Vox Magazine 4.26.18

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PROS AT CONS

Channel your favorite fictional characters with these cosplay tips PAGE 17

A NEW LEAF

Celebrate Arbor Day by planting one of these fruit and nut trees PAGE 4

An unlikely pair treks through Columbia neighborhoods in pursuit of equality PAGE 6

IN THIS ISSUE

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April 26, 2018 VOLUME 20 ISSUE 16 | PUBLISHED BY THE COLUMBIA MISSOURIAN

FEATURE Activist dynamic duo Judy Hubbard and Glenn Cobbins Sr. go door to door and talk with locals to understand Columbia neighborhood relationships and work toward equality among communities. PAGE 6 NEWS & INSIGHT Spruce up your backyard in celebration of Arbor Day with these fruit and nut trees that are at home in the Missouri climate. PAGE 4 THE SCENE Located on the Katy Trail, Meriwether Café and Bike Shop’s RochePork Sandwich is as tasty as its name is clever. PAGE 5 MUSIC Get your fix of country music, indie-pop or multi-genre mayhem at The Blue Note and Cafe Berlin this weekend. PAGE 16 ARTS & BOOKS Local writer Allison Coffelt’s recent memoir explores the impact a trip to Haiti has on a Midwestern woman. PAGE 16 Up your cosplay game with advice from locals who have mastered the art of impersonating fictional characters. PAGE 17

DRAMATIC ROOTS The late Pulitzer Prize-winning author Lanford Wilson will be honored this weekend at MU with a conference and production of his play The Rimers of Eldritch. His play Book of Days was performed by the Columbia Entertainment Company in 2011.

FEMINISM THROUGH THE AGES Vox reviews Meg Wolitzer’s book The Female Persuasion, in which a college freshman woman meets a feminist icon.

SWITCH UP YOUR NIGHT (LIGHT) This isn’t your typical clip-on reading lamp.

Build your own folding book light, and make your night light a statement piece.

EDITOR’S LETTER

Q&A The owner of Jina Yoo’s Asian Bistro talks about her new restaurant and how playing music during her childhood has affected her approach to food. PAGE 18 CORRECTION: In the April 19 issue, a story incorrectly stated the number of times Houndmouth has performed in Columbia. They had played locally at least four times.

COVER DESIGN: TONG LI COVER PHOTO: PHU NGUYEN

MADISON FLECK

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Taking on someone else’s problems and making them your own is something we all do at one point or another. While getting at the small issues can be easy, the bigger problems are more difficult. But there’s a point when taking on these “problems” becomes more than a favor — it completely alters a person’s life.

This week’s feature (Page 6), is about how a certain duo transforms the lives of people right here in Columbia, and they have been for about 20 years. Through the process of editing this story, the Vox staff started referring to Judy Hubbard and Glenn Hobbins Sr. as “the activist odd couple.” He’s tall, she’s short; he’s black, she’s white; he’s served time in prison, she’s an ordained minister. But beyond those surface differences, there’s an important area where they’re exactly the same: their drive to transform people’s lives for the better.

And that’s exactly what they do. They knock on the doors of community residents (literally) and ask about people’s lives. Just in 2017, out of 164 door-to-door assessments, the Department of Health and Human Services followed up with onethird of them.

So, if you see an “odd couple” walking around Columbia, going door to door, give them a wave and a smile. They’re working to better our city and our quality of human connection.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

VOX STAFF Editor: Madison Fleck Deputy Editor: Sten Spinella Managing Editor: Kelsie Schrader Digital Managing Editor: Brooke Vaughan Multimedia Editor: Meg Vatterott Online Editor: Brea Cubit Creative Director: Keegan Pope Art Directors: Corin Cesaric, Tong Li Photo Editor: Annaliese Nurnberg News & Insight Editors: Samantha Brown, Morgan Niezing, Erika Stark The Scene Editors: Alex Edwards, Annamarie Higley, Margaux Scott, Peyton Stableford Music Editors: Jessica Heim-Brouwer, Anna Maples, Hannah Turner, Chloe Wilt Arts & Books Editors: Kat Cua, Kayla McDowell, Rachel Phillips, Ashley Skokan Digital Editors: McKenna Blair, Amber Campbell, Michael Connolly, Brooke Kottmann, Lauren Lombardo, Megan Schaltegger, Rosemary Siefert, Micki Wagner, Bobbi Watts Designers: Corin Cesaric, Annamarie Higley, Tong Li, Jennifer Litherland, Lidia Moore, Morgan Seibel, Rebecca Smith Multimedia Producers: Zhongqi Cao, Zechang Fu, Emily Kummerfeld, Alex Li Contributing Writers: Allison Cho, Kori Clay, Emily Hannemann, Brooke Johnson, Ashley Jones, Caroline Kealy, Clare Roth, Grant Sharples, Madi Skahill, Savannah Walsh, Jing Yang Editorial Director: Heather Lamb Executive Editor: Jennifer Rowe Digital Director: Sara Shipley Hiles Office Manager: Kim Townlain

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PHOTOS BY OR COURTESY OF PHU NGUYEN AND CREATIVE PHOTO

RADAR

Vox’s take on the talk of the week

PUNCTUATING A CAREER

ANOTHER MARVEL-OUS MOVIE

Avengers: Infinity War is premiering tonight. Before you go, learn what you can expect from some of your favorite characters.

Baby Groot is no longer a baby but a full-fledged tween. Four years have passed since 2017’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and Groot’s size (and attitude) reflects it.

