Tag: Ave Maria Home

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WE SAW YOU: Italian Winterfest Returns

I can't resist Italian food. This is from Lucchesi's Ravioli & Pasta Co., a vendor at Italian Winterfest (Credit: Danny Presley)

It was great to be back at Italian Winterfest. This is the event where you can eat ravioli, spinach, and other Italian dishes while drinking vino and listening to the strains of Nino Rota’s “Love Theme from The Godfather.”

Winterfest, held January 15th at St. Benedict at Auburndale, made its grand return in style. “First time in three years,” says event chairperson Frank Gattuso. They didn’t hold it “because of Covid,” he says. “We just couldn’t cram that many people in a space.”

About 450 people attended this year’s event, which was a benefit for the Ave Maria Home, Wings of Ave Maria, St. Ann Catholic School in Bartlett, St. Paul Catholic School, and UNICO Memphis. “It’s really to support those charities and the work that they do. Continue to serve the elderly and educate children.”

Frank Gattuso, Brother Joel McGraw, and Marianne Schadrack at Italian Winterfest (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Tony and Nancy Lanigan and former Diocese of Memphis bishop J. Terry Steib at Italian Winterfest (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Msgr. Peter Buchignani and Marilyn Storkersen at Italian Winterfest (Credit: Michael Donahue)

It was great running into fellow students Danny Presley and Raymond Bertasi from my Christian Brothers High School class of 1969. Hurrying to the food stations at Winterfest gave a new meaning to the CBHS saying, “Go Brothers!”

Former Little Rock Archbishop J. Peter Sartain was the honoree. Brother Joel McGraw made the introduction.

I reminded Sartain about the time I bought a brand new Toyota Tacoma. He was pastor of St. Louis Catholic Church at the time. One Sunday after Mass, I asked him to bless my new truck. He did. And that week it was stolen.

Former Little Rock bishop J. Peter Sartain and former Catholic Diocese of Memphis bishop J. Terry Steib at Italian Winterfest (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Terry and Phil Woodard at Italian Winterfest (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Ellen and Patrick Lawler at Italian Winterfest (Credit: Michael Donahue)

The late Sam Bomarito, the late Angelo Lucchesi, and Tony Barrasso founded Italian Winterfest 11 years ago, Gattuso says. Barrasso and his wife, Bonnie, were at this year’s event. “He took his little accordion around and played,” Gattuso says. “It was beautiful.”

Barrasso and his roving accordion are a Winterfest staple.

The ever-youthful Barrasso played his accordion at The Memphis Press-Scimitar Teenager of the Year events when I worked there. He was a former Teenager of the Year winner. 

I also remember when Barrasso brought his accordion to Bomarito’s restaurant, Pete & Sam’s. He and Bomarito, who also brought an accordion, played “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling” while I sang — very loudly. Nobody stopped eating and ran out of the door, as I recall.

Tony and Bonnie Barrasso at Italian Winterfest (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Ashley and Michael Robilio at Italian Winterfest (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Mary and Al Mulrooney at Italian Winterfest (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Julie and Tommy Gattas at Italian Winterfest (Credit: Michael Donahue)

Eddie Kivelle provided the music during dinner at this year’s Italian Winterfest. “He came and played music before and after,” Gattuso says. “Normally, there is some dancing, but we just didn’t have the room because of all the tables.”

A couple of people asked if there was going to be dancing, but Gattuso says he told them, “There’s a little spot you can dance in.”

But, he adds, by the time they did the program, the live auction, and introduced the honoree, there wasn’t much time left for kicking up heels.

This year’s Italian Winterfest food vendors were Pete & Sam’s, Coletta’s Italian Restaurant, Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen, Bryant’s Breakfast, Corky’s, Little Caesars, Subway, Lucchesi Ravioli & Pasta Co., Taziki’s Mediterranean Cafe, Ciao Bella Italian Grill, Folk’s Folly, and Gibson’s Donuts.

Thomas Boone and J. D. Sloyan at Italian Winterfest (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Allen Seelig and Will Seelig at Italian Winterfest (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Luca De Jong and Tyler West at Italian Winterfest (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Tor Storkersen at Italian Winterfest (Credit: Michael Donahue)
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The Antenna and I. Plus Chuck Hutton’s 100th, Ave Maria.

CREDIT: Jon W. Sparks

Jon W. Sparks

It’s “The Antenna,” not “The Antenna Club” or “Antenna Club,” says the club’s long-time owner Steve McGehee. The historical marker, installed October 5th in front of the building at 1588 Madison that once housed the club, says “The Antenna.” The sign is a great honor and tribute to the legendary punk club.

When I told McGehee I recently went by and took a photo of the marker, he asked, “Was it spray painted yet? ‘Steve sucks’?”

