Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs are coming to McNeese

The members of McNeese University’s Alpha Psi Omega National Theatre Honor Society invite the public to their production of “Snow White,” a 50-minute musical which invites children from the audience onstage to help tell the story. Performances will be December 19 and 20, 2013 at 6:30 pm, in Stokes Auditorium in Hardtner Hall on the McNeese campus, located at the corner of East Sale Road and Common Street. Admission is $5 per person.

Performances for school groups (Kindergarten through the third grade) are also available on Dec 19^th and 20^th at 9:30 and 11:00 am. These performances can be followed by a short Q&A period for students to speak to the cast.

(Clockwise from left: Haley Smith, Kevin Delaney, Joseph Comeaux, Cameron Scallan, Darby Domingue, and Kassidy Ortego.)

The show was penned by Buzz Podewell, a member of the theater faculty at Tulane University for nearly 40 years. Podewell was a co-founder and former artistic director of the Shakespeare Festival at Tulane and the founder of the children’s troupe, The Patchwork Players. Alpha Psi Omega is proud to host the first Lake Charles performance of this production of “Snow White.”

Contact Charles McNeely, Coordinator of McNeese Theatre at cmcneely@mcneese.edu or 475-5041 with any questions and to make reservations.

Apply For a Big Read Grant Today

The Big Read is now accepting applications from non-profit 

organizations to develop community-wide reading programs between September 2014 and June 2015. The Big Read is a national program designed to revitalize the role of literature in American culture and to encourage reading for pleasure and enlightenment. Organizations selected to participate in The Big Read receive a grant, promotional materials, access to online educational materials, training resources and opportunities. Approximately 75 organizations from across the country will be selected.

For more information, visit The Big Read website at http://www.neabigread.org/ . 

Music Makers 2 U Puts Instruments In The Hands of Students

Hattie asked, “Can I hug my violin?” Kendrick exclaimed, “I am playing higher notes with my new trumpet!”  John said, “I can’t let go of it” about his new violin. Such are the responses of students in southwest Louisiana upon receiving refurbished musical instruments from MusicMakers2U (MM2U). Their “new” instruments were provided through the generosity of donors who no longer have a use for them.

The MM2U Foundation was established in August 2013 as a non-profit organization created to provide students with the gift of music. The premise behind MM2U is that many school students have a desire to play a musical instrument but no means to obtain one. At the same time, many instruments have been silenced as they sit on closet shelves or in attics collecting dust. By pairing donated instruments with students desiring to play them, MM2U restores sound to the instrument and a voice to the student.

MM2U is made aware of students desiring to play through their educational instructors who are integral players in the program’s success. Once MM2U accepts an instrument, it is professionally cleaned, refurbished and repaired before being assigned to a student. Since MM2U’s short inception, 30 instruments have been donated and 10 pairings completed – all prior to publicly announcing MM2U’s formation.

Dr. Jeffrey J. Lemke, coordinator of instrumental music education at McNeese State University, states, “By helping improve academic achievement, build self-esteem, teach critical social skills, and engender creativity and innovation, MM2U helps to ignite the spark of creativity that lies within all children and inspires a love of learning.”

An added benefit for students participating in an MM2U is the parental involvement that comes with the pairing. Students accepting an MM2U instrument also agree to accept the responsibility of taking care of their instrument. The ‘cost” for the student in accepting the gift is the understanding that they now have an obligation to care for and practice on the instrument, to participate in school activities and to have the maturity necessary to return the instrument if their musical interest ever wanes.

For MM2U to grow contributions are being requested for instrument donations. Financial support is also needed to clean and refurbish the instruments. For further information, contact Eva LeBlanc, MM2U President, by calling 337-244-9314, by emailing musicmakers2U@gmail.com or by writing MM2U, P.O. Box 7964, Lake Charles, LA 70606.

Check out MM2U’s Facebook page to see posting of pairing photos.

The City of Lake Charles will Spread Joy with Handmade Christmas Cards

The City of Lake Charles will host the fourth annual Handmade Christmas Card Workshop during the month of December at 1911 Historic City Hall Arts & Cultural Center. All ages are welcome to apply their creative skills using several mediums from crayons to water colors to markers. All materials will be provided. Students throughout Calcasieu Parish are also invited to create and contribute their handmade cards as class projects. While visiting the center, students are also welcome to write a letter to Santa, which will be delivered to the North Pole.

The handmade Christmas cards will go to The Calcasieu Council on Aging for distribution to area nursing home residents through its Ombudsman Program. Ombudsmen are individuals who are trained to respond to the problems and needs of residents of nursing facilities and other long-term care facilities. The program works to assure that residents receive the best possible care and that they are treated with respect and dignity.

On exhibit throughout the holiday season are “The Curious World of Patent Models” on national tour, “Some Thoughts about Perfection” by Heather Ryan Kelley, “Children in Motion” by Nancy Melton and “Commemorating the Great Fire of 1910.”

