Southeast Missouri State University will celebrate its second annual community River Campus Summer Arts Festival this Saturday, June 20. “Seussical” the musical will be capping the day with a performance at 7:30pm. Last year’s festival had a record attendance with more than 1,200. This year’s event will feature live music, dance, visual art displays, theatrical performances, an art walk, magic, hands-on family-friendly art expression activities, museum exhibitions, and Plein Art Painting. The festival is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is free and open to all ages.
The music line-up has grown extensively since last year. The entertainment will run continually throughout the day featuring the Suzuki players, magician Rob Huff, Mr. Saxophone, Steve Schaffner, Jazz Trio 440’s, the Jerry Ford Combo and Barefoot on Sunday. Children’s activities will be available all day as well, including face painting and hands on activities in the kids’ art tent. The Avenue of Art competition will be back again with a new special category for creating Dr. Seuss art. Additionally, artists of all ages can participate in creating chalk art, with Craig Thomas composing a piece for the festival. Art booths will include demonstrations and art for sale. Ceramics students will demonstrate their craft, and printmaking students will offer a workshop. Students from the Southeast Department of Art and multiple professional artists will have art booths available. In the southwest parking lot, the Southeast Explorer mobile museum will showcase a United States history exhibit and the River City Rodders will display antique and hot rod cars. Bart Williams of the Southeast Department of Theatre and Dance, will present a stage combat exhibition of Quarterstaff fighting outdoors in the Seminary Quad. The River City Players will perform “Sleuth” by Anthony Shaffer. There will be numerous dance and theater performances, demonstrations, and workshops throughout the day. See SEMO's website for more information.
The all-day event will close with a performance of “Seussical” the musical at 7:30 p.m. in the Wendy Kurka Rust Flexible Theatre. “Seussical” is a musical comedy based on numerous Dr. Seuss books. The musical is written by Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens. It is a comedy that will be enjoyed by the entire family. Tickets may be purchased by contacting the River Campus Box Office, located in the Cultural Arts Center, 518 S. Fountain St., weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., calling (573) 651-2265 or by visiting www.RiverCampusEvents.com. Additional performances will include June 18-19, 25- 27 at 7:30 p.m., 2 p.m. matinees on June 21, 27 and 28, and a special 10 a.m. performance on June 26. Get tickets now, seats are filling up quickly!
We, at Old Town Cape, are happy to get the opportunity to work with Southeast Missouri State University campuses on events such as this one. It is partnerships like these that help further opportunities for the University and Downtown and offer a variety of activities for the community to take part in.
This post was written by guest blogger, Alyssa Basler, intern at Old Town Cape.