Usually when someone refers to Memorial Day, they mention this hugely popular U.S. Holiday that’s filled with BBQ’s and the official start of summer. Here in Dayton, we celebrate Memorial Day by highlighting more than 200 years of Dayton’s history during the annual Heritage Festival at Carillon Park. For the past four years, visitors from all over the Ohio area have enjoyed a massive celebration that includes food, vintage baseball, trivia games and interaction with other Dayton natives. Of course, what celebration is complete without fireworks? If you are looking for a change of pace this Memorial Day, search no further because the Heritage Festival never disappoints.

Brady Kress, president of Dayton History, recently discussed some of the goals of the organization: “I enjoy the festival. Each year I feel like it gets bigger and better. Each year we get to open the park in hopes of attracting new visitors that normally would not consider coming, I think that’s terrific. I love seeing new and familiar faces.”

This year, the festival will include many exhibits that showcase history in Dayton, Ohio. For instance, the Flood Exhibit that chronicles the tragic flood the Miami Valley experienced in 1913. “My hope is that the flood exhibit will spark conversation as well as educate anyone that visits,” said Kress.

During the festival, visitors will be granted the privilege of viewing more than 30 historical buildings and structures, in addition to participating in fun trivia that the entire family will thoroughly enjoy. If that’s not enough, there will be real-life historical demonstrations that will excite any history buff or theatre guru. The historical demonstration will be accompanied by a wide variety of special events and activities that will spread throughout the entire park.

So what about the kids? There is plenty to do at Carillon Park for smaller children or teens. Throughout the duration of the day the youth will receive a passport upon entering the park. The passports are relatively connected to each building or special exhibit at the park. “Our reasoning for the passports is to engage our younger visitors, it forces the children – as well the parents – to get excited about each exhibit, yet more importantly to learn some history,” Kress said. Another incentive to the passports is that if the child successfully completes one they ultimately get a prize. There will be a “kid’s fun zone,” so that the children can relax and enjoy themselves aside from viewing exhibits, which promises inflatables, crafts, face painting activities, and much more. The charge for the “kid’s fun zone” is $5 per child or $10 for an entire family.

The Heritage Festival has managed to bring back the Clodbusters Base Ball Club, a Dayton-based group who demonstrates their love for the game by playing good old-fashioned historical baseball. The Clodbusters will also allow children and their families the chance of playing baseball, which has always been a standout crowd favorite. Thankfully, the Clodbusters will show patrons the way baseball was played when it was referred to as a “gentleman’s game,” that was a long time ago during the American Civil War, way before the days of Vernon Wells or even Mariano Rivera.

One of the moments that keep the festival in high demand is the live music and entertainment, which is usually a show-stopping highlight for the 65-acre park. This year, the main stage will produce breakout performances from The Good Time Accordian Band, The Wind in the Woods, Carillon Park Concert Band and a special appearance from Todd the Fox. The main event will be none other than the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra. The DPO has been headlining the Heritage Festival since its inaugural festival in 2005. As their set closes, fans of the orchestra are always moved by the emotional tribute in honor of all of those who have served our country in the armed forces. During the tribute, Maestro Neal Gittleman invites former or recent individuals who have served in the armed forces to stand while the orchestra serenades them, meanwhile the audience claps with great approval.

So, the day is almost over, the children are well satisfied from all the fun activities, and everybody is ready to leave, then all of sudden you hear a large boom.

That’s right, fireworks. Fireworks are scheduled to start immediately following the performance from the DPO. The entire Deeds Carillon Bell tower near the front entrance will be decorated with lights as the staff of Carillon Park sets off the area’s best fireworks displays. The fireworks normally are a crowd pleaser amongst festival goers as they sit on the lawn and watch all 65 acres become lit up for 15 to 20 minutes. “My favorite part throughout the entire day is when the sun goes down and the fireworks begin to start,” said Kress.

The Heritage Festival takes place Sunday, May 26, with a rain date of Monday, May 27 Admission is $8 for adults to enter and $5 for children. Admission is free. There is a $5 parking fee from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. at Welcome Stadium along with a complimentary ride on the Wright Flyer Trolley to Carillon Park. For more information on the Dayton Heritage Festival and the Dayton History organization, visit daytonhistory.org or contact Dayton History at 937.293.2841.