Grammar nerds everywhere are mourning the death of Bob Dorough, creator of Schoolhouse Rock!. In his 94 years of life, the composer and musician left an impression on the world with his catchy tunes and timeless cartoons. Here are some of his most well-known grammar songs: “Conjunction Junction” If this song isn’t playing in your head right now, you might not know the function of a conjunction.

Catch Peter Parker sporting the new and improved Spider-Man suit. The shiny get-up comes with an extra set of legs and new web shooters.

“Lolly, Lolly, Get Your Adverbs Here” Come on down to Lolly’s to get your adverbs. Dorough’s lyrics taught us how to use the modifier with adjectives and verbs.

Thanos won’t be coming to Earth alone to take on the Avengers. He’s compiled a super villain squad known as the Black Order.

“Rufus Xavier Sarsaparilla” How else did you learn your pronouns?

This song might be a mouthful, but it taught us how to use he, him and his.

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In a country where someone is sexually assaulted every 107 seconds, tonight’s 38th annual Take Back the Night event offers an opportunity for CoMo to work together to put a stop to sexual assault and harassment. The event begins at 6 p.m. at Traditions Plaza and includes a march, vigil and a speak out where survivors will have the opportunity to share their experiences of sexual violence. Here are some stats on the topic from the National Crime Victims’ Rights Week 2017 Resource Guide:

1

One in 5 female students experience attempted or completed sexual assault while in college.

2

More than 90 percent of sexual assault victims on college campuses do not report the assault.

3

Freshman women are at greater risk for sexual assault in their first three months of school than any other time in college.

RETAIL APOCALYPSE Sears announced it will close its store at Columbia Mall in mid-July as part of a national closure of 24 stores in 17 states. Three other Columbia retailers have survived the brick-and-mortar battle, but the companies are still struggling.

Stores

Nationwide

In Columbia

JCPenney’s Foot Locker Sam’s Club

Closed 138 stores in 2017 Closed 147 stores in 2017 Plans to close 63 stores

Still open Still open Still open

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Written by: Kat Cua and Ashley Skokan PHOTOS COURTESY OF AP IMAGES, PIXABAY AND WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

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NEWS & INSIGHT

Five trees to spice up your yard This Arbor Day, branch out with these fruit and nut tree varieties Finding time to improve your yard and help the environment can be a daunting task, but there’s no better occasion to start than Arbor Day. The first Arbor Day celebration took place in 1872 in Nebraska. Since then, people around the U.S. have taken one day each year, usually the last Friday in April, to plant trees in their communities. Across the globe, 33 countries recognize Arbor Day or a similar tree-planting celebration.

Arbor Day will be celebrated on April 27 this year, and Missourians have plenty of tree-planting options to get involved.

With information from Adam Saunders, development director at the Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture, as well as the Missouri Department of Conservation and the University of Missouri’s extension websites, we’ve compiled some of the best fruit and nut trees for your yard. This Arbor Day, try out these varieties that will benefit the environment and your plate.

For a tall tree: pecan

Known for its stately appearance, the pecan tree often grows up to 130 feet, according to the Missouri Department of Conservation. “It will live for 100 years if it’s on a good site,” Saunders says.

However, the tree only grows between 13 and 24 inches per year.

Benefits: The largest of all hickory trees, the pecan tree flowers in April and May, and nuts appear in September and October. It also begins to grow nuts in six to 10 years and can produce roughly 70 to 150 pounds per year.

Care: The pecan tree grows best in areas of full sun and thrives in most of Missouri, except in the northeast part of the state.

For an unusual tree: pawpaw

The pawpaw tree is in the custard apple family and reaches heights of roughly 30 feet, according to Missouri Department of Conservation. The custard apple is different than the typical apple and often has a tough outer skin with a sweet, custardy inside. The trees grow close together in clusters and are becoming popular in the region.

Benefits: The pawpaw tree produces a distinct, green- or yellow-colored fruit that’s harvested in September and October. Expect to see the edible fruit two to six years after planting.

Care: The pawpaw tree grows best in moist soils and near river valleys, so it’s crucial to keep the tree watered. The 4

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BY RYAN HANRAHAN

tree, unlike many on this list, thrives in areas with partial to moderate shade.

For a common tree: apple

A distinct and recognizable fruit-bearer, the apple tree can grow up to 25 feet.

However, the trees require a nearby cross-pollinator, or an apple tree with opposite-gendered flowers, to produce fruit, so planting these trees in pairs is suggested.

Benefits: The most obvious benefit of the apple tree is the fruit. The tree will bear fruit three to 10 years after planting, typically in September and October.

Care: Apple trees perform best in full sun, with at least 6 hours of direct sunlight each day. The Jonathan family of apples grows best in moist soils, as it needs plenty of water. Owners must also be on the lookout for fungi in Missouri, which can brown the tree’s fruit.

MILL CREEK LANDSCAPING Carries a variety of plants ranging from perennials to trees 1012 W. Old Plank Road 442-1199

The pecan tree can live up to 100 years but grows slowly, between 13 to 24 inches per year, says Adam Saunders of the Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture.

LAKEWOOD HOME AND GARDEN SHOWPLACE Carries trees, shrubs and perennials, as well as a variety of gardening supplies 1313 Vandiver Drive 449-8119 PIOTTER NURSERY Carries many varieties including trees, shrubs and flowering plants 4989 N. Clearview Road 874-2628

For a flowering tree: cherry

A striking sight, the cherry tree can grow up to 60 feet. In April and May, the cherry tree produces droves of white and pink flowers. The tree is native to all of Missouri, where it thrives in woods and near water sources.

