LEWISTON, Idaho – A variety of events ranging from an artisan marketplace to concert performances highlight the 37th annual Art Under the Elms on April 21-23 at Lewis-Clark State College.
Sponsored by LC State’s Center for Arts & History, the annual event has something for the entire family. Continuing with the changes from a year ago, the event is free and open to the public as part of the Center’s commitment to making the arts more inclusive and accessible.
This year’s event features the artisan marketplace, food trucks, musical performances, cultural dance presentations, readings, and theatre performances, along with Mountainfilm on Tour and art activities. A list of artisan vendors who registered for the event can be found on the AUE webpage.
Hours for the artisan marketplace, food trucks and SUB Amphitheater entertainment are noon-7 p.m. on April 21, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. on April 22, and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on April 23.
Art Under the Elms is the highlight of a month-long community celebration called the Dogwood Festival. Various organizations across the Lewis-Clark Valley plan events to celebrate the season, thus attracting visitors from across the region. Art Under the Elms will also coincide with Lewis-Clark State College’s Family Weekend, which draws families and friends of current students as well as alumni to the college.
Here is the schedule of events:
Friday, April 21
- Opening reception for “Future Warrior Art Exhibition: Regional 6-12th Grade Student Showcase” – 4:30-6:30 p.m., foyer gallery of the LC State Library Building.
- Mountainfilm on Tour – 7-9:15 p.m., Silverthorne Theatre. Reserve tickets ahead of time: https://bit.ly/AUE2023-FILM. Doors open at 6:15 p.m. for reserved tickets, 6:45 p.m. for non-reserved tickets. Mountainfilm on Tour features a collection of culturally rich, adventure-packed and engaging documentary short films that align with Mountainfilm’s mission to use the power of film, art and ideas to inspire audiences to create a better world.
- SUB Amphitheater music line-up for Friday – Running with the Boyz, Joe Sullivan, and Desolation Horse.
Saturday, April 22
- Male Ensemble Northwest Choral/Vocal Workshop – 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Silverthorne Theatre. The public will have access to a section of seating to watch the workshop. Male Ensemble Northwest (MEN) is a professional tenor-bass choir that has been performing, touring, and giving workshops throughout the Northwest since 1982. All 16 members are choral music educators, conductors, and/or composers who represent everything from early-career music educators to retired conductor-teachers and composers. Partnering with the LC State Concert Choir, music department, Humanities Division, and Art Under the Elms, MEN will lead a day-long workshop to coach singers in healthy singing technique, vocal percussion, and text interpretation and expression.
- Cultural Showcase – Noon-2 p.m., SUB Amphitheater. The event features cultural dance presentations by Nez Perce Tourism and the Oinkari Basque Dancers of Boise.
- Aerialist performance and workshop by the Idaho Circus Collective – Noon-2 p.m., LC State Gazebo lawn. Event features 2022 Idaho Commission on the Arts Fellow Cuream Jackson and Katie Ponozzo. A waiver must be signed for a member of the public to participate in the basic workshop.
- Male Ensemble Northwest Performance – 4-5:30 p.m., Silverthorne Theatre. Following the workshop, MEN will perform a variety of styles and genres from the Western European choral canon to jazz, pop, and world music. Local participants in the workshop also will perform, along with the premiere of a newly arranged piece for LC State.
- Nimiipuu Playwrights Festival: “Scabby Boy” and “A Change of Venues” – 7:30 p.m., Silverthorne Theatre. “Scabby Boy” is adapted and directed by LC State interdisciplinary studies major Roland Weaskus. Making its debut as a short play, “Scabby Boy”” is an old Nimiipuu story that explores loss and personal transformation. “A Change of Venues” is written and directed by Nimiipuu poet, performer and playwright Sarah Hennessey. It is a short play that pokes fun at a familiar internal conflict and reveals a radical act of unconditional kindness.
- SUB Amphitheater music line-up for Saturday – Traumatones, Southway to Snake, and Calico Bones.
Sunday, April 23
- A Morning of Reading by Regional Writers – 10:15 a.m.-12:30 p.m., SUB Amphitheater. Readers include Mary Clearman Blew, Annie Lampman, Alexandra Teague, and LC State students.
- Nimiipuu Playwrights Festival: “Scabby Boy” and “A Change of Venues” – 2 p.m., Silverthorne Theatre. “Scabby Boy” is adapted and directed by LC State interdisciplinary studies major Roland Weaskus. Making its debut as a short play, “Scabby Boy”” is an old Nimiipuu story that explores loss and personal transformation. “A Change of Venues” is written and directed by Nimiipuu poet, performer and playwright Sarah Hennessey. It is a short play that pokes fun at a familiar internal conflict and reveals a radical act of unconditional kindness.
- SUB Amphitheater music line-up for Sunday – LCBO Clearwater Jammers, and Brad Keeler.