Banners Series Begins 18th Year
Zachary Richard
The McNeese State University Banners Cultural Series will begin its 18th year on Feb. 20 with the Grammy-winning King’s Singers from King’s College, Cambridge, England. The series will continue with everything from Cajun music to a magic show - with a classical pianist in between. The spring series will end with a rousing blues concert on May 1.
A basic membership to the Banners Series costs $150 and includes two tickets to all events plus seating in a reserved area and invitations to Meet-the-Artist receptions. Memberships are available by calling the Banners Series office at (337) 475-5123 or online at www.banners.org. Brochures about the series are also available by calling the office or visiting the Web site.
Tickets to individual performances will be available through the Web site or at the door and are $20 for adults, free to McNeese students with IDs and $5 for all other students. Lectures are open free to the public.
The Banners Cultural Series is planned by a committee of volunteers.
“Our series reflects the diversity of the wonderful committee that runs the series,” explained Mary Richardson, director. “Our committee has about 100 people who do everything from running the sound and lights to pouring coffee at the receptions. These people choose the events we present – and since the committee represents so many varied interests, our series has something for everyone, too.”
Lily Cai Chinese Dance Company
Events will include performances by Cajun legend Zachary Richard (March 8), jazz by the Preservation Hall Jazz Band (March 13), world music by Wine & Alchemy (April 9), Native American singer/songwriter Bill Miller (April 16) and blues artist Kelley Hunt (May 1).
Classical music fans will hear the 20-year-old pianist wonder Ji-Yong (April 25), and people who like to kick up their heels will get to dance to the music of Ann Savoy & Her Sleepless Knights (March 20).
Two performances are specially geared for families – Avner the Eccentric (Feb. 27) and the illusionist Jason Bishop (March 26). And the world famous Lily Cai Chinese Dance Company will amaze the audience with the beauty of its Chinese-inspired dances on April 23.
The Banners Lecture Series will bring in national scholars on such topics as: “Industrializing Everything: Agriculture in 20th Century America” (March 8); “Oil: Is It a Sustainable Resoruce?” (March 17); “Pakistan’s Northwest Frontier: the Most Dangerous Place on Earth” (April 12); “Roots, Divorce, ‘Free Bird’ & Family Values: Debating Southern Family Life in the 1970s” (April 20); and “America’s Huge Stake in India” (April 28).
The McLeod Lecture Series will explore “Right to Work: Changes in Louisiana’s Political Landscape” April 8 and will again be televised by LPB.
The Banners Series will also continue to bring live performances into K-12 schools, outreach which is partially sponsored by CITGO Petroleum Company and the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury. Last year the Banners Cultural Series reached almost 18,000 young people, according to LaDonna McKnight, the CITGO Educational Outreach Specialist for the Banners Series.
The Banners Series is supported by membership fees, corporate sponsors and grants.
Grants have been received from the Southwest Louisiana Convention and Visitors Bureau, the city of Lake Charles, the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury, the Arts and Humanities Council of Southwestern Louisiana, the Louisiana Division of the Arts, the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities and the Southern Arts Federation.
Corporate sponsors, which pick up more than 60 percent of the cost of the series, include Isle of Capri Casino, CITGO, PPG, Chase, Entergy, ConocoPhillips, American Press, Empire of the Seed, city of Lake Charles, Union Pacific Railroad, Stockwell Sievert Law Firm, Jeff Davis Bank & Trust Co., Calcasieu Parish Police Jury, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana, West Calcasieu Cameron Hospital Foundation, Southern Sound Systems, Inc., Southwest Beverage Co., Inc., Fuerst & Godley Law Firm, State Farm Insurance Co., AT&T Real Yellow Pages, Lake Charles Pre-Sort, Knight Media Inc., Bolton Ford, KPLC-TV, AT&T, Shaw Group, Paradise Florist, Sweets & Treats, Louisiana Lottery, the Stream Family, Drew & Sheila Ranier, Greg David’s FrameWorks, Dr. & Mrs. A.T. Ordinario Jr., Sasol North America, First Federal Bank of Louisiana.