Benefits: The cherry tree can add beauty to your yard through its seasonal flowers, which blossom as soon as the first summer after planting. It also produces delicious fruit roughly three to four years after planting.

Care: The cherry tree requires full sunlight to perform best. It prefers lighter and sandier soil but must be watered consistently through dry spells,

The Jonathan family of apples flourishes in mid-Missouri and does best in moist soils.

However, the McIntosh family of apples grows poorly in this area.

as it is not drought-resistant. “They are hard to get established up front,” Saunders says. “But once they do, they are pretty easy.”

For a resilient tree: Chinese chestnut

The Chinese chestnut tree is relatively new to Missouri, according to the University of Missouri Extension website. It can grow to be roughly 60 feet, gaining 12 to 24 inches per year. It was introduced in response to the issues American chestnut trees experience with

blight, a disease that browns and kills plant tissues.

Benefits: The Chinese chestnut tree, like the traditional chestnut, produces sweet-tasting nuts four to five years after planting. The tree’s height of 40 to 60 feet allows it to provide excellent shade for people and wildlife alike.

Care: Unlike many of the trees on this list, the Chinese chestnut thrives in dryer climates and prefers full sun. The trees should be planted in pairs to ensure pollination.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF PIXABAY

Meriwether Café’sMOVIES EVENTS MUSIC DINING NEWS RochePork Sandwich EVENTSMUSIC DINING NEWS MOVIES Venture to this Rocheport restaurant along the Katy Trail for a smoky, cheesy, messy bite to eat MUSIC DINING NEWS MOVIES EVENTS DINING NEWS MOVIES EVENTS MUSIC NEWS MOVIES EVENTS MUSIC DINING EAT THIS

BY MYLES POYDRAS

Meriwether Café and Bike Shop suggests washing down its RochePork sandwich, which is stacked with slow-smoked pork and cheese, with a Logboat Snapper IPA.

The smoke unfurling from Meriwether Café and Bike Shop’s barbecue pit swirls around the spread-out lot and lures walkers and bikers from the Katy Trail toward the restaurant’s front door.

For years, people have visited Rocheport, located 16 miles west of Columbia, to explore the Katy Trail, which runs through the isolated river town. Since Brandon and Whitney Vair opened Meriwether directly off the popular path in June 2017, it’s catered to those visitors and locals as a subtle change of pace for the tiny town it complements so well.

Although nothing about the cafe is notably fancy, it has a chicness to it — a contrast from Trailside Cafe & Bike Shop, which existed in the same location until 2016. The walls are painted a fresh white and dotted with local artwork, and the floor is smooth cement. But the cafe’s bare look and informal ambiance allow those passing through to fill it up with their own character.

Re-branding the pit stop has been a dream come true for the couple. “It’s our baby,” Whitney Vair says. Meriwether’s local approach and ever-changing menu elevates typical diner food with staples such as Toast Hug, the cafe’s rendition of a classic breakfast sandwich, and Housemade Almond Granola & Berries.

The couple likes to experiment with a range of flavors, but their ideas are, in part, dependent on what they can get locally, Brandon Vair says. They spend PHOTO COURTESY OF MERIWETHER CAFÉ AND BIKE SHOP

nearly 70 percent of their food budget at Boone County-based businesses.

April is a “magic time for produce,” he says. “Spring really just opens up a whole world of opportunities as far as menu items and menu expansion and menu creativity.”

In late March, the Vairs introduced a new sandwich to their menu — the RochePork, which costs $9. The dish features slow-smoked Show Me Farms pork butt, aged white cheddar cheese, chipotle lime aioli and caramelized onions. The ingredients are then sandwiched between two pieces of grilled Italian white bread. “It definitely needs a napkin,” Brandon Vair says.

MERIWETHER CAFÉ AND BIKE SHOP 700 First St., Rocheport Tues.–Thurs., 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Fri.–Sun., 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

698-1222 meriwethercafeandbikeshop.com

The finished product is crispy on the outside but oozing from within.

The hickory-smoke flavor seeps into the bread, and the melted cheese coats the onions. “There’s so much good fat coming from that smoke,” he says. “(The sandwich) really has a nice edge with the caramelized onions that gives it that nice ‘melty-shmelty’ feel.”

The dish is served with beer-battered French fries and, of course, plenty of napkins.

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S T O R Y

B Y

P H O T O S

B Y

Driven by faith, two activists aim PHU NGUYEN JENNIFER MOSBRUCKER to bring equality to Columbia

TYNAN STEWART

Driven by faith, two activists aspire to bring a new vision to Columbia

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PHOTO BY JENNIFER MOSBRUCKER

The partnership between Glenn Cobbins Sr. and Judy Hubbard began 20 years ago when they met at the former Bear Creek Community Center on Elleta Boulevard.

PHOTOS BY OR COURTESY OF

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T

he day Judy Hubbard met Glenn Cobbins Sr. was a sad one.

At least, that’s what she tries to claim. She nearly says it straight, but a laugh slips out, spoiling the act. It’s an absurd lie anyway, and like many of her comments, it’s a way to tease Cobbins.

That first meeting took place in the former Bear Creek Community Center on Elleta Boulevard. The center had brought in a guest from New Orleans to run a workshop on how to improve impoverished areas, and she told everyone in the room to get behind someone they trust.

“So Glenn was here with this other guy, and I mean he’s huge,” Hubbard says. “Of course I’ll go behind him. So I did, and that’s how we met.”

It was a simple, almost underwhelming start to a 20-year partnership that became a voice for underprivileged Columbia residents.

