Helpful Links/Photos
CSM Fine Arts
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 09, 2008
CSM ‘Takes a Stand’ with Annual Chautauqua
Chautauqua 2008 to Celebrate the Civil Rights Movement
The College of Southern Maryland will welcome Rosa Parks, George Wallace, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. as part of the Maryland Humanities Council annual Chautauqua program. This year’s theme is “Civil Rights: Taking a Stand,” in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of King’s assassination.
Chautauqua brings scholar/actors and the local community together in a tent under the evening skies to experience moments of American history and to talk about the characters and ideas of the times being portrayed. A revival of the popular and influential arts and humanities movement in upstate New York and established in Maryland in 1891, Chautauqua has been an annual celebration at CSM since 2000.
Providing history in an entertaining format, the free program includes opening musical acts at 7 p.m., followed at 7:30 p.m. by a Chautauquan actor portraying the evening’s historical figure. A question-and-answer session concludes the evening.
Chautauqua 2008 will be held the week of July 7-10 on the HT Lawn of the La Plata Campus. Martin Luther King Jr. will be featured July 7, followed by George Wallace on July 8, Rosa Parks on July 9, and Malcolm X on July 10.
In addition to Chautauqua, CSM will also offer its Twilight Performance Series, the weeks of June 17, 24, July 15, 22 and 29. The family friendly, free series will feature artists performing a variety of music from jazz, rhythm and blues, to folk music at each of the campuses in La Plata, Leonardtown and Prince Frederick. Performances will be held on Tuesdays at the Leonardtown Campus, on Wednesdays at the La Plata Campus and on Thursdays at the Prince Frederick Campus.
This year’s Twilight Performance Series is sponsored in part by Comcast as well as by several grants. The series is made possible in part by a grant from the St. Mary’s County Arts Council, awarded by the Maryland State Arts Council. This project is partially supported by a grant from Pennsylvania Performing Arts on Tour, a program developed and funded by the Heinz Endowments; the William Penn Foundation; the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency: and the Pew Charitable Trusts; and administered by Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation.
Sponsorships for the Twilight Performance Series are available. For sponsorship information call 301-934-7647 or 301-870-2309, Ext. 7647 for Charles County, 240-725-5499, Ext. 7647 for St. Mary’s County or 443-550-6169, Ext. 7647 for Calvert County or visit www.csmd.edu/foundation/events/.
Chautauqua attendees may bring a picnic basket or purchase a hot meal on campus. In the event of inclement weather, Chautauqua performances will be moved into the Fine Arts Center. Decisions will be made by 2 p.m. each day and posted online at www.csmd.edu, and on the college hotline, 301-369-1999 or 1-800-650-4023.
For information on Chautauqua call 301-934-7861 or 301-870-2309, Ext. 7861 for Charles County; 240-725-5499, Ext. 7861 for St. Mary’s County or 443-550-6169, Ext. 7861 for Calvert County or visit www.csmd.edu/finearts.