The Antenna stood for “the antenna to new music,” the club’s slogan, McGehee says.

I began writing about The Antenna before I stepped foot inside. It was in 1981, right after the “new wave club” opened. I wanted to write about it after I saw McGehee and his then girlfriend, the late Melody Danielson. Enter the Memphis Press-Scimitar, the afternoon paper, with a news release about a band that was going to play there. McGehee was wearing skinny jeans, a Western shirt, and he had spiked hair. Danielson had a purple streak in her dark hair. They looked so cool. I wanted them to be my friends.

They’d been delivering their news releases to the same reporter, but I wanted to be their contact. So, I asked the other reporter if I could start handling their press releases. He agreed, and that led to an almost 40-year friendship with McGehee – and many articles with my byline about bands that played at The Antenna, as well as many nights spent at the club.

Among the early Press-Scimitar stories were articles based off my phone interviews with bands. Most of them were from Georgia. I think I interviewed Pylon, Love Tractor, and Drivin’ and Cryin’, to name a few.

I remember interviewing Michael Stipe, who fronted a new band called R.E.M. I also got to sit at the bar and talk to Stipe the night they played The Antenna. That also was the night (probably not the only night) McGehee told everyone in the bar to sit down someplace because the police were going to come in and shut everything down if everybody wasn’t sitting down. I remember two or three people sitting on the same bar stool.

I also interviewed the Circle Jerks. I asked whatever band member I was interviewing what “Circle Jerks” meant. He told me to look it up in a slang dictionary. Like any good reporter, I called LINK (an information service that preceded Google) at the Memphis Public Library and I asked the man who answered the phone to tell me what “circle jerks” meant. In an embarrassed voice, he said he didn’t have a slang dictionary, but he told me the definition. You can look up the meaning on your phone.

I continued to write about The Antenna after the Press-Scimitar folded and I moved over to The Commercial Appeal. I interviewed Anthony Kiedis from my favorite band, Red Hot Chili Peppers, in the late ‘80s. I then got to see them play live at Antenna.

“You covered me without a doubt more than anybody. Period. Done,” McGehee tells me.

I remember the night Henry Rollins’s band, Black Flag, played, but I don’t remember seeing the group on stage. A Midtown bar, which opened the same night, was giving away free drinks. Many scotch and waters later, I walked down the street to The Antenna. I don’t remember anything else. The next morning I woke up in bed. Still wearing my big down-filled jacket.

I let a band from Hollywood, The Flys, crash one afternoon at my apartment at 1590 Poplar at Avalon. I remember them being polite.

White Animals, a band from Nashville, was one of our favorite groups that played The Antenna. The music and energetic performances were so great. We danced to their music jumping up and down in place.

I don’t think I ever saw The Antenna in the day time. It was always at night. When I conjure up what it looked like, I think of the front door on the South side that lead to Anger Head, the doorman, who took your money. The bar was on the West side. The bathrooms were on the North and West sides. The stage was on the East side. Lots of TVs attached to the walls played music videos. The color scheme was gray, as I recall.

I still have my Antenna pin bearing the club’s logo – a 1950’s style TV set with “Antenna” across it – designed by David Fisher. I don’t know if I ever wore it, but I’m mighty proud to own it.

Michael Donahue

Henry and Steve Hutton at Chuck Hutton’s 100th anniversary party at Memphis Zoo.

A Chuck Hutton auto dealership slogan from back in the day was “Drive a bargain. Drive a Hutton.” A total of 611 people didn’t have to worry about driving anything during Chuck Hutton’s bash, which was held October 4th at the Memphis Zoo. Guests jumped in two trams and two buses and were shuttled from the parking lot to the Northwest Passage to Zambezi to the pavilion and back to the parking lot for food, drink, and entertainment.

The jam-packed Zoo event was the kick-off to a weekend of events celebrating Chuck Hutton Company’s 100 years of doing business in the Memphis area. The party at the Zoo was for friends, family, employees, business associates, and community leaders.

“I called it a ‘progressive party’ because you went from one location to the next location,” says Memphis Zoo director of events Tim Dalfiume. “ Every time the party got bigger, better, and more fun.”


He described the party as “one of the largest’ private parties at the Zoo.

The Hutton party was booked two years ago, Dalfiume says. He and Betsy McKay with Salt Style & Events planned it.

They decided the party would begin with cocktails at 6:30 p.m. at the Northwest Passage, where guests would be served hors d’oeuvres, dine at a buffet, listen to Dueling Pianos, and watch a sea lion show.

They then would travel to Zambezi for “heavier food” and to watch fire dancers and enjoy other entertainment.

“Then we’re going to go to the pavilion ‘cause it’s right next to each other and we’re going to create a lounge. And inside that lounge we’re going to have another bar. And we’re going to have a barista with desserts. And we’re going to have a great band. And that’s exactly what we did.”