After that first meeting, Cobbins and Hubbard opened the Imani Mission Center in 2000, where they ran their nonprofit, the Destiny of H.O.P.E., which stands for Helping Our People Excel. The Imani center closed in 2015, but the Destiny of H.O.P.E. continues.

It’s not the catchiest or most memorable name, yet it conveys the essence of the work they do and why they do it. They feel called to fix other people’s problems, including trying to heal bodies, minds and spirits. They are patient, dogged shepherds, always looking to fold friends and strangers alike into their flock.

This united mission is founded upon neatly symmetrical, almost poetic contrasts.

Cobbins is 6 feet 3 inches, built like a bear and gold-toothed. Hubbard is 5 feet 2 inches — but only with 3-inch heels on — and usually

“I THINK WE WERE CHOSEN TO DO IT. IT’S NOT UP TO US TO SAY YES OR NO.”

When Judy Hubbard (far left) and Glenn Cobbins Sr. visit Columbia residents, such as Renee Chandra, to conduct neighborhood assessments, one question they ask is, “Do you feel equal to all people?“

looks dressed for church. He has sold drugs and done prison time. She is an ordained minister and mother of four. And of course, there is the most apparent difference: he is black; she is white.

If they seem an unlikely pairing, well, they have an answer to that: “I think we were chosen to do it,” Cobbins says. “It’s not up to us to say yes or no. I believe

God actually chose us to do this and our combination.”

Perhaps that’s why they’ve become one of those duos where it just feels wrong to mention one without the other. Lennon and McCartney.

Sonny and Cher. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Cobbins and Hubbard.

Glenn and Judy.

— Glenn Cobbins Sr. 8

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PHOTOS BY JENNIFER MOSBRUCKER

“IF YOU TELL THOSE KIDS THEY’RE BAD AND SINGLE THEM OUT LIKE THAT, THEY’RE GONNA BE BAD.” — Judy Hubbards

For Hubbard, it all started on a single street nearly 30 years ago.

At the time, she was working in human resources at Physician’s Home Health, a health care organization that used to be on North Providence. She remembers hearing from her boss about problems with kids who lived on Elleta Boulevard, the street that housed the Bear Creek Community Center. They were beating up other children and stealing from them. The problem had gotten so bad that those kids had been sequestered onto their own bus.

“When she said that, I just felt like a knife went in me,” Hubbard says. “If you tell those kids they’re bad and single them out like that, they’re gonna be bad.”

The story stuck with her. When she would read the newspaper, her eyes would find the words “Elleta Boulevard” and “Bear Creek” as if they were set in bold type.

The neighborhood — ­ located in the Second Ward — has improved dramatically in recent years. Elleta is home to the Bear Creek Townhomes, affordable housing run by the Columbia Housing Authority. The agency completed a $9.8-million overhaul of the apartments in October. It’s a peaceful place now. “Bucolic,” in the words of Phil Steinhaus, CEO of the Housing Authority.

But the neighborhood was much rougher back when Hubbard started working there. It was known as a fairly high-crime place, like much public housing in that era. Steinhaus partly puts this down to low expectations, at the time, for those who lived in public housing.

“Things got bad down here,” Steinhaus says. “So people just said, ‘Well, that’s the way it’s going to be.’”

That’s not what Hubbard said, though. She prayed over problems that weren’t her own and ultimately decided she had to take action.

It wasn’t a place where she felt safe, but she figured God would take care of things. Today, the townhomes have an after-school program run by the Housing Authority. But before that existed Hubbard organized life skills courses, held activity camps and led Bible school for the kids on Elleta who had been marked as delinquents.

She worked without funds or a formal organization. She had some help, but only from an informal network — members of her church, her four kids and some of their friends.

She found more than just troublesome kids on Elleta.

“Glenn had — three or four? — crack houses out there,” Hubbard says.

“I didn’t have no crack houses out there,” Cobbins shoots back.

“She always telling stories, man.”

Hubbard ran activities for children on Elleta Boulevard for about 20 years before she was hired by the city of Columbia.

“Was it three?”

“I ain’t gonna tell you.”

“Yeah, it was three — at least,” Hubbard says. “Anyway, I didn’t know him for the first 10 years I was out there.”

“Yeah, she did. I was in her class, her Bible class.”

“You were not!”

“I sold her dope — that’s why she’s known me so long,” Cobbins quips.

Although not to Hubbard, Cobbins had, once upon a time, sold crack cocaine and marijuana in the streets of Columbia, including Elleta. He was imprisoned for it more than once, the first instance in Algoa Correctional Center in Jefferson City from 1990 to 1992 on a felony charge for selling drugs.

In 1998, two years after being charged with selling controlled substances, Cobbins walked out of prison for the second and final time.

He underwent a long-term drug-treatment program at the Ozark Correctional Center in Fortland, Missouri.

“I looked out that window,” he says, “and that’s when I see everything just disappear. All the guards, towers, the fence, the razor wire fences — I ain’t even see ’em. I don’t even remember ’em no more. They just left me in the night. And that’s when I knew I had some type of intervention. A spiritual intervention that’s going to make me solid as a rock.”

A free man, he decided he wanted to give back to Columbia. It was then that he met Hubbard.

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Cobbins is determined to help the Columbia community and create a better future for children, such as his son.

There is a small house on East Ash Street. The off-white building was once the Imani Mission Center, and for 15 years, it served as the home of Hubbard and Cobbins’ own mission. From the Imani center, they built upon the work that Hubbard had done on Elleta, providing after-school programs, life skill sessions and summer camps for children.