If you are either (A) a pop culture enthusiast or (B) a blob that slumps on the couch all day eating Doritos and watching television while your self-respect shrivels up like an old man’s salami, then you have probably seen Christian Finnegan. Not only was the New York-based comedian one of the first panelists for VH1’s “Best Week Ever” series, but he has also appeared on “Chappelle’s Show,” “Comedy Central Presents” and, uh, “Countdown with Keith Olberman.” This May, Finnegan – who currently stars in TBS’s “Are We There Yet?” – will bring his particular brand of refined wit to the Dayton Funny Bone.

Last month you recorded two performances in Boston for a new DVD. How did the shows go? 

I’d been working on most of the material for three years, so I knew it well enough that I could mess around a bit. I’m really proud of the material on my 2009 DVD (“Au Contraire”), but I think I was a bit too concerned with “hitting my marks,” so there’s a slightly robotic quality to the performance. This time around, I treated the tapings as if they were random road gigs and that made all the difference. It’s like when a driving instructor talks about not gripping the steering wheel quite so hard. -Christian Finnegan

The working title of the new DVD is “Double Shift At The Asbestos Factory.” Are you a Guided By Voices fan? 

Saying that “Double Shift at the Asbestos Factory” sounds like a GBV song is the highest compliment you could give. So, thanks! In truth, it’s just a phrase from the performance I’m particularly fond of. There’s been a bit of disagreement as to whether this is, in fact, a good title for a comedy DVD, so a change is possible. But bringing up GBV might inspire me to dig in my heels. -CF

Is Boston a tough crowd, or – as a former Massachusettsan – do you get off a little easy?

Well, I was taping at the beautiful Wilbur Theatre, which attracts a well-behaved audience. It’s not like I was throwing down at a hockey rink in Southie. But being a local boy does have its disadvantages – like glimpsing your elderly aunt’s face in the crowd immediately before launching into a lengthy description of female genitalia. Should make for interesting conversation at Thanksgiving. -CF

A Dayton comedy audience can bring maximum weirdness. How do you handle hecklers, or people in the audience who are clearly insane/from another dimension?

The most problematic hecklers are the “nice” ones – people who simply let their enthusiasm – and liquor – get the better of them. I don’t like to humiliate someone who genuinely means no harm. At the same time, there are a lot of people at a show who’ve paid to listen to the “professional.” So, sometimes the self-esteem of one must be crushed for the good of the many. -CF

The Funny Bone has a monthly open mic night. As a professional, how inspiring or awkward is it to watch green comedians perform for the first time?

I always feel bittersweet when I see a young comic have a great set. I can’t overstate how intoxicating it is to “kill” onstage. So, when I see a young person do it for the first time, I’m genuinely jealous that I can’t go back in time and re-experience those feelings. At the same time, I wince at the disappointment the comic is going to feel when he or she learns that one great set does not, at the end of the day, amount to much. You’re never as good as your best night or as bad as your worst. It’s about batting average and endurance. -CF

Your first big televised splash occurred on “Chappelle’s Show” in 2003, when you portrayed the victimized white roommate in the “Mad Real World” sketch. How did that sketch affect your career?

It’s hard to overstate how much that one sketch has meant. I’ve been lucky enough to work on lots of great projects with lots of really talented people, and I have some fun stuff coming up. But if my obituary refers to me as “the white guy from ‘Chappelle’s Show,’” I think I’d be okay with that. – CF

True story: a couple of years ago I ran into Dave Chappelle at a local bar. We somehow started talking about the History Channel, and Dave said that he had recently watched a show on the History Channel about Adolph Hitler’s attempt to make a time machine. Does this sound legit or was Dave just messing with a history nerd?

Dave is an avowed conspiracy theorist, so I’d wager he was being serious. Not correct, necessarily. But serious, sure. -CF

Speaking of the History Channel: you regularly appear on its “I Love the 1880’s” series. Of all the decades, why, in fact, do you love the 1880’s?

Oh you know, carbon filament, halftone printing – the usual stuff. Also, fewer bloggers. -CF

Dayton was a hotbed of innovation in the 1880’s. Does this mean that you love the Gem City, too?

I’m impressed! You were able to decipher my secret message. You’re like western Ohio’s version of that “Da Vinci Code” guy. -CF

Christian Finnegan performs Thursday, May 23 through Sunday, May 26 at the Dayton Funny Bone, 88 Plum St., Suite 200, The Greene. For ticket prices and show times, call 937.429.5233 or visit the Dayton Funny Bone online at funnybonecentral.com. For more information about Christian Finnegan, visit christianfinnegan.com.

