ACANSA Arts Festival September 21–25, 2016
August 29 - September 4, 2016
Bridging the Arts
By Kay Bona
For the third year the ACANSA Arts Festival will be held in both Little Rock and North Little Rock.
If you are wondering how can you have an arts festival in both towns it is because this is an arts festival like none other you have ever attended. And if you haven’t ever been to ACANSA, this year’s exciting event will offer you a chance to do so. As ACANSA Board President Joe Kolb says, “plan to be entertained, amused, and inspired!”
The name Arkansas is a Siouan Indian word. It comes from several spellings including Acansa, which was the name of a major Quapaw village in southeastern Arkansas. Many people believe that Acansa meant “downstream people.” More than likely, it came from the Quapaw word meaning “southern place” or “people of the south wind.” Their non-native neighbors often referred to the Quapaw tribe as the Acansa, Arkansas, or Alkansea Indians because of this town.
The founder and Development Committee Chair of the festival could not think of a more fitting title. It just works. Not only is it meaningful, it is catchy and fun.
After visiting a Spoleto Arts Festival in Charleston, South Carolina, ACANSA’s Founder Charlotte Gadberry, approached the mayors of Little Rock, North Little Rock and leaders of our arts communities about collaborating to make ACANSA Arts Festival come alive, and to her surprise, they whole-heartily agreed.
A grass-roots movement ensued with hundreds of volunteers working together in numerous roles to bring this annual festival to Arkansas. The inaugural festival took place September 23rd through September 28th, 2014. Plans are in the works to make the ACANSA Arts Festival a permanent cultural institution and establish Arkansas as the next great arts and culture destination in the U.S.
According to Festival Executive Director, Peyton Woodyard, this year’s shows and performing artists offer something for every age group and artistic leanings.
Some of the performances are the one-man show Murrow, starring popular actor, Joe Vitale as broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow. Vitale has performed at the Rep in the productions Macbeth, and Death of a Salesman.
Also, back by popular demand is the Saint Mark’s Baptist Choir who will perform for Sunday brunch at Wildwood Park. Last year’s performance was sold out – that should tell you something about the vocal ability of the choir. You might not want to miss that one.
Also, another show you won’t want to miss will be the one-woman show My Mother had 4 Noses, performed by Jonatha Brooke. Don’t know who she is? Google her name, you will find tons of filmography composer, performer, and soundtrack credits.
Ms. Brooke, a singer/songwriter, is performing her show, My Mother has 4 Noses on Friday and Saturday night at 8 p.m. at the Argenta Theater.
New York Times describes this show as “devastating and gorgeous. Poignantly funny and beautifully created.”
My Mother has 4 Noses is a mother/daughter end-of-life love story complicated by religion and Alzheimer’s disease. “To have written a show about her mother’s dying, to bring her work to such an intimate and traumatic event – the disturbing death of her mother – takes a particular kind of courage.” (Theater Pizzazz)
I don’t want to give a spoiler alert; however I will say the title of the show is quite literal. Because of Ms. Brooke’s mothers’ religious beliefs, she ended up with four noses.
Anyone who has walked this life’s pathway with a relative or loved one will be able to relate to the love and compassion of this performance, and Jonatha Brooke rocks it!
There will also be a Children’s Public Art Project at the Little Rock Food Truck Festival on Saturday, the 24th (Little Rock Main Street Corridor). Needless to say, there will be plenty of food and fun!
ACANSA will bring together major professional arts programs in central Arkansas such as the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, Arkansas Repertory Theater, Arkansas Arts Center, Ballet Arkansas and Wildwood Park for the Performing Arts, along with new up-and-coming artists and local art groups, as well as entertainers and artists from outside Arkansas.
The full schedule is listed below; search it to find an arts project that fits you or your whole family. Tickets can be purchased at the website: www.ACANSAartsfestival.org, or you can call 501-663-2287. There are also volunteer opportunities for those who want to be involved in the “behind the scenes activities.” It is the perfect way to get involved with your arts community.
