Arts and culture

Arts and culture are awake, well and thriving in the Cape Girardeau area. The spectrum is quite broad. The following are organizations and places where the civilities of arts and culture gather.

Cape Girardeau

The mission of the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri is to provide a forum for area residents to explore, contemplate and revel in the diversity and energy of the arts.

Among the activities and events made possible by the Arts Council are the Children's Arts Festival (art and music), Summer Arts Classes, home tours, bus tours, Spring Arts Festival and Art for the Health of It.

The galleries at 32 N. Main St. feature exhibits by local and nationally known artists, and is home to the 41-member Visual Arts Cooperative and Arts Council Gift Shop. Included in the Gift Shop is Mississippi mud pottery and Lewis and Clark items. A public opening reception is held on the first Friday of every month from 5-8 p.m. Admission to the galleries is free.

The council sponsors two venues at the annual Arts and Crafts Extravaganza held the weekend before Thanksgiving (Nov. 22-23) at the Show Me Center and the Osage Centre. The fair draws 10,000 people annually.

Funding is provided through the Missouri Arts Council. Admission to the galleries is free. Hours are 9 a.m.-noon and 1-5 p.m., Monday through Friday, and Saturday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Rebecca Fulgham is the executive director. For more information call 334-9233.

The Cape Girardeau Municipal Band has provided summer concerts to the city for more than 100 years. The band, funded through the Department of Parks and Recreation, has been under city sponsorship since 1927.

The 55-member band is under the directorship of Ron Nall. The concert season begins on Memorial Day and goes through mid-August. Concerts are held on Wednesday nights at 8.

Cape River Heritage Museum is a center of historic preservation for Cape Girardeau and the River Heritage Region. The museum is located at 538 Independence and is open March 15 through December 15 on Fridays and Saturdays and on other days by appointment. Appointments can be made by calling 334-0405. Marge Thompson is president of the museum's board of directors and chief tour guide at the two-story repository that was built in 1908.

The museum is frequently visited by passengers of paddlewheelers and other riverboats that dock downtown, bus tours, Girl and Boy Scout troops and students from area schools. Permanent exhibits are displayed in four rooms. There are special exhibits, many of which are created from objects and materials stored on the upper floor of the building. There is also a gift shop.

The Glenn House is a classic 19th century residence. Marvelous period furniture and art glass windows reflect a Victorian elegance that reveals the affluent lifestyle of its first occupants. Located at 325 S. Spanish St., the Glenn House is open April to December from 1 to 4 p.m., Friday through Sunday. Group tours are welcome. For more information call 334-1177.

A spectacular multi-colored mural was painted on a long section of the floodwall downtown in 1996. Almost 50 famous Missourians are depicted. Among them are Calamity Jane, T.S. Eliot, Dale Carnegie, Porter Wagoner, Mark Twain, J.C. Penney, Rush Limbaugh, Harry Truman, Walter Cronkite, Yogi Berra, Stan Musial, Jean Harlow, Frank and Jesse James, George Washington Carver, Vincent Price, Redd Foxx, Joseph Pulitzer, Betty Grable and John Huston.

Southeast Missouri State University

The University Museum has notable collections of fine art, archaeology and historical artifacts.

Exhibits on display include the Houck Collection of classical statuary, the George and Placide Schriever Collections of paintings, prints and sculpture dating from the Renaissance to the present, the Jake Wells Collection of watercolor paintings of mills in Southeast Missouri and the Thomas Beckwith Collection of archaeological artifacts.

A new art exhibition is featured in the museum gallery each month. The museum is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The facility is open to the public and admission is free. Visitor parking is available. For more information call 651-2260.

The Forrest H. Rose Theatre seats an audience of 500 and is handicapped accessible. The University Theatre performs an average of four to five productions per year in the theater; productions include Shakespearean, tragedy, musicals, comedy and children's theater.

Popular offerings have been "The Music Man," "Some Like It Hot," The Three Penny Opera," "Grease," "Mid Summer Night's Dream" and many of the comedies of Neil Simon such as "Plaza Suite."

The theater is located on the east side of the Grauel Building. For more information call the box office at 651-2265.

The Brodsky Collection of William Faulkner materials is housed in the Rare Book Room of Kent Library. The collection includes signed books, manuscripts, letters, photographs, documents, screen plays, a color bureau, and other memorabilia. It is one of four major Faulkner collections in the world. Others are at the Universities of Mississippi, Texas and Virginia. Those interested in viewing the collection or using it for research may contact Dr. Robert Hamblin, director of the Center for Faulkner Studies, at 651-2628. The center is open from 1 until 5 Monday through Friday and other times by appointment.

The Music Department at the university presents about 40 concerts each year. Information about the concerts can be obtained at 651-2141.