Imani is Swahili for “faith.” When they opened the center together in 2000, imani was what kept them going. “We had to have faith, coming into the hood like that,” Cobbins says. “I’m fresh outta the joint (at the time).”

“And I didn’t know what I was doing,” Hubbard says.

“Neither one of us,” Cobbins agrees. “God knew what he was doing, though.”

They held out hope for even the most troublesome cases — including the kid who tried to choke Hubbard at their first-ever summer camp.

That day she was the disciplinarian, and a kid named Gary got sent to her office. “I can’t even remember what he got in trouble for,” Hubbard says.

But in her office, Gary slammed her up against the door and started choking

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WHATEVER MAGIC WAS IN THE IMANI MISSION CENTER CAME FROM COBBINS AND HUBBARD.

her. She yelled for Cobbins, and he came. “He was a big old boy,” Cobbins says. “At that time, he was probably 11, 12 years old. Maybe 9 or 10. He weighed about 180 pounds.”

“Strong as an ox,” Hubbard confirms.

Cobbins freed her — he doesn’t really remember how — and they sat Gary down and calmed him. Then Hubbard told Gary: “I don’t care; you’re not leaving here. That’s just exactly why we want you here.”

After that day, Gary changed, Cobbins says.

He was already good with the little kids, but he became a leader and protected them. He followed the guidance of Cobbins and Hubbard. Sometimes it takes a community to raise a child.

“Everything that a parent could do, they did,” says Carolyn Rutayisire, who worked at the Imani center for over a decade. “A lot of kids around here needed that.”

And there were so many kids. Hubbard puts the most they ever had on any one day at upwards of 40, though 30 was more typical. Their after-school programs focused on elementary-aged children, but the summer camps were open to teenagers as well. Every room of the center would be full; some were sewing, some reading, some coloring.

“Oh my god, they were coming and going,” Rutayisire says, with a soft chuckle. “I can’t even count them now.”

Cobbins and Hubbard ran more than just children’s programs at the center. They held community-wide events, such as the annual Harvest Dinner, a free Thanksgiving meal open to the young and old alike.

There were also programs for adults. The Imani center ran the Creating Lasting Family Connections program. It was centered on drug and alcohol abuse and supported by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, a branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Hubbard and Cobbins would sit the parents down and have them walk back through their childhoods, probing for the roots of present problems. They discussed violence, abuse and even incest in some cases. “(The parents) got to talk

PHOTO BY JENNIFER MOSBRUCKER

A “BAD” PROBLEM A child’s behavior goes beyond good versus bad

about things that they’d never ever opened up about,” Hubbard says.

She says she still thinks of it as one of the best programs they’ve created because, by reflecting on the shape of their own lives, those adults could become better parents. They could keep the wrongs they suffered from plaguing their children.

The Imani center turned into a place of worship for some of Columbia’s African community, and Cobbins and Hubbard opened the place up to a church service for refugees from Rwanda and Burundi. On Sunday nights, the center was filled with the joyful energy of that congregation. Indeed, the building sometimes couldn’t contain the enthusiasm.

“We had about 90 people in this old building, and the floor just broke because when they danced, the floor would just go up like this,” Hubbard says, making a wild, up-and-down motion with her hands.

Rutayisire remembers the dancing. “They bounced a lot,” she says. “When they get to singing in their language and stuff, they can go all night.”

Today, the Imani Mission Center’s name lives only as a memory, a phantom listing on Google Maps. In 2015, the center closed its doors after funding ran out. It was under the umbrella of the Community of Christ Church, a religious organization based in Independence, Missouri, and Hubbard’s own church.

She calls the funding “an administrative decision on the church’s part.” In other words: budget cuts.

The center’s closing was a blow to people such as Rutayisire, who witnessed the love and care that went into it. “I felt sad because I knew Judy and Glenn worked hard to keep it open,” she says, “and if they found somewhere else, I would probably go and help if they need me — right now.”

Whatever magic was in that building came from Cobbins and Hubbard. It was their vision of a better Columbia that shaped it, the vision that survives it.

After the center closed, City Manager Mike

Matthes hired Hubbard and Cobbins as a bridge between the city of Columbia and low-income neighborhoods.“It’s the same work on steroids,” Cobbins says.

These days, their titles are Neighborhood Outreach Specialists, meaning they go door-to-door asking Columbia residents what they need.

Their jobs are part of the city’s 2016-2019 Strategic Plan, which aims to make Columbia “a place where all families cannot only live ... but thrive.” The city identified three neighborhoods as particularly in need of resources, one each in north, east and central Columbia. Cobbins and Hubbard are the ones to see the neighborhoods up close. Or, as Assistant City Manager Carol Rhodes puts it, “They are the boots on the ground.”

Rhodes is one of Cobbins’ and Hubbard’s supervisors and helps to oversee the strategic plan.

She says their role in it is essential, the concrete link between City Hall and Columbia residents. The input they’ve collected about Columbia residents’ unmet needs has been critical to carrying out the plan.

Indeed, Rhodes stresses that the strategic plan is about helping everyone thrive, and the pair can reach people who otherwise wouldn’t be heard.

“The reason that we hired Glenn and Judy was to reach out to those who don’t normally attend a council meeting and might be intimidated to come down to the city hall and talk to city leaders,” she says.

Much of Cobbins and Hubbard’s work involves asking residents a series of questions about quality of life. These range from the grounded and practical to the philosophical, from, “Do you have good sidewalks?” to “Do you feel equal to all people?”

Cobbins and Hubbard don’t just gather information, though. They also try to put people in touch with resources, including bus passes, food, job training and advice. Or as Cobbins puts it: “Everything but sex and drugs.”

