WABASH, Ind. – Student performances (piano, vocal, and dance) and student art displays, along with workshops featuring guest musicians, dancers, and visual artists, will all be a part of the Wabash FAME Festival on Saturday, April 22 from 9:00 to 4:00 at the Honeywell Center. This is the eleventh year for a festival of this kind in Wabash. Admission to the festival and participation in most activities is free-of-charge.
This year’s festival will spotlight art, music, and dance of China. Members of the Ft. Wayne Chinese Families and Friends Association will be the featured guest artists in Ford Theater. They will perform authentic dances and music in half-hour programs at 10:00, 11:00, and 1:00 and will have two acts during the Spotlight Concert later in the day. This organization was founded in 1982 to maintain social contacts and to provide cultural and educational functions to the Chinese community. Dancers will be dressed in beautiful costumes for the dances and a special feature will be the Dragon Dance with its colorful dragon. The association will also have a display of Chinese artifacts and items for sale in the lobby. They will instruct festival-goers in the Chinese language and Chinese writing.
Guest visual artists will teach 30-minute workshops throughout the day. Local artist Katy Gray will teach Chinese brush painting of bamboo trees with leaves on rice paper. Materials used will be “traditional” Chinese brushes and black/gray ink. Students will also stamp on a few red Chinese characters using rubber stamps. Mrs. Gray, a graduate of Northfield High School, is art teacher at Metro North Elementary. She has a degree in studio art, art education, and communications from Indiana Wesleyan University. She owns a glass art business, The Glasserie, specializing in foiled and leaded stained glass and glass mosaic creations. Her FAME sessions will be at 9:30, 11:00, 12:30, 1:30, and 2:30 in the Nixon Room.
Another Wabash native, Susan Stewart, is recognized as a fused glass artist, teaching classes in glass work and creating her own designs that are sold in local gallery stores. Her art studio is known as the Sneaky Kitten. She has a Bachelor’s Degree from Indiana University, concentrating in photography with a minor in art. The student project for FAME will be creating cherry blossom trees with pre-fired glass and enameled copper pieces, mounted on 5” by 7” pieces of wood covered in Chinese style paper. There will be a hanger on the back of the wood for hanging the project. Students of any age are welcome, though young students may require some parental help completing the project. Sessions will be limited to 15 participants. Sessions will be at 9:00, 10:30, 12:00, 1:30, and 2:30 in the Crystal Room.
Manchester Jr. High art teacher Hannah Burnworth will lead sessions in mixed media floral painting, using crayon and liquid watercolor as dyes, creating a process similar to the beautiful silk paintings in China. Festival paintings will be on paper, but examples of beautiful silk paintings will be on display. Mrs. Burnworth is the artist behind Milk Studio. She has degrees in both art education and studio art. She has been teaching art in public schools and in private workshops for the last eleven years. She likes to create all things paper – books, paintings, and paper sculptures. FAME sessions are designed for students in grades 3 and above, each session limited to 20 students. Times are 9:00, 10:00, 11:30, 1:00, and 2:00 in the Haist Room.
This year marks the third year for a Composition Project as part of the FAME programming in Wabash. Eighteen fourth grade music students from throughout the county met with composer Christopher Cheever to learn some basics about composing music and then created their own original musical themes using Garage Band software on I-pads. Four after- school sessions were held in October at Sharp Creek Elementary. At the conclusion of the four sessions, Mr. Cheever took the student projects and wove them into a larger composition entitled “The Call of the Dragon” that will be premiered at the festival at 3:00 in Ford Theater in the Spotlight Concert. Cheever is a Peru native, graduating from Peru High School. He studied two years at Ball State University, double majoring in Music Composition and Magazine Journalism. He is now at Indiana University Southeast where he is studying Composition, with a concentration in film scoring. The FAME original composition is his first score in a concert band format, though he writes for a variety of instruments.
The music will be performed by Wabash Community Band, Bob Urbani, director. The band was established in 1982 by then-Wabash High School band director Art Conner. Its purpose is to give students the opportunity to play with adults and give adults an opportunity to continue to play their instruments. The concert will feature several band numbers. Dancers from Wabash Valley Dance Theater will interpret “The Call of the Dragon” with choreography created by artistic director Lisa Mattern. They will perform one of their recital routines as well. The student composers will be recognized at the concert. They are Maddie Anderson – St. Bernard, Sophia Anglin – Manchester Intermediate, Maddison Archer – Sharp Creek, Levi Bordeaux – Manchester Intermediate, Micah Bordeaux – Manchester Intermediate, Olivia Braun – O. J. Neighbours, Ayla Cashdollar – Manchester Intermediate, Caroline Catt – O. J. Neighbours, Kenzie Clark – O. J. Neighbours, Davy Falder – Southwood, Mabel Halley – St. Bernard, Mason Hipskind – Southwood, Anna Hodson – Sharp Creek, Jaeda Lynn – Sharp Creek, Coltyn Sellers – O. J. Neighbours, Simon Van – Manchester Intermediate, Ryley Wilcox – Southwood, and Kayne Zahler – Southwood.