There’s a machine that can improve a person’s health, reduce expenses and is better for the environment than most others. In fact, there are probably many of these contraptions tucked away in garages across the Miami Valley at this very moment. This human-powered machine was invented in the early 19th century, but its design hasn’t evolved much since. It’s a bicycle. Given Dayton’s massive infrastructure of paved bikeways, designated lanes and networks of side streets, it’s easier than ever to make the switch to biking as alternate transportation.

Bicycle commuting has many benefits. Most notably are the direct impacts on the cyclist.

“When you commute via bike, even if you just swap one short trip a week, you will immediately begin to enjoy benefits from improved health and savings on fuel,” said MetroParks Cycling Coordinator Dan Sahli. “If it’s been a while since you’ve ridden your bike, getting a ride in just once a week is a great way to get on track to a healthy lifestyle.”

Bike commuting doesn’t require months of intense training to hit the streets. In fact, health care experts at the Mayo Clinic emphasize the importance of exercise, even for those living with arthritis. According to their research, exercise, such as cycling, helps to strengthen muscles around joints, maintain joint strength, control weight – another factor in joint stress – and increase energy. “The more you ride, the easier it gets and the better you feel,” Sahli said. “Don’t think you have to hop on your bike and immediately take on Tour de France-type endeavors. Take baby steps.”

Even small trips add up at the pump over time. For instance, swap the bike for an errand to the bank two miles away instead of a car. If the car gets 20 miles per gallon, that once-a-week swap will save the cyclist save about $36 in a year (if gas prices were to remain steady at $3.45 per gallon).

The savings add up as fuel costs increase and parking fees and vehicle maintenance are added. Even for the bicycle commuting novice, a weekly four-mile round trip is a very attainable goal. Nearly 70 percent of Americans’ car trips are less than two miles long. A two-mile ride may take 12-15 minutes, so that 30-minute round-trip not only saves money at the pump, it counts toward the recommended thrice weekly half hour of exercise.

Additionally, long-term benefits can help save cities billions of dollars. In 2010, Environmental Health Perspectives published a University of Wisconsin study on the economic and health benefits of switching from a car to a bike for trips shorter than five miles in 11 metropolitan areas around the upper Midwest. Combining data on air pollution, medical costs, mortality rates, car accidents and physical fitness, the researchers found that if inhabitants of the sample region switched to bikes for half of their short trips, they’d create a net societal health benefit of $3.5 billion per year from the increase in air quality and $3.8 billion in savings from smaller health care costs associated with better fitness and fewer mortalities from a decreased rate of car accidents.

GET IN GEAR

Those who are interested in starting bicycle commuting will need some gear to get started. This short guide outlines some tools that will help facilitate commuting. Visit metroparks.org/cycling and click on the tab for “retailers” to find local bike shops and knowledgeable staff.

BIKE

Technically speaking, anything with two wheels and a chain will get riders from point A to point B, but be aware that different styles of bicycles have different benefits. “Talk to your local bike retailer,” Sahli said. “Tell them what kinds of trips you make, the terrain you travel, frequency of your trips and other details about your riding habits. They’ll help you select a bicycle that meets your needs.” The same retailers can help give bikes a tune-up if they’ve been sitting in storage for a while.

HELMET

Wearing a helmet is always a good idea. Some communities require wearing one, and it protects the head in case of an accident. Those who own a helmet but haven’t ridden in a while should give their helmet a visual inspection before heading out. Make sure there are no cracks. Even one crack compromises the protective value of a helmet. Helmets might need to be replaced if it’s been stored unused for a long period of time.

STORAGE/CARGO

Regardless of whether the trip is around the corner or riding to work, cycling commuters will need something to store and carry items. For commuters riding to work or school, a backpack or messenger bag easily fits a laptop, maybe some extra clothes, lunch and other items needed throughout the day. Make certain the backpack or messenger bag can be secured to the rider’s back and doesn’t slide around to your front while riding.

For larger items, like grocery staples that may be heavier, consider getting a rack that fits on the back of the bike. Find panniers, which are placed over the rack, or go “old school” with a milk crate secured by bungee cables. For larger loads, consider purchasing a tow-behind trailer.

CLOTHING

Moisture-wicking fabrics will keep you cool and dry on your trip. Avoid cotton materials as they absorb moisture and can cause unpleasant odor. You can find clothing options at any department or specialty store, or online.

UPCOMING EVENTS

BIKE TO WORK DAY PANCAKE BREAKFAST

7-9 a.m. Friday, May 17, RiverScape MetroPark, 111 E. Monument Ave.