The Foreign Film Series provides free foreign films to the public. Most films have subtitles and are free. For more information call the Foreign Language Department at 651-2146

KRCU-FM, the university's radio station, is affiliated with National Public Radio and Public Radio International. The station provides a wide range of cultural and educational programming for the region. KRCU is at 90.9 FM. For more information call 651-5070.

Jackson

The Jackson Area Arts Council, which formed in 2001, is sponsored by the Jackson Parks and Recreation Department. Its mission is to provide opportunities for visual and performing artists. The council meets the third Thursday of each month at 7 p.m. at City Hall.

The arts council is involved in the Scenic Drive Weekend, Art in the Park held every July 4th, Uptown Art held during Homecomers every August, and the Bring Your Own Chair Sunday Showcase, which is seven monthly performances at the City Park Band Shell.

The council also helps sponsor the performance group Starcatchers, and it helps display artworks by local students. A monthly newsletter is being planned. For more information call 204-8848.

The gracious Oliver House is a Federal-style brick house built in the 19th century. Visitors can appreciate the many wonderful pieces of authentic period furniture, listen to the fanciful music of the Edison victrola and view old photos of the people who once lived here in affluence.

The Oliver House is open to the public May through December on the first Sunday of each month from 1 to 4:30. It is located at the corner of Adams and Ohio. For more information about special tours, private parties or special events call 243-5084 or 243-3171.

The Jackson Municipal Band provides entertainment in a natural amphitheater in Jackson City Park. The band was started in 1920 through the Jackson Chamber of Commerce. Performances are free to the public and are every Thursday night during summer months.

Travel westward to Bollinger Mill, a four-story stone and brick structure located on the Whitewater River in Burfordville. It is one of Missouri's few remaining grist mills. The nearby 140-year-old self-supporting Howe Truss covered bridge is one of four remaining covered bridges in Missouri. The covered bridge provides a sublime setting for artists and photographers.

There are occasional concerts at the park located beside the mill. Tours are available by the Department of Natural Resources personnel on Sundays from noon to 4 p.m. and Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The covered bridge is open for foot traffic only. A demonstration of corn milling is included in the tour. For group tours call 243-4591.

Old McKendree Chapel, built in Jackson in 1819, is the oldest Protestant church building west of the Mississippi River. The church building is listed in the National Archives of the Methodist Church.

Located at 4080 Bainbridge Road, the church is open each day of the year during daylight hours with no admission charge. For more information call 243-2774.

Perry County

This area is imbued in history: Trinity Lutheran Church/School in Altenburg is the oldest church buildings in Perry County. It was dedicated on Pentecost Sunday in 1845.

The bell on the building was brought from Germany in 1839 and is the "Liberty Bell" of the 2.7 million member Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. The bell is dated 1761.

The facility was converted to a museum under the supervision of the Perry County Lutheran Historical Society of Altenburg in 1969. For tours information call 824-5542.

The Saxon Lutheran Memorial in Frohna is a farmstead that has been restored and dedicated as a memorial to the Saxon Immigration. Among the buildings at the memorial are log cabins, a meeting room and a well-furnished museum.

The Saxon Lutheran Memorial is owned and operated by Concordia Historical Institute. For tours information call 824-5404.

The captivating St. Mary's of the Barrens in Perryville was established in the early 1800s and was the fourth Catholic seminary in the United States, the first seminary founded in the Louisiana Territory and the first college founded west of the Mississippi River.

Within the church is the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal. The Seminary Library contains a collection of rare and valuable books, Vincentian archives and historical documents.

Many antiques, rare porcelain collections and other items of the time of Louis XV of France are located in the Countess Estell Doheny Museum in the library building.

The Perry County Museum, a joint venture with the city of Perryville and the Perry County Historical Society, is located at the entrance of Perryville City Park in a two-story brick house built in 1881.

The Faherty House is also in Perryville. It features a circa 1830-1890 exterior and interior and is owned and maintained by the Perry County Historical Society.

The society maintains a library housed in the office behind the Faherty House. It is open to the public on Saturdays (except January and February) from 9 a.m. until noon.

Sikeston

Visitors to Sikeston and Miner can also enjoy the performing and cultural arts. The Sikeston Missouri Arts Council and the Sikeston Art League offer a number of community concerts, cultural performances and art shows throughout the year.

In Sikeston you will find the oldest performing arts group between St. Louis and Memphis -- the Sikeston Little Theater. Their performances are not to be missed, nor are the annual performances of the Arts Council's Missoula Children's Theater.

The new Albritton Mayer Center for the Arts, at 505 South Kingshighway, provides a home for a host of multi-media cultural presentations.

The Sikeston Historic Depot is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Each month the Historic Depot presents a different local or nationally recognized artist/sculptor in a gallery exhibit.