FocusFriday
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FocusFriday
December 3, 2004
Christmas
Multicultural traditions exhibited at museum By HAYLEY JONES STUDENT REPORTER
inAbilene
A view of the Texas frontier at Christmastime has been brought to life in downtown Abilene. A new exhibit at the Frontier Texas! museum features Christmas traditions from different ethnic cultures found in West Texas and will be on display until January. “This exhibit shows the influence of various cultures on Christmas, shedding light on things that happened 100 years ago [that] are traditions that still go on today,” said Kay Wetteman, programming and sales manager of Frontier Texas!. The traditions and representations of cultures in the exhibit include German, African American, Hispanic, Native American and pioneer, all of which have a history in West Texas, Wetteman said. “You can learn the history of ‘Las Posadas,’ the Hispanic tradition that has been continuously celebrated for over 300 years, the contributions of the German culture, Christmas on a frontier fort and even the history and photos of Anson’s Cowboy Christmas Ball dating back to 1885,” Wetteman said. The exhibit will be free to the public and the entrance is through the Frontier Texas! General Store, filled with Texas-themed books and gifts, perfect for Christmastime, said Jeff Salmon, executive director of Frontier Texas!. “We hope that people will come from around the region to enjoy a bit of Christmas history and holiday
Fictional story follows man’s life By LUKE HARRIS STUDENT REPORTER
The Buffalo Gap Historic Village is spreading Christmas cheer Dec. 11 with Christmas at the Gap from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Christmas at the Gap is the fictitious story of a farmer, Fredrick Shaw, in the late 1800s and follows his life throughout the years, said Justin Frazier, site manager of Buffalo Gap Historic Village and head of Christmas at the Gap. Frazier said the story will cover the man’s birth, falling in love, having a family, going to war and losing his farm, and it is loosely based on the film It’s A Wonderful Life. “It’s an experience in a
tumultuous period in our history with many similarities to what we are going through now,” Frazier said. Frazier said this is his first year to be involved with Christmas at the Gap, but the program has been going on for four years. Frazier moved to the area in February of last year, but said he knows the show has attracted a large crowd in years past. “It’s fun for the whole family, and it is something that everyone should go to,” said Lu Christopher, receptionist for the Abilene Chamber of Commerce tourism board. The event will be like a tour through Fredrick Shaw’s life, said Frazier, and will have different sites act out
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different moments in Shaw’s life. The first tour is to start at 5:30 p.m., and each tour will last about a half an hour with the last one starting at 9 p.m. The Village will close at 4 p.m., one hour earlier than its normal 5 p.m. closing time, on Dec. 11 to prepare for the show. The show is open to all who are interested, and the prices are vary with age, Frazier said. Adults will pay $8, while children under twelve years old will pay $3, students; seniors and military personnel will pay $7. Members of the Buffalo Gap Historic Village will pay only $6.
Frontier Texas! Frontier Texas! is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Regular admission is charged for those who wish to go through the Century of Adventure exhibit (Adults: $8, Seniors 60 and over: $6, Military: $6, Students/Teachers: $5, Children 3-12 years: $4 and Children under 3 are free). The museum is located at 625 North First Street downtown. Phone (325) 437-2800 or visit www.frontiertexas.com for more information.
