SEE YOU ON LABOR DAY * EVENTS: LIVE TV & SINGER SHOWCASE * BILL'S COFFEESHOP NEWSLETTER * VOL. 12 * AUGUST 27, 2011

FAIR, FLEA MARKET, MUSIC 

& MORE FOR LABOR DAY

UPTOWN BILL'S celebrates its 10th anniversary with a giant Labor Day extravaganza on Monday, Sept. 5. The day includes the Ralston Creek Fair & Flea Market, a series of special programs, a full day of music and a showing of the documentary film "A Friend Indeed." 

(Would you like a poster for this event to hang up at your office or school? Send a message to tomgilsenan@gmail.com and we'll send you a poster you can print out and post.)

Uptown Bill's is the crosstown cousin of the Wild Bill's Coffeeshop, a part of the community for more than 30 years. Wild Bill's began as a place of employment for Bill Sackter and later became a symbol of "abilities awareness" around the state and beyond.

Extending the idea of the original coffeeshop, Uptown Bill's includes not only a coffeeshop, but also a bookstore a performance venue and other businesses. These are located at 730 S. Dubuque St., six blocks south of downtown Iowa City. A second group of businesses, including a vintage shop and record store are located at 2203 F. St.  Individuals with disabilities and community volunteers staff each of the businesses. A non-profit organization called Extend the Dream Foundation is the umbrella for all of these enterprises. 

CELEBRATION

 OF 10 YEARS!

Uptown Bill's opened in the summer of 2001 at the corner of Gilbert and Court streets. The coffee house and bookstore moved last year to its present location at 730 S. Dubuque. The new location has emerged as a popular music venue for both local and regional musicians.

The upcoming Labor Day event (Monday, Sept. 5) opens with a pancake breakfast (7 to 9 am). The annual Ralston Creek Fair and Flea Market starts at 8 am and continues til 3 pm. The Fair and Flea Market will take place in the University of Iowa parking lot across from Uptown Bill's.

FULL DAY OF

MUSIC, TOO

Music starts at 10 am on Labor Day and continues into the evening. Here's a look at who's performing:

10 am: Pennies on the Rail

11 am: Drew Hayward

1 pm: Irish Sessions

3 pm: Tom's String Band

4 pm: Beat Prairie

5:30 pm: Deadhorse (Ambient rock from Erie, PA)

7 pm: Greg & Susan Dirks

Several of the neighboring businesses are also planning open houses or other events on Labor Day. 

EVENING SHOWING OF BILL DOCUMENTARY

FILM WILL COMPLETE LABOR DAY EVENTS

The day's events will end with a showing of "A Friend Indeed: The Bill Sackter story" at 7:45 pm. The film traces the life of Bill Sackter and Wild Bill's Coffeeshop. 

OTHER EVENTS COMING UP

AT THE COFFEE HOUSE...

...Live broadcast of Tom's Guitar Show. Tuesday, Aug. 30, 6 pm. A PATV production.

...Spoken Word Open Mic. Wednesday, Aug. 31, 7 pm

...Art and Music Night. Thursday, Sept. 1, 6 pm. Open Mic follows at 7 pm.

...Singer/songwriter showcase. Saturday, Sept. 3, 7 pm. Iowa City has a rich heritage of singer/songwriters. Come and meet some of the next generation at this special session of Saturday Night Music.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bill's Coffeeshop Newsletter is a virtual extension of Wild Bill's Coffeeshop and Uptown Bill's Coffee House. Published since 2000, the Newsletter is written by Tom Gilsenan, a former manager of Wild Bill's and now director of Uptown Bill's. You can write to him at tomgilsenan@gmail.com

Wild Bill's Coffeeshop is a project of the School of Social Work at the University of Iowa. It has been a part of campus life in Iowa City for more than 35 years. Located in North Hall, the coffeeshop is open weekdays from 8 am. For more information, check the Friends of Bill's Coffeeshop page on Facebook. You can call the coffeeshop at (319) 335-1281. Donations to support the work of the coffeeshop may be sent to: Bill's Coffeeshop Fund, University of Iowa Foundation, P.O. Box 4550, Iowa City, IA 52244. Contributions are tax deductible.

Uptown Bill's is the crosstown cousin of Wild Bill's. Now in its 10th year, it includes a bookstore, performance venue and other businesses in addition to a coffeeshop. Located at 730 S. Dubuque, Uptown Bill's is open Monday through Saturday from 7 am. For more information, check the Uptown Bill's website or Facebook page. You can call Uptown Bill's at (319) 339-0401. Donations to support the work of Uptown Bill's may be sent to: Extend the Dream Foundation, Uptown Bill's, 730 S. Dubuque St., Iowa City, IA 52240. Contributions are tax deductible.

