MUSIC, LECTURES, FILMS AND HERITAGE HIGHLIGHT FANFARE 2003'S FIRST WEEK
      HAMMOND -- A jazzy lunchtime picnic, an angelic boys choir and an acclaimed chamber ensemble, celebrations of the area's Italian and Hungarian heritage, film premiers, new dances, a collaboration of artists, and a comedy with a message are among the events ushering in the 18th season of Fanfare, Southeastern Louisiana University's annual festival of the arts, humanities and sciences.
       Fanfare's month-long offering of theater, art, music, films, dance, lectures and community events begins Friday, Sept. 26, with the Brown Bag Concert at noon in downtown Hammond's Cate Square. The traditional festival kickoff will feature Southeastern jazz musicians under the direction of new conductor Trent Davis.
       The evening before — Thursday, Sept. 25 — Fanfare will partner with the university's Center for Southeast Louisiana Studies for the premier of a special film, "Reluctant Americans: The West Florida Revolt and the Louisiana Purchase." The free event at the Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts begins at 7 p.m. with a brief lecture by center Director Samuel Hyde Jr.
       Sponsored by the center and funded in part by a Louisiana Bicentennial grant from the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, "Reluctant Americans: The West Florida Revolt and the Louisiana Purchase" is a docu-drama detailing the complex and bloody details involved in the revolt, which has been treated as a footnote to history, but ultimately completed the Louisiana Purchase and carved a distinctive identity for the Florida Parishes. A reception will follow the lecture and premier, sponsored by Southeastern and the Louisiana Purchase Bicentennial Commission.
       Following the Thursday night premier, the film also will be shown at 7 p.m. at the St. Helena Parish Municipal Building in Greensburg, Sept. 30; Walker Parish Baptist Church, Oct. 2; and Franklinton High School cafeteria, Oct. 13; and at 6 p.m. at Jackson Hall in St. Francisville, on Oct. 23.
       Southeastern Theatre joins the Fanfare 2003 schedule on September 30 with the opening of a five-night run of "The Curious Savage." Curtain time for John Patrick's comic morality tale is 7:30 p.m. through October 4 at Vonnie Borden Theatre.
       "The Curious Savage" pokes fun at the perennial desire for money and power. When wealthy Mrs Savage proposes to donate her money to a “good cause,” her greedy step-children lock her in a looney bin to bring her to her senses. Mrs Savage, however, decides to spend her loot on the future happiness of her sanatarium friends. The evil step-children will stop at nothing to gain control of the money, but Mrs Savage gives them fits -- and everybody gets what they deserve in the end.
       Tickets, available at the theatre box office in the lobby of D Vickers Hall, are $10 for adults, and $6 for senior citizens, Southeastern faculty, staff and alumni, and non-Southeastern students. Southeastern students are admitted free with the university I.D.
       Wednesday, Oct. 1, will see the first of eight free "Then and Now" lectures hosted by the Department of History and Political Science. At 1 p.m. in Pottle Music Building Auditorium, University of New Orleans sociology professor A. V. Margavio will present "Bread and Respect: The Italians in Louisiana," a talk based on the book that he co-authored with Jerome Salomone, Southeastern Professor Emeritus of Sociology and Dean Emeritus of the College of Arts and Sciences. 
       Margavio will give an engaging view of Italian immigrant life, the values that more than 70,000 immigrants brought with them, and the factors that changed their culture as they experienced a new world in Louisiana. 
       At  7:30 p.m. on Wednesday evening, three dances and four films by Southeastern's award-winning dance program director, Martie Fellom, will be showcased at the Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts. All the pieces in the free 60-minute program, "Lightning Bolt – Works That Illuminate," are united by a common "illuminating" theme. "They all are designed to enlighten and lift the spirit," Fellom said.
       The dances include "To Soar," a work about trying to achieve success which will be performed by two young dancers from Hammond, Maggie Rownd and Hayley Kropog; "Happy To Be Here," a piece about the joy of living featuring dancers of different ages and live guitar and piano music; and "Hope," which will be presented by flashlight-carrying dancers and young children. The dance, Fellom said, "supports the idea that children are our future."
       The film portion of “Lightning Bolt” includes  “Wish,” which won awards as an experimental film at the 2002 Worldfest-Houston International Film Festival and the Crested Butte International Reel Festival, and “Turtle Cove Suite.” Both works debuted during previous Fanfare seasons.
       The evening also will include two new films. “The Birds Sing for Me” is an elegiac work celebrating “nature, time, and wisdom handed down from mother to daughter,” Fellom said. 
She said “An Act of Bravery” depicts the “journey of courage” that takes place when a victim of molestation finds the strength to reveal his experience and reclaim his life. 
       On Thursday, Oct. 2, an opening reception is scheduled from 5-7 p.m. for the Clark Hall Gallery Fanfare exhibit of drawings and prints by Mark Pearlman and Kurt Kemp. The exhibit will be on display through the end of October.
        For almost two decades, Mark Pearlman and Kurt Kemp of Sonoma State University have been collaborating on a series of works on paper. Pearlman's intuitive abstracts and  Kemp's more narrative imagery form a conversation or dance, a successful joint artistic venture buoyed by their mutual friendship and respect.
       Also on Oct. 2, 7:30 p.m., the Prairie Winds will perform at the Columbia Theatre's Conference Center. "Brilliant playing," "amazing technical facility," and "a magical ability to blend" are just a few of the superlatives the critics have showered on this wind quintet. Since their debut in 1996, the Prairie Winds has inspired concert-goers' delight, blending humor, fascinating musical information, and powerful performing into a synergetic experience that leaves audiences clamoring for more. 
       Tickets for the performance are $8 for adults, senior citizens, Southeastern faculty, staff, alumni and non-Southeastern students; $3 for Southeastern students and $5, group rate. Earlier in the day, the Prairie Winds will also offer a free "informance" at 2 p.m. in Pottle Music Building Auditorium.
        On Saturday, Oct. 4, the annual Hungarian Harvest Celebration, centered at the 
Hungarian Settlement American Legion Hall on Hwy. 43 near Springfield, joins Fanfare 2003 to close out the festival's first week. The festivities include a Hungarian dinner from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Hungarian music by Eletfa beginning at 3 p.m.; the Hungarian Harvest Dance, Baton Rouge International Folk Dancers, and wine auction from 5:30-7:30 p.m.; and music by Boudin Cajun Band, featuring 12 year old accordion player, Dane Monic, from 8-10 p.m.
       Tickets for the dinner are $7. Harvest Dance admission is $10 in advance and $15 at the door for ages 13 and older. Tickets are available from Helen Nyeki, 225-567-2198; Olde World Bakery, 225-209-2253, and Louis Bartus Sausage Shoppe, 225-567-3178.
        For a Fanfare brochure and ticket order form or for additional information about Fanfare events, contact Fanfare, 985-543-4366 or fanfare_ctpa@selu.edu. Fanfare information is also available online under the “2003 Season” link at www.selu.edu/fanfare. 
      Fanfare tickets are available at the Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts box office, 220 East Thomas St., Hammond, 985-543-4371. Tickets can also be purchased online at w ww.ticketweb.com. Box office hours are noon to 5 p.m., weekdays. The box office is open until performance time for events at the Columbia Theatre.