Artifacts 9/3/04

First Friday reception at the arts council

From 5 to 8 p.m. tonight, the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri at 32 N. Main St. holds its First Friday reception. The council's September exhibit features the artwork of Nashville-based landscape painter Roger Brown in the Lorimer Gallery and artist Erin Tapley's "Thinking Inside the Box" exhibit in Gallery 100. New artwork will be on exhibit in the Jean A. Chapman Gallery.

Randy Auxier to perform at Tunes at Twilight

Carbondale singer-songwriter Randy Auxier will play Tunes at Twilight from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. tonight at the Courthouse of Common Pleas gazebo. A Memphis native, Auxier released an album, "Southwind," in 2003.

Wine festival in Illinois offers seafood, barbecue

The Shawnee Hills Wine Festival takes place Saturday and Sunday at Alto Vineyards in Alto Pass, Ill., and will feature live musical by Shady Mix and St. Stephen's Blues, as well as seafood and barbecue, and, of course, plenty of wine. For more information, call (618) 893-4898.

Nominations for the Missouri Arts Awards

The Missouri Arts Council is accepting nominations for the 2005 Missouri Arts Awards, which are given in a public ceremony each year to individuals and organizations who have made contributions to the arts in Missouri. This year's ceremony will be held Feb. 9, 2005, in the State Capitol Building rotunda in Jefferson City. Information about nominations are available by calling MAC at (866) 407-4752 or by visiting its Web site at www.missouriartscouncil.org/pdfs/2005MAANominationForm.pdf. The postmark deadline for nominations is Sept. 17.

Japanese festival comes to Botanical Garden

The 2004 Japanese Festival will be held at the Missouri Botanical Garden at 4344 Shaw Blvd. in St. Louis from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday. There will be a performance by the Hinode Taiko Rising Sun Drummers, a screening of an anime film, a tea ceremony, cooking demonstrations and more. For more information, visit www. mobot.org.

Interactive comedy returns to Grandel Theatre

The interactive comedy "Late Night Catechism" returns to St. Louis on Tuesday after an 11-month run in 2001-2002 at the Grandel Theatre's Grand Hall. Previews for the show begin Tuesday, but opening night is Thursday at Grandel Theatre, located at 3610 Grandel Square. For ticket information, call the Fabulous Fox box office at (314) 534-1111.

Lake Wappapello: Music, tractors and a yard sale

Lake Wappapello is busy this Labor Day weekend, with live musical performances by Brent Davis and the Moon Pie Gang on Friday and Guy Stevenson and the Winning Team on Saturday at the Lake Wappapello Outdoor Theatre, as well as the Annual Labor Day Antique Tractor and Equipment show Saturday at the Fisherman's Net Restaurant next to the theatre. A 25-mile yard sale will take place today through Sunday in the parking lot of the restaurant. The musical performances start at 6:30 p.m., the tractor show begins at 9 a.m. and the yard sale runs from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day. For more information, contact event coordinator Debby Worley at (573) 222-8083.

Labor Day activities set at Horseshoe Lake

Olive Branch, Ill. will celebrate Labor Day on Monday with the Horseshoe Lake Chamber of Commerce Labor Day Festival. The festival will feature a 6:30 a.m. pancake breakfast, an afternoon barbecue, games, prizes, concession stands, and live gospel and bluegrass music. For more information, call (618) 776-5198.

Blues festival coming to Murphysboro

The 2004 Murphysboro Blues Fest will run Sept. 10, 11 and 12 at the Shawnee Natural Ampitheater located at the Salt Petre Cave, seven miles south of Murphysboro, Ill. This year's musical lineup feature regional and national blues acts, including Guitar Shorty, Jimi Hendrix's brother-in-law. More information about the fest can be found at the event's Web site at www.murphysborobluesfest.com.