EVENTS:
The King’s Singers
(Co-sponsored with the city of Lake Charles)
Feb. 20, 7:30 p.m., Rosa Hart Theatre, Lake Charles Civic Center
$20 adults, $5 students, free to McNeese students with ID
This super-star group originated at King’s College, Cambridge, England. The singers (two countertenors, tenor, two baritones and bass) just won a Grammy for “Simple Gifts,” a combination of folk, spiritual and pop music that marked the group’s 40th anniversary. www.kingssingers.com
Robert Olen Butler, a reading
Feb. 26, 7 p.m., Business Conference Center
(Co-presented with the Master of Fine Arts Program at McNeese)
Ada Vincent Series Visiting Writer
Pulitzer prize-winning author, Robert Olen Butler, will give a reading from his latest works. His latest book, “Hell,” is just out and the Banners staff thinks it’s very funny!
www.banners.org
“Exceptions to Gravity” with Avner the Eccentric
Feb. 27, 7:30 p.m., F.G. Bulber Auditorium
$20 adults, $5 students, free to McNeese students with ID
Avner manages to be side splitting funny – all without saying a word. Bring your kids and your grandkids! Let them see Avner eat a million paper napkins? This is family entertainment at its best. Avner will give a free Clown Workshop from 2-4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 28, in F.G. Bulber Auditorium.
www.avnertheeccentric.com
Short Circuit Traveling Film Festival
March 4, 7 p.m., Baker Auditorium, Farrar Hall
Short Circuit, presented by the Southern Arts Federation, is the only program that spotlights short films created by filmmakers living and working in the southeastern United States.
Zachary Richard
(Co-sponsored with Louisiana Crossroads)
March 6, 7:30 p.m., F.G. Bulber Auditorium
$20 adults, $5 students, free to McNeese students with ID
Militant environmentalist and cultural activist, poet and singer-songwriter, Zachary Richard is back in his native Louisiana and he wrote the songs on his latest album, “Last Kiss,” in English. It’s nice to have him home.
www.zacharyrichard.com
“Industrializing Everything: Agriculture in 20th Century America”
Lecture by Deborah Fitzgerald
March 8, 7 p.m., Baker Auditorium, Farrar Hall
World War II fundamentally reshaped the food industry and created the current global food chains. Dr. Deborah Fitzgerald, faculty member at MIT, researches the history of agriculture and food in modern America.
www.oah.org
Preservation Hall Jazz Band
(Co-sponsored with Louisiana Crossroads)
March 13, 7:30 p.m., F.G. Bulber Auditorium
$20 adults, $5 students, free to McNeese students with ID
New Orleans jazz comes to Lake Charles. This band gets its name from the venerable music venue in the heart of the New Orleans French quarter– the Preservation Hall. The group began touring in 1963 but this will be its first trip to Lake Charles. How could that have happened! www.preservationhall.com
“Oil: Is It a Sustainable Resource?”
A lecture by Jeffrey A. Miller
March 17, 7 p.m., Parra Ballroom
(Co-presented with the McNeese College of Business Executive Speaker Series)
Jeffrey Miller is an expert in exploring ways that new technology can be used to extract existing resources (i.e. how do we get more oil from “empty” fields?). He is also vice president of the Baroid Fluid Services and responsible for Baroid’s global performance.
www.banners.org
Ann Savoy and Her Sleepless Knights
March 20, 7:30 p.m., F.G. Bulber Auditorium
$20 adults, $5 students, free to McNeese students with ID
Chanteuse Ann Savoy sings vintage jazz and transports the Hot Club of Paris to the bayous of Southwestern Louisiana. We’ll listen in our seats for the first half in F.G. Bulber Auditorium, and then at intermission move over to Parra Ballroom to dance the night away.
www.annsavoy.com
23rd Annual McNeese Works on Paper Exhibition
with juror Peter Frank, senior curator at Riverside Art Museum
March 25, 7 p.m., Abercrombie Gallery, Shearman Fine Arts Building
Juror for the 23rd Annual Exhibition is Peter Frank, senior curator of Riverside Art Museum, art critic for Angeleno Magazine and long-time critic for LA Weekly. The exhibit will be on view until April 23.
www.banners.org
The Jason Bishop Show
(Co-sponsored with the city of Lake Charles)
March 26, 7:30 p.m., Rosa Hart Theatre, Lake Charles Civic Center
$20 adults, $5 students, free to McNeese students with ID
From his breathtaking double levitation to his cutting edge Op-Art and plasma screen illusions, Jason Bishop presents the most dynamic magic show in the United States. Each show includes award-winning slight of hand, exclusive grand illusions and even close-up magic projected onto a huge screen.
www.thejasonbishopshow.com
“Right to Work: Changes in Louisiana’s Political Landscape”
McLeod Lecture Series
April 8, 7 p.m., Central School Theatre
The Right to Work reform effort from the 1970s changed the dynamics of the labor and management working relationship in Louisiana. A lively discussion will take place between people who were involved on both sides and panelists will share views about the long-term impact on economic development in our state.