Leave your car in the garage and support National Bike to Work Day. Ride in on your own or with a group to RiverScape MetroPark for a free pancake breakfast then head to work. Live music, cycling related exhibitors and team challenge are also part of the fun. Turn this one day into a lifestyle. No registration required; free. Details online at metroparks.org/biketowork.

FUNDAMENTALS OF COMMUTING

6:30-8:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 22, 2nd Street Market, 600 E. Second St.

This class reviews what is involved to get you biking to work, a quick trip to the store, or a favorite restaurant. This lecture-style class will include bike terminology, commuting equipment, and trip and bike preparation. The class will briefly discuss traffic laws, hazards encountered, safe-riding skills and proper route planning. Registration required; $10. Register online at metroparks.org or by calling 937.277.4374.

Reach DCP freelance writer Valerie Beerbower at ValerieBeerbower@DaytonCityPaper.com

The Brother Joseph W. Stander Symposium means many different things to many different people. For some University of Dayton students, it’s a day to showcase their studies and achievements in academic research. For other students, it’s a day off classes, to be treated as a mid-week Saturday and celebrated as such. For community members, the symposium may be a bit of a mystery.

By definition, the Brother Joseph W. Stander Symposium is an alternate day of learning – hence the no classes – organized to celebrate academic successes by both undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Dayton. According to the event’s official website, “The Stander Symposium represents the Marianist tradition of education through community and is the principal campus-wide event in which faculty and students actualize our mission to be a ‘community of learners.’” This year’s symposium will be held Wednesday, April 17.

The goals of the day are simple:

1. To give students community recognition for their academic achievements, particularly in the arts.

2. To give faculty members recognition for their mentorship of said students.

3. To celebrate and continue the Marianist tradition of education through community and, reciprocally, engaging students into becoming a community of learners.

Student and faculty preparation for the event began way back at the end of January when they began to submit their proposals for posters and presentations. The deadline to submit a proposal was March 8, and participants have been hard at work ever since, putting the final touches on their projects, desperately trying to encompass an entire body of work on a 3-foot by 4-foot piece of poster board.

“Both faculty and students are encouraged to submit proposals for presentations at the symposium,” said David Darrow and Linda Hartley, Stander co-chairs. “Proposals can include research presentations, visual arts displays, performances, panel sessions, discussions, course culmination presentations or any other format that helps display student scholarship or creative endeavor.”

Obviously, the Stander Symposium is not just about poster boards and research projects. Another aspect of the communal nature of education promoted by the University of Dayton is the “Celebration of the Arts.” Always the night before presentation day, the Celebration of the Arts this year will be held at the Benjamin and Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center in downtown Dayton, and will feature the University of Dayton’s own performing arts group, Monday, April 8 at 8 p.m. Student artwork will be on display in the Wintergarden and Lucy Simon, the two-time Grammy winning composer of “The Secret Garden” will give a speech. Tickets to Monday night’s show are free and UD students can get them at the Kennedy Union box office while the general public can acquire them at Ticket Center Stage (937.228.3630, ticketcenterstage.com). Also, Tuesday is the Mass of the Holy Spirit shortly after noon in the Immaculate Conception Chapel – another event on campus and open to the public. Parking can be a challenge, but the Chapel is beautiful, particularly if they have the ambiance enhancers (read: fog machines) pumping pre-sermon, like in the most recent UD television commercial.

The Stander Symposium is a free event, open to the public, who are invited to peruse the aisles of poster presentations or attend the keynote address, this year delivered by Sir Ken Robinson, known for his TED talk about how education kills creativity. If you believe a college degree isn’t worth anything and university professors look at their bodies solely as a way of transport for their enormously important heads and would like to discuss it in an academic setting, this address may be for you. Check it out Tuesday, April 16 at 7:30 p.m. at the RecPlex on UD’s campus.

Another aspect of Stander that conjoins the university with the Dayton community this year is a community forum concerning the ways in which higher education can help us create the society we want. Presented by students from an honors political science course – Democracy, Deliberation and Education – three questions will be asked of the UD and greater Dayton communities: Are you concerned about the rising cost of higher education? Is higher education effectively preparing students for the future? How do our colleges and universities benefit society as a whole? Background materials will be provided to anyone interested in sharing their ideas at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. in Roesch Library April 17. The registration deadline for the forum is April 12, but if you register by April 2 you’ll be entered into a drawing to win Brown Street gift cards.

The closing visual arts exhibition and reception, the culminating event of the “Celebration of the Arts,” will be an open-studio event showcasing student exhibitions, workshops and Hovarth Exhibition awards. Tickets are not required for this free event and access will be open to the space in Gallery 249 in College Park Center.

