Artifacts 1/23/04

Christian Writers Circle forming

Monthly meetings for new writers and a forum for critiquing work are part of the Christian Writers' Circle, which will hold its organizational meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday at the First Free Will Baptist Church education room.

Whether you write fiction, nonfiction or poetry, the group is open for new members. For information, call Gail Rhodes at 986-7842 or 334-8461.

Motown Sound to be heard at gala

The Motown sounds of the Four Tops, Marvin Gaye and the Contours will be heard during a benefit dinner and dance Jan. 31.

The Fabulous Motown Revue will perform during the fund-raiser for Immaculate Conception Parish in Jackson. Proceeds will help pay for new school construction.

The evening begins at 6 p.m. with cocktails and a "Taste of New Orleans" and is followed by the Motown revue and dancing. For ticket information, phone Marsha Vangilder at 243-8966 or the church at 243-3182.

Stepenoff to hold book signing Saturday

Author Bonnie Stepenoff will sign copies of her book "Thad Snow" at 3 p.m. Saturday at Barnes & Noble Booksellers.

Stepenoff wrote the book about Snow, a farmer and writer who was best known for his involvement in Missouri's sharecropper protest in 1939. The biography of Snow's life was published by the University of Missouri Press.

Stepenoff is a professor of history at Southeast Missouri State University and has written another book about silk mill workers in northeastern Pennsylvania.

New exhibitor to display work at Anna Center

The fun and frustration of painting is what keeps Bonnie Emmons going back to her canvas. Her work will be exhibited at the Anna Center at Shawnee Community College Tuesday. The gallery is open weekdays from 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Emmons said she uses art in her pre-kindergarten classes every day. "I feel it's never too early to expose children to the arts, be it music, art or drama. I help my students learn the value of art by shoring an interest in it myself."

Emmons began painting in high school but also used pen and ink drawing. After a college art class, she discovered acrylics and watercolors.

Emmons teaches at Jonesboro Grade School and is a graduate of Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.

Paducah theater cast to perform comic farce

The Market House Theatre in Paducah, Ky., will present "Cash on Delivery" this weekend through Feb. 7. Tickets are available by calling the box office at (270) 444-6828 or online at www.mhtplay.com.

People's Choice Award presented

The Arts Council of Southeast Missouri recently presented its "People's Choice Award" to Jeff Aeling. His work "Sunrise Aliomanu Bay, Kauai" was chosen as a favorite by visitors to the art gallery.

Visitors to the opening reception and gallery exhibits are encouraged to vote for their favorite works in any of the three galleries. Aeling's painting was one of those exhibited in "Five Views of the Midwest" and is on display through Jan. 31.

MNEA sponsors MLK poster contest

Schoolchildren in Cape Girardeau are invited to create a poster honoring the strengths and differences of humanity.

The poster contest is sponsored by the local chapter of the Missouri National Educators Association and honors the work of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court's Brown v. Topeka Board of Education decision that ended segregation.

The contest theme is "Finding Strengths in our Differences." Posters will be submitted to the contest and displayed at Clippard Elementary School by Feb. 2.

Ribbons will be awarded and an open house planned for Feb. 11. The event will be at 7 p.m. Winners will be recognized in five different age categories and will be forwarded to a state competition.

Arts Council receives state funding grant

The Arts Council of Southeast Missouri received a grant of more than $5,000 for the current year.

Past grant amounts were larger but a sluggish economy has limited the funding. In fiscal 2003, the Arts Council received $11,005, and $19,200 in 2002.

The state legislature did not appropriate any arts funding for the 2004 fiscal year and the Missouri Arts Council had to use the state's endowment to fund its grants.

The MAC grants allow communities to provide programs, displays and invite artists for lectures. The Cape Girardeau community has filled in a gap by providing resources to the Arts Council that ensure its programs continue.

-- From staff reports