MAY 7, 2009 ISSUE
App Summer Hosts History Day at Farthing Auditorium May 15
Event Held in Honor of 25th Anniversary Season
ASU’s premier summer arts attraction, An Appalachian Summer Festival, invites friends of the arts to attend a History Day Celebration on Friday, May 15, in the lobby of Farthing Auditorium. The event, which is free and open to the public, is being organized on a “drop in” basis, with guests invited to stop in between the hours of 2:00 and 7:00 p.m.
Festival staff has gathered scrapbooks, memorabilia and photos to share, and light refreshments donated by festival supporters will be available. Additionally, festival staff will be on hand to record the stories and memories of festival friends.
Denise Ringler, director of Appalachian’s Office of Arts & Cultural Programs, which presents the summer festival, describes the event as a celebration of the community that has supported the festival and helped it grow into a major, regional arts attraction.
“We on the staff have been documenting the festival’s history for well over two decades, but our search for stories is never over,” said Ringler. “The festival’s history is rich with stories of people who have supported our mission, volunteered their time and, most importantly, attended events with friends and family, creating lasting memories. We look forward to spending time with our friends, sharing memories and collecting stories from the people who have shaped the festival with their support over the last 2.5 decades.”
App Summer began as a small, chamber music series that was brought to the university by Arnold and Muriel Rosen, Florida residents with a summer home in the High Country. A partnership soon developed, and ASU joined with the Rosens and other generous supporters to transform the vision of a major summer arts festival into a reality.
Over the years, symphony performances, ballet and contemporary dance, theatre, visual arts—both two- and three-dimensional—and finally, a film series were added to the summer lineup. True to a university-based arts festival, educational opportunities, including lectures and opportunities to meet artists, artistic directors, competition jurors and other experts have always been an important component of festival programming.
ASU Chancellor Kenneth E. Peacock and his wife, Rosanne, have been involved with the festival since its inception. Rosanne was one of the festival’s first volunteer ushers, a group that has now grown into a corps of more than 100 volunteers who are the faces of the festival, greeting and directing more than 26,000 festival attendees each season. Chancellor Peacock is among a distinguished group of ASU chancellors who have developed and sustained the festival, creating a summer attraction that rivals the artistic menus offered in major metropolitan areas.
The festival’s 25th anniversary season is scheduled from June 27 to July 25, and features several of the festival’s most popular artists from the past, including Pilobolus Dance Theater, the Broyhill Chamber Ensemble and the Celtic sensation Leahy, as well as artists new to the festival, such as Joan Baez, Melissa Manchester and Kenny Loggins.
Tickets to App Summer events are on sale now; prices range from $5 to $30. Most visual arts and educational events are free of charge. The festival offers two flexible ticket passes: the Pick 5 offers a 15 percent discount off of any purchase of five or more tickets; the Festival Pass offers a 25 percent discount and priority seating for those who purchase a ticket to each performance. For tickets and information, call 828-262-4046 or click to www.appsummer.org.
Want To Go?
Date: Friday, May 15
Time: 2:00 to 7:00 p.m.
Location: Farthing Auditorium
Cost: Free
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