By OLIVIA BERGMEIER Lead Reporter - Salina Post

The founders of the Kansas Storytelling Festival in Downs, Kansas, could not have imagined its growth throughout the last 30 years. What started with a few orators in a tiny gazebo has evolved into a multi-venue event with hundreds of attendees.

Over two days, the festival adds another 300 people to Downs' population count of 800, with visitors and storytellers gathering from across the United States to hear stories ranging from fictional tall tales to mysterious local legends.

"Happy, sad, a lot of tall tales, maybe some embellishing of stories going on," said Storytelling Festival Steering Committee member Brenda Guiterrez. "It's the range of emotions and lots of laughter throughout the day."

The 30th Kansas Storytelling Festival kicked off its two days of narrations at the Downs Memorial Hall with storyteller <a href="https://www.leppstorytelling.com/">Bil Lepp</a> from South Charleston, West Virginia, and his comedy-fueled tall tales from his childhood.

Lepp took the stage with just a microphone and a backdrop of locally sewn quilts to help with the echoes inside Memorial Hall. He began telling the story of a young boy named Wallace who caused some mayhem at his elementary school in West Virginia.

"Almost all of my stories are based a little bit on something that I did or somebody I know," Lepp said. "I just take a little thing that happened to me somewhere along the way and&nbsp;just&nbsp;start asking myself, 'What if, what if, what if?' and it just grows into a story."

Lepp said he travels nationwide to tell stories at festivals and enjoys watching the audience absorb and react to his tales.

"A lot of artists never get to see their audience enjoy their art," Lepp said. "A painter, journalist, or a movie director, they don't always get to watch people, but I can stand on stage... to see the people react to it, and that's my favorite part."

READ MORE:&nbsp;<a href="https://salinapost.com/posts/468bc8ee-a938-49e5-aa9d-286e2f02e11d">AJ Honey Farms — leading local beekeepers toward success</a>

Five featured storytellers from across the United States visited Downs for the festival this year, including Lepp, <a href="https://andyirwin.com/">Andy Offutt Irwin</a>, <a href="https://www.kimweitkamp.com/">Kim Weitkamp Gum</a>, Anne Rutherford and <a href="http://dinoodell.com/">Dino O' Dell</a>.

Alongside the featured tellers, 13 more orators and Master Storytellers joined the festival, voicing tall tales on four different stages in downtown Downs.

"It's [The Kansas Storytelling Festival] grown to four venues," Guiterrez said. "We have Memorial Hall, our Senior Center, our Historic [Train] Depot  and one of our church fellowship halls."

Guiterrez said that artists switched venues every hour throughout the day so audiences could follow their favorite artists around town or stay in one location to see several performers.

The Kansas Storytelling Festival is unique to Lepp, and he noted the focus on the local community and the support he sees from the region's residents.

"It's a&nbsp;really&nbsp;neat festival, and we go to lots and lots of festivals in lots of small towns, but this one is probably the smallest town," Lepp said. "So many people come out to this festival, and people come from all over the country to come to this festival. There aren't enough motels in this area to house everybody who comes to this festival, which I think is great."

Downtown Downs' parking spaces were filled with visitors for the festival, muffling the sound of passing trains that flow across Morgan Avenue with laughter, gasps of surprise and the continuous murmur of voices telling tales of both faraway places and hometown backyards.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/5/1715299313337.jpeg" alt="The Kansas Storytelling Festival kicked off inside the Downs Memorial Hall with storyteller Bil Lepp telling the story of a mischievous young classmate who caused some mayhem at his elementary school as a child in Downs, Kansas, on Friday, April 26. Photo by Olivia Bergmeier" />
 <figcaption>The Kansas Storytelling Festival kicked off inside the Downs Memorial Hall with storyteller Bil Lepp telling the story of a mischievous young classmate who caused some mayhem at his elementary school as a child in Downs, Kansas, on Friday, April 26. Photo by Olivia Bergmeier</figcaption>
 </figure>By OLIVIA BERGMEIER Lead Reporter - Salina PostThe founders of the Kansas Storytelling Festival in Downs, Kansas, could not have imagined its growth throughout the last 30 years. What started with a few orators in a tiny gazebo has evolved into a multi-venue event with hundreds of attendees.Over two days, the festival adds another 300 people to Downs' population count of 800, with visitors and storytellers gathering from across the United States to hear stories ranging from fictional tall tales to mysterious local legends.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/5/1715299493621.jpeg" alt="Storyteller Bil Lepp tells a fictional tale from his childhood about a mischievous boy named Wallace on Friday, April 26, at the Kansas Storytelling Festival in Downs, Kansas. Photo by Olivia Bergmeier" />
 <figcaption>Storyteller Bil Lepp tells a fictional tale from his childhood about a mischievous boy named Wallace on Friday, April 26, at the Kansas Storytelling Festival in Downs, Kansas. Photo by Olivia Bergmeier</figcaption>
 </figure>"Happy, sad, a lot of tall tales, maybe some embellishing of stories going on," said Storytelling Festival Steering Committee member Brenda Guiterrez. "It's the range of emotions and lots of laughter throughout the day."The 30th Kansas Storytelling Festival kicked off its two days of narrations at the Downs Memorial Hall with storyteller <a href="https://www.leppstorytelling.com/">Bil Lepp</a> from South Charleston, West Virginia, and his comedy-fueled tall tales from his childhood.Lepp took the stage with just a microphone and a backdrop of locally sewn quilts to help with the echoes inside Memorial Hall. He began telling the story of a young boy named Wallace who caused some mayhem at his elementary school in West Virginia.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/5/1715299697468.jpeg" alt="Locally-sewn quilts dressed the walls of the Downs Memorial Hall to dampen the echoes while storytellers narrate tales on Friday, April 26, at the Kansas Storytelling Festival in Downs, Kansas. Photo by Olivia Bergmeier" />
 <figcaption>Locally-sewn quilts dressed the walls of the Downs Memorial Hall to dampen the echoes while storytellers narrate tales on Friday, April 26, at the Kansas Storytelling Festival in Downs, Kansas. Photo by Olivia Bergmeier</figcaption>
 </figure>"Almost all of my stories are based a little bit on something that I did or somebody I know," Lepp said. "I just take a little thing that happened to me somewhere along the way and&nbsp;just&nbsp;start asking myself, 'What if, what if, what if?' and it just grows into a story."Lepp said he travels nationwide to tell stories at festivals and enjoys watching the audience absorb and react to his tales."A lot of artists never get to see their audience enjoy their art," Lepp said. "A painter, journalist, or a movie director, they don't always get to watch people, but I can stand on stage... to see the people react to it, and that's my favorite part."READ MORE:&nbsp;<a href="https://salinapost.com/posts/468bc8ee-a938-49e5-aa9d-286e2f02e11d">AJ Honey Farms — leading local beekeepers toward success</a><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/5/1715299576887.jpeg" alt="Storyteller Bil Lepp narrates the fictional tale of his childhood classmate on Friday, April 26, at the Kansas Storytelling Festival in Downs, Kansas. Photo by Olivia Bergmeier" />
 <figcaption>Storyteller Bil Lepp narrates the fictional tale of his childhood classmate on Friday, April 26, at the Kansas Storytelling Festival in Downs, Kansas. Photo by Olivia Bergmeier</figcaption>
 </figure>Five featured storytellers from across the United States visited Downs for the festival this year, including Lepp, <a href="https://andyirwin.com/">Andy Offutt Irwin</a>, <a href="https://www.kimweitkamp.com/">Kim Weitkamp Gum</a>, Anne Rutherford and <a href="http://dinoodell.com/">Dino O' Dell</a>.Alongside the featured tellers, 13 more orators and Master Storytellers joined the festival, voicing tall tales on four different stages in downtown Downs."It's [The Kansas Storytelling Festival] grown to four venues," Guiterrez said. "We have Memorial Hall, our Senior Center, our Historic [Train] Depot and one of our church fellowship halls."<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/5/1715299779917.jpeg" alt="The Historic Train Depot was one of four venues around town for the Kansas Storytelling Festival on Friday, April 26, in Downs, Kansas. Photo by Olivia Bergmeier" />
 <figcaption>The Historic Train Depot was one of four venues around town for the Kansas Storytelling Festival on Friday, April 26, in Downs, Kansas. Photo by Olivia Bergmeier</figcaption>
 </figure>Guiterrez said that artists switched venues every hour throughout the day so audiences could follow their favorite artists around town or stay in one location to see several performers.The Kansas Storytelling Festival is unique to Lepp, and he noted the focus on the local community and the support he sees from the region's residents."It's a&nbsp;really&nbsp;neat festival, and we go to lots and lots of festivals in lots of small towns, but this one is probably the smallest town," Lepp said. "So many people come out to this festival, and people come from all over the country to come to this festival. There aren't enough motels in this area to house everybody who comes to this festival, which I think is great."Downtown Downs' parking spaces were filled with visitors for the festival, muffling the sound of passing trains that flow across Morgan Avenue with laughter, gasps of surprise and the continuous murmur of voices telling tales of both faraway places and hometown backyards.

Kansas Storytelling Festival fills downtown Downs with tall tales

The night is almost here - the 38th year of the SM Hanson Festival Jam. This is the opening night event of the Smoky Hill River Festival and the highest attended event of the Festival. According to event organizers attendance for this single-night event in 2023 was over 13,000.

SM Hanson Festival Jam is fast-paced evening of music is fun for all. Four hours of music. 16 bands play for 12 minutes. This year, 27 bands applied from Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Kansas. Our selection process and goals are to offer a variety of musicfrom the region.

Festival Jam 2024 will have four new bands, three second timers, and a mix of other past performers. Never a dull moment. 

The music changes every 15 minutes on the quarter hour. Quick set changes are possible through the backline equipment and stage staff provided by SM Hanson Music. The musicians get tuned back stage and then the frantic 3 minutes of switching bands begins. Thirty seven years of practice makes this switch-out appear easy! Come be part of the SM Hanson Festival Jam - the largest single evening music event in the Midwest. Gates open at 4:00 pm on Thursday June 13 – music begins at 5:45 with a special-by-invitation band.

READ MORE:&nbsp;<a href="https://salinapost.com/posts/b7840647-570e-46c9-b3db-a74fa03752e1">🎥First details released for 48th Smoky Hill River Festival</a>

Wristbands for 12 years and up are your admission. SM Hanson Music and many other local/regional merchants have wristbands for sale today.

5:45 p.m. To Be Announced This is a new time spot. Information on the Invitational band will be announced later.

6:00 p.m. Visual Lies New to Festival Jam. Self-described as Hair Metal/80s rock. Based in Lindsborg and ready to rock!

6:15 p.m. Downtown Funk 2023’s invitation band Making their 2nd appearance. Salina Central HS jazz and funk band

6:30 p.m. Don Wagner &amp; Friends Don and Friends A new lineup adding a dobro and stand-up bass playing an Americana mix

6:45 p.m. Lix This Salina 4pc band. Playing a mix of classic rock for 40+ years.

7:00 p.m. King Tones They have played the jam previously, but it has been several years. 4pc band playing blues/rock.

7:15 p.m. Jon’Nea Soul second year at the Jam This Wichita based (Salina connection) 4pc band will play R&amp;B and Soul

7:30 p.m. Hey Radio Wichita based band – a repeat – they promise more energy with a mix of Skate Punk and Pop!!!!.

7:45 p.m. Soul Preachers &nbsp;A Salina 3pc band – playing classic rock

8:00 p.m. Drop Everything New to the Jam. Scheduled in 2022 as The Box Turtles - lightning ended the show. Based in Manhattan – this 4pc band with a new member lineup and new name will play their mix of Midwest rock

8:15 p.m. Kyndred This Hays based band played in 2022. A 5pc band is here to Rock a 2nd time – Heavy Metal

8:30 p.m. HyWay 14 New to Festival Jam. Pretty Prairie is home for this 4pc band. They describe their music as grunge-rock/red-dirt country.

