Fresh Loaf

Fresh off getting shellacked in last week’s presidential election, Arizona Sen. John McCain is coming to Atlanta to stump for Georgia’s embattled Sen. Saxby Chambliss.

Zell and the Colonel

Well, of course, he’s not actually coming to Atlanta itself. That’s not the real America. Instead, he’ll appear just inside Cobb County at the Cobb Energy Center at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday.

There’s talk that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin may appear on behalf of Saxby as well, but it won’t be on this trip. Nor will McCain be accompanied by Joe the Plumber.

Oddly, the Georgia GOP’s website contains no mention of Thursday’s rally, but it does list a Saturday event you’ll no doubt want to attend. At 12:30 p.m., Saxby will appear at Poole’s BBQ in Ellijay. For many years now, the restaurant’s owner, Col. Poole — who resembles a taller, older Sonny Perdue — has appeared at Republican gatherings in his trademark canary-yellow suit and outsized red-white-and-blue top hat.

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Today’s Air Loaf features CL’s Chanté LaGon and Curt Holman chatting about the Atlanta Opera’s production of Madama Butterfly featuring renowned sculptor Jun Kaneko’s designs. (Oct. 4 and 10, 8 p.m.; Oct. 7, 7:30 p.m.; Oct. 12, 3 p.m. $27.50-$133.50. Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, 2800 Cobb Galleria Parkway. 404-881-8885.)

SCAD Atlanta’s Gallery See hosts an exhibit of sketches, paintings and photographs of Kaneko’s work through Nov. 20. (Free. Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m.-5 p.m. SCAD Atlanta, Gallery See, 1600 Peachtree St. 404-253-3100. www.scad.edu.)

Air Loaf is broadcast weekdays on 1690 WMLB-AM at approximately 8:10 a.m., 12:20 p.m. and 6:20 p.m.

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Last fall we asked the musical question: “Will a new venue provide Atlanta Opera’s spring board to success?” Well, based on a recent press release from the company, the answer appears to be yes. The company reports that, for the third time in four years, it has finished its season with a surplus — this time in the neighborhood of $200,000. According to Dennis Hawthorn, who took over as the Zurich General Director for the company in 2004, the move to the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre was a key to the success.

Also according to the press release, the Opera raised $4.56 million, about $100,000 over the original goal, thanks to a strong fundraising drive. (It’s a helluva lot easier to sell the community on the opera when it’s housed in the more intimate and acoustically appropriate venue like the Cobb as opposed to the Atlanta Civic Center.) That money comes from a mix of support from corporations, members of the company’s Society for Artistic Excellence, and local foundations, the release said.

The Atlanta Opera closed its season in April with a production of Puccini’s The Marriage of Figaro, and opens the 2008-2009 season with Madama Butterfly on Oct. 4.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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