--

In the spirit of Bill Sackter, Uptown Bill's strives to nurture and encourage a gathering place where people of all abilities are welcome. Find us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. Watch us on You Tube: www.youtube.com/playlist?p=PLEE41220297F8D82C

Visit our web page: www.uptownbills.org

Beggarmen performance * Ten great years * Spoken Word * BILL'S COFFEESHOP NEWSLETTER * Vol. 12 * Aug. 6, 2011

WEDNESDAYS ARE

FOR SPOKEN WORD

Uptown Bill's has a special Open Mic for poetry and other spoken word performance on Wednesday evenings. 7 pm. You are welcome to read your own writing or share writing by others which you like. You can sign up today for next week's Open Mic. Just stop in. 

BEGGARMEN RETURN

TO UPTOWN BILL'S

Saturday Night Music presents The Beggarmen on Saturday, Aug. 13. Performance time is 7 pm. This local band plays Irish music and is a longtime favorite of the coffee house. In part, the band was inspired by Irish Sessions held when Uptown Bill's back when the coffee house was located on Gilbert Street. 

ALINSKY TO X: POSTERS OF

COMMUNITY ORGANIZERS

Posters of notable community organizers are on display this month at the coffee house. Titled "Alinsky to X," the display includes posters about Saul Alinsky, Gloria Steinem, Paul Wellstone, Myles Horton, Malcolm X andothers. The posters were created by students in a UI social work course called "Organization and Community Practice." 

BOOKS & SO

MUCH MORE

Bill's Bookmart has hundreds of paperback books for $2 each. And dozens of hardcover books for $3 each.

But there's lots more in the store, including: Children's books (4 for $1) and CDs ($2 each). Stop in soon.

COFFEE HOUSE HAS

BILL DOCUMENTARY

Looking for "A Friend Indeed," the documentary film about the life and legacy of Bill Sackter? We have copies at Uptown Bill's. $20. This film is packed with stories about Bill, his friends, the coffeeshop and even Uptown Bill's.

STILL WALKING

ACROSS IOWA

Dale Hankins is continuing his walk across Iowa on behalf of Bill's Coffeeshops. Walking from east to west, he's now about a third of the way across the state. You can follow his progress on the Facebook page  "Bill's Coffeeshop Walk Across Iowa."

COFFEE SHOP

VISITS, TOO

Meanwhile, Tom Gilsenan is visiting coffeeshops around Iowa and adjacent states as part of a project called "Bill-friendly coffeeshops." Supported in part by a grant from the Community Foundation, the project seeks to link coffeeshops around the theme of "abilities awareness." The goal is to creat a network which will share idea. 

JOIN US MONDAY,

SEPTEMBER 5th
Uptown Bill's hosts the annual Ralston Creek Fair and Flea Market on Monday, Sept. 5. This event is so big that we'll take over the university parking lot across the street to make room for antique dealers and other vendors. Plus, it's the 10th anniversary of Uptown Bill's. It will be a great day with lots of live music and other activities. Several of our neighbors are planning special events, too. Plan to come see us that day. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bill's Coffeeshop Newsletter is a virtual extension of Wild Bill's Coffeeshop and Uptown Bill's Coffee House. Published since 2000, the Newsletter is written by Tom Gilsenan, a former manager of Wild Bill's and now director of Uptown Bill's. You can write to him at tomgilsenan@gmail.com

Wild Bill's Coffeeshop is a project of the School of Social Work at the University of Iowa. It has been a part of campus life in Iowa City for more than 35 years. Located in North Hall, the coffeeshop is open weekdays from 8:30 am during the summer. For more information, check the Friends of Bill's Coffeeshop page on Facebook. You can call the coffeeshop at (319) 335-1281. Donations to support the work of the coffeeshop may be sent to: Bill's Coffeeshop Fund, University of Iowa Foundation, P.O. Box 4550, Iowa City, IA 52244. Contributions are tax deductible.

Uptown Bill's is the crosstown cousin of Wild Bill's. Now in its 10th year, it includes a bookstore, performance venue and other businesses in addition to a coffeeshop. Located at 730 S. Dubuque, Uptown Bill's is open Monday through Saturday from 7 am. For more information, check the Uptown Bill's website or Facebook page. You can call Uptown Bill's at (319) 339-0401. Donations to support the work of Uptown Bill's may be sent to: Extend the Dream Foundation, Uptown Bill's, 730 S. Dubuque St., Iowa City, IA 52240. Contributions are tax deductible.

--

In the spirit of Bill Sackter, Uptown Bill's strives to nurture and encourage a gathering place where people of all abilities are welcome. Find us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. Watch us on You Tube: www.youtube.com/playlist?p=PLEE41220297F8D82C

Visit our web page: www.uptownbills.org