8:45 p.m. Bootleg Mercy Multiple Rock Music award nominations. This 4pc band rocked in 2023 – playing Rock/Grunge

9:00 p.m. Dune Buggy This talented 5pc group has years of experience. Their 12 minute set will include Rock &amp; Pop.

9:15 p.m. Love Like War New to Festival Jam. Central Kansas roots – 5pc band playing Alt Rock. Lead singer is known as ‘Chewy’ – I was told it is a Star Wars thing??

9:30 p.m. Steve Hanson &amp; Co. The founder of SM Hanson Music– their 38th time at the Jam. Always a variety – always great.

9:45 p.m. The Blades You gotta love a rock/pop/funk band with horns! We have requested a larger stage area for the members (hard to count that high). Always a great end to the SM Hanson Festival Jam

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/7/1626982189744.jpeg" alt="SM Hanson Festival Jam" />
 <figcaption>SM Hanson Festival Jam</figcaption>
 </figure>SubmittedThe night is almost here - the 38th year of the SM Hanson Festival Jam. This is the opening night event of the Smoky Hill River Festival and the highest attended event of the Festival. According to event organizers attendance for this single-night event in 2023 was over 13,000.SM Hanson Festival Jam is fast-paced evening of music is fun for all. Four hours of music. 16 bands play for 12 minutes. This year, 27 bands applied from Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Kansas. Our selection process and goals are to offer a variety of musicfrom the region.Festival Jam 2024 will have four new bands, three second timers, and a mix of other past performers. Never a dull moment. The music changes every 15 minutes on the quarter hour. Quick set changes are possible through the backline equipment and stage staff provided by SM Hanson Music. The musicians get tuned back stage and then the frantic 3 minutes of switching bands begins. Thirty seven years of practice makes this switch-out appear easy! Come be part of the SM Hanson Festival Jam - the largest single evening music event in the Midwest. Gates open at 4:00 pm on Thursday June 13 – music begins at 5:45 with a special-by-invitation band.READ MORE:&nbsp;<a href="https://salinapost.com/posts/b7840647-570e-46c9-b3db-a74fa03752e1">🎥First details released for 48th Smoky Hill River Festival</a>Wristbands for 12 years and up are your admission. SM Hanson Music and many other local/regional merchants have wristbands for sale today.5:45 p.m. To Be Announced This is a new time spot. Information on the Invitational band will be announced later.6:00 p.m. Visual Lies New to Festival Jam. Self-described as Hair Metal/80s rock. Based in Lindsborg and ready to rock!6:15 p.m. Downtown Funk 2023’s invitation band Making their 2nd appearance. Salina Central HS jazz and funk band6:30 p.m. Don Wagner &amp; Friends Don and Friends A new lineup adding a dobro and stand-up bass playing an Americana mix6:45 p.m. Lix This Salina 4pc band. Playing a mix of classic rock for 40+ years.7:00 p.m. King Tones They have played the jam previously, but it has been several years. 4pc band playing blues/rock.7:15 p.m. Jon’Nea Soul second year at the Jam This Wichita based (Salina connection) 4pc band will play R&amp;B and Soul7:30 p.m. Hey Radio Wichita based band – a repeat – they promise more energy with a mix of Skate Punk and Pop!!!!.7:45 p.m. Soul Preachers &nbsp;A Salina 3pc band – playing classic rock8:00 p.m. Drop Everything New to the Jam. Scheduled in 2022 as The Box Turtles - lightning ended the show. Based in Manhattan – this 4pc band with a new member lineup and new name will play their mix of Midwest rock8:15 p.m. Kyndred This Hays based band played in 2022. A 5pc band is here to Rock a 2nd time – Heavy Metal8:30 p.m. HyWay 14 New to Festival Jam. Pretty Prairie is home for this 4pc band. They describe their music as grunge-rock/red-dirt country.8:45 p.m. Bootleg Mercy Multiple Rock Music award nominations. This 4pc band rocked in 2023 – playing Rock/Grunge9:00 p.m. Dune Buggy This talented 5pc group has years of experience. Their 12 minute set will include Rock &amp; Pop.9:15 p.m. Love Like War New to Festival Jam. Central Kansas roots – 5pc band playing Alt Rock. Lead singer is known as ‘Chewy’ – I was told it is a Star Wars thing??9:30 p.m. Steve Hanson &amp; Co. The founder of SM Hanson Music– their 38th time at the Jam. Always a variety – always great.9:45 p.m. The Blades You gotta love a rock/pop/funk band with horns! We have requested a larger stage area for the members (hard to count that high). Always a great end to the SM Hanson Festival Jam

38th Annual SM Hanson Festival Jam lineup announced

Originally from Texas and living in Salina for over twenty years, Mota most recently worked for Transervice Logistics as the Transportation Payroll Manager. She is a candidate for the Business Administration Accounting Pathways Certificate at Salina Tech and will graduate this Spring.

Mota takes pride in being a part of the praise band and a mentor for youth at Iglesia Nueva Esperanza and enjoys serving the community and managing youth projects and activities.

“I am eager to learn about the Festival and of course the opportunity to taste test Festival food! I am also grateful and delighted to be a part of the behind-the-scenes at the Festival, a celebration that brings the community together, where so many lives are touched through art, music, and food,” says Mota.

“Maira’s enthusiasm for community, commitment to excellence, and her professional ambition make her a great addition to our team. We are thrilled she has jumped right into the work,” says Anna Pauscher Morawitz, Operations &amp; Development Manager at Salina Arts &amp; Humanities.

Mota will oversee the Smoky Hill River Festival’s food committee and maintain accounting processes for Salina Arts &amp; Humanities.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1714053525612.jpeg" alt="Mota, Maira" />
 <figcaption>Mota, Maira</figcaption>
 </figure>SubmittedOriginally from Texas and living in Salina for over twenty years, Mota most recently worked for Transervice Logistics as the Transportation Payroll Manager. She is a candidate for the Business Administration Accounting Pathways Certificate at Salina Tech and will graduate this Spring.Mota takes pride in being a part of the praise band and a mentor for youth at Iglesia Nueva Esperanza and enjoys serving the community and managing youth projects and activities.“I am eager to learn about the Festival and of course the opportunity to taste test Festival food! I am also grateful and delighted to be a part of the behind-the-scenes at the Festival, a celebration that brings the community together, where so many lives are touched through art, music, and food,” says Mota.“Maira’s enthusiasm for community, commitment to excellence, and her professional ambition make her a great addition to our team. We are thrilled she has jumped right into the work,” says Anna Pauscher Morawitz, Operations &amp; Development Manager at Salina Arts &amp; Humanities.Mota will oversee the Smoky Hill River Festival’s food committee and maintain accounting processes for Salina Arts &amp; Humanities.READ MORE:&nbsp;<a href="https://salinapost.com/posts/b7840647-570e-46c9-b3db-a74fa03752e1">🎥First details released for 48th Smoky Hill River Festival</a>

SAH announces Maira Mota as the agency’s new accounting technician

<a href="https://www.salinaarts.com/programs/#poetry-series">The 40th Salina Spring Poetry Series</a>, sponsored and organized by Salina Arts &amp; Humanities, concludes on Tuesday, April 30, with a reading by Patricia Traxler. The reading will begin at 7 p.m. at Red Fern Booksellers, 106. S. Santa Fe Avenue.

Admission will be $5 cash at the door and free for students with ID. Traci Brimhall, Kansas Poet Laureate, curated this year’s series. Brimhall selected poets with a broad range of perspectives who will share their work in Salina this month. &nbsp;

“What a privilege and honor to have one of the series cofounders help us celebrate the incredibly long life of this series. Patricia Traxler is a gifted poet whose work has spanned numerous books, awards, and publications in every esteemed venue in the U.S. and even Ireland. She is a devoted teacher, a community advocate, and a talented writer in every genre. She is undoubtedly one of Kansas's brightest literary stars, and Salina is lucky to call her their own," Brimhall said.&nbsp;

In the decades since Patricia Traxler moved to Salina from San Diego, she has been active in the cultural life of the city. The founder and longtime director of Salina's Spring Poetry Series, she also taught at Kansas Wesleyan University for more than three decades. Traxler is the author of four volumes of poetry (most recently, Naming the Fires); a novel, Blood; and a short-story collection, In the Skin.

Traxler is currently working on a book of essays, Don't Ask Me, and a volume of her collected poems, as yet untitled.

 For needed accommodations, please call Amanda Morris at Salina Arts &amp; Humanities at 785-309-5770 between 8:00 a.m. - Noon and 1:00 - 5:00 p.m.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1713985938066.jpeg" alt="Patricia Traxler" />
 <figcaption>Patricia Traxler</figcaption>
 </figure>Submitted<a href="https://www.salinaarts.com/programs/#poetry-series">The 40th Salina Spring Poetry Series</a>, sponsored and organized by Salina Arts &amp; Humanities, concludes on Tuesday, April 30, with a reading by Patricia Traxler. The reading will begin at 7 p.m. at Red Fern Booksellers, 106. S. Santa Fe Avenue.Admission will be $5 cash at the door and free for students with ID. Traci Brimhall, Kansas Poet Laureate, curated this year’s series. Brimhall selected poets with a broad range of perspectives who will share their work in Salina this month. &nbsp;“What a privilege and honor to have one of the series cofounders help us celebrate the incredibly long life of this series. Patricia Traxler is a gifted poet whose work has spanned numerous books, awards, and publications in every esteemed venue in the U.S. and even Ireland. She is a devoted teacher, a community advocate, and a talented writer in every genre. She is undoubtedly one of Kansas's brightest literary stars, and Salina is lucky to call her their own," Brimhall said.&nbsp;In the decades since Patricia Traxler moved to Salina from San Diego, she has been active in the cultural life of the city. The founder and longtime director of Salina's Spring Poetry Series, she also taught at Kansas Wesleyan University for more than three decades. Traxler is the author of four volumes of poetry (most recently, Naming the Fires); a novel, Blood; and a short-story collection, In the Skin.Traxler is currently working on a book of essays, Don't Ask Me, and a volume of her collected poems, as yet untitled. For needed accommodations, please call Amanda Morris at Salina Arts &amp; Humanities at 785-309-5770 between 8:00 a.m. - Noon and 1:00 - 5:00 p.m.&nbsp;

Final 2024 Salina Spring Poetry Series, April 30

The #IMOMSOHARD LIVE: LADIES NIGHT TOUR&nbsp;is coming to Salina&nbsp;Oct. 25 at&nbsp;7:30 p.m.&nbsp;at the Historic Stiefel&nbsp;Theartre&nbsp;in Downtown Salina, Kansas.&nbsp;

Tickets start at $35 and go on sale Friday, April 26 at&nbsp;10 a.m.&nbsp;

Buy in person at the Stiefel Theatre Box Office or online at&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.stiefeltheatre.org/">www.stiefeltheatre.org</a>&nbsp;or by phone at 785-827-1998.&nbsp;&nbsp;

<a target="_blank" href="http://imomsohard.com/">#IMOMSOHARD</a><a target="_blank" href="http://imomsohard.com/">&nbsp;</a>viral sensations/creators&nbsp;Kristin Hensley and Jen Smedley&nbsp;are heading out this fall with a brand new show:&nbsp;#IMOMSOHARD LIVE: LADIES&nbsp;NIGHT&nbsp;promoted by&nbsp;Mammoth, Inc.&nbsp;&nbsp;The 13 North American shows kick off&nbsp;October 4&nbsp;in&nbsp;DeKalb, IL. Tickets go on sale&nbsp;Friday, April 26&nbsp;at&nbsp;10:00 AM&nbsp;(local time) at&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.imomsohard.com/">www.imomsohard.com</a>.