shopping at the General Store,” Salmon said. This will be the first temporary exhibit since the museum opened last April. “The biggest part of putting this exhibit together was getting it done right; we are very concerned with historical accuracy,” Wetteman said. An example of this quest for accuracy is the authentic cedar tree, which will be decorated with a variety of ornaments that would have been on a tree from approximately the 1850s1880s, like homemade popcorn strings and solid white candy canes, Wetteman said. In addition, a sampling of antique toys will be on display from the collections of Abilene residents Mr. B.A. Honey and Mary Ann Ray. E-mail Jones at: optimist@acu.edu
E-mail Harris at: optimist@acu.edu
Choirs sing at ArtWalk By ELIZABETH NEWMAN STUDENT REPORTER
Church features Jesus in drama By JULIA REID STUDENT REPORTER
Wylie Baptist Church will present a narration-driven drama about Christ’s coming to Earth Dec. 10-12. The Living Christmas Tree is a 22-year tradition at Wylie Baptist Church and features the worship choir, orchestra and drama team. Show times are 7:30 p.m. Dec. 10 and 5 and 7:30 p.m. Dec. 11 and 12 at the Wylie Baptist Church Worship Center. Tickets are free and can be picked up at the church. This year, the drama and narration are new, and the
music has a fresher sound, said Dave Purkey, who has been the music director at Wylie Baptist Church since 2000. “It brings a message of peace,” he said. “We turn it around at the end and ask, ‘What does this mean to me?’” He said people of all ages at Wylie Baptist Church help remind people in the Abilene area about the Christmas story. The Living Christmas Tree is a church-wide effort, featuring everyone from infants playing baby Jesus to senior adults singing in the choir, which is arranged on a
25-foot Christmas tree set bought last year. The show also has a computerized lights display and special effects to create a winter scene. While Purkey said students will enjoy the music and drama, he said the lights display itself is worth coming out to see. Last year, about 3,000 people attended The Living Christmas Tree. “It’s a way we can help folks come and celebrate the season,” Purkey said. E-mail Reid at: optimist@acu.edu
Christmas lights brighten school campus By SUSAN SPIVEY STUDENT REPORTER
The 14th annual Christmas Lane, a drive-through display of Christmas lights at Abilene State School, will open Tuesday and run until Dec. 24. More than 75 churches, organizations, businesses and families set up lighted displays for the attraction, said Barbara Reid, community relations director for Abilene State School. The attraction is open from 6 to 10 p.m. every night at the Abilene State School campus at 2501 Maple. Drivers can tune their radios to a Christmas Lane radio station and listen to holiday music as they drive through,
she said. “You will immediately see it at nighttime,” Reid said. “Be prepared to drive through and enjoy it.” Christmas Lane also features Quanna’s Winter Wonderland, an indoor display of animated holiday figures. Visitors can go inside to enjoy hot chocolate and popcorn as they look at the display, Reid said. Visitors also can have their pictures taken with Santa Claus for $3, or talk to elves at Santa’s workshop at the North Pole for free, Reid said. Reid said she expects about 10,000 people to come to Christmas Lane, adding that some visitors drive through
twice or come back more than one night. Reid offered one big incentive for college students to show up: “It’s free.” Donations, however, are welcome. Each organization pays to set up its own display, but donations to Abilene State School’s Volunteer Services Council pay for additions and to improve lighting, Reid said. Christmas Lane started 14 years ago with only seven displays, Reid said, but this year the campus will be full.
E-mail Spivey at: optimist@acu.edu
Abilene’s monthly ArtWalk will be Dec. 9 from 5 to 8:30 p.m. and will feature art exhibits and singing performances at various downtown specialty shops, museums and restaurants. The free arts event takes place on the second Thursday of each month, and this month the event has the holiday theme “A Caroling We Will Go.” “It is a great opportunity, and it’s something to do in Abilene,” said Katie Bockstahler, freshman exercise science major from Rocklind, Calif., who attended ArtWalk for the first time last month. “There are different cultures, photography…and walking downtown there were a lot of other places we found to go.” To go with this month’s caroling theme, ArtWalk will feature performances by a choir from St. Vincent’s Pallotti Catholic Church and Abilene Memory Men, a barbershop-style music group. Other groups will include Sweet Adelines Quartet, a choral music group with four-part harmony, and the Mount Zion Baptist Church choir. The groups will perform at various locations downtown and then end with performances beginning at 7 p.m. at the Abilene Public Library. The Center for Contemporary Arts will have three exhibits including “White Noise,” a holiday exhibit by the CCA’s artist members, and an exhibit titled “Welcome to the Fun,” with artwork by the CCA’s new artist members. The CCA will also feature a photography exhibit by the Texas Photographic Society, an organization of professional and amateur photographers.
Jeff Combs, freshman graphic design major from Mesquite, has attended ArtWalk the past three months as part of his major’s requirements to attend six art showings every semester. “I love looking at all the artwork, and they get new stuff every time I’m out there,” Combs said. “You get to meet some of the artists, and you get a lot of ideas from it.” The Abilene City Hall will showcase photographs taken by elementary school children, and Texas Tech at Abilene will feature artwork by elementary, junior high and high school students. Also, the exhibits at the Grace Museum and the National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature will be open, and both places will have free art activities for children. The Paramount Theatre will show Nicholas Nickelby, a 2002 film adapted from the Charles Dickens novel, at 7:30 p.m. on the night of ArtWalk. Five restaurants along with four specialty shops will be open, and some will feature art exhibits and musical performances. “It’s a lot of fun, and it’s not just art,” Combs said. “There’s music, special bands and booths; it’s an entertaining time for you to enjoy yourself, and it’s fun to look at the artwork too, if you’re an art lover.” E-mail Newman at: optimist@acu.edu