Outdoor Activity
Arts in the Park to be held Saturday, May 14
May 10th
The annual St. Peter School Arts in the Park will take place Saturday, May 14, at Quincy’s Madison Park, 24th and Maine. The family festival will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and the evening event, Arts in the Park Under the Stars, will be from 6:30 to 11 p.m.
Arts in the Park will feature many delicious food items sure to please all ages. Food, such as hot dogs, brats, hamburgers, BBQ ribs, BBQ chicken, steak sandwiches, spinach/feta chicken burgers and various side dishes will be provided by the Butcher Block. Gengenbacher Shaved Ice, cotton candy, nachos, pretzels with cheese and popcorn will also be available.
There will be tons of activities for all ages. The student-sponsored art booths will feature hands-on art activities created and prepared by students in grades three through eight. There will various “Artist in Action” stations with artists demonstrating and discussing a variety of art forms. Guests can also view almost 500 amazing pieces of art submitted by St. Peter students in the gym foyer.
The Main Stage will have various entertainers including Mike Anderson, mountain dulcimer/storyteller from Jacksonville, Illinois, and Fonziba Koster, African drumming. The audience will experience the fun and exhilaration of playing genuine West African rhythms on authentic jembe hand drums and bass drums.
Arts in the Park Under the Stars is an adult gathering. Mystic Voyage Motown Band out of St. Louis will perform and they are always a crowd-pleaser. The Butcher Block will provide food as mentioned above. Beer and wine will be sold and as the evening rolls on, snacks such as popcorn and nachos will keep you going. A sweet station will be set up by Underbrink’s Bakery for everyone to enjoy.
Entrance tickets for the evening event will be available for $10 in the school office, after St. Peter Masses the weekend of May 7, from committee members or at the door the night of the event. You must be 21 to enter. Food and beverages will be sold separately; no outside food or beverages will be allowed. Bring your own lawn chairs and blankets and enjoy delicious food, listen to great music and socialize with friends.
New this year, “The Art of Family Cooking” cookbooks will be sold. The cookbooks are compiled with family favorite recipes from parishioners and parents. You can purchase the cookbooks for $15 at both events, in the school office or by contacting Elizabeth Brown at 228-0403 or by e-mail at elizabethbrown12@gmail.com.
A silent auction will be available for bidding at both events and closes at 10 p.m. The auction includes classroom made art and descriptions are available for viewing on the school’s website at www.stpeterschool.com.
The money made from this event is the primary funding source for St. Peter fine arts programming. The students have received monthly art instruction from an artist-in-residence, instruments and Smart Board for the music department, Zumba instruction, Quincy Museum presentations, QCT performances and classroom experiences and art supplies.
Thanks to the community for its generous support of the St. Peter fine arts program. Thanks also goes to the many local businesses that sponsor this event as well as the Quincy Society of Fine Arts for an Art$ Dollar$ grant.
Committee chairs for this event are Brown and Jamie Connell. Committee members include Jeanne Anderson, Valerie Greving, Christie Jones, Tracy Keck, Krisha Ley, Theresa Quintero, Tricia Schlipman and Susie Stammerjohn.
For more information, call 223-1120 or go to www.stpeterschool.com.
JULIE NELSON: Artoberfest to take over Quincy Art Center
Oct 12th
Quincy Art Center
The public is invited to enjoy the Quincy Art Center’s Artoberfest fundraiser as part of the community-wide Fall Colorfest Celebration.
The festival includes children’s artivities, exhibitions, entertainment on the Park District Showmobile, food and refreshments, the Vietnam Sign-in Wall and Bowl-Appetit, and more than 500 one-of-a-kind ceramic bowls hand-crafted and painted by over 200 local artists and members of the community.
The event will be held from 6 to 9:30 p.m. Friday on the lawn at 1515 Jersey and will feature a Beer Tasting Event with beer, food and soda sales; live acoustic music from Deadly Weapon; the opening reception for three exhibits; and the Bowl-Appetit auction, raffle and sale. Proceeds will benefit the Art Center’s children’s programs.
On Saturday, from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. the exhibits will continue, there will be food and soda sales, Bowl-Appetit sales, children’s artivities, artist demonstrations and live entertainment.
The Vietnam Sign-in Wall provided by the All Wars Museum will be available only during the Artoberfest celebration for Vietnam veterans to sign in where they were posted and to visit with other veterans on hand.
The exhibit Vietnam Then and Now: Photographs by Nik Wheeler features 30 large-scale photographs of Vietnam taken during the war and up through the present day. The photographs were taken by British artist Wheeler who was a combat photographer for United Press International for two and a half years during the Vietnam War. He later returned four times to photograph Vietnam’s people and beauty. Wheeler, a highly regarded photographer, has worked for the magazines National Geographic, Time, Newsweek, International Wildlife and Travel and Leisure. This is the first time these images have been shown as a group. The exhibition has been underwritten by Linda Johnson, M.D.
There is a complementary exhibit entitled Vietnam Memories: All Wars Museum. This exhibit includes artifacts such as uniforms, medals, ribbons, flags and photographs taken “in country” primarily by residents of the Illinois Veterans Home in Quincy. These items have been loaned to the Quincy Art Center for this exhibit and are part of the All Wars Museum collection.
A third exhibit features recent work by three photographers. The exhibit is entitled Three Photographers Preserve Quincy: Stephen Cullo, Jewel Gwaltney and Bruce Morton. This exhibit has been sponsored by Terrell and Vicki Dempsey, the Dr. Joe and Denette Kuhlman Family and Meg Nagel, in honor of her late husband Walter.
