Tyler Junior College has announced its 8th annual Arts Festival, to be held throughout the month of April on the TJC main campus.
The festival is a collaboration of “The Bell Tower Arts Journal,” International Day, Tyler Museum of Art, and various TJC departments including art, dance, music and theatre.
Student involvement is key to the festival’s success; and each year, a competition is held among TJC students, to create an original Arts Festival logo. This year’s winner was Haley Wilmeth, a sophomore game and simulation development major from Tyler.
The festival will offer performances, exhibits, guest speakers and more, at various times and locations across the TJC campus and at the Tyler Museum of Art. All events are open to the public, but tickets are required for some performances.
TJC’s 30th annual International Day will be held Tuesday, April 19, in the Apache Rooms of Rogers Student Center. In addition to an up-close look at music, food and customs from around the world, the event will also include an opportunity for visitors to renew or apply for U.S. passports.
A new Arts Fest feature this year will be the Lunch on the Lawn concert series. Performances by TJC music groups will be held at noon each Wednesday in front of Rogers Palmer Performing Arts Center, located in the heart of campus.
Scheduled performers include:
• April 6: Guitar Ensemble and Chamber Singers
• April 13: Apache Pan Ensemble
• April 20: Harmony Vocal Jazz and Trombone Choir
• April 27: Jazz Ensembles 1 and 2
“April has always been our busiest time of year, in terms of the sheer volume of arts events happening on campus, so it made sense for us to package it and name it Arts Fest,” said Lara K. Smith, professor/chair of the TJC Departments of Communication Studies and Theatre, who is one of the festival organizers.
Smith continued, “We love having company on our beautiful campus — and Arts Festival is a great time to pay us a visit and take in the many talents offered by our students and faculty.”
The festival offers works from each of the areas of TJC’s Cultural Arts District, including musicians, singers, dance, art and a theatre production.
A few of the festival’s featured events include:
• April 8-10: TJC Academy of Dance presents “The Little Mermaid”
• April 12: TJC Symphonic Band
• April 19: International Day
• April 28-30: Theatre TJC presents “Heathen Valley”
• April 30: TJC Concert Choir and Chamber Singers
For a complete listing of TJC Arts Festival events and times, go to TJC.edu/ArtsFestival.