The Fireside Dinner Theatre is a professional theater employing members of the Actors’ Equity Association and the musical they performed was delightful. Some of you may have seen the 1994 remake of the movie although I haven’t. It also featured a young Natalie Wood as Susan Walker, the daughter of one of the principal characters. Edmund Gwenn, who played Kris Kringle in that movie, won an Academy Award for best supporting actor. Also, this production was a musical, and the 1947 “Miracle on 34th Street” movie I’m familiar with isn’t. I didn’t know quite what to expect since the Fireside is a theater in the round. I do enjoy the occasional high school play and we have seen several Highland musicals in the past few years that I would describe as “captivating.” However, this was our first trip to the Fireside. We attended the holiday dinner theater at Cannova’s last year and thoroughly enjoyed it. That’s when we joined a bus trip to the Fireside Theatre in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, - about 90 miles away - to see their dinner theater production of “Miracle on 34th Street.” My wife and I had our own encounter with Santa last month. Maybe he stops here so often because it’s been a lot warmer than up north. Maybe he has a lot of elves and brownies helping him. I’m also impressed that he can make so many public appearances and can still get all his work done at the North Pole, but then that’s why he’s Santa Claus. One of the places he’s visited is the Freeport Public Library. He has been coming to town - asking good little boys and girls what they want for Christmas. Now that’s an easy request to meet! Maybe she still had visions of Halloween still dancing in her head.Īnd speaking of easy, it’s pretty easy to bump into Santa this time of year. Maybe he could have been giving out Halloween candy since that holiday was a lot closer than Christmas.Īnd when it comes to candy, our two-year-old granddaughter recently told us over the phone what she wants for Christmas. I think he would have been wearing shorts. I almost expected to bump into Santa in that section of the store. Okay, there are no Halloween or Thanksgiving trees but when they appear that early, they should be. At first I was hoping they were Halloween trees or maybe Thanksgiving trees but no, they were Christmas trees. I know Christmas shopping comes earlier and earlier because my wife and I were walking through a Freeport store in September when we saw it: a display of fully lit artificial Christmas trees for sale. His long-lasting vision and leadership garnered many awards for The Fireside and furthered Wisconsin’s tourism industry.Christmas is only 16 days away now. From the time he built The Fireside in 1964 to his retirement in 1998, Klopcic helped put FortAtkinson on the map. Accepting the award on behalf of Dick Klopcic, who passed away on September 28, 2010, were Rick & Jane Klopcic, and grandson Ryan Klopcic. Klopcic was honored for his ingenuity, creativity and hospitality that turned The Fireside into one of Wisconsin’s top destinations, not only in the state, but across the United States. (March 9, 2011) -The Wisconsin Department of Tourism presented its Legacy Award to Dick Klopcic, founder of The Fireside Dinner Theatre at the annual statewide conference closing dinner on March 8 at the Kalahari Resort & Convention Center in the Wisconsin Dells. Klopcic’s 47 years of Wisconsin hospitality and ingenuity recognized at Statewide Conferenceįort Atkinson, Wis. For more information on The Fireside, visit, or call 1-80. Consistently named as a top destination for travel tours across the United States, The Fireside is owned by the Klopcic family, who were awarded the distinction of “America’s Best Restaurant Family” by Jones Dairy Farm and the Culinary Institute of America in 2006. Since 1964, The Fireside Dinner Theatre in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin has been the premiere entertainment destination in the Midwest for superb musicals featuring Broadway performers, fine dining, and boutique shops in a one-of-a-kind setting.
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