Wine & Alchemy
April 9, 7:30 p.m., F.G. Bulber Auditorium
$20 adults, $5 students, free to McNeese students with ID
Hear world music, spiced up with an infusion of world belly dancing – including sword dancing, veil spinning and fan dancing. Musical inspiration for this group comes from the musical genres of Celtic, Renaissance, French, Greek, Sephardic, Armenian, Flamenco and Middle Eastern.
www.wineandalchemy.com
“Pakistan’s Northwest Frontier: the Most Dangerous Place on Earth”
A lecture by Sameetah Agha
April 12, 7 p.m., Parra Ballroom
The northwest border of Pakistan has been labeled “the most dangerous place on earth” – but that situation didn’t happen overnight. The U.S. confrontation following 9/11 is only the most recent episode in a longer history of colonial violence and invasions. Dr. Sameetah Agha will put American experiences in this part of Pakistan into the context of the Pukhtun history.
Bill Miller
April 16, 7:30 p.m., F.G. Bulber Auditorium
$20 adults, $5 students, free to McNeese students with ID
Bill Miller–Grammy-winning recording artist, performer, songwriter, activist, painter and flute player—is a Mohican Indian from Northern Wisconsin who blends the Native American and Western Folk/Blues traditions into something wholly new.
www.billmiller.net
“Roots, Divorce, ‘Free Bird’ and Family Values: Debating Southern Family Life in the 1970s”
A lecture by Ted Ownby
April 20, 7 p.m., Baker Auditorium, Farrar Hall
What happened to Southern family life? Dr. Ted Ownby will discuss the conflicting definitions of family life in the 20th century American South, when Lynyrd Skynyrd’s song, “Free Bird,” became a kind of anthem for young men who were rejecting permanent commitments.
www.oah.org
Lily Cai Chinese Dance Company
(Co-sponsored with the city of Lake Charles)
April 23, 7:30 p.m., Rosa Hart Theatre, Lake Charles Civic Center
$20 adults, $5 students, free to McNeese students with ID
See dances that fuse ancient Chinese forms to modern dance. “Dynasty Suite” interprets four ancient Chinese dances. “Candelas,” set to music by Gustav Mahler, dancers perform with lit candles. “Silk Cascade” is a take on traditional Chinese ribbon dancing. Lily Cai, artistic director and choreographer, is a native of Shanghai and the former principal dancer with the Shanghai Opera House Dance Troupe.
www.lilycaidance.com
Ji-Yong
April 25, 3 p.m., F.G. Bulber Auditorium
$20 adults, $5 students, free to McNeese students with ID
At age 10, Ji-Yong became the youngest pianist ever to win the New York Philharmonic Young Artists Competition. Today, at age 20, he plays with such mastery that he has been compared to Rachmaninov and Mendelssohn. He is a star performer with the Toronto, Chicago and other world class symphony orchestras and has just recorded on the Telarc label.
www.ji-yong.com
“America’s Huge Stake in India”
A lecture by Mira Kamdar
April 28, 7 p.m., Parra Ballroom
India is the world in microcosm, with all the problems of globalization, climate change, agriculture and food crisis, sustainability, consumption and violence. And yes, the United States is vitally involved in the struggle. Dr. Mira Kamdar is the author of “Planet India: The Turbulent Rise of the World’s Largest Democracy and the Future of Our World” and provides expert commentary to CNN International, BBC, NPR, NPI, Radio France and more.
Allen Braden, a reading
April 30, 7 p.m., Business Conference Center
Allen Braden has received a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship (which came with a $20,000 award!), an Artist Trust fellowship, an Artist Trust grant, the Emerging Writers Prize from Witness magazine, the Grolier Poetry Prize and other honors. His first book, “A Wreath of Down and Drops of Blood” is about to be released.
Kelley Hunt
May 1, 7:30 p.m., F.G. Bulber Auditorium
$20 adults, $5 students, free to McNeese students with ID
Word is spreading about the incredible blues woman Kelley Hunt, who works out of Kansas City. She sings and writes 12-bar blues, gospel, boogie-woogie, contemporary and cooling R&B. Delbert McClinton says that “Kelley Hunt is real like Diana Krall is real.” And Blues Access says she’s the next Susan Tedeschi.
www.kelleyhunt.com