Each night&nbsp;Kristin&nbsp;and Jen&nbsp;will take the stage with shows that&nbsp;are guaranteed to&nbsp;make you laugh and, well, maybe pee your pants. These&nbsp;two dive&nbsp;in to&nbsp;all things womanhood, motherhood and friendship.&nbsp;There are new things to&nbsp;talk about&nbsp;and some old things to&nbsp;talk about&nbsp;in new ways&nbsp;like&nbsp;surviving marriage, fashion, and the tween-teen years.

The ladies may be older&nbsp;but&nbsp;they are only getting better. Or bitter. Let's go with better. "Let's all get together and find a way to laugh at the stuff that usually makes us cry." This show is rowdy, raucous and a little bit naughty. Get a group of your lady friends, or fly solo--you can even bring your husband (make sure he sits in the front row) and get ready to laugh.&nbsp;#IMOMSOHARD LIVE: LADIES NIGHT!&nbsp;is the night you need and deserve.

<a target="_blank" href="http://imomsohard.com/">#IMOMSOHARD</a>&nbsp;began as a popular&nbsp;web-series&nbsp;by real-life best friends, comedians, and moms Kristin Hensley and Jen Smedley. One night, over a glass of wine and many tears of frustration, these two friends decided to tell a different&nbsp;kind of&nbsp;story.&nbsp;

With a camera, two husbands, a babysitter, and bottomless mimosas, Kristin and Jen decided to speak openly about their fears and failures and prove that the only way to survive motherhood is through laughter and friendship.&nbsp;Good&nbsp;thing because, while shooting the first video for the series, Jen forgot her newborn daughter’s name. The video was a smash hit, sparking an online community of 2 million of the most engaged followers that social media has ever seen, confirmation that moms and women everywhere needed to laugh and to&nbsp;be heard.&nbsp;

Kristin and Jen followed up with weekly videos about all things woman and mother: hemorrhoids, nipple hair, sex after marriage, mom bods, spanks, wedding dresses, and swimsuits. (Yes, they wore them on camera). Both women write and produce the #IMSH series with a common goal: Maybe we can make you feel better about the job you’re doing if you see the terrible job we’re doing. The videos have received nearly 300 million views worldwide in just&nbsp;5&nbsp;years.

&nbsp;The phenomenon&nbsp;that&nbsp;Kristin and Jen created has since been nabbed for development by Warner Brothers TV.&nbsp;The comedians have&nbsp;sold-out&nbsp;two national tours, written a New York Times&nbsp;Best Selling&nbsp;book, landed branded deals with Fortune 100 companies such as Wal-Mart and Uni-Lever, and taped a standup comedy special for Amazon Prime Video, launching the network’s first standup comedy platform.&nbsp;

They have recently premiered their weekly podcast and a children’s book series with Harper Collins.&nbsp;Kristin Hensley and Jen Smedley are both based in Los Angeles and can often&nbsp;be found&nbsp;selling&nbsp;pizza slices for the PTA or&nbsp;working&nbsp;as parking enforcement at school&nbsp;drop off.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/11/1699384815089.png" alt="Stiefel Theatre" />
 <figcaption>Stiefel Theatre</figcaption>
 </figure>By SALINA POSTThe #IMOMSOHARD LIVE: LADIES NIGHT TOUR&nbsp;is coming to Salina&nbsp;Oct. 25 at&nbsp;7:30 p.m.&nbsp;at the Historic Stiefel&nbsp;Theartre&nbsp;in Downtown Salina, Kansas.&nbsp;Tickets start at $35 and go on sale Friday, April 26 at&nbsp;10 a.m.&nbsp;Buy in person at the Stiefel Theatre Box Office or online at&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.stiefeltheatre.org/">www.stiefeltheatre.org</a>&nbsp;or by phone at 785-827-1998.&nbsp;&nbsp;This show is&nbsp;18+.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1713971036967.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure><a target="_blank" href="http://imomsohard.com/">#IMOMSOHARD</a><a target="_blank" href="http://imomsohard.com/">&nbsp;</a>viral sensations/creators&nbsp;Kristin Hensley and Jen Smedley&nbsp;are heading out this fall with a brand new show:&nbsp;#IMOMSOHARD LIVE: LADIES&nbsp;NIGHT&nbsp;promoted by&nbsp;Mammoth, Inc.&nbsp;&nbsp;The 13 North American shows kick off&nbsp;October 4&nbsp;in&nbsp;DeKalb, IL. Tickets go on sale&nbsp;Friday, April 26&nbsp;at&nbsp;10:00 AM&nbsp;(local time) at&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.imomsohard.com/">www.imomsohard.com</a>.Each night&nbsp;Kristin&nbsp;and Jen&nbsp;will take the stage with shows that&nbsp;are guaranteed to&nbsp;make you laugh and, well, maybe pee your pants. These&nbsp;two dive&nbsp;in to&nbsp;all things womanhood, motherhood and friendship.&nbsp;There are new things to&nbsp;talk about&nbsp;and some old things to&nbsp;talk about&nbsp;in new ways&nbsp;like&nbsp;surviving marriage, fashion, and the tween-teen years.The ladies may be older&nbsp;but&nbsp;they are only getting better. Or bitter. Let's go with better. "Let's all get together and find a way to laugh at the stuff that usually makes us cry." This show is rowdy, raucous and a little bit naughty. Get a group of your lady friends, or fly solo--you can even bring your husband (make sure he sits in the front row) and get ready to laugh.&nbsp;#IMOMSOHARD LIVE: LADIES NIGHT!&nbsp;is the night you need and deserve.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1713971087475.jpeg" alt="#IMOMSOHARD" />
 <figcaption>#IMOMSOHARD</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>About #IMOMSOHARD</h2><a target="_blank" href="http://imomsohard.com/">#IMOMSOHARD</a>&nbsp;began as a popular&nbsp;web-series&nbsp;by real-life best friends, comedians, and moms Kristin Hensley and Jen Smedley. One night, over a glass of wine and many tears of frustration, these two friends decided to tell a different&nbsp;kind of&nbsp;story.&nbsp;With a camera, two husbands, a babysitter, and bottomless mimosas, Kristin and Jen decided to speak openly about their fears and failures and prove that the only way to survive motherhood is through laughter and friendship.&nbsp;Good&nbsp;thing because, while shooting the first video for the series, Jen forgot her newborn daughter’s name. The video was a smash hit, sparking an online community of 2 million of the most engaged followers that social media has ever seen, confirmation that moms and women everywhere needed to laugh and to&nbsp;be heard.&nbsp;Kristin and Jen followed up with weekly videos about all things woman and mother: hemorrhoids, nipple hair, sex after marriage, mom bods, spanks, wedding dresses, and swimsuits. (Yes, they wore them on camera). Both women write and produce the #IMSH series with a common goal: Maybe we can make you feel better about the job you’re doing if you see the terrible job we’re doing. The videos have received nearly 300 million views worldwide in just&nbsp;5&nbsp;years.&nbsp;The phenomenon&nbsp;that&nbsp;Kristin and Jen created has since been nabbed for development by Warner Brothers TV.&nbsp;The comedians have&nbsp;sold-out&nbsp;two national tours, written a New York Times&nbsp;Best Selling&nbsp;book, landed branded deals with Fortune 100 companies such as Wal-Mart and Uni-Lever, and taped a standup comedy special for Amazon Prime Video, launching the network’s first standup comedy platform.&nbsp;They have recently premiered their weekly podcast and a children’s book series with Harper Collins.&nbsp;Kristin Hensley and Jen Smedley are both based in Los Angeles and can often&nbsp;be found&nbsp;selling&nbsp;pizza slices for the PTA or&nbsp;working&nbsp;as parking enforcement at school&nbsp;drop off.

#IMOMSOHARD Tour coming to Stiefel Theatre in Oct. 

By LESLIE MANNING <a href="https://www.facebook.com/southeastspotlight">The Spotlight</a>

“I probably should’ve used a dart board,” Bill Tuzicka said. “I started out with 40-50 pieces of music laid out on the table and wrote down the titles. Each one I picked has a story.”

Tuzicka will conduct his last concert with the Salina Chorale at 4 p.m. Sunday, April 21 at the Stiefel Theater. Tickets are $15 at the door.

“I couldn’t ask for better people to work with,” Tuzicka said. “Former students, acquaintances - we’re just coming together and we make music.”

Tuzicka ends not just his time with the Salina Chorale, but his residence in the community, as he and his wife, Susan, plan to move to Iowa in June, where their son, Chris, is the technical director at the University of Northern Iowa.

“When I started teaching at Southeast, I was impressed with the community,” Tuzicka said. “The people and the faculty that mentored me when I got there were just wonderful to be around.”

Tuzicka became familiar with Southeast of Saline when he was a high school student at Bison High School. His junior year of high school, he went to watch the state basketball tournament, and Assaria High School played in the tournament. The next year, when he returned to watch the tournament, the community returned a basketball team from Southeast of Saline High School, and they played Pawnee Rock, the winner of the regional bracket that Bison High School had played in.

“I decided to go to Bethany when I was in seventh grade,” Tuzicka said. “I was taking piano lessons from a lady that graduated from Bethany. Twice a year I would go down and take a master class from a piano teacher.”

He decided he wanted to be a music major in the seventh grade, also. In addition to running track and playing basketball at Bison High School, Tuzicka sang in the school’s choir, accompanied soloists for contests, played in the school’s concert band and pep band, competed in forensics and performed in the school plays.

“I started out with the oboe in fourth or fifth grade,” Tuzicka said. “As a freshman, I’d been marching with that crazy oboe, and asked to play something else. They needed another trombone player.”

In 1967, Tuzicka graduated from Bison High School and began studying music at Bethany College. It was in Lindsborg, where he met his wife, Susan.

“I was involved in Broadway RFD, and was in a couple performances there,” Tuzicka said. “My wife walked into the first rehearsal for Carousel. She was going to summer school, and there weren’t very many people to hang around, so that’s where we met. When I met her in college, I was an average student. After we starting going together and hanging out, I was a much better student. I was a much better person. She just made me better, and still does.”

Upon graduating from Bethany College with a bachelors in music education in 1971, Tuzicka sent off four or five applications for jobs - Southeast of Saline included. Jim Buxton was the principal at Southeast of Saline High School, and Eugene Flour was the principal at the middle school, and Tuzicka was invited to interview with the two of them.

“I went back to my dorm room, and someone knocked on my door,” Tuzicka said. “It was the superintendent from Southeast, Don Howe. He offered me a job.”

Tuzicka talked the opportunity over with Susan, and they decided a bird in the hand was worth three or four in the bush. Susan had one more year of college left, and the job would allow him to stay close and commute from Lindsborg.

“It was the right move,” Tuzicka said. “I never wanted to go any place else. When we were thinking of starting a family, I couldn’t think of a better place for my son or daughter to go to school than Southeast of Saline.”

According to Tuzicka, when he started teaching at Southeast of Saline, he had 18 kids in the choir.

“It was just a matter of going out and recruiting and talking to kids,” Tuzicka said. “I was young and still fairly active in sports, so I would go out and play basketball with them on weekends. I guess they thought ‘He’s not too bad, so we will go sing for him.’ I just went from there and had them come in and try it to see if they would like it.”

In his second year teaching at Southeast of Saline, Tuzicka started the Madrigal singing group after a conversation with the high school principal about how to go about the audition process.

“Buxton suggested to make sure that all the communities were involved,” Tuzicka said. “At the time he was telling me, it didn’t make much sense. It just so happened that it worked out, and I did have kids from all the communities. I really believe that part of the success I had in working with the kids out there was because of that conversation I had with Mr. Buxton.”

Tuzicka had a visceral understanding of the school district consolidation process, as Bison High School and Otis High School had consolidated shortly after he graduated from high school. His attitude for inclusion and ability to recruit nurtured a growing program.

“We started to grow, and it was fun,” Tuzicka said. “Once I got the enrollment up, I started doing musicals. I liked doing the musicals with Broadway RFD, so that was another thing we started doing.”