It’s hard to quantify the impact of work like theirs, but the city does have statistics to show for it: the pair did 164 door-to-door assessments in 2017, and from these, the Department of Health and Human Services successfully followed up with 46.

There’s a distinctive rhythm to their work. They’re a team, and each has their own role. Or as Cobbins says, “the one-two punch.”

It’s how we keep our world simple for children: Eat your vegetables? Yes, good. Kick your sister? No, bad. But calling a child “bad” is a slip-up many people are guilty of, marriage and family therapist Kelly Sanders writes in a blog for goodtherapy.org.

“Repeating this slip impacts the child’s self esteem,” she writes. “Over time, these children may see themselves as ‘bad’ because they keep repeating the ‘bad’ behavior, receiving the consequence, and having parents become frustrated, and a negative self-image begins to form.”

According to Psychology Today, here are some ways to avoid the “bad kid” mentality: ààUnderstand the child’s point of view.

Think about why the child is behaving a certain way. When a child feels heard, it will be easier to move on to find a better solution. ààAcknowledge his or her behavior that doesn’t fit the “bad kid” mold.

It’s important to recognize when a child does something positive. Give the child opportunities such as holding a camera and saying, “I trust you with this.” ààDon’t compare a child to other children.

Using one sibling to inspire another doesn’t work. The comparison could lead to resentment, and the child might become more determined to act out. ààEmphasize kindness.

If you have a troubled child in the family, make sure the other children don’t taunt or reinforce the “bad kid” stigma.

— Kayla McDowell 04.26.18

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Hubbard knocks on a lot of doors.

In one memorable moment, she gave a man hope by providing him with a pair of shoes and gas to attend a family funeral.

THERE’S A DISTINCTIVE RHYTHM TO THEIR WORK. THEY’RE A TEAM, AND EACH HAS THEIR OWN ROLE.

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Hubbard asks most of the questions. She also holds the official-looking clipboard and jots down people’s answers. This has always been her role in the relationship, she says. Her various jobs in human resources departments have made her good at that stuff.

Cobbins, on the other hand, is “the gatekeeper,” the one who can get people to open up about their needs. He can talk to those who don’t like the city or trust its motives. It helps that Cobbins and Hubbard seem to know everyone in the community — and everyone seems to know them.

On a gray February morning, they were doing needs assessments on Waterloo Drive in northeast Columbia. While they talked with one resident, Cobbins waved to the drivers of two passing cars, chatted with a third driver who stopped, and then he yelled “Hey, what’s up, big shot?” to a fourth driver as the car passed.

When the neighbors pulled into the driveway next door, Cobbins and Hubbard knew them, too.“Just when I need some money, my friends show up,” Cobbins called over, laughing. He walked into the street and greeted one of them, Atterio Norman, with a

handshake and hug. Hubbard and Cobbins had known Norman and his partner, Melissa Clark, since the Imani center days.

When Norman wanted to get involved with the community, the center was where he turned.

There’s a long history there, starting from when Norman lived down the street from Cobbins’ mom. He and Cobbins weren’t close friends — Cobbins would encourage him on the basketball court, things like that — but the day he stopped by the Imani center to ask about open positions, Cobbins recognized him right away.

At first, Norman was doing “little stuff here and there where they would need extra hands.”

Then Cobbins got him involved in local philanthropy and political groups, including the First Ward Ambassadors.

“He’s like a big brother,” Norman says.

“And I think he’s pretty much like that to everybody.”

Cobbins went first into Norman’s and Clark’s house. As Hubbard walked up the sidewalk, the notes of a piano drifted through the door.

Hubbard walked into a room dominated by

Above photos: In 2016, City Manager Mike Matthes hired Cobbins and Hubbard to bridge the gap between the city and its residents such as Kelly Camp.

PHOTOS BY PHU NGUYEN

a grand piano with a massive, sagging armchair next to it.

Cobbins called it the “king’s chair” and it’s where he sat, even though he said he didn’t want to.

Hubbard settled on the couch. Clark remained standing, and Norman sat in a red plastic chair about 30 years too small for him, elbows propped on his thighs, rocking back and forth on the legs of the chair.

“We work for the city for two years, and we finally found you,” Hubbard said.

Their conversation was the banter of old friends.

They shared news about kids and grandkids, jokes, laughter and stories. But this visit was also about business, and Norman was reluctant, saying he didn’t want social programs.

“I don’t give a damn what you want,” Cobbins told him. “It ain’t about you.” He was serious but not stern.

After finishing the assessment, Hubbard decided to share what she called her “favorite Glenn story.”

It was back when she lived with her mom. One night

the phone rang. It was Cobbins. He said his mouth was all blue, and his daughter Queen’s mouth was all orange. “‘She took a pill, and I didn’t know what it was,’” said Hubbard, quoting Cobbins.

“Well, why is your mouth blue?” Hubbard asked.

“Well, I took a pill too cause if she’s dying, I’m dying.”

“So I go, ‘Glenn, are there two more pills on the table?’”

“Yeah.”

“Is one of them green and one of them yellow?”

“Yeah.”

“Those are Easter egg tablets.”

As Norman, Clark and Hubbard laughed, Cobbins defended himself. “That’s the first time I ever saw Easter egg tablets,” he said. “We don’t have no Easter eggs.”

He headed for the door, casting one last retort over his shoulder, “If you white folks hadn’t taken all the Easter eggs from us . . . ”

IMANI IS SWAHILI FOR “FAITH.” WHEN THEY OPENED THE CENTER TOGETHER, “IMANI” IS WHAT KEPT THEM GOING.