1911 Historic City Hall is located at 1001 Ryan Street, gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission is free, but donations are gladly accepted. The Charlestown Farmers Market is open on Bilbo Street behind the building every Saturday from 8 a.m.-noon. For more information, please call 491-9147 or visit www.cityoflakecharles.com

Cinderella's Holiday Dining

The Children’s Theatre Company; Artistic Director, Kerry Arthur Onxley presents Cinderella’s Holiday Dining! Children join their favorite storybook characters such as, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Jasmine for an unforgettable experience.  Character meals include pizza, dessert and a drink.  The seating incorporates a visit from each of these famous characters as they make their way around the Royal Table.  Children are encouraged to wear their favorite costume.  Hot coco and gingerbread will also be served.  

 

 This magical encounter occurs on Saturday, December 7, 2013 with seating at 12:00 noon.  The cost is $25.00 per person.  Seating is very limited and reservations must be made by calling the theatre box office at (337) 433-7323 or visiting www.childrenstheatre.cc  

City of Lake Charles Presents Louisiana Crossroads at Central School

The City of Lake Charles and Louisiana Crossroads will present an evening with the Savoy Cajun Family Band and Good & Young Family Band in the Ben Mount Auditorium in Central School, Wednesday, November 20 at 7pm.

The Savoy Family Band, which features Marc Savoy, his wife Ann and their two sons, Joel and Wilson, hails from the small Cajun prairie town of Eunice, Louisiana. The Savoy Family Cajun Band plays honed down, hard-core Cajun music laced with an earthy sensuality. In their hands, the old tunes have been revived and returned to new life. They are all strong individual musicians working together to create a tight, intense sound.

The quartet of Good & Young is a family ensemble rooted in the dance and music traditions of Old Time, Bluegrass and Country. With fiddle, banjo, guitar and bass, they are a festival of rhythm, dance and harmony.

Rick Good met Sharon Leahy on the old time circuit of the seventies—he with the Hotmud Family, she with the Green Grass Cloggers. They have been performing with their daughter, Emma Young for more than twenty years, largely in their dance and music company, Rhythm in Shoes. Just a few years ago, wedding bells rang and the family band grew to include Emma's talented husband, Linzay Young.

Rick was a 2010, Ohio Heritage Fellow and is recognized and respected for his accomplished banjo playing, heartfelt singing and crafty songwriting. Sharon has received numerous fellowships from the Ohio Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts. Her love and understanding of American tradition is clearly seen and heard through her award-winning choreography, artful singing and driving rhythm on guitar and bass. Emma, a rock-solid bass player and a fine harmony singer, was presented the Josie Award, her hometown of Dayton's highest honor for dance, in 2003. Linzay is a versatile fiddler, soulful singer, well-seasoned songwriter and culinary force. He is a founding member of the Red Stick Ramblers and a true link in the chain of Cajun Music and Culture. Carrying on the family traditions of song and dance, Good & Young serve it up with joyous taste and well-seasoned know how.

Advance tickets can be purchased for $12 at the Arts and Humanities Council of Southwest Louisiana on the second floor of Central School, or on line at www.cityoflakecharles.com. Tickets at the door will be $15. For more information, please call (337) 491-9159.

The series will continue in the Central School with Gal Holiday & the Honky Tonk Revue on Wednesday, March 26, 2014; and Grammy-nominated, British soul singer James Hunter and his band the James Hunter Six with Louisiana All Stars on Tuesday, April 8, 2014.  For a complete line-up of season 14, including the Lafayette performances, go to www.acadianacenterforthearts.org.

ArtsFest Returns!

On Saturday, October 26^th, ArtsFest returns to engage area 

children in a free arts festival from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Lake Charles Civic Center’s Coliseum. This event is hosted annually by the Arts Council of SWLA and the City of Lake Charles, and it encourages creative expression through hands-on art projects.

2013 will bring the year of Fairytales, Myths & Legends,

and local organizations and businesses will host booths where children can create fun and creative pieces of art that tell stories of pirates, princesses, fairies, and even a few scary monsters. Children can take home all of their art projects which cover a wide range of mediums including painting, drawing, sculpture, and crafts. ArtsFest will also showcase live music, face painting, the wildly popular one-on-one pottery demonstrations, and performances by Lake Charles Dance Academy and Young Band Nation.

In the spirit of Halloween, children are encouraged to come 

dressed in their Halloween costume. The annual ArtsFest Costume Contest at 11:30 a.m. will award four free tickets to the family-friendly Spooky Timbers trail at the Lost Hollows to children with the most creative and original costumes. Winners of the ArtsFest Art Contest, which has been accepting entries from SWLA schools for several weeks, will be announced at the event as well.

ArtsFest is sponsored by the City of Lake Charles, Arts 

Council of SWLA, Union Pacific, Office of Cultural Development, Parker Brand Creative, and FOX29/Lake Charles CW. For more information about ArtsFest, call the Arts Council office at (337) 439-2787 or visit www.artsandhumanitiesswla.org.