILWAUKEE — Fiserv Forum will offi- cially open its doors to the community on Sunday. Following the ribbon-cutting, Fiserv Forum will hold an open house for the com- munity to get its first look inside the arena. The ribbon-cutting ceremony, which begins at noon on the plaza outside of Fiserv Forum, is scheduled to be attended by Bucks and former Bucks players, including Giannis Antetokounmpo, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and several politicians. "We are thrilled to open our doors to the community on Sunday," said Bucks President Peter Feigin. "Fiserv Forum will be a place of pride for the city of Milwaukee and the state of Wisconsin and we invite everyone to come celebrate the opening together." As part of the ribbon-cutting ceremony, the former Bucks owner, retired Sen. Herb Kohl, will be honored with the dedication of Herb Kohl Way. The world's largest welcome mat, measuring 92 feet long by 24 feet wide, will be unveiled outside of Fiserv Forum to welcome the community into its new home. Visitors may go on self-guided tours of the venue to see the atrium, the arena bowl, BMO Club, Mezzanine Club, Panorama Club, main concourse, upper concourse and suite level. This will also be the first time the community can experience Fiserv Forum's dynamic, locally focused food and beverage program, MKEat, as concession stands throughout the arena will be operational during the event. The Bucks Pro Shop loca- tions inside Fiserv Forum will also be open. BMO Harris Bank card holders will have the exclusive opportunity to tour the state- of-the-art Bucks locker room. A limited number of locker room tours will be avail- able to BMO card holders who register for their tour at the BMO Harris Bank tent located near the BMO Entrance to Fiserv Forum on Juneau Avenue. In celebration of the opening of Fiserv Forum, the fourth annual Bucks Summer Block Party Presented by Klement's will be held from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday on Juneau Avenue between Vel R. Phillips Avenue and Fifth Street. There will be live, local music including Grace Weber, Wait for Morning, Shonn Hinton and Shotgun. National hip- hop icon Skyzoo, a lineup of local hip-hop performers and a separate stage featuring local DJs will also perform. The Block Party will include plenty of food options, family- friendly activities, a Monster Jam Truck, games and more. Bango, the Milwaukee Bucks Dancers, Rim Rockers and Hoop Troop will be in attendance. Those attending also include Bucks Eric Bledsoe, Donte DiVincenzo, Thon Maker, Khris Middleton and D.J. Wilson, Bucks alumni Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Vin Baker and Michael Redd, Bucks owners Wes Edens, Marc Lasry, Jamie Dinan and Mike Fascitelli, Gov. Scott Walker, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, Milwaukee Common Council President Ashanti Hamilton, Fiserv President and CEO Jeff Yabuki, and Bucks President Peter Feigin. COMMUNITY By TOM JOZWIK Special to the Post What goes around, comes around. Having premiered in 2014 at the Jewish Museum Milwaukee, 1360 N. Prospect Ave., and emerged as the JMM's most popular exhibit ever, "Stitching History from the Holocaust" is back in town (with a slight name alter- ation) after visiting New York City's Museum of Jewish History, the Ruth Davis Design Gallery at the University of Wisconsin- Madison, the Jewish Museum of Florida in Miami Beach and the Holocaust Memorial Center in suburban Detroit. The updated exhibit, now known as "Stitching Histories from the Holocaust," will head to Pennsylvania, Alabama and Maryland following the Milwaukee stay, which con- cludes Sept.16. In its original incarna- tion the exhibit told the story of Hedy and Paul Strnad through missives and dress designs the cou- ple sent to a Milwaukee rel- ative in attempting to secure visas to leave Nazi- occupied Prague. Years later, the Milwaukee Repertory Theater's cos- tume department used vin- tage materials and methods to create dresses and acces- sories from the illustrated Strnad patterns. The cos- tume department's work supplemented the Strnad items in the exhibit. The 4-year-old exhibit has been expanded, and JMM's curator of eight years, University of Denver-trained Molly Dubin, answered questions about it. Her email exchange with Conley Media, edited for space considerations: Q. How do you explain the exceptional