In addition to Dueling Pianos and the fire dancers, the entertainment included street magicians, the Hot Shots Photo Booth, music by the G3 band, saxophone playing, and African drumming.

Guests also watched a crocodile feeding and viewed hippos and baby crocodiles in their swimming pools.

The party ended at midnight with “Philip Ashley Takeaways” – a little chocolate for the road.


Michael Donahue

Chuck Hutton’s 100th anniversary party at the Memphis Zoo.

MIchael Donahue

Msgr. Peter Buchignani, Nancy and Tony Lanigan at Ave Maria’s Gala Dinner.

Rev. Monsignor Peter Buchignani and Tony and Nancy Lanigan were honored at Ave Maria Home’s Gala Dinner, which was held October 6th at TPC Southwind. The three have been involved with Ave Maria for many years.

The dinner kicked off Ave Maria’s Gala Week. Ave Maria’s 19th annual Father Leonard Oglesby Memorial Golf Tournament was held the following day at TPC Southwind. It’s held in memory of Father Oglesby, who was the first resident at Ave Maria Home and an Ave Maria board member emeritus.

Proceeds from Gala Week will be used to support resident programs and activities and add to Ave Maria’s endowment to assist residents who are exhausting their financial resources.


MIchael Donahue

Thomas, Reid, Nash and Frank Lanigan at Ave Maria’s Gala Dinner.

Michael Donahue

Frank and Jami Gattuso at Ave Maria’s Gala Dinner.

                                       WE SAW YOU AROUND TOWN

Michael Donahue

Dominic Barconia on Main Sttreet.

Michael Donahue

Art Horne and his son, Brooklyn, at Kroger on Winchester.

Michael Donahue

Savannah Young celebrates her birthday at Carolina Watershed.

Michael Donahue

Clarice and Ben Cox at The Les Passes Stock Exchange.

Michael Donahue

Aleksander Scott Haight at Railgarten

Michael Donahue

Moses Parker and Kayla Washington at Gibson’s Donuts.

Michael Donahue

Samuel Degroff, Will Turner, Robert Tribble at the Kroger on Mendenhall.

MIchael Donahue

Kaleb Macklin, Jaelon Wilson, Ryan Garcia, Robby Watson at Gibson’s Donuts.

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Stax, Bigfoot, Cornhole Challenge and More!

CREDIT: MIchael Donahue

MIchael Donahue

Heart Full of Soul at Napa Cafe

Instead of playing bass, Andre Banks reclined in a restaurant booth.

It was his foot.

“I popped it out of place playing basketball,” he says.

And, he says, “It’s really swollen.”

He couldn’t stand up and play, but he was on hand to lend moral support to his fellow Stax Music Academy performers who played at Heart Full of Soul, the annual fund-raiser at Napa Cafe. The benefit for Stax Music Academy, which was founded by Napa Cafe owner Glenda Hastings, was held Nov. 11th.

The four-course meal included “The Tribute to Johnnie Taylor” (tempura goat cheese salad), “The Music of the Staple Singers” (seared sea scallop with melted leeks and peas), “The Soul Explosion” (shrimp and grits), and “The Music of Isaac Hayes” (braised beef short ribs, lentil stew and mashed potatoes).

Veronica Hayes and Nikki Hayes McGee, daughters of the late Isaac Hayes, were among the guests.

“Glenda Hastings put on a fabulous event honoring Stax legends,” Hayes says. “The students, under the direction of Paul McKinney, were beyond perfect and engaging. The tribute to my dad brought me and my sister Nikki Hayes McGhee to tears. It was an evening filled with great food, wine and entertainment. It doesn’t get any better than that.”

Michael Donahue

Nikki Hayes McGhee and Veronic Hayes – daughters of the late Isaac Hayes – were at Heart Full of Soul.

Michael Donahue

Andre Banks at Heart Full of Soul.

Michael Donahue

Heart Full of Soul

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Michael Donahue

Caitlin Motte, Dr. Brad Somer and Jason Motte at Memphis Cornhole Challenge.

If you don’t know how to play cornhole, think bean-bag toss.

Two teams throw the bean bags at holes in a board 27 feet away. If they go in the hole, they score points. And you have to get to 21 or win by two points.

I attended the seventh Memphis Cornhole Challenge, which was held November 10th at The Columns.

The event was hosted by former Major League baseball player Jason Motte and his wife, Caitlin on behalf of the Jason Motte Foundation, which benefits people affected by all types of cancer.

This year’s event raised $47,000 for the West Cancer Center.

MIchael Donahue

Kevin Harlow wore a Bigfoot on his head.