As community outreach specialists for the city, Hubbard and Cobbins did 164 door-to-door assessments in 2017.

The Department of Health and Human Services followed up with 46 residents.

Because of her background in human resources, Hubbard asks most of the questions when talking to residents such as Renee Chandra during the pair’s door-to-door visits.

Cobbins’ comment was a joke, but it was one drawing upon raw realities.

They live and work in a town with an uneasy legacy of racial violence, in a part of the country where, for a long time, a black man was risking his life if he got too close to a white woman. Boone County, along with Callaway, Cooper, Howard, Lafayette and Saline counties, is part of a region in Missouri called “Little Dixie.” Before the Civil War, migrating Southerners imported their plantation culture here — slaves and all.

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“THAT’S WHAT’S KILLING THE WORLD RIGHT NOW: SEPARATION.” — Glenn Cobbins Sr.

In an egregious example, James T. Scott, a janitor at MU, was arrested for the attempted rape of a white teenage girl in 1923. There was no hard evidence against him, but it didn’t matter. He was lynched by a mob — hanged at Stewart Road Bridge.

This history, though, doesn’t seem to affect Hubbard and Cobbins’ work and personal lives.

“The reason we don’t get no backlash is because I’m a big black guy with experience, and she’s a little white women that’s ritzy and cute,” Cobbins says. “So how in the hell you going to argue with that?”

After a white police officer killed Michael Brown in Ferguson, sparking days of protest and unrest in the city, Community of Christ Church — the church that oversaw the Imani center — asked Cobbins and Hubbard to help provide activities for kids whose schools were shut down.

“It was just a powder keg,” Hubbard says of Ferguson.

When they returned, both worried that similar events could happen in Columbia.

The result? They organized a We Are Family March to protest “black-on-black crime.”

Cobbins doesn’t remember getting any pushback for this. Some media pundits use “black-on-black” violence as a talking point to redirect conversations away from fatal police shootings of unarmed black people or from gun violence in general. But for Cobbins, drawing attention to it was about mending divides within the black community.

“That’s what’s killing the world right now: separation,” he says.

Although they’re centered in the black

PHOTO BY JENNIFER MOSBRUCKER

FILLING THE GAP One big target of the City of Columbia’s 2016-2019 Strategic Plan is social equity.

Drafted in 2015, the plan cites a vast gulf between unemployment rates for white and black residents; white unemployment was falling while black unemployment was rising. The plan also cites increasing poverty levels in the city as a whole.

At the core of the plan are the three focus neighborhoods chosen by a “stress index” that considers factors such as poverty, educational attainment and housing situations. In essence, the city drew boundary lines around the places where communities felt most stressed.

“These are kind of our areas of town that need the most extra help,” says Sara Humm, spokeswoman for the city.

The other stated goals of the plan are to improve: ààThe economy, with an emphasis on creating living-wage jobs ààPublic safety, measured partly by citizens’ satisfaction with the police ààInfrastructure, especially transit and roadways àà“Operational Excellence,” which means ensuring that the workforce is free of discrimination, and employees are satisfied.

community, the mission is about all people regardless of color. “Everybody came to the center,” Cobbins says. “That’s what I loved about it. You know, it was for all people. You were just a human being when you come in there, and we didn’t cherry-pick.”

In November, Hubbard spoke to the City Council about its community outreach for the strategic plan. She sat in the council chambers and shared a few success stories.

At one point, her usually cheerful demeanor broke. Her voice quavered as she relayed the story of a man they met who was desperate for the means to attend a family funeral.

“What was the cost of giving this young man hope?” she asked the room. “It was a pair of $27 shoes and a tank of gas.”

This is the crux of what drives her.

Having economic justice is important to her.

Making sure that people have livable-wage jobs is crucial. But what truly motivates Hubbard is the wish to right inequities of spirit, like that man’s absence of hope.

“It’s unwritten,” she says. “There’s not stats on it.” But the biggest missing piece in people’s lives is vision — “vision for the people,” she says.

“So what makes the difference?” she asks, pointing to Cobbins as an example.

“He always wanted to do the right thing and

“WHAT WAS THE COST OF GIVING THIS YOUNG MAN HOPE? IT WAS A PAIR OF $27 SHOES AND A TANK OF GAS.” — Judy Hubbard

something great to help other people,” she says. “And so that’s his vision, wherever it came from.”

“My vision was to be a rich drug dealer,” Cobbins says with a laugh.

“But your first one wasn’t,” Hubbard says.

“No, I was gonna be a preacher.”

In some ways, though, a drug dealer is an evangelical — a missionary in lands of the desperate, slinging the gospel of cocaine.

That was the faith Cobbins once preached and the one he regrets.

“At the end of the day, I was a drug dealer, and I was a bad example for years,” he says. “So now I’m trying to be a good example to outweigh that. I think that’s a lifetime journey.”

The thing about having vision is you have to look beyond. Beyond who you are, beyond where you are — beyond what your world looks like now.

Cobbins saw past the bars of his prison cell when undergoing drug treatment.

Hubbard, too, looked beyond, back on Elleta Boulevard. That’s how she could immerse herself in a culture not her own, working with kids while drug deals were being made down the street.

“She hood now,” Cobbins says.

“I don’t know if I’m happy about that,” Hubbard says.

“She ain’t hood for real,” Cobbins amends. “She still don’t understand half the stuff.”

“There’s still so much I don’t know,” she replies.

Then again, that’s why Hubbard has Cobbins, and Cobbins has Hubbard.

