The Notorious Canary-Trainers
A Scion of the Baker Street Irregulars
for friends and fans of Sherlock Holmes
-- celebrating our 40th year!

Luncheon and 'Sherlock Holmes' movie on tap for area Sherlockians Jan. 3 It's our 10th annual birthday party honoring Sherlock Holmes on his birthday 11/16/2009

For the 10th year in a row, the Notorious Canary-Trainers will start the new year with a celebration of Sherlock Holmes' birth, and this one on Sunday, January 3, 2010, will feature a one-time special event.

(Sherlock Holmes' birthday is generally accepted as January 6. Find out more here.)

For the first time in the Madison series, it will:

-- include a movie. "Sherlock Holmes" is a major Hollywood production starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law, and opens in theaters around the U.S. Christmas Day. (Click "home" in the navigation bar on left to see the latest trailer promoting the movie.)

-- be held at a different location with the demise earlier this year of our location for the previous nine gatherings (J. T. Whitney Brewpub on S. Whitney Way).

-- be split between two buildings (but only about 50 feet apart).

We have one seat open for our luncheon in the private dining room at the Great Dane at Hilldale and have four "overflow" seats yet to be claimed where those in that group can eat at tables near our meeting room, then join us for the program. To reserve, email or call us at 608/274-1638. Be sure to include the number in your party.

You don't have to attend the luncheon to join us at the theater or for the informal post-movie discussion at the theater. Tickets for the movie will be purchased separately and individually (no formal group seating) and can be bought in advance. We'll announce how to do it closer to the date.

Here are the key details:

Locations

The Great Dane Pub at the Hilldale Shopping Center, 357 Price Place and the Sundance Cinema at the south end of the Hilldale Center.

Times

12 Noon: Socializing, Luncheon, and Program (Great Dane Pub)

2 p.m. (approximate), Matinee showing of "Sherlock Holmes" (Sundance Cinema)

4:15 p.m. (approximate), Informal post-movie discussion with coffee/beverages of choice (Sundance Cinema lobby lounge)

Those attending the luncheon will have their choice of a 50-item Sunday-only noon buffet for $15 a person or any of 18 lighter selections -- mostly sandwiches -- from the menu.

Most seating will be at tables of four. You will be billed as a table, with the expectation that those at each table will be able to settle up among themselves. (By the way, there is an ATM in the Great Dane, if needed.)

Other details:

-- The post-luncheon program will include all of our traditional events, and other elements yet to be confirmed.

-- Those attending our afternoon-long celebration can take part in all three, or any one, of our events.

-- The exact time of the matinee showing of the Christmas Day release of "Sherlock Holmes" likely won't be known until a few days before our event. That's due, in part, to the movie's length still to be determined by the studio. However, Sundance staff advise the movie likely will start between 2 and 2:30 p.m. We'll adjust our Great Dane program length accordingly.