May/June 2022 • 123
FROM ARTS SOUTH DAKOTA AND THE SOUTH DAKOTA ARTS COUNCIL
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ARTS & TRAVEL What a Fine Pair
UMMER TRAVELERS revel in nature, history and adventure. The arts are a path to all three in South Dakota because we learn about a place by experiencing the music, dancing, foods, architecture and visual arts of the people who live there. That’s why we dance the polka at Tabor’s Czech Days. It’s why we are mesmerized by the prairie women of Harvey Dunn’s landscapes, why we are enchanted by the pow wows hosted by Native American communities and why we love the sandstone architecture of our mountain towns. The artist’s gift is that we may see, hear and experience the heart of a place through his or her good works. This issue of Arts Alive offers 11 tips on how we might enjoy the arts as we travel.
LOOK UP South Dakota has unique architecture, from the nine concrete tipis of our interstate rest stops to the pink Sioux Quartzite buildings on our eastern border and the red sandstones of the Black Hills. In the Glacial Lakes country, you’ll find fieldstone structures preserved from pioneer days. In our nine reservations, look for modern buildings that express cultural symbols of the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota people.
JOIN THE FESTIVITIES South Dakota communities delight in hosting summer festivals, and many include arts and craft shows, music and dancing. Some of the best-known events are Aberdeen Arts in the Park ( June 18-19), Main Street Arts & Crafts festival in Hot Springs ( June 24-26), the Brookings Summer Arts Festival ( July 9-10), Spearfish’s 44th Festival in the Park ( July 68 • South Dakota Magazine
GO TO SCHOOL All our public and private universities are devoted to the arts, and they welcome visitors. Look indoors and out. Some of America’s top art museums have developed on our campuses! Oscar Howe’s works are on the USD campus in Vermillion and Harvey Dunn’s prairie landscapes hang in the South Dakota Art Museum on the SDSU campus in Brookings. Northern State University in Aberdeen has an International Sculpture Garden.
16-17) and Yankton’s Riverboat Days (August 19-21) — but there are many more!
SAMPLE THE CULINARY ARTS Yes, food is culture, especially in South Dakota! • Find German sausage in McPherson County • Eat lutefisk at a Norwegian church supper • Look for Czech kolaches in Bon Homme County • Order a buffalo burger in the Black Hills
STROLL THE STREETS Sioux Falls’ popular downtown Sculpture Walk is the best-known, but all of our state’s major cities and many small towns now feature outdoor art. Faulkton (pop. 830) has a mural on its grain elevator and Lemmon (pop. 1,230) showcases the metal sculptures of hometown artist John Lopez. Pierre has all the governors in bronze, and Rapid City has the presidents.
SUMMER MUSIC Just ask around, because many towns and cities now have summer concerts in the park or town square. Yanktonians gather below their big walking bridge on the Missouri River shore on Thursday nights for music. Sioux Falls built a special new pavilion called Levitt at the Falls, and now hosts 50 free summer concerts. Parkston calls its new summer concerts AmphiThursday. The 139-year-old Lennox Municipal Band, the oldest in the Dakotas, plays in Westerman Park on Thursdays. Rapid
City locals and tourists gather in Main Street Square — also on Thursdays. What is it about Thursdays?
SALUTE OUR VETERANS Many South Dakota communities have worked with sculptors and artists to create memorials to our veterans. Among the newest and finest is Veterans Memorial Park in Dell Rapids, where the L.G. Everist stone quarry assisted in placing five large quartz rocks, each with a brass medallion for the five branches of service. One of the oldest is a World War I doughboy statue in the park at Rock Creek, a tiny community on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation.
ATTEND A POW WOW South Dakota’s nine tribes welcome travelers at their summer pow wows, so watch for an opportunity to attend. Pow wows (wacipis) are glorious celebrations of native culture, with vibrant dancing, music, regalia, foods and art. Often, guests are invited to join in a special dance. Check the South Dakota Magazine calendar of events (paper or online) for dates and places.
SUMMER THEATER There’s a rich tradition of summer theater in South Dakota. The granddaddy of them all is the Black Hills Playhouse in Custer State Park, which has entertained locals and tourists since 1946. Prairie Repertory Theater at the SDSU campus in Brookings also dates back more than 50 years, and children are enthralled by the Storybook Land Theater in Aberdeen, where plays are performed in a castle. Again, check the South Dakota Magazine calendar for more details.
PUBLIC BUILDINGS Surprising exhibits of art can be found in many of South Dakota’s public buildings, from the State Capitol (where you can avoid the politics in the summer months, and enjoy the sculptures, murals and architecture) to small town post offices, courthouses and city halls. At the Tripp County courthouse in Winner, there’s a mural of a beautiful girl painted long ago on the wall of the jail by a lovestruck miscreant.
GET YOUR PASSPORT TO THE ARTS Participate in a new “State of Create” mobile passport program, which helps travelers discover summer art experiences in partnership with the South Dakota Arts Council and the Department of Tourism. Visit TravelSD.com for details!
BECOME A MEMBER! Support the arts by becoming a member of Arts South Dakota! Visit ArtsSouthDakota.org to learn more and give today!
Arts South Dakota, a non-partisan and non-profit service organization, advances the arts for South Dakotans and our visitors by connecting, advocating, and educating.
The South Dakota Arts Council is a state agency serving South Dakotans and their communities through the arts.
Arts Alive is presented in partnership with South Dakota Magazine.
ArtsSouthDakota.org/calendar — Great creative experiences can be found everywhere in South Dakota! Visit us online to see a more complete list of events happening around the state.
PO Box 2496 Sioux Falls, SD 57101 605-252-5979 info@ArtsSouthDakota.org May/June 2022 • 69 www.ArtsSouthDakota.org