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Local, international talent visits FF [UPDATED]
Published 9:21am Thursday, February 28, 2013 Updated 11:25am Thursday, February 28, 2013I must admit, I’m still reeling from the incredible show we had here at A Center for the Arts last week. We had Grammy-award-winning Terrance Simien and the Zydeco Experience and it was a blast.
There were people dancing in the aisles and in front of the stage and Mardi Gras beads being thrown into the audience and yours truly played the Frottoir (or rub board) on stage with the band.
It was certainly a night I’ll never forget.
Another part of last Friday that I will never forget is the “kindergarten mosh pit” that ensued at Kennedy Auditorium at 10 a.m. when Terrance and the band presented their internationally recognized Creole For Kidz program to over 900 Fergus Falls elementary school kids.
For an hour the kids learned all about Zydeco music and Creole culture, while being thoroughly entertained by music that made it impossible not to dance.
Many lucky kids got an opportunity to get up on stage and play the rub board alongside Terrance and there was lots of dancing in seats and in front of the stage.
Last Friday was a perfect example of the type of nationally- and internationally-renowned artists that A Center for the Arts brings to Fergus Falls.
The Center also does a great job of highlighting the amazing amount of local talent we have right here in our community and the surrounding communities.
Our next big event, on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, March 8, 9, and 10 we are doing exactly that — highlighting local talent with our annual spring fundraising show Razzle Dazzle Revue.
Rebecca Sonmor and Jennifer Johnson are co-directing this year’s Razzle Dazzle Revue themed “Random Acts of Music.” There are more than 40 people in the cast ranging greatly in age from youth and teen to adult.
The show will be filled with recognizable songs from movies, musicals, TV shows, and famous singers. Audiences always walk away from this show blown away by the talent we have right here in Fergus Falls. And the best part is that this is a fundraiser for the Center which helps us bring more theater to Fergus in the future.
We hope you’ll come out to support your friends, family, peers, and neighbors in this fun musical variety show.
Our next Center Series event is on Saturday, March 16 and features the 2005 World Artist of the Year, Pavlo, with his Mediterranean guitar. You don’t want to miss this show and there are a limited number of tickets available.
This is the seventh show of our eight-show 2012-13 Center Series. We have only one more Center Series show after Pavlo—the Glenn Miller Orchestra on Saturday, April 27.
In case you haven’t heard, we have now announced our 2013-14 Center Series season. Once again we are bringing in nationally and internationally recognized artists including a Grammy-award winner and a Juno-award winner. It has music, theater, and dance all at a very reasonable price. If you’re looking for more information about what we are bringing next season, or about any of our upcoming events, we encourage you to visit our website: www.fergusarts.org If you have any questions, we are more than willing to help find the answers if you give us a call. We hope to see you at the theater soon!
Kristin Fondriest is the executive assistant at A Center for the Arts in downtown Fergus Falls..
