The Official Student News Media of Southeastern Louisiana University

The Lion's Roar

The Official Student News Media of Southeastern Louisiana University

The Lion's Roar

The Official Student News Media of Southeastern Louisiana University

The Lion's Roar

    Fanfare to present music, art, lecture series

    In 1984, Lion football did not exist. In effort to draw alumni back to Southeastern for Homecoming, Harriet Vogt, Karen White and Roy Blackwood created a plan to engage the Southeastern Community in a month of local events and activities.
    After 27 years of tradition Fanfare, a celebration of the arts held each October, will present a variety of entertainment for students, faculty, staff and members of the Southeastern community including lectures, films and musical performances.
    “Several years ago we refocused Fanfare on the campus, so we don’t do too many things here [at the Columbia Theatre], although we do some,” said Roy Blackwood, director of the Columbia Theatre, instructor at Southeastern and director of Fanfare. “Most I present on campus in Pottle Auditorium, the Student Union Theater, places like that.”
    A consistent part of Fanfare each year, the “Then and Now Lecture Series,” which offers a look at how things have changed over the years, holds both lectures by professors and presentations of historical films. Fanfare will begin  Monday, Sept. 30 at 7 p.m. with the first of the “Then and Now Lecture Series,” the film premier of “Louisiana During World War II” by LSU-A professor Jerry Sanson and Southeastern history professor William Robison.
    “There’s a very large component of Fanfare which is called ‘Then and Now,'” said Blackwood. “It’s sponsored by the Department of History and Political Science. Most of those I’m going to do here at Columbia, as opposed to in Pottle Auditorium like in the past. That’s going to be very exciting to have a lot of that here.”
    This year the “Then and Now Lecture Series” will span a wide array of topics including the Charles Manson killings, Louisiana’s forgotten rock festival and “Twilight”-style storylines link to classic literature. Another Fanfare favorite is William Robison’s annual Halloween-themed lecture, which will include film clips, free candy and many people in costumes.
    In addition to the lecture series are many other artistic events. Octuba-Fest will be taking place throughout the month. There will be multiple different music and dance recitals performed by faculty, and the Southeastern Wind Symphony will perform “Music in the Movies” and the Chamber Chorale will present “Spooktacular 3,” a Halloween treat for people of all ages.  
    “There’s a film series that’s always been a part of Fanfare,” said Blackwood. “We’ve had to totally rethink how we do that because the licensing changed. So for example we got cut short with that change in the law, and we had to come up with a lot of money to be able to present these films. It’s an important component of Fanfare, so it was really important for us to do that. This year we’re going to be able to do that through SpectiCast presentations and reduce that cost.”
    Despite being a Southeastern-based arts celebration, Blackwood also holds some Fanfare events off-campus around Hammond, Madisonville and Amite.
    “Many times we have Fanfare events, for example, at the Merritime Museum in Madisonville we’ve had things in the past,” said Blackwood. “In Amite last year they did the Victory Belles, and this year they’re going to do a play called ‘Dealt a Deadly Hand,’ and that’s going to be at the Amite Community Center on Oct. 12, so there are things like that.”
    Blackwood said that they are in the process of using social media to try to better advertise Fanfare events. Students should check the Columbia Theatre website, www.columbiatheatre.org for the complete Fanfare schedule, and watch for emails and advertisements regarding major events. Most Fanfare events are free for Southeastern students with I.D., although some venues offer discounted student prices.
     

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