populari- ty of the exhibit? A. The juxtaposition of persecution and atrocity with fashion is compelling. (Exhibit) visitors interested in history, ancestry, immi- gration, geography, research sleuthing, clothing design and the preservation of mem- o r y encount- er all of t h e s e topics. Q . T h e r e are de- signs and dresses, postcards and a 23- f o o t timeline. Does the exhibit include other documents and artifacts? Also, can you say a little about the time- line? A. The original exhibit, which focused on the Strnads and the ensembles created from Hedy's designs, has been expanded to tell the stories of (the Stern and the Oelsner) fami- lies fleeing from Europe to escape Nazi persecution, with ties to Wisconsin. In addition to the designs and dresses, and the postcards tracing the journey of Sara Spira, who — after deciding to stay behind when her daughter and son-in-law (Mary and George Stern) left for the U.S. and settled in Racine — became trapped in Poland, are a number of objects from the recently donated collection of Edith Shafer. Edie's family (the Oelsners) fled from Germany to Shanghai, where she was born in 1941 and lived until her family was able to come to the U.S. after WWII. The giant timeline, which tells the story of all three families against the back- drop of WWII and immigra- tion policy, shows the paral- lels to contemporary events. The fundamental reasons for immigration are the same today as they were 75- plus years ago: to escape per- secution and violence, to be united with family and to have a chance at a better life. Q. Several weeks into the exhibit's return, how are things going? Who's coming? How have the attendees been reacting, generally? A. People who saw the exhibit during its inaugural run are excited about its return and have definitely let us know! Many visitors felt a real connection which they want to renew and those who missed it the first time are thrilled to have the opportunity to experience it. Since it opened we have had visitors and adult and school groups of all ages and backgrounds. Many middle and high schools address WWII and Holocaust-related curricula in the spring and plan vis- its. It's terrific that they view and use the exhibit as an engaging and effective educational resource. Q. For what reasons would you urge people to come and see the exhibit — including those who saw it in its earlier form? A. This exhibit opens a window to the past, bring- ing lost voices, dreams and talents to light — the mate- rial findings, occurrences, circumstances, people and vision that came together to make it possible was rather remarkable. Getting to see one example of all the con- tributions lost to the world tangibly realized is an expe- rience not to be missed. Along with the incredi- ble ensembles created by the talented team from the Rep's costume shop, new exhibit components with thematic connections have been added — the augment- ed exhibit is titled "Stitching Histories from the Holocaust." Q. "Stitching His- tories'" purpose goes con- siderably beyond memo- rializing the Holocaust, doesn't it? A. In trying to compre- hend the enormity of the Holocaust in terms of loss and consequence, the fami- lies, the individuals and their unique lives and imprints can be enveloped. In telling and sharing per- sonal stories, those individ- uals come into focus and we see ourselves reflected in them. This helps us to understand the importance of preserving and protect- ing memory and our collec- tive role in ensuring its future existence. For a complete list of pro- grams, go to jewishmuseum- milwaukee.org or call 414- 390-5730. Unique Holocaust exhibit back in Milwaukee Dubin 'Stitching Histories' to run through Sept. 16 at Jewish Museum Milwaukee Bucks to host open house for Fiserv Forum August 24, 2018 • Milwaukee County Post • 15 DO YOU NEED A WILL? 261111063 DO YOU NEED A WILL? Attorney James J. Winiarski An experienced professional in estate planning. A standard simple will is $215.00, and that charge includes a private conference with Attorney Winiarski. Husband and wife for $400.00. • Probate services are also available at reasonable rates. • Emergency consultations are available. • Please Call for a Free Simple Estate Planning Consultation Attorney James J. Winiarski 3625 W. Oklahoma Ave., Milwaukee (414) 383-3902

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