Fair week has perennially been an exciting time in our community. People of all ages and demographics—toddlers and teens, young adults and seniors citizens, city dwellers as well as farmers—eagerly anticipate and enthusiastically attend the Great Darke County Fair. Everybody you know will go; and Darke County Center for the Arts will be there, too.
People visiting our community during fair week instantly get the message that this is a happening place—something is definitely happening here. However, a lot happens in Darke County outside the fairgrounds—and DCCA officials want you to know that some of that activity is generated by Darke County Center for the Arts. When you stop by DCCA’s booth in the Coliseum, you’ll see volunteers wearing a tee shirt that says “Something’s happening here” on the front. And on the back of the shirt, it says “DCCA—Making it happen.”
Since it’s founding, DCCA has brought exciting events to entertain and enrich local residents, surprising and delighting audiences with performances by outstanding artists who appreciate the opportunity to appear before audiences who eagerly embrace their talents. And this year is no exception; DCCA’s upcoming season promises pleasures beyond measure for people of all ages and demographics.
DCCA’s Artists Series will showcase a broad variety of musicians including versatile songstress Lisa Biales, a Christmas show by the venerated Glenn Miller Orchestra, the imaginative a cappella vocalizations of Voice Play, and the Toledo Symphony Orchestra playing the lush and beloved songs of Rodgers and Hammerstein. A Special Event starring the Texas Tenors has already generated quite a buzz, even though the handsome cowboy-hatted vocalists’ appearance at Henry St. Clair Memorial Hall won’t happen until next April.
Families with young children can look forward to DCCA’s Family Theatre Series offering a truly enticing season of plays beginning on Oct. 4 with Theatreworks USA’s production of The Lightning Thief. Boys as well as girls will enjoy Artspower’s Madeline and the Bad Hat, a tale that features a mischievous new neighbor whose exploits get his relationship with the little girl next door off to a rocky beginning. But Moon Mouse: A Space Odyssey, Lightwire Theater’s newest production utilizing the magic of electroluminscence to tell the tale of Marvin the Mouse and his rocket trip, will really light up the stage at St. Clair Memorial Hall. Family Theatre provides a lot worth looking forward to!
Local educators as well as students happily anticipate DCCA’s Arts In Education programs which will see well-known folk singers Kim and Reggie Harris presenting “Music of the Underground Railroad,” creatively teaching history to kindergarteners through third graders, and Mad River Theater Works making history spring to life for grades four through six in their production, John Henry. High schoolers will thrill to the antics of VoicePlay demonstrating a cappella techniques and methods, and junior high students will experience the story of Anne Frank as seen “Through the Eyes of a Friend,” a multi-media presentation from Living Voices.
As all of the above demonstrates, DCCA is making a lot of stuff happen—and that list does not cover everything on DCCA’s busy calendar. To find out more, stop by DCCA’s fair booth and talk to one of those friendly people wearing that pretty blue tee shirt. While you’re there, you can also purchase your tickets to one of those eagerly anticipated events, buy a Cat’s Meow replica of one of St. Clair Memorial Hall’s stunningly beautiful stained glass windows, and fill out a short survey about your interests and preferences regarding the arts in Darke County. You could even win tickets to an upcoming DCCA presentation; all those completing the survey are entered in a daily drawing and become eligible for the grand prize—two tickets to see the Texas Tenors!
Something is definitely happening here; Darke County Center for the Arts makes things happen throughout the year, and I am eagerly looking forward to those wondrous things. Don’t miss out on all the wonder remaining in our community after the gates close on the Great Darke County Fair.
