Statesboro Celebrates the Fine Arts

Statesboro celebrated the Fine Arts for its monthly First Friday event held downtown in front of the courthouse, on April 6. This family friendly event showcased local businesses and provided entertainment for people of all ages.

Georgia Southern University’s Southern Saxophones performed, as well as the Southern Quartet and Cold Duck Time, a band full of Georgia Southern students.

“I came just to see Cold Duck Time; I heard them at the Statesboro Music Festival and enjoyed them,” said Georgia Southern University student Kristin Grebel.

“When I heard they were going to be here, I came at this specific time to see them,” she said.

There were also plenty of learning opportunities available, such as the table that provided information on Relay for Life and the Bullying booth.

“We decided we wanted to have a booth here in this family-oriented environment to raise awareness and prevent bullying from happening,” education specialist Perri Smith said.

Children played in bouncy houses, hunted Easter eggs and had their faces painted.

Adults pigged out on cupcakes, pizza, and popcorn. The next First Friday event will take place on May 4. It will be called Spring into Downtown.

Spring Sheep Shearing at Oatland Island

The Annual Sheep to Shawl Festival will be held at Oatland Island Wildlife Center on Saturday, March 24, 2012, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.  The festival will feature the shearing of Oatland’s sheep by members of The Fiber Guild of the Savannah’s, and students from Savannah Arts Academy and Savannah College of Art and Design Fiber Department.  Local musicians will play music on the porch, and the Home Cookin’ Cloggers will perform.

Oatland Island Wildlife Centeris a unique facility operated by theSavannah-ChathamCountySchoolsystem.  It encompasses a total of 175 acres of salt marsh and maritime forest habitat with a two mile walking trail and over 60 animals indigenous toGeorgia.  Some of these animals like the eastern timber wolf andFloridapanther are considered endangered species.  The Center is used as a field trip site for elementary students and is also open to the public for self-guided walks daily from 10 until 4 p.m.  The Center is located five miles east ofSavannahoff Islands Expressway at711 Sandtown Rd.

 by Ditoria Geddis

 Statesboro’s first  music festival will take center stage at the fairgrounds March 23 -24.  This event is the brain child of Statesboro’s own Lehman Franklin.

“This is a region rich in the arts and musical heritage and there simply needs to be a venue to be able to express and celebrate it,” Lehman said. “We also wanted to do something the whole community can come together on and give, serve and build upon for each other.”

A cornucopia of musicians from every genre will perform at the event. Country, rock, Christian, blues grass, reggae, funk and southern soul will be represented at the show.

“Almost all of our bands performing in the festival have a link to Statesboro,” Franklin said. “Either they grew up in ‘the Boro’ and moved away, have family here, or they are currently living and working in the community.”

A sampling of local acts include Evensong, Finnagin’s Father, and Gerald Smith.

Franklin admitted that this festival is important to him because he feels that music and art are forms of personal expression.  “It’s a powerful thing and I believe that it makes life much richer, whether you’re pouring it our or soaking it in,” he said.

Art exhibits will be part of the festival, as well.  Ann Walsh, an event sponsor  and the owner of Free Spirit Pottery & Glass Studio, plans to dedicate a building to arts and crafts. Other vendors will sell their art and provide art entertainment.

“It is my vision to have a lot of make and take,” Walsh said.

Walsh said she anyone who attends to create a piece of art at the event and take it with them.  Canvas painting, tie dye, sand art, ornament painting, flower pot painting will be available. She said that the art activities include a small fee, but will increase the family-oriented atmosphere.

“This event is an advertising opportunity for me. I hope to get more business and recognition,” said Walsh. “I admire the people putting it together, and I think that this will be great for the community. 

“The Music Festival will do more than simply bring the community together. It will help the city economicially. “Statesboro is an amazing place,” Franklin said. “Statesboro is a very giving, very loving and hospitable place where people truly care for your well being. It just made sense for me to come back home.”

This festival will benefit local non-profit groups as well as the sponsors who help make this event possible. “We want to support our local music scene and the businesses involved in it,” Franklin said.

Food and children’s activities such as bouncy houses, rock climbing will be available. Two stages will be set up for musicians to perform.

Tickets can be purchased online. The cost is $25 for a two day pass, or $15 for Friday and $25 for the Saturday. Children 12 and under get in free. Visit the website at statesboromusicfestival.com  for more information.

For the past 14 years, Curves franchises across the country have sponsored food drives that help local communities. This year, Delene Broeckling, the owner of Curves of Richmond Hill set a hefty goal.

We are determined to collect at least 1,800 pounds of food this year to support The Way Station food pantry of Richmond Hill,” Broeckling said. “Last year, our members collected just under 1,800 pounds. I know we can break that this year.”

Broeckling encourages non-member to donate cans to the food drive, as well. “I will waive the $99 service fee for anyone who brings a donation and wants to join,” she said. “I hope this will bring more interest to the drive, as well as get more women interested in our program. We’re a fun, fast and safe fitness center, especially for women.”

 The WAY Station is a food pantry run by the Richmond Hill United Methodist church. Area churches are its biggest supporters. It serves approximately 100 families a month from the South Bryan county area by providing food, toiletries, and clothing items.

For more information, contact Delene Broeckling of Curves Richmond Hill at 1 912.756.6611.

Gaslight Group’s “Blowin’ Smoke BBQ” to Host Savannah Stopover Artists

savannahstopover.com

The Savannah Stopover Festival will be back again for its second year this March and “Blowin’ Smoke BBQ” will again play host to some of the amazing talent brought in by Savannah Stopover Music Festival.

The goal of the festival is to bring in bands from the local southeastern region en route to Austin, Texas, to play at South by Southwest (SXSW).

Savannah Stopover provides the bands with an additional setting to share their music, a welcoming and inspirational city in which to stay, and the music-hungry population of eclectic Savannah residents.

The 2012 festival boasts over 70 bands throughout the four-day festival on a variety of locations.

With the success of “Blowin’ Smoke’s” participation as a venue setting in last year’s festival, Savannah Stopover has increased the number of shows for this popular restaurant.

This year, “Blowin’ Smoke” will host live performances from 15 different bands at their Historic Savannah locality, Thursday through Saturday, March 8,- 10. Some of the bands include: Jon Lindsay, Little Tybee, the Trainwrecks, Ponderosa, and Dare Dukes, among others.

savannahstopover.com

“We have always supported local artists and musicians and we are thrilled to be a part of Savannah Stopover again this year!” said Brian Huskey, co-owner and founder of Gaslight Group.

During the event the inside of the restaurant will be open to the public for dining.

The Patio and Beer Garden will be exclusive for Savannah Stopover, with a ticket entrance in front of the patio on MLK Blvd.

For ticket information please contact: http://www.savannahstopover.com/tickets/