Bayshore Town Center is getting some exciting new tenants.

We heard earlier this week about 8-Twelve, and earlier this morning about Sprecher's Restaurant & Pub.

Bayshore also announced today the advent of several new retail stores, as well as the renovation and relocation of several existing tenants.

I'm most excited to hear that Ulta Beauty will open its third location in the state in November, complete with a full-service salon. Ulta is a great retailer of high-end make-up and I was getting tired of schlepping all the way to Brookfield when I need my Laura Gellar tinted primer.

Athleta, a division of Gap Inc., will be opening their first Milwaukee store there in late summer. A press release says that the store offers "performance-driven apparel in sweet, feminine designs to suit all active needs." I'm not sure what that means, but I will definitely be stopping in to check it out.

Paper Source will also be opening their first Milwaukee store at Bayshore in the fall and will sell invitations, wrapping paper, gifts, stationary and more.Torrid, a plus-sized clothing retailer, will open in August. Also opening in August will be Icing by Claire's, an accessories store and ear-piercing destination for pre-teens.

As for renovations and relocations, Payless Shoe Source will be moved next to Charlotte Russe in the mall's interior portion. Lane Bryant will move closer to Select Comfort to make room for Ulta.

Board Game Barrister, another favorite of mine, will be expanding and moving to an interior corner position next to the food court.

Yesterday, Steve Schultze of the Journal Sentinel reported that a Milwaukee County Board committee reversed its decision on extending the contract of longtime Veterans Park paddleboat company Juneau Park Paddleboats, owned by Val and Tim Ritter.

The reason? The Ritters have apparently been trying to sell Juneau Park Paddleboats, which they have owned and operated for 16 years, to Wheel Fun Rentals, a company they originally claimed was putting them out of business.

This spring, the Ritters' contract was not renewed by the Milwaukee County Parks Department; it was instead awarded to out-of-state company Wheel Fun Rentals. OnMilwaukee.com broke the story on April 3, and the response from our readers was overwhelming.

The Ritters claimed Wheel Fun Rentals was "basically writing a check for all the sweat equity we’ve put in and the client base we’ve established."

I have never before witnessed this level of feedback from a story, or seen the passion with which citizens responded in support of a local business.

On a personal level, it was something I cared a lot about. I believe our locally owned businesses are part of what makes Milwaukee an amazing city, and I hated the thought of entrepreneurs like the Ritters losing out to a larger corporation.

In short, it was all real fight-the-man-type stuff.

Buoyed by public support and backed by County Supervisor Jason Haas, Juneau Park Paddleboats was successful in extending its contract with the Milwaukee County Parks on May 16. At the time, they wrote on Facebook that they hoped to have paddleboats up and running by May 24.

Now, Tim Ritter told the Journal Sentinel that he and his wife are "exploring other options" (read: trying to sell their business to the competition) because the short length of the one-year contract extension was discouraging.

Understandably, a lot of people are feeling confused today – and maybe even a little taken advantage of.

The Ritters have not responded to my email asking for their s…

The Milwaukee Ballet’s 2012-13 season began in October with a never-before-seen work (Michael Pink’s "La Boheme") and ends this weekend with what is arguably the most recognized ballet production in the history of the art form.

Michael Pink’s interpretation of "Swan Lake" is at times joyful, at times melancholic, but always physically sublime. There is no better ballet to show off the skill and grace of a company of world-class professional dancers, and that’s exactly what Pink does: he shows them off – or rather, parts of them. Some dances emphasize the beauty of the dancers’ legs, like Alexandre Ferreira’s gleeful jetes in Act I, or the naked limbs of the swan corps as they hover, shiver and flutter as one unified entity.

Other dances are all about the arms, like the pas de deux at the end of Act I with the human Prince Siegfried and cursed swan Odette as he struggles to keep her from spreading her wings and flying away from his embrace.

There were plenty of little touches here and there that I thought made this production truly unique and a real treat to watch. The audience saw a softer, more natural swan corps than usual; like I said before, if I’m not mistaken, Odette & Co. were not wearing tights, and the aesthetic of the hazy lighting against their varying skin tones really highlighted their underlying humanity (they are, after all, not just swans but cursed women).

Their hair was also not in the traditional bun, which was an interesting look and allowed for a lot of movement.

I have to mention the lighting, which perfectly mimicked the hazy glow of twilight. It made the dances where the swans come back to human form so much more enchanting.

Timothy O'Donnell played a fantastic Rothbart and frankly, I wish the character would have had more stage time. The audience responded well to his cape-swirling drama and his great chemistry with Odile. 

The lack of the traditional pancake tutu on the swans, who instead wore a more romantic short s…

Watch out, Milwaukee. You’re about to see a whole new side of the Tupperware party. Sweet-talking, big-haired Southern belle Dixie Longate came into town yesterday with her off-Broadway hit show, which runs at the Marcus Center’s Vogel Hall May 14-26.

Dixie’s just as sweet as sugar, with a mouth on her like you would not believe and a past as colorful as the skin-tight tops she wears. Known as America’s No. 1 Personal Seller of Tupperware, this Mobile, Ala., native is a three-time widow and proud trailer park resident who began selling everyone’s favorite plastic bowls in 2001 after she got out of prison and needed to regain custody of her kids, Wynona, Dwayne and Absorbine, Jr. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Dixie closely resembles one Kris Andersson, an actor who used to make ends meet by selling Tupperware and developed a drag persona around the illustrious world of direct-sales kitchen storageware – but we’re sure that’s just a coincidence.

If you catch "Dixie's Tupperware Party" at Vogel Hall, be sure to bring your checkbook – just like at a real Tupperware party, there will be plenty of inventory on sale! Visit the website for more information.

Dixie was kind enough to sit and chat with OnMilwaukee.com about what she’s looking forward to in Milwaukee, why she loves us Yankees, and why Tupperware makes her feel like she can really kick some ass.

OnMilwaukee.com: We’re very excited to have you here in Milwaukee, Dixie; are you looking forward to the show here?

Dixie Longate: Oh, I can’t wait, it’s my very first time! I’ve never been here before and I’ve been hearing such wonderful things. People are being so neighborly, I just cannot wait! All I know about Milwaukee is from watching stuff on the TV, "Happy Days" and everything, so I’m gonna be excited to be there. I can’t even wait.

OMC: What area attractions are you going to check out while you’re up here?

DL: Well, do you know, there is a restaurant up there …