While growing the Southeast of Saline vocal program, his wife, Susan, would give vocal lesson to students. A couple years after Tuzicka took on the high school and middle school vocal program, an elementary music job opened up in the USD 306 school district, and she applied and was accepted.

“She was my right arm, and maybe more than that,” Tuzicka said. “Any amount of success I’ve had with what I’ve been doing, I can truthfully say, a lot of it has to do with her.”

Susan would teach the fundamentals of reading music, and inspire the love of music.

“By the time they got to me, they were so well prepared,” Tuzicka said. “They had an appreciation for music and they understood music. The elementary music teachers all across the nation are the building blocks of whatever takes place in the high schools and colleges, because they learn the stuff down there. That’s where they learn to enjoy it, and that’s what is important.”

The preparation from Susan at the elementary level, allowed Tuzicka to manage a vocal program that averaged 70-80 students in the choir, at 3A Southeast of Saline High School. One year, he remembers having a choir of over 110 students.

When Southeast of Saline USD 306 opened a K-12 building in 1978, Tuzicka offered tech classes. He had been taking some classes in Wichita in tech theater, and worked on some things with some of the technical people at Century II.

“There needed to be a group of students that understood the technical theater and how things worked in there, so we could maintain what was taking place,” Tuzicka said. “The design of the theater was a design for a multi-performance room. It worked for what we did.”

According to Tuzicka, when the building was first designed, the theater was about twice as big as it is, and the choral and band rooms were bigger. He says the whole building was much more elaborate, even including a swimming pool in the original design.

“Of course, the price on that, I don’t think that ever made it to the public to see,” Tuzicka said. “Things had to be cut back and changed.”

The theater was a trending design at the time, one that can also be seen at Beloit High School and Cloud County Community College. The movement was to go away from a proscenium type theater, and make spaces not so formal.

“We made some changes to it, to make it a formal concert venue,” Tuzicka said. “It made it more of a performance area, as opposed to just an open air space. We made it more of like a theater as much as we possibly could.”

The timing was near perfect, as the Southeast of Saline theater wasn’t the only new performance venue being constructed. The Salina Bicentennial Center was built in 1976, and Tuzicka was asked to work there with spotlighting.

“It was a part-time job, and then it kept snowballing, where I was doing more and more,” Tuzicka said. “I got involved with the stage hand union, and I was working all over Kansas helping set up different shows and concerts. It was kind of like on the job training for me. I would bring those things back to Southeast of Saline, like ideas for play sets. I would go see how the pros did it, and bring that information back to Southeast and try it there. It worked out very well.”

As the students at Southeast of Saline became adept in the technical side of performances, many started helping Tuzicka set up for shows at the Salina Bicentennial Center.

“There were times when I didn’t have things going on at Southeast, I would take seniors in,” Tuzicka said. “The acts always brought their own sound and lighting people. It was our job to get them set up and going right.”

After 1996, when the Fox Theater Discover Group formed to research the viability of the Fox Theater in downtown Salina, Tuzicka was called on to share his experience in theater technology.

“I knew they were refurbishing the theater, and since I was involved with some of the things over at the Bicentennial Center at the time, they called me and asked me to come in and look at the plans for the theater for bringing in concerts and so forth,” Tuzicka said. “I said ‘Here are a couple thing you might want to consider or redo or look at.’ That kind of started it, and they asked me to come in and help more.”

The Stiefel Theater opened in 2002, and by 2006, when Tuzicka retired from teaching at Southeast of Saline, the facility was starting to do more and more shows. Tuzicka was hired as the technical director, also overseeing the facility maintenance. The technical director at the Stiefel Theater involves similar job responsibilities as that of the Bicentennial Center, taking care of everything on the stage in terms of lighting and sound - setting it up so the lighting and sound guys will have the best control possible.

“It was kind of an extension of the career at Southeast of Saline,” Tuzicka said. “This is the greatest working environment. I’m so lucky to have the people, the board, Jane Gates, everbody. The best thing about my job, I get a chance to talk to some of these (performers.) My door is always open. They walk in. Martina McBride said it looks like someone actually works in here.”

Also upon retirement from teaching at Southeast, Tuzicka and his wife, Susan, joined the Salina Chorale under the direction of Dr. Joseph Figg. When health issues prevented Dr. Figg from continuing with the chorale in 2009, Tuzicka was asked to take over and finish out the semester.

“I’ve been doing it ever since,” Tuzicka said. “It’s my therapy. Every Monday night, I go to therapy.”

The last concert of the Salina Chorale, under the direction of Tuzicka, will involve some Southeast of Saline vocal program history.

“I think one of the things about music, there’s no such thing as a piece of music you’ve done, that cannot be elaborated on or made better,” Tuzicka said. “It’s never perfect. It’s always a work in progress. You can never be satisfied with it, because it is never done.”

In 1996, Tuzicka took his first group of students to sing in Washington D.C. One of the first stops when arriving in Washington D.C. was a visit to the Albert Einstein statue. The students crawled all over the statue for a photo opportunity, and Tuzicka, in an impromptu moment, directed the group in the song by the King Singers, You are the New Day.

“That was the first piece any of my choirs sang in Washington D.C.,” Tuzicka said. “The hope for a new day is what keeps everybody going.”

Along with You are the New Day, the Salina Chorale will sing Corner of the Sky from the musical Pippin. Pippin was the musical performed at Southeast of Saline in the fall of 1997, his son, Chris’s, senior year of high school.

A song titled, Kittery, is one of Southeast of Saline’s historical performance pieces, a version of the Lord’s Prayer sang with a kind of sound you can hear in Slovac countries.

“It’s a little bit different,” Tuzicka said. “It is a harsh sound. No great beautiful singing, so it is going to clean everybody’s ears to start with.”

Other pieces on the setlist include One Tin Soldier; Lonesome Road by James Taylor; Shenandoah; Cantique de Jean Racine; Prayer of the Children; Home in the Heartland - a piece from Riverdance written about the plains and the Midwest; River of Judea and The Old Irish Blessing as the encore. The Salina Chorale will also perform Home on the Range, because Tuzicka assumes that if he ever directs a choir in Iowa, they are probably not going to let him do Home on the Range.

A song special to the Salina Chorale, God Be in My Head, will be included in the set, as a remembrance to Dr. Joseph Figg.