The Brother Joseph W. Stander Symposium is a long-standing tradition at the University of Dayton and in the greater Dayton community. It is an opportunity for university students to check in on each other, and for community members to get a peek at the fascinating research, project work and artistic efforts taking place right in their backyard. UD may be a private school, but their Marianist traditions of community and service bind them impenetrably to the city of Dayton, and through events like this, that relationship is felt.

For more information on the event and all registration visit www.udayton.edu/provost/stander.

It’s just lying there. Draped casually, yet somehow dauntingly, over the back of a dining room chair. It’s The Mending Pile, and you’d just as soon chuck the whole lot into the bin behind Salvation Army than deal with the hemming, patching, darning and button-replacing that stands between you and your ability to again wear your favorite pair of pants out into a public space. Maybe this wariness stems from the lack of a certain set of domestic skills. Maybe it’s the threat of tedium that clings to the back of so many solitary household tasks. Maybe you simply don’t have the time to embark on the odyssey that is a trip to the strip mall to obtain the one needle you need to mend them all. The time has come to cast all trepidation aside! Sew Dayton in the Historic Oregon District has everything you need to whittle away that mound of mending, be it lessons or camaraderie or just a damn needle. Outfitted with smiles, quality product and vast stores of knowledge, the merry seamstresses of Sew Dayton are here to help you learn new skills, repair beloved pieces and realize your own vision.

Sew Dayton co-founder Tracy McElfresh was running a dress-making business out of her home when she met fellow co-founder Jesy Anderson. Anderson, who was also running her own business, was in need of a wedding gown. Together they created a one-of-a-kind dress for Anderson’s nuptials and an innovative bond between the two was formed. When they realized how many trips they were making out of town to acquire the supplies needed for their respective businesses due to Dayton’s relative lack of sewing resources, McElfresh and Anderson applied to Activated Spaces, Dayton’s pop-up shop program. “We wanted to fill a niche and be something that nothing else had in Dayton,” said McElfresh. The duo obtained the space adjacent to the Color of Energy Gallery and has since signed a longer lease to keep their successful business going. “Eventually, we will need to grow into a bigger spot, but for now this is perfect for us,” said McElfresh.

Getting started, the twosome garnered the knowledge of their community by starting a Women Business Owners group as a way of sharing information. “That was the missing part,” said McElfresh of when she ran a business on her own. “We pulled in other women that were strong, women whom we could model ourselves after. They’ve all been very supportive.”

McElfresh and Anderson realized that to build a successful business, they would need to expand beyond their talents for dressmaking and design and develop a clientele for classes and alterations. “My true passion is just making dresses, and if I could just do that alone, that would be wonderful, but it’s seasonal,” said McElfresh.

“My learning curve has been in alterations,” said Anderson. “I really didn’t do alterations before. Now it’s part of the business, so you have to learn what you can. If I wanted to make money, I had to learn it and not be afraid of it.”

Another contributing factor to their early success is their attention to the needs of their customers. The women have experience with this from both a consuming and producing standpoint and so they knew this would be essential from the beginning.

“One of the things I’ve noticed, having worked in the fabric industry for eight years, is that it’s really hard to find good customer service. There’s a lot of ‘I don’t know’ instead of ‘Let me find out for you,’” said McElfresh. “We try to make sure that we get all of the information that we can for people that come in when they’re here,” added Anderson.

As a small business, these ladies don many a hat as they quarry their way from week to week. “There are emails, the phone is ringing, sometimes on both lines, a lot of it is just questions needing to be answered. You’re your marketing person, your bank account person, your accounting person, you’re wearing ALL of the hats and then you’re coming in and cleaning the bathroom,” said McElfresh. “We’re selling fabrics, selling patterns, giving classes and making stuff and doing alterations, too. But in our minds we figured that was the only way that we were going to be sustainable, if we did as many things as possible.”

McElfresh and Anderson hope to not only sustain but to also grow, so all of their profit is poured directly back into the shop. “We started debt-free and we’re still debt-free,” said McElfresh. “You take everything you earn and put it right back in. It does work, but you have to start small.”

Of course, it’s not all about monetary gain. “We try to treat people like family and get to know the community and get to know people,” said McElfresh. “We’re not just here to make money. We’re here to be part of the community.”

Sew Dayton is located at 16 E. Brown St. in the Oregon District, adjacent to the Color of Energy Gallery. Their operating hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. For class schedules and more information, visit sewdayton.com or call 937.234.7398.