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Michael Donahue

Kevin Harlow

The second annual Memphis Bigfoot Festival, held November 19th at Memphis Made Brewing, is the city’s celebration of Sasquatch, a tall, hairy primate that reportedly exists in Canada, northwestern United States, and maybe even in the Mid-South.

About 300 attended the event, which included trivia, videos, T-shirts, panel discussions, and a costume contest.

Kevin Harlow wore a cap with a Bigfoot head on the back.

“I made this hat out of a golf club head cover,” he said. “I took it off and stitched it on.”

Is Harlow a believer? “No, I don’t believe in Bigfoot. But I’m here because it was a beer festival and we didn’t have anything to do.”

I asked Mark Ramsay and Betsy Prendergast why they were at the Bigfoot Festival.

“Half of us are here ironically,” Prendergast said.

“And the other half not ironically,” Ramsay said. “And we’re all happy here together.”

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Michael Donahue

Melanie Pafford at Howl at the Moon. Melanie, along with her husband, Kent, are founders of Streetdog Foundation,

Grape, The Strayz, Shufflegrit, The Handy Band, and DJ Tree provided music to accompany guests who wanted to howl at the moon at the sixth annual Howl at the Moon fundraiser for Streetdog Foundation. It was held November 10th at The Warehouse.

A total of 1,000 people attended the event, which raises about 70 percent of Streetdog’s operating budget for the year.

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Michael Donahue

Elizabeth Mall and Trace Austin at Ave Maria Home’s annual Wine Tasting and Art Show,

Almost $10,000 was raised at Ave Maria Home’s annual Wine Tasting and Art Show, which was held November 18th.

A total of 150 people attended. Wines were from Bill Lucchesi of Empire Distributors and food from area restaurants and food purveyors.

Art was from about 40 local artists.

Proceeds will benefit programs and services for residents of Ave Maria.

Michael Donahue

Connie Dismukes at Ave Maria Home’s annual Wine Tasting and Art Show,

Proceeds will benefit programs and services for residents of Ave Maria.

Michael Donahue

Ave Maria Board Member David Dahler and Amy Dahler with Frank Gattuso

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Michael Donahue

Memphis Blues rugby team captain John Elmore attended the Memphis Rugby Hall of Fame dinner with Chloe Johnson.

Dr. Wally Dyke, Jimmy Fant, and Marc Holley were inducted into the Memphis Rugby Hall of Fame at a dinner, held November 14th at Germantown Country Club.

The Memphis Rugby Foundation hosted the event. Guests included anyone who has been involved in or supported Memphis rugby over the years. And that included friends and fans.

Michael Donahue

Memphis Blues player Chris Lemons was at the Memphis Rugby Hall of Fame dinner.

Michael Donahue

Memphis Blues players Daniel Hyatt and Rob Reetz were at the Memphis Rugby Hall of Fame dinner.

Fara Captain

Orphan’s Thanksgiving a. k. a. Funky Socks party

Speaking of rugby, Memphis Blues player Chris Claude and his wife, Fara Captain, held their Orphans Thanksgiving a.k.a. Funky Socks party on Thanksgiving at their home.

The invitation read, “Wear your funkiest socks (since we have a leave your shoes downstairs rule).”

This was a “new version” of their Orphans Thanksgiving, which is a tradition for their friends who don’t have family nearby to celebrate the holiday with, Claude says. They ask people to bring a dish from their traditional family Thanksgiving. “You get to experience a little bit of everybody’s Thanksgiving,” he says. “Different stuffings. Different side dishes. Different pies.”

The “Funky Socks” idea came about because at past events people were asked to leave their shoes downstairs. “People felt awkward about their socks. Some people had holes in their socks. We said, ‘Why not next time do it as a ‘funky sock’? Make sure everybody has socks that are okay to show everybody. Make sure everybody has socks that are fun to see.”

So, what kind of socks did Claude wear? “I had my Father’s Day socks my wife gave me, which had a picture of my daughter on my socks and said, ‘I love you Daddy.’”

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Michael Donahue

Zach Thomason, Jimmy Gentry, David Krog and Keith Clinton at Gallery 7 dinner.

Multi-course meals sometimes can be long and tedious, but the Gallery dinner I participated in at the new P.O. Press restaurant in Collierville was a lot of fun. Great group of people at the event, which was held October 21st. These are the dinners hosted by chef David Krog and his wife, Amanda. Helping him in the kitchen were the restaurant’s chef Jimmy Gentry and Zach Thomason and Keith Clinton.

The dinner included scallop with mustard seeds and speck smoke and shrimp mousse and duck breast confit. Dessert was a vanilla panna cotta. I could have eaten three or four more of them.

The next one will be held in January at 64 South Main, Krog says. 

Michael Donahue

Carol Ann Jordan and Daniel Szymanek at Gallery 7 dinner.

Michael Donahue

MIchael and Britney Christie at Gallery 7 dinner.