Music, poetry and lectures highlight Fanfare's final act
Thursday, October 8, 2020 
by: Tonya Lowentritt
HAMMOND – A poetry walk, music concert and lectures highlight the final days
of Fanfare, Southeastern Louisiana University’s annual fall arts festival.
Fanfare’s finale begins on Wednesday, Oct. 14, with the second of three free
Then and Now Lectures at 1 p.m. in the Student Union Theatre. Communication Professor
and perennial Fanfare lecturer Joe Burns will present “Rock and Roll Urban Myths.”
Join Burns as he walks through what is real and what is not.
“There are so many stories from the world of music, and some of them are even
true, but we are not interested in them,” Burns said. “Far more intriguing are the
urban myths.”
Also on Oct. 14, Southeastern’s Writer-in-Residence Alison Pelegrin will lead
a poetry walk at 2 p.m. beginning in front of D Vickers Hall. Pelegrin will lead the
stroll through some of the most beautiful outdoor spaces on campus. Participants will
take writing breaks inspired by prompts to be discovered along the way.
Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts will host the Columbia Famous Talent
Show, the first ever Columbia Famous Fundraiser, Oct. 22, at 7 p.m. in the downtown
Hammond theatre.
Winners and finalists from the first ever Columbia Famous Talent Contest will perform
and display their winning pieces. Hosted by Miss Southeastern Janine Hatcher, the
event will feature singing, acting, dancing, visual art, comedy, and instrumental
music performed and created by the talented members of our community.
Although tickets are not required for entry, donations are welcomed for the fund
raiser.
On Saturday, Oct. 24, also Homecoming Day, Southeastern Community Music School will
host its 25th anniversary concert titled “Classics in Blue Jeans.” Scheduled at 10
a.m. at the Bass Clef Outdoor Stage next to Pottle Music Building, the free concert
will showcase an entertaining variety of individual and group performances by the
talented students of the CMS.
Audience members are encouraged to wear blue jeans and bring folding chairs or
blankets to this picnic-style event. Social distancing protocols will be in place
for the event, including maintaining safe distances of six feet and wearing face coverings.
Next on tap is a Zoom discussion between Associate Professor of English Claire
Cowart and Albert Camp, director of ESL programs at LSU. The discussion will focus
on the similarities between the loss of native speakers in Ireland and Cajun Louisiana,
and of the ways in which theatre helped to preserve awareness of the value of native
language and culture. Registration is required in advance for the Zoom meeting at
https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwuce2rqjMrE9yMia6mHfV3-Bd5aJe_0nXV.
The final Then and Now lecture will be presented Oct. 28 at 1 p.m. in the Student
Union Theatre. History and Political Science Department Head Bill Robison will present
the More-or-Less Annual Halloween Lecture “Plagues, Pandemics, and Pestilential Pumpkins:
Historical Horror Stories for Halloween.”
The annual lecture returns with the usual mix of scholarship, silliness, and
surprises as the Head HIPster examines the impact of pandemics on health, politics,
religion, economy, society, and culture from the Plague of Athens to COVID-19, including
the Black Death, the Spanish Flu, and many others. Costumes are welcomed and encouraged.
For a complete Fanfare schedule, contact the Columbia/Fanfare office at 985-543-4366
or visit columbiatheatre.org.
