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La Manzanilla Memo - February 9, 2013

‘Dixie Swim Club’ a hit

Members of La Manzanilla’s Bare Bones minimalist readers’ theater troupe staged sold-out performances of “The Dixie Swim Club” on January 27 and 28 at Las Cabañas restaurant. The popular little-theater play, written by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten, spans three decades in the lives of five Southern college swim-team members who share one weekend every August in the same cottage on North Carolina’s Outer Banks.

 This is Bare Bones’ third year of productions in La Manzanilla, and each performance has been right-on. Director Arleen Pace, a consummate professional who has been involved with The Naked Stage and is active in Lakeside Little Theater, always manages to coax the best from her cast, some of whom she’s worked with since Bare Bones’ inception. I could practically smell the magnolias dripping off the American and Canadian members of this ensemble as they aged from their 30s into their 60s over four separate weekends. All five assumed their characters to a T.

Jose (Ginger) Rogers played Sherree, the group’s former team captain who continues her role as organizer and event planner for their get-togethers. Rhema Cossever nailed the wisecracking, overachieving attorney Dinah, as did JoAnna Hope’s portrayal of the always positive Jeri, illegitimate-child bearing ex-nun turned sex kitten. A black cloud was almost visible over Valerie Denford’s head as the self deprecating Vernadette, and Jeanne Marinak’s youth-obsessed, husband-collecting, Cougar in the making Lexie was stellar. George Rachlin narrated.

Bare Bones behind the scenes were Scottie Turner and Jonathan Pace on sound and lights, and director’s assistants Bud Cohen and Judy Kaufman. The group hopes to read one more production before the season ends. I hope they do, because they do it so well.

Cooking with Eileen 

I don’t know what took me so long to attend one of Eileen Zack’s cooking classes. Maybe it was because I already know how to cook. As a matter of fact, I love to cook, almost as much as I love to eat. Being from the Midwest, however, my repertoire of recipes, albeit delicious, is somewhat as limited as my palate and leans toward “comfort cuisine.”  Eileen’s classes represent a more world-wide overview of gastronomic delights, and I thought it was about time I broadened my culinary horizons. Now that I’ve cooked, I’m hooked. 

Students gather in Eileen’s spacious kitchen, designed specifically to accommodate group cooking, to prepare a four-course meal from recipes which span the globe. Each student is responsible for a different part of the ultimate feast, with pre-measured ingredients and directions at individual prep stations. It helps if you know a spoon from a spatula, but no particular culinary expertise is required. Classes are small and intimate, limited to five to eight persons, and Eileen is ever vigilant to an “Oops” or an “Uh-oh” from the group. She pulls these two-and-a-half-hour sessions together like clockwork, so people aren’t tripping over each other at the stove and everything is done at the same time. Then the payoff:  Everyone retires to her garden patio to eat what they’ve just created. 

This is Eileen’s ninth season of cooking classes in La Manzanilla, and she attracts happy cookers from as far away as Manzanillo. She offers two or three classes per week during the season, featuring a different cuisine every two weeks, for 250 pesos, or 20 U.S. or Canadian dollars, per class. I think it’s the best investment in educational fun I’ve made this year. For upcoming menus, more information or to enroll, visit www.eileenslamanzanilla.com or email her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .  I might see you there.

Garden Party

Tierralegre’s YES Initiative seems to be taking root in La Manzanilla, and our ejido is throwing a party to build community awareness of the program and, hopefully, encourage additional donations.  The fundraising event will take place on Saturday, February 16, from 4 to 7 p.m. on the new garden’s grounds.

The garden is the responsibility of involved secondary-school students.  YES (Youth Ecology Sustainability) gives them hands-on environmental education in organic gardening, sustaining the local ecosystem and more earth-friendly activities. Anyone who has purchased their just-picked organic produce at the Friday morning tianguis has financially contributed to the continued success of the program. As Tierralegre’s founder and earth steward Davison Collins points out, however, like any new endeavor, they can always use more funding.

Suggested admission donation is 200 pesos, for an evening of live music and camaraderie with your friends and neighbors for a good cause. The garden, Jardin Tierralegre, is located on the north side of Lazaro Cardenas, midway into town, at the end of Calle Ignacio Garcia. Watch for signs.

Putting the Fun in Fundraiser

The La Catalina Educational Foundation recently announced that they will accept bids in the online portion of their fundraising auction until February 15.  They’re adding goods and services every day from artists, restaurants, hotels and diverse businesses throughout the Costalegre and beyond.  Auction coordinator Ana Mancilla suggests you check their website at http://lacatalinafoundation.com often and click through to areas of interest to keep up with all the marvelous items on which you can bid.

The foundation’s 9th annual Night Under the Stars gala party, dinner and silent auction will happen on Saturday, February 23, from 6 to 9 p.m. in La Manzanilla’s main plaza.  Proceeds from this year’s event will be distributed among free educational programs for the community, donations to local schools and continued construction of the Centro Educativo. Organizers are saying that this could  be their biggest and best year yet.

Not that any of us are counting, but the LCEF do has traditionally been the grand-finale fundraising event of the season. For sure, La Manzanilla will continue to be a happening place through March – stay tuned for details – with Semana Santa and Easter closing out the month.  And then (big sigh of relief), we can get back to Sweet Home La Manzanilla.  Okay, I’m counting the days.