Student performances in Legacy Hall include Wabash Middle School 6th Grade Choir, led by Emily France, at 9:00; Southwood 6th Grade Choir, led by Sarah Rees, at 9:30; Southwood Kindergartens, led by Lisa Fadil, at 10:00; Manchester 3rd/4th Grade Choir, directed by Sharon Lehman, Cathy Huber, and Jeff Huber at 10:30; Vocal Impact Choir, directed by Emily France, at 11:00; Southwood Jr. High Choir, led by Sarah Fadil, at 11:30; Southwood Sr. High Choir, led by Sarah Fadil, at 12:00; Wabash Valley Dance Theater students, led by Lisa Mattern and Carole Hiner, at 1:00. Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance is sponsoring half-hour shows by members of the Peru Amateur Circus at 12:30, 1:30 and 2:30 in Legacy Hall.
Besides the Ft. Wayne Chinese performers and the Spotlight Concert, there will be two other performances on the Ford Theater stage. O. J. Neighbours 4th Grade Dancers, instructed by Jennifer Denney, will perform at 9:30 and students from Playhouse Studio of Dance, students of Andrea Lanham, will perform from 12:15 to 1:00.
Students from private music studios will perform in the Honeywell Room during the morning and early afternoon. Students of these teachers with performances times are: Eileen Dye at 9:00, Peggy Coppler at 9:30, Gail Vaughn at 10:00, Mary and Ruth Berkebile at 10:15, Lisa Fadil and Ronda Dubuque at 11:00, Marilyn Mason at 11:30, Kelly Bordeaux at 12:00, Mark Nevil at 12:30, Judy Ward at 1:00, Kris Stephens at 1:30, Minda Lehman at 2:00.
Owner Terry LeMaster of Wabash Music will sponsor “Jammin’ “sessions with guitars and percussion in Eugenia’s from 2:00 until the closing of the festival.
Student art projects will be on display in the lobby at Honeywell Center. Schools and teachers presenting art work are Blair Pointe Elementary in Peru – Chelsea Wilkinson; Converse Elementary – Stacey Harrison; Home-Schooled Art Class – Sharon Shellhamer, Diana Iden, Charly Dye ; Manchester Elementary – Christy Schuler; Manchester Intermediate -Annie Shilling; Manchester Jr. High – Hannah Burnworth; Metro North Elementary – Katy Gray; O. J. Neighbours Elementary – Alicia Gullotti; Peru Jr. High – Janel Halton; St. Bernard Elementary – Karen Eilts-Walter; Sharp Creek Elementary – Lynne Keffaber; Southwood Elementary – Erica Tyson; Swayzee Elementary – Stacey Harrison; Sweetser Elementary – Stacey Harrison; Wabash Middle School – Jo Nordman. The Best of the Best high school art program will have a display of student projects. Student and teacher-decorated items will be on display in the lobby as silent auction items. Silent bids may be registered from the start of the festival until 3:00. The highest bidder at 3:00 will purchase the unique piece of usable art and will be notified that they may pick up their purchase between 3:00 and 5:00 at Honeywell Center. A later pick-up time will be arranged if necessary.
Winning poster designs submitted by area students will be framed and on display. This year’s winners are Cole Enyeart, grade 5, Blair Pointe Elementary – Chelsea Wilkinson, teacher; Trey Wright, grade 7, Home-Schooled – Diana Iden, teacher; Skye McCullough, grade 6, Manchester Intermediate – Annie Shilling, teacher; Faith Krom, grade 2, Metro North Elementary – Katy Gray, teacher; Olivia Dale, grade 6, Sharp Creek Elementary – Lynne Keffaber, teacher; Alicia Guyer, grade 5, Southwood Elementary – Erica Tyson, teacher; Madison Church, Grade 8, Wabash Middle School – Jo Nordman, teacher.
The popular Imaginarium make-it, take-it craft area, featuring Chinese-related projects, will be in the skating rink. Projects include Chinese fan, Bamboo brush painting, Terracotta warriors, Masks, Paper lanterns, Color and cut Rooster, Chopstick activity, Paper chain dragon, Toilet paper tube fish kites, Fortune cookies, Chinese characters, and Bamboo cherry blossom trees. These projects were designed and materials prepared by Hannah Burnworth, Katy Gray, Janel Halton, Jo Nordman, Erica Tyson and Chelsea Wilkinson.
White FAME t-shirts with a Chinese logo that may be colored with fabric markers and red t-shirts with pre-colored logos will be available for sale. Additional all-day activities in the lobby will be booths sponsored by the Honeywell Foundation’s Visual and Performing Arts Programs (Summer Theatre and Summer Art), providing an opportunity for parents to register their children for this summer’s programs; a USAirborne Book Display with Deanna Azbell; Heartland Career Center’s Graphics Arts Division with David Brace, instructor; Christopher Cheever CD’s; FAME Camp.
FAME (Foundation for Art and Music in Education), celebrating its 30th year, sponsors arts activities for students in elementary and junior high/middle schools in Northern Indiana. The parent organization is in Ft. Wayne with headquarters in the Auer Center for Art and Culture in downtown Ft. Wayne. Wabash’s festival is supported by grants and donations and is expected to be self-supporting in its finances. The local planning committee, headed by Judy Ward, appreciates the support of various foundations, businesses, and individuals who support FAME with monetary donations. Major supporters this year include Community Foundation of Wabash County, Ford Meter Box Foundation, Inc., Heartland REMC Operation Round-Up, Honeywell Foundation, Inc., Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, and Wabash County United Fund.