“I am going to miss the community and I’m going to miss the people and I’m going to miss what I do, but, just turn the page,” Tuzicka said. “How much I feel indebted to the community at Southeast of Saline. I was so lucky to somehow get into that community, and they accepted me. I have always had the highest amount of respect for the people who are on the school board out there, the people who stepped forward and had the well being of the students and the young people of the community at heart. That’s doesn’t just come from the school board, that comes from all the community.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1713539227732.jpeg" alt="&nbsp;Bill Tuzicka, and his wife and right hand, Susan, stand with the Salina Chorale. The chorale will perform their last concert under the direction of Tuzicka at 4 p.m. Sunday, April 21 at the Stiefel Theater. Image Courtesy Leslie Manning" />
 <figcaption>&nbsp;Bill Tuzicka, and his wife and right hand, Susan, stand with the Salina Chorale. The chorale will perform their last concert under the direction of Tuzicka at 4 p.m. Sunday, April 21 at the Stiefel Theater. Image Courtesy Leslie Manning</figcaption>
 </figure>By LESLIE MANNING <a href="https://www.facebook.com/southeastspotlight">The Spotlight</a>“I probably should’ve used a dart board,” Bill Tuzicka said. “I started out with 40-50 pieces of music laid out on the table and wrote down the titles. Each one I picked has a story.”Tuzicka will conduct his last concert with the Salina Chorale at 4 p.m. Sunday, April 21 at the Stiefel Theater. Tickets are $15 at the door.“I couldn’t ask for better people to work with,” Tuzicka said. “Former students, acquaintances - we’re just coming together and we make music.”Tuzicka ends not just his time with the Salina Chorale, but his residence in the community, as he and his wife, Susan, plan to move to Iowa in June, where their son, Chris, is the technical director at the University of Northern Iowa.<h2>Making music</h2>“When I started teaching at Southeast, I was impressed with the community,” Tuzicka said. “The people and the faculty that mentored me when I got there were just wonderful to be around.”Tuzicka became familiar with Southeast of Saline when he was a high school student at Bison High School. His junior year of high school, he went to watch the state basketball tournament, and Assaria High School played in the tournament. The next year, when he returned to watch the tournament, the community returned a basketball team from Southeast of Saline High School, and they played Pawnee Rock, the winner of the regional bracket that Bison High School had played in.“I decided to go to Bethany when I was in seventh grade,” Tuzicka said. “I was taking piano lessons from a lady that graduated from Bethany. Twice a year I would go down and take a master class from a piano teacher.”He decided he wanted to be a music major in the seventh grade, also. In addition to running track and playing basketball at Bison High School, Tuzicka sang in the school’s choir, accompanied soloists for contests, played in the school’s concert band and pep band, competed in forensics and performed in the school plays.“I started out with the oboe in fourth or fifth grade,” Tuzicka said. “As a freshman, I’d been marching with that crazy oboe, and asked to play something else. They needed another trombone player.”In 1967, Tuzicka graduated from Bison High School and began studying music at Bethany College. It was in Lindsborg, where he met his wife, Susan.“I was involved in Broadway RFD, and was in a couple performances there,” Tuzicka said. “My wife walked into the first rehearsal for Carousel. She was going to summer school, and there weren’t very many people to hang around, so that’s where we met. When I met her in college, I was an average student. After we starting going together and hanging out, I was a much better student. I was a much better person. She just made me better, and still does.”Upon graduating from Bethany College with a bachelors in music education in 1971, Tuzicka sent off four or five applications for jobs - Southeast of Saline included. Jim Buxton was the principal at Southeast of Saline High School, and Eugene Flour was the principal at the middle school, and Tuzicka was invited to interview with the two of them.“I went back to my dorm room, and someone knocked on my door,” Tuzicka said. “It was the superintendent from Southeast, Don Howe. He offered me a job.”Tuzicka talked the opportunity over with Susan, and they decided a bird in the hand was worth three or four in the bush. Susan had one more year of college left, and the job would allow him to stay close and commute from Lindsborg.“It was the right move,” Tuzicka said. “I never wanted to go any place else. When we were thinking of starting a family, I couldn’t think of a better place for my son or daughter to go to school than Southeast of Saline.”According to Tuzicka, when he started teaching at Southeast of Saline, he had 18 kids in the choir.“It was just a matter of going out and recruiting and talking to kids,” Tuzicka said. “I was young and still fairly active in sports, so I would go out and play basketball with them on weekends. I guess they thought ‘He’s not too bad, so we will go sing for him.’ I just went from there and had them come in and try it to see if they would like it.”In his second year teaching at Southeast of Saline, Tuzicka started the Madrigal singing group after a conversation with the high school principal about how to go about the audition process.“Buxton suggested to make sure that all the communities were involved,” Tuzicka said. “At the time he was telling me, it didn’t make much sense. It just so happened that it worked out, and I did have kids from all the communities. I really believe that part of the success I had in working with the kids out there was because of that conversation I had with Mr. Buxton.”Tuzicka had a visceral understanding of the school district consolidation process, as Bison High School and Otis High School had consolidated shortly after he graduated from high school. His attitude for inclusion and ability to recruit nurtured a growing program.“We started to grow, and it was fun,” Tuzicka said. “Once I got the enrollment up, I started doing musicals. I liked doing the musicals with Broadway RFD, so that was another thing we started doing.”While growing the Southeast of Saline vocal program, his wife, Susan, would give vocal lesson to students. A couple years after Tuzicka took on the high school and middle school vocal program, an elementary music job opened up in the USD 306 school district, and she applied and was accepted.“She was my right arm, and maybe more than that,” Tuzicka said. “Any amount of success I’ve had with what I’ve been doing, I can truthfully say, a lot of it has to do with her.”Susan would teach the fundamentals of reading music, and inspire the love of music.“By the time they got to me, they were so well prepared,” Tuzicka said. “They had an appreciation for music and they understood music. The elementary music teachers all across the nation are the building blocks of whatever takes place in the high schools and colleges, because they learn the stuff down there. That’s where they learn to enjoy it, and that’s what is important.”The preparation from Susan at the elementary level, allowed Tuzicka to manage a vocal program that averaged 70-80 students in the choir, at 3A Southeast of Saline High School. One year, he remembers having a choir of over 110 students.When Southeast of Saline USD 306 opened a K-12 building in 1978, Tuzicka offered tech classes. He had been taking some classes in Wichita in tech theater, and worked on some things with some of the technical people at Century II.“There needed to be a group of students that understood the technical theater and how things worked in there, so we could maintain what was taking place,” Tuzicka said. “The design of the theater was a design for a multi-performance room. It worked for what we did.”According to Tuzicka, when the building was first designed, the theater was about twice as big as it is, and the choral and band rooms were bigger. He says the whole building was much more elaborate, even including a swimming pool in the original design.“Of course, the price on that, I don’t think that ever made it to the public to see,” Tuzicka said. “Things had to be cut back and changed.”The theater was a trending design at the time, one that can also be seen at Beloit High School and Cloud County Community College. The movement was to go away from a proscenium type theater, and make spaces not so formal.“We made some changes to it, to make it a formal concert venue,” Tuzicka said. “It made it more of a performance area, as opposed to just an open air space. We made it more of like a theater as much as we possibly could.”The timing was near perfect, as the Southeast of Saline theater wasn’t the only new performance venue being constructed. The Salina Bicentennial Center was built in 1976, and Tuzicka was asked to work there with spotlighting.“It was a part-time job, and then it kept snowballing, where I was doing more and more,” Tuzicka said. “I got involved with the stage hand union, and I was working all over Kansas helping set up different shows and concerts. It was kind of like on the job training for me. I would bring those things back to Southeast of Saline, like ideas for play sets. I would go see how the pros did it, and bring that information back to Southeast and try it there. It worked out very well.”As the students at Southeast of Saline became adept in the technical side of performances, many started helping Tuzicka set up for shows at the Salina Bicentennial Center.“There were times when I didn’t have things going on at Southeast, I would take seniors in,” Tuzicka said. “The acts always brought their own sound and lighting people. It was our job to get them set up and going right.”After 1996, when the Fox Theater Discover Group formed to research the viability of the Fox Theater in downtown Salina, Tuzicka was called on to share his experience in theater technology.“I knew they were refurbishing the theater, and since I was involved with some of the things over at the Bicentennial Center at the time, they called me and asked me to come in and look at the plans for the theater for bringing in concerts and so forth,” Tuzicka said. “I said ‘Here are a couple thing you might want to consider or redo or look at.’ That kind of started it, and they asked me to come in and help more.”The Stiefel Theater opened in 2002, and by 2006, when Tuzicka retired from teaching at Southeast of Saline, the facility was starting to do more and more shows. Tuzicka was hired as the technical director, also overseeing the facility maintenance. The technical director at the Stiefel Theater involves similar job responsibilities as that of the Bicentennial Center, taking care of everything on the stage in terms of lighting and sound - setting it up so the lighting and sound guys will have the best control possible.“It was kind of an extension of the career at Southeast of Saline,” Tuzicka said. “This is the greatest working environment. I’m so lucky to have the people, the board, Jane Gates, everbody. The best thing about my job, I get a chance to talk to some of these (performers.) My door is always open. They walk in. Martina McBride said it looks like someone actually works in here.”Also upon retirement from teaching at Southeast, Tuzicka and his wife, Susan, joined the Salina Chorale under the direction of Dr. Joseph Figg. When health issues prevented Dr. Figg from continuing with the chorale in 2009, Tuzicka was asked to take over and finish out the semester.“I’ve been doing it ever since,” Tuzicka said. “It’s my therapy. Every Monday night, I go to therapy.”<h2>Telling the story</h2>The last concert of the Salina Chorale, under the direction of Tuzicka, will involve some Southeast of Saline vocal program history.“I think one of the things about music, there’s no such thing as a piece of music you’ve done, that cannot be elaborated on or made better,” Tuzicka said. “It’s never perfect. It’s always a work in progress. You can never be satisfied with it, because it is never done.”In 1996, Tuzicka took his first group of students to sing in Washington D.C. One of the first stops when arriving in Washington D.C. was a visit to the Albert Einstein statue. The students crawled all over the statue for a photo opportunity, and Tuzicka, in an impromptu moment, directed the group in the song by the King Singers, You are the New Day.“That was the first piece any of my choirs sang in Washington D.C.,” Tuzicka said. “The hope for a new day is what keeps everybody going.”Along with You are the New Day, the Salina Chorale will sing Corner of the Sky from the musical Pippin. Pippin was the musical performed at Southeast of Saline in the fall of 1997, his son, Chris’s, senior year of high school.A song titled, Kittery, is one of Southeast of Saline’s historical performance pieces, a version of the Lord’s Prayer sang with a kind of sound you can hear in Slovac countries.“It’s a little bit different,” Tuzicka said. “It is a harsh sound. No great beautiful singing, so it is going to clean everybody’s ears to start with.”Other pieces on the setlist include One Tin Soldier; Lonesome Road by James Taylor; Shenandoah; Cantique de Jean Racine; Prayer of the Children; Home in the Heartland - a piece from Riverdance written about the plains and the Midwest; River of Judea and The Old Irish Blessing as the encore. The Salina Chorale will also perform Home on the Range, because Tuzicka assumes that if he ever directs a choir in Iowa, they are probably not going to let him do Home on the Range.A song special to the Salina Chorale, God Be in My Head, will be included in the set, as a remembrance to Dr. Joseph Figg.“I am going to miss the community and I’m going to miss the people and I’m going to miss what I do, but, just turn the page,” Tuzicka said. “How much I feel indebted to the community at Southeast of Saline. I was so lucky to somehow get into that community, and they accepted me. I have always had the highest amount of respect for the people who are on the school board out there, the people who stepped forward and had the well being of the students and the young people of the community at heart. That’s doesn’t just come from the school board, that comes from all the community.

The Spotlight — Bill Tuzicka directs his last concert of the Salina Chorale  

The Salina Senior Theater Project (SSTP) will open its fourth season with Carol Nimmons's comedy&nbsp;"Mernie's Little Hoax" on Friday, May 3, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, May 4, at 3 p.m. at the Salvation Army 1137 North Santa Fe.

"Marnie's Little Hoax" is about a rich widow living in the Golden Gate retirement village. She is concerned because she has no known heirs to whom she can leave her fortune. She devises a hoax to see who among her so-called friends might be candidates in her will. When her fake demise backfires she becomes the victim of crazy shenanigans plotted by a network of unpredictable retirees.

Mernie Mayham.......Connie Gibson&nbsp; Maxine........................Taffy Speilman Sally.............................Judy Eilrich Helen...........................Laurie Moavec Herman.......................Mike Odell** Nellie...........................Carol Bragg Stanley........................Jack Owen ** Sadie...........................Kala Hurde Activities Director...Donna Tope ** Judge..........................Wally Hitchcock&nbsp;

READ MORE:&nbsp;<a href="https://salinapost.com/posts/f8169fe9-e03b-4e8b-998f-2ce10f24d094">Hammer fight breaks out between coworkers in Dollar General parking lot</a>

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/2/1708533986894.jpeg" alt=""Mernie's Little Hoax" poster image. Image courtesy Salina Senior Theater Project" />
 <figcaption>"Mernie's Little Hoax" poster image. Image courtesy Salina Senior Theater Project</figcaption>
 </figure>SubmittedThe Salina Senior Theater Project (SSTP) will open its fourth season with Carol Nimmons's comedy&nbsp;"Mernie's Little Hoax" on Friday, May 3, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, May 4, at 3 p.m. at the Salvation Army 1137 North Santa Fe."Marnie's Little Hoax" is about a rich widow living in the Golden Gate retirement village. She is concerned because she has no known heirs to whom she can leave her fortune. She devises a hoax to see who among her so-called friends might be candidates in her will. When her fake demise backfires she becomes the victim of crazy shenanigans plotted by a network of unpredictable retirees.<h2>CAST **SSTP Debut</h2>Mernie Mayham.......Connie Gibson&nbsp; Maxine........................Taffy Speilman Sally.............................Judy Eilrich Helen...........................Laurie Moavec Herman.......................Mike Odell** Nellie...........................Carol Bragg Stanley........................Jack Owen ** Sadie...........................Kala Hurde Activities Director...Donna Tope ** Judge..........................Wally Hitchcock&nbsp;READ MORE:&nbsp;<a href="https://salinapost.com/posts/f8169fe9-e03b-4e8b-998f-2ce10f24d094">Hammer fight breaks out between coworkers in Dollar General parking lot</a>

Salina Senior Theater Project presents 'Mernie's Little Hoax' May 3-4

The 40th Salina Spring Poetry Series, sponsored and organized by Salina Arts &amp; Humanities, continues on Tuesday, April 23, with a reading by Bradford Tice. 

The reading will begin at 7 pm at Red Fern Booksellers (106 S Santa Fe Ave). Admission will be $5 cash at the door and free for students with ID. 

Traci Brimhall, Kansas Poet Laureate, curated this year’s series. Brimhall selected poets with a broad range of perspectives who will share their work in Salina this month. 

“I love what Bradford Tice does with poetry and history. In his collection What the Night Numbered, he unites mythic figures and the Stonewall riots. His persona poems unlock so many necessary statements about death, desire, and coming-of-age. History feels utterly present tense in his work, and it teaches me ways to help poems remember what the world has forgotten,” said Brimhall. 

Bradford Tice is the author of two books of poetry: Rare Earth (New Rivers Press, 2013), which was named the winner of the 2011 Many Voices Project and a 2014 Debut-litzer finalist, and What the Night Numbered (Trio House Press, 2015), winner of the 2014 Trio Award. His poetry and fiction have appeared in such periodicals as The Atlantic Monthly, North American Review, The American Scholar, Epoch, and Best American Short Stories 2008. His poetry was also selected as the winner of Prairie Schooner’s 2009 Edward Stanley Award.

Bradford currently teaches at Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln. 

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1713370628676.jpeg" alt="Bradford Tice" />
 <figcaption>Bradford Tice</figcaption>
 </figure>SubmittedThe 40th Salina Spring Poetry Series, sponsored and organized by Salina Arts &amp; Humanities, continues on Tuesday, April 23, with a reading by Bradford Tice. The reading will begin at 7 pm at Red Fern Booksellers (106 S Santa Fe Ave). Admission will be $5 cash at the door and free for students with ID. Traci Brimhall, Kansas Poet Laureate, curated this year’s series. Brimhall selected poets with a broad range of perspectives who will share their work in Salina this month. “I love what Bradford Tice does with poetry and history. In his collection What the Night Numbered, he unites mythic figures and the Stonewall riots. His persona poems unlock so many necessary statements about death, desire, and coming-of-age. History feels utterly present tense in his work, and it teaches me ways to help poems remember what the world has forgotten,” said Brimhall. Bradford Tice is the author of two books of poetry: Rare Earth (New Rivers Press, 2013), which was named the winner of the 2011 Many Voices Project and a 2014 Debut-litzer finalist, and What the Night Numbered (Trio House Press, 2015), winner of the 2014 Trio Award. His poetry and fiction have appeared in such periodicals as The Atlantic Monthly, North American Review, The American Scholar, Epoch, and Best American Short Stories 2008. His poetry was also selected as the winner of Prairie Schooner’s 2009 Edward Stanley Award.Bradford currently teaches at Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln.

Bradford Tice to read in Salina Spring Poetry Series, April 23

Cloud County Community College’s Theatre Department will present its spring play, “The One-Act Play That Goes Wrong,” by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields, April 25-27 in Cook Theatre on the Concordia campus.&nbsp;

Showtime for all three nights will be at 7 p.m. Tickets are $5, but CCCC students will be admitted free.&nbsp;

An amateur drama society is putting on the classic whodunit, The Murder at Haversham Manor. And the fate of the drama society is riding on the play's success. Unfortunately, just about everything that could go wrong, does. Will the intrepid troupe keep playing long enough to uncover the murderer?

