By Staff
DOWAGIAC – A week-long celebration of the arts today as the Dogwood Fine Arts Festival kicks off with a presentation of the musical comedy, "Married Alive!" at the Beckwith Theatre. This year's festival will be the 17th and will once again feature artists and performers representing a wide range of artistic genres.
Saturday, will be a busy day as three festival events take place.
Toast 'n' Jam will feature Lake Effect Winds at 2 p.m. at the Beckwith Theatre. The event is designed for children ages 3-12 and tickets are free, but seating is limited.
Larry Sydow, a nationally certified antiques appraiser, will conduct an appraisal clinic at 2 p.m. at the Heddon Museum. Tickets are $15 and the event will include a tour of the museum from 1 to 2 p.m.
Saturday will finish with Dancing "Outside the Box," a video and film festival of dance featuring not only select artists from around the world in short film, but live dancing from members of the Encore Dance Company and Excel Dance. The event begins at 7:30 p.m. and will take place at the Theatre in the Dale A. Lyons Building on the campus of Southwestern Michigan College. Tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for students and seniors.
Chicago artist Jeanine Coupe-Ryding works in two artistic genres: large scale reduction woodcut prints and collage and will present a free gallery tour to the public on Monday, at the Theatre in the Dale A. Lyons Building. The program begins at 7:30 p.m.
Entertaining thousands of adults and children alike, storyteller Carmen Agra Deedy will make two appearances. On Tuesday, she will conduct a master class workshop at the Dogwood Festival Headquarters in the Huntington Bank building at 207 Commercial Street, Dowagiac. She will also give a Family Performance on Wednesday, May 14, at 7:30 p.m. in the Theatre of the Dale A. Lyons Building. The Workshop is $10 and the family performance is $6.
Youth Fine Arts Night will take place on Thursday, at the Dowagiac Union High School. Student artwork will be showcased and the choir, chorus, and bands will all perform. Exhibits open at 6 p.m. and the event is free and open to the public.
Novelist and memoirist Ivan Doig will appear on Friday, May 16, at 7:30 p.m. at the Dowagiac Middle School Performing Arts Center. Much of Doig's writings are set in the Montana country of his youth and he has been hailed as the new dean of western literature. His best-selling memoir, "House of Sky, the Landscape of a Western Mind," is a National Book Award nominee. Tickets range from $20 to $60 with the premium seats including a private reception with the author.
Saturday, May 17, the festival ends with two great events. A long-time tradition of surprise, entertainment and fun is the tea. This year's theme and title is "When East Meets West." This event will take place in the Mathews Conference Center on the Campus of Southwestern Michigan College. Pre-show entertainment with the Dogwood Chorale begins at 12:30 p.m. and the tea begins at 1 p.m. Tickets are $18.
The festival ends with a performance by legendary folk music singer/songwriter, Arlo Guthrie. Best known for such songs as "Alice's Restaurant," "Coming Into Los Angeles," and "City of New Orleans," Guthrie's appearance will mark the final stop on his "Solo Reunion Tour – Together at Last" which began in July of 2007. The performance begins at 7:30 p.m. and will take place in the middle school Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $25, $35, and $50.
For more information contact the Dogwood Festival office at 782-1115.