Artifacts 6/25

Tickets on sale soon for theater, dance season

Tickets go on sale July 1 for the 2004-2005 season of Southeast Missouri State University's Department of Theatre and Dance. The season opens Oct. 1 with "The Diary of Anne Frank," which will run until Oct. 10. On Oct. 29, the professional dance ensemble Paul Taylor 2 will perform and the fall dance concert, Transitions 2004, will run from Nov. 18 to 20. Steve Martin's play "Picasso at the Lapin Agile" will be performed from Feb. 18 to 27, and "Guys and Dolls" will run from April 5 to 9. To order tickets or for more information, call the Performing Arts Box Office at 651-2265.

Fun and music at the Ozark Border festival

The 2004 Ozark Border Summer Festival will be held from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday at Lake Wappapello State Park. The festival, sponsored by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, will feature live music, games, food, crafts and arts. For more information, contact the park at (573) 297-3232 or the department at (800) 334-6946.

Zoo will light up the night to mark 100th year

ST. LOUIS -- Beginning today, the St. Louis Zoo will light its giant elliptical bird flight cage, built in Forest Park for the 1904 World's Fair, from dusk to 1 a.m. every night to commemorate the fair's 100th anniversary. The cage was commissioned by the Smithsonian Institution. After the World's Fair, the city purchased the cage and it served as the impetus for the St. Louis Zoo.

Cypress swamp for birds opens at St. Louis ZooST. LOUIS -- The Edward K. Love Conservation Foundation Cypress Swamp will open at the St. Louis Zoo at 4 p.m. today. This newest addition to the zoo contains 16 species of North American birds that live in cypress swamps along the Mississippi River. A winding pathway will take visitors to a floating bridge and viewing pier where they can view the swamp and the different types of herons, ducks, egrets and other birds that will call it home.

Sikeston Little Theater's production for 2004

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Performances of the Sikeston Little Theater production of "Romeo Loves Juliet" started Thursday and will continue at 7 p.m. today and Saturday and at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Albritton-Mayer Cultural Center, 506 S. Kingshighway. The play is a comedic, musical spoof of "Romeo and Juliet" and the cast is made up of children in grades 3 to 12. For more information, call (573) 481-0255.

Main Street party and Tour de Corn bike charity

EAST PRAIRIE, Mo. -- East Prairie will hold its second annual Main Street party from 6 to 9 p.m. today. The highlight of the event is a crawfish boil by the James Bayou Cookers. There also will be live music, games, crafts, a skydiving exhibition, food and a silent auction. On Saturday the Tour de Corn bicycle charity ride will take place in East Prairie. Mass registration for the ride is at 7:30 a.m. and the ride begins and ends in downtown East Prairie. For more information, call (573) 649-3057, or visit www.eastprairiemo.net or www.tourdecorn.com.

Summer art classes begin at Arts CouncilOpenings are still available for the following art classes offered by the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri from July 12 to 16: Kindermusik: Creatures in My Backyard for ages 1 to 3, and meets from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m.; Kindermusik: Adventures Around the World for ages 4 to 6, and meets from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m.; Drawing: Learning to See for ages 10 to 13, from noon to 3 p.m.; and Beginning Watercolor for ages 14 to 17, from noon to 3 p.m. For more information, call the arts council at 334-9233.

Musicians perform at River Ridge Winery

COMMERCE, Mo. -- On Saturday, Duce Denninger and Friends, a blues and classic rock band, will perform at River Ridge Winery and on Sunday folk artist Jennifer Noble will perform. Both performances take place from 2 to 6 p.m. at the winery, located in Commerce. For more information, call the winery at (573) 264-3712.

-- From staff reports