The play is directed by Cloud County’s theatre instructor, Julia Burr-Roveti, and is presented by arrangement with Dramatists Play Service under license from Mischief Worldwide Ltd.

The cast for the play includes: Annie, Whitney Jones, Concordia; Trevor, Cray Schilling, Morrill, Kan.; Chris as Inspector Carter, Justice Alexander, Concordia; Jonathan as Charles Haversham, Avery Brown, Mankato; Dennis as Perkins, J’Marie Bobo, Salina; Max as Cecil Haversham, Abby Rose, Frankfort; and Sandra as Florence Colleymoore, Kiana Champlin, Concordia.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/10/1696510717769.jpeg" alt="Cloud County " />
 <figcaption>Cloud County </figcaption>
 </figure>SubmittedCloud County Community College’s Theatre Department will present its spring play, “The One-Act Play That Goes Wrong,” by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields, April 25-27 in Cook Theatre on the Concordia campus.&nbsp;Showtime for all three nights will be at 7 p.m. Tickets are $5, but CCCC students will be admitted free.&nbsp;An amateur drama society is putting on the classic whodunit, The Murder at Haversham Manor. And the fate of the drama society is riding on the play's success. Unfortunately, just about everything that could go wrong, does. Will the intrepid troupe keep playing long enough to uncover the murderer?The play is directed by Cloud County’s theatre instructor, Julia Burr-Roveti, and is presented by arrangement with Dramatists Play Service under license from Mischief Worldwide Ltd.The cast for the play includes: Annie, Whitney Jones, Concordia; Trevor, Cray Schilling, Morrill, Kan.; Chris as Inspector Carter, Justice Alexander, Concordia; Jonathan as Charles Haversham, Avery Brown, Mankato; Dennis as Perkins, J’Marie Bobo, Salina; Max as Cecil Haversham, Abby Rose, Frankfort; and Sandra as Florence Colleymoore, Kiana Champlin, Concordia.&nbsp;

CCCC Theatre Department to present spring play

By OLIVIA BERGMEIER Salina Post

<a target="_blank" href="https://www.facebook.com/SCTGUILD/?paipv=0&amp;eav=AfYXSZJ0AxyzqVt2-0AAMQDxphyHgv4mLV_WVDZuZe136othNlLZawBaJ1BdvKrDiS0&amp;_rdr">The Theatre Salina Guild</a>&nbsp;began its&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://salinatheatre.com/project/guild-flower-sale/">38th Annual Geranium and Plant Sale</a>&nbsp;last week.&nbsp;Residents and visitors can place advance orders for Calliope Dark Red, Galaxy Orange, Patriot White geraniums, and more.

On Thursday, March 14, the guild began taking orders for hundreds of geraniums and plants to raise cash for the Theatre Salina youth programs.

"Our primary goal is to raise money and we split half of what we raise directly with the Youth Education Program," said Theatre Salina Guild Vice President and Plant Sale Chair Patti Breeding. "The other half we use toward scholarships for seniors that are going on to higher education in the arts."

The creative youth also participate in the sale each year, Breeding said, with many student volunteers assisting on the in-person sale days on Friday and Saturday, April 14 and 15.

Ordering geraniums in advance costs $7.50 each, but those purchasing in person on the sale days at Theatre Salina will cost $8. The special geraniums are $10 with advance orders and purchasing in the Theatre Salina lobby.

Breeding said that for advance orders, payment for the flowers must be made on or before Friday, April 12.

This year's special geraniums are for two previous guild members, Florence Jester and Judi Dunn, and their years of service to the Theatre Salina Guild.

"We have done it for people that have passed on, but these two ladies are still with us," Breeding said. "Judy had been vice president for a number of years, and Florence had been secretary. They just stepped down this last year, so we are doing it to honor them for the years of service they provided to the guild."

Guild members also have a raffle alongside the plant sale with various local prizes. One is an arrangement of potted plants by <a href="https://sheilasgardenmarket.com/">Sheila's Garden Market</a> in Galva, a self-contained wooden water feature by a local artist, tickets to a few performances by Theatre Salina in April, and a grand prize of two season tickets to Theatre Salina.

Those interested in ordering flowers for the sale can contact a guild member at 785-643-3372. Theatre Salina Guild will have the flowers available for pick-up from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, April 14 and 15, in the Theatre Salina Lobby.

Geraniums on sale at Theatre Salina Guild

Regular geraniums — $7.50 each Calliope Large Dark Red Calliope Large Hot Rose Patriot White Patriot Lavender Blue

Special geraniums — $10 each Calliope Cascade Violet, in honor of Florence Jester Sunrise Rose+Big Eye, in honor of Judi Dunn

READ MORE:&nbsp;<a href="https://salinapost.com/posts/e75818b1-80eb-49fc-a472-5e13faca548b">Propane Central celebrates retirement for 26-year employee</a>

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/3/1710443967204.jpeg" alt="38th Annual Geranium and Plant Sale. Graphic courtesy Theatre Salina Guild" />
 <figcaption>38th Annual Geranium and Plant Sale. Graphic courtesy Theatre Salina Guild</figcaption>
 </figure>By OLIVIA BERGMEIER Salina Post<a target="_blank" href="https://www.facebook.com/SCTGUILD/?paipv=0&amp;eav=AfYXSZJ0AxyzqVt2-0AAMQDxphyHgv4mLV_WVDZuZe136othNlLZawBaJ1BdvKrDiS0&amp;_rdr">The Theatre Salina Guild</a>&nbsp;began its&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://salinatheatre.com/project/guild-flower-sale/">38th Annual Geranium and Plant Sale</a>&nbsp;last week.&nbsp;Residents and visitors can place advance orders for Calliope Dark Red, Galaxy Orange, Patriot White geraniums, and more.On Thursday, March 14, the guild began taking orders for hundreds of geraniums and plants to raise cash for the Theatre Salina youth programs."Our primary goal is to raise money and we split half of what we raise directly with the Youth Education Program," said Theatre Salina Guild Vice President and Plant Sale Chair Patti Breeding. "The other half we use toward scholarships for seniors that are going on to higher education in the arts."<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/3/1710443742729.jpg" alt="White geraniums. Image courtesy of Pixabay" />
 <figcaption>White geraniums. Image courtesy of Pixabay</figcaption>
 </figure>The creative youth also participate in the sale each year, Breeding said, with many student volunteers assisting on the in-person sale days on Friday and Saturday, April 14 and 15.Ordering geraniums in advance costs $7.50 each, but those purchasing in person on the sale days at Theatre Salina will cost $8. The special geraniums are $10 with advance orders and purchasing in the Theatre Salina lobby.Breeding said that for advance orders, payment for the flowers must be made on or before Friday, April 12.This year's special geraniums are for two previous guild members, Florence Jester and Judi Dunn, and their years of service to the Theatre Salina Guild."We have done it for people that have passed on, but these two ladies are still with us," Breeding said. "Judy had been vice president for a number of years, and Florence had been secretary. They just stepped down this last year, so we are doing it to honor them for the years of service they provided to the guild."Guild members also have a raffle alongside the plant sale with various local prizes. One is an arrangement of potted plants by <a href="https://sheilasgardenmarket.com/">Sheila's Garden Market</a> in Galva, a self-contained wooden water feature by a local artist, tickets to a few performances by Theatre Salina in April, and a grand prize of two season tickets to Theatre Salina.Those interested in ordering flowers for the sale can contact a guild member at 785-643-3372. Theatre Salina Guild will have the flowers available for pick-up from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, April 14 and 15, in the Theatre Salina Lobby.<h2>Geraniums on sale at Theatre Salina Guild</h2>Regular geraniums — $7.50 each Calliope Large Dark Red Calliope Large Hot Rose Patriot White Patriot Lavender Blue Special geraniums — $10 each Calliope Cascade Violet, in honor of Florence Jester Sunrise Rose+Big Eye, in honor of Judi DunnREAD MORE:&nbsp;<a href="https://salinapost.com/posts/e75818b1-80eb-49fc-a472-5e13faca548b">Propane Central celebrates retirement for 26-year employee</a>

Theatre Salina Guild begins 38th Geranium and Plant Sale

The Salina Youth Symphony Program will hold auditions for the 2024-2025 season on Saturday, May 18, at the Symphony Rehearsal Hall.

Students from elementary through high school are invited to audition and should come prepared to play a solo of their choice. They will also be asked to play scales and sight read. Please register online at <a href="http://www.salinasymphony.org">www.salinasymphony.org</a> for an audition time.

The Salina Youth Symphony features a full orchestra of advanced musicians under the direction of Henry Littich. The Youth String Ensemble is an intermediate orchestra performing under the baton of Dr. Leonardo Rosario.

The Youth Jazz Band, new next season, is an intermediate jazz ensemble directed by Adam Keller. The Preparatory Orchestra, a beginning string orchestra, is conducted by Michael Harbaugh. The ensembles rehearse on Saturday mornings throughout the school year and perform two concerts each season at the Stiefel Theatre.

The Salina Symphony is dedicated to enriching lives through artistic music performance and education. For more information, please contact the Symphony Office at (785) 823-8309 or visit <a href="http://salinasymphony.org">salinasymphony.org</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1713285283492.jpeg" alt="Image Courtesy Salina Youth Symphony" />
 <figcaption>Image Courtesy Salina Youth Symphony</figcaption>
 </figure>SubmittedThe Salina Youth Symphony Program will hold auditions for the 2024-2025 season on Saturday, May 18, at the Symphony Rehearsal Hall.Students from elementary through high school are invited to audition and should come prepared to play a solo of their choice. They will also be asked to play scales and sight read. Please register online at <a href="http://www.salinasymphony.org">www.salinasymphony.org</a> for an audition time.The Salina Youth Symphony features a full orchestra of advanced musicians under the direction of Henry Littich. The Youth String Ensemble is an intermediate orchestra performing under the baton of Dr. Leonardo Rosario.The Youth Jazz Band, new next season, is an intermediate jazz ensemble directed by Adam Keller. The Preparatory Orchestra, a beginning string orchestra, is conducted by Michael Harbaugh. The ensembles rehearse on Saturday mornings throughout the school year and perform two concerts each season at the Stiefel Theatre.The Salina Symphony is dedicated to enriching lives through artistic music performance and education. For more information, please contact the Symphony Office at (785) 823-8309 or visit <a href="http://salinasymphony.org">salinasymphony.org</a>.

Salina Symphony Announces Youth Symphony Auditions for 2024-2025 Season

The Two-time Grammy Award-winning, finger-wagging, rant-raving, comedian Lewis Black is coming to Salina, Kansas for his <a href="https://www.lewisblack.com/collections/tickets">GOODBYE YELLER BRICK ROAD, THE FINAL TOUR</a>&nbsp;on Nov. 3.

Tickets start at $49 and go on sale April 19 at 11 a.m.&nbsp;Buy in person at the Stiefel Theatre Box Office or online at <a href="http://www.stiefeltheatre.org">www.stiefeltheatre.org</a>&nbsp;785-827-1998

After 35+ years as a touring stand-up comedian, Lewis Black is parking his tour bus for good next year, marking the end of his legendary world touring career. Black will write the next chapter of his career by going back to his roots and focusing on writing a new play, penning a new book, and expanding his podcast, RantCast, to include live recordings. He will also return as the voice of “Anger” in the upcoming Pixar sequel, Inside Out 2.

