Local News: Market Move; Racine Community Center Heavily Damaged

Sept. 11, 2019 4p; Updated at 7:45p with new information about the fire

When Kenosha Harbor Market moves indoors for the cold-weather season next month, vendors will be setting up shop at a new location. After 16 seasons in the lobby of the Rhode Center for the Arts, Winter Harbor Market will share space on Saturdays with the Kenosha Masonic Center, located just a few steps away from the Market's summer home and south of the Kenosha Public Museum. Laura Belsky, treasurer of Kenosha Common Markets, the parent organization of the markets, said the split with the Rhode was amicable. The Lakeside Players' plan to offer Saturday afternoon matinee plays conflicted with the Market's use of the space, and the Market needed more room. Belsky anticipates that 30 indoor spaces will be availabe at the Center, five more than what was available at the Rhode. In addition, eight outdoor spaces will be made available at the new location, weather permitting. The last Saturday for the summer Market is Oct. 12, with vendors moving indoors at the new location the following Saturday. 

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A fire at the Lakeview Community Center just south of the Racine Zoo heavily damaged the structure Wednesday morning, causing about $500,000 in damage. Fire Dept. Capt. Craig Ford said workers who'd been setting up the Zoo's upcoming Chinese Lantern Festival had been using the center to prepare meals, and somehow the act of cooking led to a fire. Ford said a worker who was in the building at the time ran across the street for help. That's when firefighters were summoned. By the time they arrived, flames were shooting from the roof. While on the roof, a 41-year-old firefighter suffered heat exhaustion and had to be lowered to the ground in a stokes basket. He was taken to the hospital for treatment and an eventual overnight stay for observation. The Zoo's special events manager said the fire should not affect the opening of the Festival Oct. 1st, even though some exhibit items may have been stored in the building.  

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