The photographers use photographic images as their way of preserving the beauty and uniqueness of Quincy for the viewer. Cullo captures very unusual ways of looking at our city, the bridges and surrounding countryside. Gwaltney explores Woodland Cemetery from a distance and in a more intimate way. Morton portrays buildings, homes and warehouses as though they were portraits.
Talks connected with two of the exhibits will be featured every Thursday at 7 p.m. They include October 21, a talk by Gwaltney about her exploration of Woodland Cemetery; October 28, a Power Point presentation Vietnam Now with Dr. Leonard Biallas; November 4, a talk by Morton about his work; and a presentation by Cullo on his photographs on November 11.
Gallery hours are noon-4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 1-4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. There is no charge for QAC members for the opening receptions or to view the exhibit. There is a $3 admission charge for nonmember adults and $1 for seniors, students and children.
Funding has also been provided in part by the Illinois Arts Council, by a grant from the Marion Gardner Jackson Trust Arts Fund and by the business and individual members of the Quincy Art Center. For additional information call 223-5900 or e-mail jnelson@quincyartcenter.org.
Julie Nelson, Quincy Art Center
DWYER: Join us for Arts/Quincy Riverfest Sunday
Sep 15th
Join us when artists take over the riverfront at the Arts/Quincy Riverfest on Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Riverfest is sponsored by Refreshment Services Pepsi, the Quincy Park District and the Quincy Society of Fine Arts. This one-day free celebration of the arts has something for all ages and tastes, including arts, crafts, food, live music and dance performances.
Also, there will be information booths by Quincy Society of Fine Arts member organizations such as the Quincy Artists Guild, Quincy Symphony Orchestra Association and the Mississippi Thespians. Artists will be exhibiting and selling their paintings, sculpture, ceramics, jewelry, photography and crafts.
Pepsi Family FunZone will have free hands-on children’s arts activities created by the Quincy Art Center and a karaoke contest with a $250 prize sponsored Y-101 and QuincyBuzz.com will be held.
Classic Boat and Outboard Show will feature a boat parade and swap meet and there will be a $1,000 Ducky Drop sponsored by Quincy Rotary East. Lots of great food will also be available.
For information call QSFA at 222-3432.
Rob Dwyer, Quincy Society of Fine Arts executive director
FLOWERS: Attend annual barbecue on grounds of an elegant Quincy home
Sep 9th
Women's City Club in Quincy.
The Women’s City Club, 1550 Maine in Quincy, is hosting its 15th annual barbecue from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 11.
This fundraising event is open to the public and the money raised will be used for the maintenance of the building. The menu will include brats, pulled barbecued chicken, cole slaw, baked beans, potato salad, lemonade, iced tea and brownies.
Tickets will be available at the door and the cost is $8 for adults and $3 for children under the age of nine.
Plan to attend this fundraising barbecue on the grounds of one of Quincy’s most elegant homes, enjoy a delightful meal and help the Women’s City Club as well. Those attending may dine indoors or outdoors. Carry-outs will be available.
For further information on the barbecue or membership in the Women’s City Club, call 222-2578.
Barbara Flowers
ROB DWYER: Rusty Wright Band takes stage Friday at Washington Park
Aug 10th
Everyone is invited to get the blues for free on Friday when Blues in the District presents the Rusty Wright Band. The performance will be held in Washington Park from 5 to 9 p.m.
The Rusty Wright Band brings to the stage an electrifying, blues-infused tour de force of rollicking musical interplay that is as much fun to watch as it is to listen to.
Blues Matters Magazine said, “The Rusty Wright band is brilliant.”
You could come just for the food. The Breakfast Optimist Club will be serving chicken breast, hamburger and cheeseburger sandwiches, jumbo hot dogs, baked beans, chips and beverages.
So grab your new girl, family, friends, lawn chairs, blankets, coolers and head for 5th and Maine streets Friday for a great evening of free fun.
And mark your calendar: Mississippi Heat, Chicago’s premier blues band, performs at Blues in the District on Aug. 27.
For information about the Quincy Society of Fine Arts’ 65 member organizations, visit www.artsqcy.org.
FRAN COOK: Mississippi Heat returns to Quincy
Jul 30th
Mississippi Heat
Mississippi Heat Returns to Quincy
Back by popular demand, the blues band Mississippi Heat returns to Quincy’s Washington Park and the Blues in the District free concert series from 5 to 9 p.m. Aug. 27.
The band’s latest CD “Let’s Live It Up!” is one of six CDs nominated for the 2010 best traditional blues CD of the year by Blues Blast Magazine.
Mississippi Heat plays traditional blues with a unique sound. Band leader and composer Pierre Lacocque’s vision has never wavered since he founded the band in 1991. His music is traditional because it is steeped in Chicago’s golden sounds of the 1950s — Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Jimmy Rogers and all the great harp players like Sonny Boy Williamson and George Smith. On the other hand, Pierre’s blues are unique because he dislikes treading on old beaten paths and always writes new stuff.
Buddy Guy said, “It’s been a long time since I heard a good blues band like this. You guys really play great music together.”
Mike Suttles, a festival director in Louisville, Kentucky said, “The highlight of the entire weekend occurred Saturday night when Mississippi Heat set the street on fire!”
Bring the family and friends, pack up the lawn chairs and blankets, fill the cooler and head out for a great time in the park. Meals Plus will provide rib-eye steak, grilled pork tenderloin and hamburger sandwiches, hot dogs, chips and soda.
ABOUT THE WRITER
Fran Cook has been the editor and Arts=Education coordinator for the Quincy Society of Fine Arts for 20 years. She is one of the founders of the Blues in the District concerts and has served on the board of many organizations.