Lewis on being asked about touring retirement

“For a while now I have been letting folks know that I am going to retire from touring. No one believed me. ‘Why would you retire from touring?’, they asked. This is after years of being asked why I was touring, ‘it must be exhausting.’ So, today I am announcing that I am retiring from touring. It is a life that has given me great joy and opened a world of possibilities for me. I thought the road would go on forever, well I was wrong about that. And the fact is as hard as the road maybe to be on, it’s harder to leave it. I am only retiring from touring. It’s time for me to explore other avenues such as writing, reading your rants, and pitching TV shows that will be rejected. (Which is why I know they are good.) More importantly, I can finally give my Fantasy Football team the focus and time it truly needs. And maybe, just maybe I can become the professional golfer I was born to be.”

The LA Times asks, “Is this the end of the road for Lewis Black? America’s crankiest comic reflects on his final tour”.

Lewis Black uses his trademark style of comedic yelling and finger pointing to expose the absurdities of life. His comedic brilliance makes people laugh at life’s hypocrisies and the insanity he sees in the world. He has performed throughout the world and the US, where he performed at Carnegie Hall and had two successful Broadway runs.

His latest stand-up special, Tragically, I Need You, was released earlier this year and has already surpassed 1.3 million views on YouTube. The brand-new special explores topics including his ways of coping with the pandemic, his frustrations with the evolving world, and of course his thoughts about the chaos of America these last few years.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/11/1699384815089.png" alt="Stiefel Theatre" />
 <figcaption>Stiefel Theatre</figcaption>
 </figure>Stiefel TheatreThe Two-time Grammy Award-winning, finger-wagging, rant-raving, comedian Lewis Black is coming to Salina, Kansas for his <a href="https://www.lewisblack.com/collections/tickets">GOODBYE YELLER BRICK ROAD, THE FINAL TOUR</a>&nbsp;on Nov. 3. Tickets start at $49 and go on sale April 19 at 11 a.m.&nbsp;Buy in person at the Stiefel Theatre Box Office or online at <a href="http://www.stiefeltheatre.org">www.stiefeltheatre.org</a>&nbsp;785-827-1998<h2>Lewis Black</h2><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1713208396301.jpeg" alt="Lewis Black press image" />
 <figcaption>Lewis Black press image</figcaption>
 </figure>After 35+ years as a touring stand-up comedian, Lewis Black is parking his tour bus for good next year, marking the end of his legendary world touring career. Black will write the next chapter of his career by going back to his roots and focusing on writing a new play, penning a new book, and expanding his podcast, RantCast, to include live recordings. He will also return as the voice of “Anger” in the upcoming Pixar sequel, Inside Out 2.<h2>Lewis on being asked about touring retirement</h2>“For a while now I have been letting folks know that I am going to retire from touring. No one believed me. ‘Why would you retire from touring?’, they asked. This is after years of being asked why I was touring, ‘it must be exhausting.’ So, today I am announcing that I am retiring from touring. It is a life that has given me great joy and opened a world of possibilities for me. I thought the road would go on forever, well I was wrong about that. And the fact is as hard as the road maybe to be on, it’s harder to leave it. I am only retiring from touring. It’s time for me to explore other avenues such as writing, reading your rants, and pitching TV shows that will be rejected. (Which is why I know they are good.) More importantly, I can finally give my Fantasy Football team the focus and time it truly needs. And maybe, just maybe I can become the professional golfer I was born to be.”The LA Times asks, “Is this the end of the road for Lewis Black? America’s crankiest comic reflects on his final tour”.Lewis Black uses his trademark style of comedic yelling and finger pointing to expose the absurdities of life. His comedic brilliance makes people laugh at life’s hypocrisies and the insanity he sees in the world. He has performed throughout the world and the US, where he performed at Carnegie Hall and had two successful Broadway runs.His latest stand-up special, Tragically, I Need You, was released earlier this year and has already surpassed 1.3 million views on YouTube. The brand-new special explores topics including his ways of coping with the pandemic, his frustrations with the evolving world, and of course his thoughts about the chaos of America these last few years.

Lewis Black to stop in Salina for his 'Goodbye Yeller Brick Road, The Final Tour'

Kansas Wesleyan’s Theatre Arts department will premier its production of “Working: A Musical – Localized” on Friday, April 12 at 7 p.m. The show will also run April 13 at 7 p.m., April 14 at 2 p.m. and&nbsp;April 19 at 7 p.m., with the latter date being part of Spring Alumni and Community Weekend.&nbsp;

“This winter, I was delighted to find that ‘Working’ had developed an updated and localized version,” said Karen Brassea, associate professor of theatre arts and the show’s director. “It also includes an option to cut — or replace — certain interviews with ones that better reflect people in our school and community. This makes it even more relevant and helps better answer the show’s original questions, which ask how to improve life for the next generation. I look forward to seeing many friends and community members come out to each showing to support our tremendous students!”

The show will also feature a live musical quartet. Complimentary tickets are available, courtesy of EyeCare Associates, at&nbsp;<a href="https://forms.office.com/r/HSCn95B3G9">https://forms.office.com/r/HSCn95B3G9</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1713102554283.jpeg" alt="Image Courtesy KWU" />
 <figcaption>Image Courtesy KWU</figcaption>
 </figure>Submitted Kansas Wesleyan’s Theatre Arts department will premier its production of “Working: A Musical – Localized” on Friday, April 12 at 7 p.m. The show will also run April 13 at 7 p.m., April 14 at 2 p.m. and&nbsp;April 19 at 7 p.m., with the latter date being part of Spring Alumni and Community Weekend.&nbsp;“This winter, I was delighted to find that ‘Working’ had developed an updated and localized version,” said Karen Brassea, associate professor of theatre arts and the show’s director. “It also includes an option to cut — or replace — certain interviews with ones that better reflect people in our school and community. This makes it even more relevant and helps better answer the show’s original questions, which ask how to improve life for the next generation. I look forward to seeing many friends and community members come out to each showing to support our tremendous students!”The show will also feature a live musical quartet. Complimentary tickets are available, courtesy of EyeCare Associates, at&nbsp;<a href="https://forms.office.com/r/HSCn95B3G9">https://forms.office.com/r/HSCn95B3G9</a>.

KWU Theatre Presents ‘Working, A Musical – Localized’

With just 63 days left before the 48th <a href="https://www.riverfestival.com/first-time/">Smoky Hill River Festival</a> kicks off, Salina Arts &amp; Humanities announced Thursday, April 11, details for the epic arts festival, scheduled for June 13-16 in Oakdale Park.&nbsp;

The festival includes many <a href="https://www.riverfestival.com/food/">new food offerings</a>, activities for kids, new roving and mainstage entertainers, <a href="https://www.riverfestival.com/art-installations/">new art installations</a>, and new artists selling their work in the art show.

"For the last 14 months, our staff and committees have been working tirelessly to prepare for the 48th annual epic arts party," said Salina Arts and Humanities Operations and Developement Manager Anna Pauscher-Morawitz . "As of 8 a.m. this morning, our website <a href="http://riverfestival.com">riverfestival.com</a> is updated with entertainers, visual artists, food, and other details of the event. Keep your eyes out for a few additions as we get a little bit closer to June."

The Festival Medallion Quest will kick off at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, May 15, on the front steps of the Smoky Hill Museum. Arts and Humanities Commissioners will reveal the first clue for the $3,000 prize package. Twice daily, clues will be released at 7:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. until the Medallion is found.

The Festival Medallion Quest began as a way to bring families together and out into the landscape to celebrate the arts differently and encourage patronage of the exhibiting artists.​ Over the years, families have searched side by side, solved riddles, and endeavored to find the ever-elusive Medallion. 

The Quest has grown larger each year, and now you can feel the collective buzz in the air as the first day of the Quest draws close. It marks the official countdown to the River Festival

Friday through Sunday, the Smoky Hill River Festival is fully engaged with three stages of live entertainment, the Fine Arts and Craft Show, Artyopolis for kids, and food vendors.

Gates will open at 4 p.m. on Thursday, June 13, with 35 food booths, an art patron party, and the Festival Jam produced by S.M. Hanson Music. Festival Jam music starts at 5:45 p.m. and includes 21 bands playing for four hours.

Wristbands for the festival will go on sale starting Wednesday, May 1 through Tuesday, June 11. The cost to purchase a weekend wristband before the event is $15 and $20 at the gate. Children 11 and younger enter the festival free of charge. Daily wristbands will also be sold for $10.&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.riverfestival.com/participating-retailers/">Wristbands will be available at around 40 local and 20 regional retailers</a> and the Salina&nbsp;	 Arts &amp; Humanities office, 211 W. Iron Ave.

Festival food – enjoy new and nostalgic food choices

With six new food vendors, there are plenty of new tastes to experience, including fruit pizza, churros, Brazillian cheese bread and coxinha, wiener schnitzel, hand pies, and more. See the complete list of food vendors on <a href="http://www.riverfestival.com">www.riverfestival.com</a>

As the featured print artist, Lori Stanziola created Festival Flow; her image shows the intersection of the river, the music, and the arts that make the Festival a special destination.

