Southeast Missouri State University student publication

Arts festival to liven River Campus grounds over the summer

Monday, April 25, 2016
Two children chalk outside of the Cultural Arts Center at last year's River Campus Summer Arts Festival.

Summer is nearly here, and Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus is preparing for its third annual River Campus Summer Arts Festival from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on June 18. Fans of all types of art forms are invited to the event.

The festival is targeted at a family-orientated audience with magicians, art tents, face painting and more. Rhonda Weller-Stilson, director of the Earl and Margie Holland School of Visual and Performing Arts and associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts, said the festival itself is for the community.

"The festival is for all ages, and it's free. Our target is for the whole region, not just Cape Girardeau," Weller-Stilson said.

She also mentioned that they've had people come to the event all the way from Poplar Bluff, Missouri.

An art exhibition with a juror will be in place at the Cultural Arts Center as well as a show from the River City Players. An entertainment stage will be set up outside with live music and a chalk art contest. There also will be planned workshops in the Kenneth and Jeanine Dobbins River Campus Center and a musical instrument petting zoo.

This year, the festival will see three new shows put on not only by students, but also members of the community and alumni. The shows include the hit musical, "Always...Patsy Cline," the classic comedy, "Steel Magnolias," and "Honk! Jr.," a musical for kids.

"Honk! Jr." will be a bit different than the other shows, since it will have young children as cast members, ranging from 10 to 15 years old. The kids will have an adult crew to help them as well as an adult director.

Half of the company last year in the show, "Seussical," was made up of kid actors. The children cast in "Honk! Jr." have been in the River Campus workshops before, and Weller-Stilson knows they will do well.

"They've done shows with us, so they know how to behave professionally," Weller-Stilson said.

"Honk! Jr." is the ugly duckling story, set on a farm, and it's a musical based on the Hans Christian Andersen show.

Weller-Stilson anticipates the three shows selling out. Tickets can be purchased at the River Campus Box Office, by calling (573) 651-2265 or online at RiverCampusEvents.com. Tickets are $20 for "Always...Patsy Cline" and "Steel Magnolias" and $10 for "Honk! Jr."

The first annual River Campus Summer Arts Festival in 2014 had around 1,200 people and produced a two-weekend production of the comedic musical, "Nunsense." The show sold out six of eight performances. The second annual festival in 2015 brought in more than 2,000 people. In that year, they produced the musical, "Seussical," and sold out all 10 performances.

With the festival expanding again this year, Weller-Stilson isn't worried about spacing just yet. She said the River Campus still has a lot of lawn around the buildings and could potentially expand to the park area behind the campus. She also said there are rooms inside the buildings that aren't being used at the moment, so there's also a chance to spread out there.

Food and drinks will be on hand to purchase from Chartwells, or attendees can bring their own food and enjoy the nearby park and Mississippi River.

Before the festival was ever thought of, many people throughout the community asked Weller-Stilson for something to do in the summertime. After the spring academic shows were over, the River Campus wouldn't have any shows until the fall semester.

Weller-Stilson said they had a big open house on the River Campus' fifth year and a lot of people attended. After that, it was always on their minds to do a festival.

The River Campus has partnered with the City of Cape Girardeau and other sponsors to keep the festival going. The festival itself is expensive to produce and all of the money is raised through sponsors and fundraising.

John Weaver, a Southeast student who attends classes at the River Campus, said this will be his first year attending the festival.

"Everyone's really dedicated to what they do there," Weaver said. "They always put on a great production, whether it's a main stage or second stage production. I think it's going to be an awesome event."

Weaver added he enjoys what the River Campus has to offer in all of the arts.

Weller-Stilson invites everyone to come out to the festival.

"Truly, it's a great day for the whole celebration of arts. It's the one place you can come and be exposed to all the arts," Weller-Stilson said.

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