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+ z 7 & 7 2'“ 2 Lulu‘s Roadhouse Band rocks on for New Year‘s Eve charity show he ruinbow â€"coloured I batloons will be there, as will some of the characters and the atmosâ€" phere that mude the home of the world‘s longest bar the place to be in Kitchener Waterloo during the 1980s and 19908. And _ providing â€" the soundtrack for the Lulu‘s reunion at Bingemans Marâ€" shall Hall this Saturday will be the original Lulu‘s Roadâ€" house Band, the driving force behind a charity fundraiser to â€" support KOOLâ€"EM‘s annual Poster Boy campaign. They were the ones that got the joint jumping in between sets by some of the entertainment industries biggest acts, and continue to perform today even after the worldâ€"famous entertainment venue closed its doors permanently in April 2000. The heyday of Lulu‘s holds fond memories for Waterloo native Michael Oberle. the proverbial leader of the Roadhouse Band. He has aged better than some of the outfits the band wore in the crazy 1980s. when buses from all over Ontario would line the parking lot to get in for a night of dancing and romancing. Sounds cheesy? Well Lulu‘s was all about the froâ€" mage. and the Roadhouse Band was happy to feed the crowd with whatever song they could get them out on to the dance floor. "We got a lot of praise. and [ don‘t know if it was deserved or not," said Oberâ€" le. "We had the advantage of knowing the room. "We knew what they expected â€" they wanted to dance â€" and our job was to get people up dancing." (he Lulu‘s Roadhouse Band still does a good job of getting people dancing. playing corporate gigs or small shows near Port Elgin where Oberle has a home. But it‘s not like the good old days. And _ Oberle _ openly By Bos Vrsaxa becraucle Stat Mike Oberle {left} and the rest of the Lulu‘s Roadhouse Band are getting together for a Lulu‘s reunion at Bingemans this Saturday, New Year‘s Eve, in support of 105.3 KOOLâ€"FM‘s Poster Boy campaign. The band hopes to capture some of the nostalgia of what was once the world‘s longest bar and the famous coloured batloons that helped people get together. admits he‘s nostalgic for those days. He knows that a lot of ather people are too, with more than 600 tickets already presold for the New Year‘s Eve event that they‘re hoping to turn into an annual event. And who could blame those aging boomers and others still looking to recapture some of those glory days, having no venue like Lulu‘s ready to fill in that void in the local entertainment scene. Plus what else is there to do on New Year‘s Eve? That‘s when Oberle. an early backer of the Poster Boy campaign with the origâ€" inal human billboard Neil Hedley being his roommate at the time. thought of tryâ€" ing to scratch that old itch and see if he couldn‘t reunite some of those old regulars for one last time, while doing something for the community. Fhey will be joined on stage by AC/DC tribute band Dirty Deeds. as well as other musicians and friends ARTS FOCUS from those days looking to recreate Lulu‘s. They will be helped with characters like Charlie Chaplin, the Stilt Walker and the specialty bars that kept the night well lubricated. While the world‘s longest bar is no more, salvage materials from those days will also be on display including a video collage of the club in its heyday. And in keeping with the times. there will also be a baby sitâ€" ting service trom 6:30 p.m. until 1 a.m. to make sure there‘s is no excuse for those who should really be there. "Our job was to get people up dancing." It‘s by reservation and â€"Michael Oberle band member ticket availability, of course, and acknowledges the realiâ€" ty that a lot of the former patrons are family members now. Of course, a lot of those parings got their start at Lulu‘s with the famous colourâ€"coded _ balloons advertising what kind of attention you needed that night, Some of the balloons meanings can‘t be published in a family newspaper, like purple. Oberle said all you kids out there can ask your parents about that one. "Blue was a boy looking for a girl, and red was girl looking for a guy." said Oberle. "Yellow was shy and white was for a virgin." "The best was silver for a bornâ€"again virgin â€" they all had these stupid meaningsâ€" but it was a lot of fun. For more information about the Lulu‘s reunion visit www.lulusreunion.com or eâ€"mail info@lulusreâ€" union.com. You can also call the Lulu‘s rewnion ticket hotline at 893â€"3736. SuRRMITTES PROTG The City of Waterloo is currently recruiting volunâ€" teer board and coordinator positions for the 2006 Royal Medieval Faire. Energetic, funâ€"loving, responsible team players are wanted to join and collaborate with a talented volunteer board. If you have a talent for organization, public relaâ€" tions or experience working with event sponsors or performers, contact Wendy Macintosh at the city, at 888â€"6488 or at volunteer@city.waterloo.on.ca. Medieval Faire needs help Chrislnms arrived early at the St. Jacobs Country Playhouse. The region‘s newest cultural attraction has reason to celebrate, as its ongoing capital campaign has received a $25,000 donation from Heffner Lexus and UHeffner Tovota. "We‘re very pleased to enter the holiday season with this tremendous news from our friends at Heffner," says Alex Mustakas, artistic director of Drayton Entertainment. "Theatre plays an integral role in our quality of life, and the support of parstners like Heffner enables us to achieve our goal of preâ€" senting quality entertainment to a diverse audience on a vearâ€"round basis." In celebration of 45 years in business, and in tribâ€" ute to their father, community champion John Heffner Senior, sons Willy Heffner and John Heffner Junior decided to give back to the community that has offered them so much by awarding three gifts of $15,000 to three deserving charitable organizations: Family & Children‘s Services of the Waterloo Region, Catholic Family Counselling Centre and the St. lacobs Country Playhouse, operated by Drayton Entertainnent. The theatre also received two addiâ€" tional $5,000 gifts from Heffner, which will be preâ€" sented over the next two years. "Drayton Entertainment is a firstâ€"rate theatre company with an outstanding track record for sucâ€" cess." says John Heffner Junior. "We know that this is a wise investment, and one that will benefit theatreâ€" goers for many years to come." "At Heffner, we believe theatre is a cornerstone of a healthy, vibrant society." adds Willy Heffner. "Not only does it contribute to tourism and the economy, but it has the unique power to educate and ultimateâ€" ly inspire." "Heffner has a long, distinguished track record of supporting arts and culture in Kitchenerâ€"Waterloo," says Neil Aitchison, Drayton Entertainment‘s director of development. "They lead by example, and their support and faith in this project is really encouraging as we strive to wrap up our campaign." To date. Drayton Entertainment has raised $2.2 million of its $3.5 million fundraising goal for The Next Stage Capital Campaign. In addition to a corpoâ€" rate campaign, a grassroots movement is also underâ€" way, with pledges starting for as little as $50. For more information on contributing to The Next Stage, contact the Draytan Entertainment box office at (319) 638â€"5555 or toll free at 1â€"888â€"449â€"4463. Heffner dealerships make hefty donation to St. Jacobs playhouse