Anyone who donates $100 or more is eligible to pick up a copy at the Arts &amp; Humanities office any time before June 10 during office hours, 8 am - 5 pm.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1712866248327.jpeg" alt="Smoky Hill River Festival. All images unless otherwise stated courtesy of Salina Arts and Humanities.&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>Smoky Hill River Festival. All images unless otherwise stated courtesy of Salina Arts and Humanities.&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure><div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EvQ16hoYu5E?si=8L4qV40vhc7MIsvz" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>By SALINA POSTWith just 63 days left before the 48th <a href="https://www.riverfestival.com/first-time/">Smoky Hill River Festival</a> kicks off, Salina Arts &amp; Humanities announced Thursday, April 11, details for the epic arts festival, scheduled for June 13-16 in Oakdale Park.&nbsp;The festival includes many <a href="https://www.riverfestival.com/food/">new food offerings</a>, activities for kids, new roving and mainstage entertainers, <a href="https://www.riverfestival.com/art-installations/">new art installations</a>, and new artists selling their work in the art show."For the last 14 months, our staff and committees have been working tirelessly to prepare for the 48th annual epic arts party," said Salina Arts and Humanities Operations and Developement Manager Anna Pauscher-Morawitz . "As of 8 a.m. this morning, our website <a href="http://riverfestival.com">riverfestival.com</a> is updated with entertainers, visual artists, food, and other details of the event. Keep your eyes out for a few additions as we get a little bit closer to June."<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1712867395037.jpeg" alt="Salina Arts and Humanities Operations and Developement Manager, Anna Pauscher-Morawitz addresses attendees at the press conference announcing details of the 48th Smoky Hill River Festival. Photo by Olivia Bergmeier" />
 <figcaption>Salina Arts and Humanities Operations and Developement Manager, Anna Pauscher-Morawitz addresses attendees at the press conference announcing details of the 48th Smoky Hill River Festival. Photo by Olivia Bergmeier</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Medallion Quest</h2>The Festival Medallion Quest will kick off at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, May 15, on the front steps of the Smoky Hill Museum. Arts and Humanities Commissioners will reveal the first clue for the $3,000 prize package. Twice daily, clues will be released at 7:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. until the Medallion is found.The Festival Medallion Quest began as a way to bring families together and out into the landscape to celebrate the arts differently and encourage patronage of the exhibiting artists.​ Over the years, families have searched side by side, solved riddles, and endeavored to find the ever-elusive Medallion. The Quest has grown larger each year, and now you can feel the collective buzz in the air as the first day of the Quest draws close. It marks the official countdown to the River Festival<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/6/1686327760565.jpeg" alt="Ghost Town Revival band member Chris Cadle plays the harmonica alongside lead guitarist Brent Magathen and Mike Badders on drums during S.M. Hanson Festival Jam 2023. Photo by Nate King" />
 <figcaption>Ghost Town Revival band member Chris Cadle plays the harmonica alongside lead guitarist Brent Magathen and Mike Badders on drums during S.M. Hanson Festival Jam 2023. Photo by Nate King</figcaption>
 </figure>Friday through Sunday, the Smoky Hill River Festival is fully engaged with three stages of live entertainment, the Fine Arts and Craft Show, Artyopolis for kids, and food vendors.Gates will open at 4 p.m. on Thursday, June 13, with 35 food booths, an art patron party, and the Festival Jam produced by S.M. Hanson Music. Festival Jam music starts at 5:45 p.m. and includes 21 bands playing for four hours.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1712865502747.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Wristband Information</h2>Wristbands for the festival will go on sale starting Wednesday, May 1 through Tuesday, June 11. The cost to purchase a weekend wristband before the event is $15 and $20 at the gate. Children 11 and younger enter the festival free of charge. Daily wristbands will also be sold for $10.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.riverfestival.com/participating-retailers/">Wristbands will be available at around 40 local and 20 regional retailers</a> and the Salina&nbsp;	 Arts &amp; Humanities office, 211 W. Iron Ave.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1712874400863.jpeg" alt="1/2 Slab Ribs with Cowboy Beans from Bucket List BBQ, one of the new food vendors at the 2024 Smoky River Festival" />
 <figcaption>1/2 Slab Ribs with Cowboy Beans from Bucket List BBQ, one of the new food vendors at the 2024 Smoky River Festival</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Festival food – enjoy new and nostalgic food choices</h2>With six new food vendors, there are plenty of new tastes to experience, including fruit pizza, churros, Brazillian cheese bread and coxinha, wiener schnitzel, hand pies, and more. See the complete list of food vendors on <a href="http://www.riverfestival.com">www.riverfestival.com</a><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1712863775778.png" alt="As the featured print artist, Lori Stanziola created Festival Flow; her image shows the intersection of the river, the music, and the arts that make the Festival a special destination. " />
 <figcaption>As the featured print artist, Lori Stanziola created Festival Flow; her image shows the intersection of the river, the music, and the arts that make the Festival a special destination. </figcaption>
 </figure><h2>2024 Featured Print</h2>As the featured print artist, Lori Stanziola created Festival Flow; her image shows the intersection of the river, the music, and the arts that make the Festival a special destination.Anyone who donates $100 or more is eligible to pick up a copy at the Arts &amp; Humanities office any time before June 10 during office hours, 8 am - 5 pm.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1712863945971.png" alt="Lori is a Kansas City-based artist specializing in fine art printmaking. " />
 <figcaption>Lori is a Kansas City-based artist specializing in fine art printmaking. </figcaption>
 </figure>Drawing on her experience as a designer, Lori revels in using graphic shapes and patterns to create richly layered works from hand-carved blocks.Lori’s work is hand-printed in single or small-numbered editions, primarily using the techniques of relief printing and monotype.You can learn more about Lori’s work process and see examples of her work at lskccreative.com. Visit Lori at her booth this year, #53, in the East Arts area.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1712864318634.png" alt="This year’s t-shirt features the design work of Nick Perry of Redlegger Studio in Topeka, KS" />
 <figcaption>This year’s t-shirt features the design work of Nick Perry of Redlegger Studio in Topeka, KS</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Festival T-Shirt 2024</h2>This year’s t-shirt features the design work of Nick Perry of <a href="https://redlegger.com/">Redlegger Studio</a>&nbsp;in Topeka, KS. Nick is a printmaker who is also joining for the second year as an exhibiting artist. His design incorporates all the elements of the event: music, food, art, and, of course, festival tents. Stop by and check out Nick’s work in the East Arts area at booth #23.T-shirts are available in various sizes, t-shirts and tanks can be purchased at the SAH office, online, or on-site at the Festival Information Booths north of Eric Stein Stage and near Kenwood Bridge during the festival.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1712872343510.jpeg" alt="Salina Arts and Humanities Staff gather for a photo celebrating the release of information for the 2024 Smoky Hill River Festival. From left to right, Anna Pauscher Morawitz, Crystal Hammerschmidt, Sarah Keck, Amanda Morris, Maira Mota, Susan Eberwein, and Brad Anderson. Photo by Nate King" />
 <figcaption>Salina Arts and Humanities Staff gather for a photo celebrating the release of information for the 2024 Smoky Hill River Festival. From left to right, Anna Pauscher Morawitz, Crystal Hammerschmidt, Sarah Keck, Amanda Morris, Maira Mota, Susan Eberwein, and Brad Anderson. Photo by Nate King</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Volunteer Opportunities</h2>Salina Arts and Humanities is looking for groups and individuals to be part of this summer’s Epic Arts Party at the Smoky Hill River Festival inOakdale Park. The search for volunteers is a high priority. It takes about 2,000 dedicated, engaged, community-minded, and fun volunteers to make the Festival happen. Volunteers work all over the Festival on crews to support Festival staff, fans, sponsors, and artists to ensure everyone at the Festival has an unforgettable, exciting, fun, and safe time! Volunteers do anything from helping set up, assisting little ones, or even simply putting on a smile and greeting everyone as they come and go.To volunteer, go to <a href="http://riverfestival.com/volunteer.">riverfestival.com/volunteer.</a><h2>First Treasures</h2>&nbsp;Tomorrow’s art patrons are today’s children; with this in mind, The Smoky Hill River Festival created the First Treasures tent. Young art enthusiasts, ages 4 to 13, can choose original artwork from River Festival artists at affordable prices of $5 or less.&nbsp;"On Saturday morning of the festival at about 8:30 or 9 a.m. people will begin to line up at the Mulberry Bridge because it is the shortest distance from that entryway to the First Treasurers tent where kids get to, in some cases, purchase their first work of art," said Brad Anderson, director of Salina Arts and Humanities.&nbsp;<h2>How does a child participate in First Treasures?</h2>Entry-window tickets become available at the First Treasures tent at 10:00 am on Saturday of the festival. Supply depends on the number of artworks provided and, therefore, is limited in quantity.&nbsp;Children can then meet their Festival artists on the grounds. If a child needs additional assistance in the tent or with check-out, please inform staff when you pick up their entrance time card.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1712867348433.jpeg" alt="An art installation from a past Smoky Hill River Festival" />
 <figcaption>An art installation from a past Smoky Hill River Festival</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Festival Families First</h2><a href="https://www.riverfestival.com/attend/#fest-fam-first">Festival Families First </a>is a program fully underwritten by local businesses and organizations to provide Festival admission to families or individuals who might otherwise be unable to attend. Individuals who qualify and are affiliated with any of the following participating organizations can take part in Festival Families First simply by asking that organization to participate:<a target="_blank" href="https://www.salinahealth.org/">Salina Family Healthcare Center</a> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.thriveoftheheartland.org/">Thrive of the Heartland</a> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ashbyhouse.org/">Ashby House</a> <a target="_blank" href="https://ccnks.org/">Catholic Charities of Northern Kansas</a> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.305heartland.com/">Heartland Early Education</a> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bbbssalina.org/">Big Brother Big Sisters</a> <a target="_blank" href="http://dvack.org/">DVACK</a> <a target="_blank" href="https://capsofsalina.org/">CAPS</a> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.pinnacleparkrehab.com/">Pinnacle Park</a> <a target="_blank" href="https://centralusa.salvationarmy.org/salina/">Salvation Army</a> <a target="_blank" href="http://indconnectinc.com/">Independent Connection</a> <a target="_blank" href="https://kansas.kvc.org/">KVC Kansas</a><h2>The Festival Families First program is made possible in part by:</h2><a target="_blank" href="https://bluebeacon.com/">Blue Beacon International Inc.</a><a target="_blank" href="http://healthmart.com/">Key Rexall Pharmacy</a>Verla Nesbitt Joscelyn Foundation<a target="_blank" href="https://smokyhillconst.com/">Smoky Hill Construction LLC</a><a target="_blank" href="https://www.srhc.com/">Salina Regional Health Foundation</a><h2>Ways to save at the Smoky Hill River Festival:</h2>⦁ Enjoy the&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.riverfestival.com/kids/">Artyopolis</a>&nbsp;kids’ area for children, families, and the young at heart!	⦁ FREE airbrush tattoos and/or face painting at Paintchoo Plaza	⦁ FREE make-and-take projects at Creation Crossing	⦁ Hours of FREE family entertainment at Arty’s Stage	⦁ Hours of FREE fun at Lego Lane	⦁ Game Street has FREE family-friendly games	⦁ Find shade and a place to feed/change your child at Baby Station	<a target="_blank" href="https://www.riverfestival.com/events/#first-treasures">⦁ First Treasures</a>&nbsp;purchases are $5 or less for children ages 4-13	⦁ Coolers are welcome – Bring your own food and drink - NO GLASS CONTAINERS	⦁ Lots of art to see – Window shopping in the art show is encouraged	⦁ Many food vendors have a $4 food item on their menu, and menus	with prices are available at&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.riverfestival.com/food/">riverfestival.com/food</a>	⦁ Visit other stages for FREE performances to listen to rock, jazz, reggae, funk, and more!	⦁ Roving artists and art installations are EVERYWHERE! See if you can find them all.<h2>Smoky Hill River Run</h2>On the morning of Saturday, June 15, the Salina Regional Health Center will host the 43rd Smoky Hill River Run. The event includes a two-mile walk, children’s races, and a two-mile and five-mile electronically timed race. Register online at <a href="https://srhc.com/riverrun/">https://srhc.com/riverrun/</a>.<h2>History of the Smoky Hill River Festival</h2>Salina Arts &amp; Humanities has served a unique role in arts advocacy and support since 1966. The Smoky Hill River Festival, the Horizons Grants Program, the Smoky Hill Museum, and the Arts Infusion program are among the programs of this City of Salina division.Smoky Hill River Festival:&nbsp;Connecting people through an arts experience celebrating the creative spirit.The mission of&nbsp;Salina Arts &amp; Humanities&nbsp;is the cultivation of this place through the power of the arts and humanities to change lives and build community.&nbsp;In 1976, a downtown Street Fair was held during Salina’s Bicentennial celebration. The event was such a hit that plans were soon underway to move the specially built gazebo to be part of the first-ever Smoky Hill River Festival, held in Oakdale in Park June 1977.The River Festival added elements during its first 10 years, including a Fun Run, a children’s Art Participation area, a park-and-ride shuttle service, and the popular Festival Jam concert. The Mamas and the Papas headlined on Saturday night in June 1987, and the Big Band Dance began that year.The festival’s second decade included expansion of the Fine Arts Show and Four Rivers Craft Market, Curt Krob’s popular, large-scale sand sculptures, and site-specific Artists In Action installations across the park. Festival Buttons were $4.The Oakdale Stage was built. In 1985, the Kenwood Bridge and the Bi-Center entrance bridges were opened.During the ‘90s and into the new millennium,&nbsp;the Storytelling Stage was born, as was First Treasures, to develop young art collectors. The tented Stage II was first created in the mid-90s.&nbsp;An Arts Patron program began, featuring a Saturday morning breakfast in the Park’s formal garden. In 2000, Salina’s Community Art &amp; Design Program (CAD) was launched for the Festival’s 25th year. Its first public art piece was “Under a Canopy Of Hope” for the Salina Animal Shelter.&nbsp;The Eric Stein (Main) Stage was dedicated in 2006.Since 2010, the River Festival has evolved by combining its two art shows and re-envisioning the&nbsp;PREMIERE&nbsp;art-patron party and program. “Dream Dragon Bridge” and other icon Art Installations were unveiled, and in 2014, the SHRF Legacy Fund endowment was born. Among popular stage acts of the decade were Steep Canyon Rangers, That1Guy, Jakubi, and Larkin Poe. Since its inception, the Smoky Hill River Festival has welcomed thousands of loyal locals and far-way guests, as well as appreciative food vendors, artists, and performers who had never experienced the arts Festival-style until they came to Salina.The four-day arts celebration is unmatched in its on-grounds hospitality and community support and continues to evolve, reflecting Salina Arts &amp; Humanities’ passionate commitment to the arts.Check Salina Post for additional information regarding Smoky Hill River Festival art exhibits, food, and entertainment as the Smoky Hill River Festival draws closer.&nbsp;