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ARTS & BOOKS

Mapping out a memoir

Local author Allison Coffelt is changing how the world views creative nonfiction

BY ALLISON CHO

For Columbia native Allison Coffelt, venturing out was the secret to looking within. In March, Coffelt’s first book, Maps Are Lines We Draw: A Road Trip Though Haiti, hit the shelves. Through this memoir, Coffelt embarks on a journey to tell important stories about herself and the world.

Her inspiration In high school, Coffelt says she had an enlightening experience after reading Mountains Beyond Mountains

by Tracy Kidder, which focused on the organization Partners in Health and its work in Haiti. After reading it, Coffelt says she realized how vast the world is. This book inspired Coffelt’s trip to Haiti in 2013. Her notes from that trip evolved into her debut memoir, Maps Are Lines We Draw. The book centers on her experiences while in Haiti with Haitian history weaved throughout.

“I struggled a lot with trying to figure out which part of the story was mine to tell and what area I felt like I had authority over,” she says. Even her decision to write the book came after much deliberation. “I had to sort of trick myself into writing it because otherwise it would’ve felt like too big of an endeavor.”

Find it at Yellow Dog Bookstore for $12.

A literary community Coffelt’s her decision to write professionally came from the pursuit of a master’s in creative nonfiction from MU, which she completed in 2015. Her interest in nonfiction and fact-based writing, however, has always been evident. “I was interested in nonfiction

Allison Coffelt says she will continue publishing her work both in print and in different mediums including audio and film. “I hope she keeps experimenting and keeps growing,“ Julija Šukys says.

writing because it felt like it had the power to share true stories that were about things I cared about,” Coffelt says. Coffelt says graduate school gave her the time and resources to research.

Julija Šukys, an assistant professor of creative writing at the MU English Department, worked closely with Coffelt on writing the first draft of her book. “I think the most special thing is that she turned her work here at the English department at the University of Missouri into a book,” Šukys says. “I think that I speak for the entire English Department that we’re so proud of her.”

Power of storytelling Coffelt’s interest in nonfiction storytelling connects

to her work as education and outreach director for the True/False Film Fest, a position she’s held since August 2015. She and her team help educate thousands of high school students about the power of nonfiction storytelling each year. “What we aim to do is help high school students realize they can tell their own stories,” Coffelt says. “We also try to broaden their thinking about what nonfiction storytelling is in many forms, not just film.”

Working for True/False has contributed to Coffelt’s decision to stay in Columbia in addition to her ties to her support system. “My friends and family are very encouraging,” she says. “I was very fortunate in that a lot of my cohorts in graduate school were very supportive as well.”

MUSIC

THIS WEEK IN MUSIC Mainstream artists converge with local talent in Columbia DRAKE WHITE Country music up-and-comer Drake White makes a stop in mid-Missouri. His classic country guitar with old-school twang and new-school lyrics has created diehard fans all over the world. The Blue Note, Tonight, 7:30 p.m., $18

MISTERWIVES

Misterwives was formed in 2012 as an impromptu folk band for a party.

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Alternative aesthetic and folk-rock vibes describe the mega-hit band, Misterwives. After the success of the group’s most recent album, Connect The Dots, Misterwives has been on tour for almost a year. The Blue Note, Friday, 7 p.m., $27.50 in advance; $29 day of

BY HANNAH TURNER

LUNAR TRICKS, LAUGHING HEARTS AND MANGOSTEEN Get ready for some killer guitar and rock’n’roll sound from these three bands. With a mashup of lyrics and style, this is a one-of-a-kind show.

Cafe Berlin, Friday, 8 p.m., $5

CASEY DONAHEW The country artist blew up seemingly overnight in 2006 and has stayed relevant for more than a decade. He is now touring for his album, 15 Years, The Wild Ride featuring radio hit, “Ask Me to Stay.” The Blue Note, Saturday, 7:30 p.m., $15 in advance; $18 day of

PHOTOS BY OR COURTESY OF JORDAN KODNER AND FLICKR

ARTS & BOOKS

Dress up your creative side

Cosplay your way through upcoming conventions with these tips

Chances are, you’ve already heard of cosplay. If you haven’t, you’ve almost certainly seen it. Cosplay is the practice of dressing up as a character from a movie, book, TV show, video game or anime. So if you’ve ever seen scarily accurate recreations of Harley Quinns or quirky impersonators of anime characters with spiky red wigs and brightly colored clothing, you’ve definitely encountered cosplayers.

With some of Missouri’s conventions on the horizon, such as ConQuesT 49 in Kansas City, Jefferson City’s Cosplacon and St. Louis Mighty Con, it’s time to put your imagination to the test. If you’re interested in getting crafty for one of Missouri’s conventions, you have plenty of lead time to pick your favorite character and design a wearable work of art.

ConQuesT 49 May 25–27, conquestkc.org The oldest regional science fiction convention in Missouri

Cosplacon June 14–17, cosplacon-mo.squarespace.com Hosted the first-ever Jefferson City cosplay event

St. Louis Mighty Con June 23–24, stlouiscomiccon.com St. Louis’ largest comic book and pop culture event

BY EMILY HANNEMAN

How to get started For any cosplayer, the first step involves choosing who you’re going to be. Longtime cosplayer and manager of the Potential Energy Cafe Brittany Martin says choosing a favorite character makes it easier and keeps cosplaying exciting. “For the first (cosplay), it should be something that is more prominent and important to you because you’ll want to work on (the costume) more,” she says.

Hannah Krogman, an MU student, says cosplay isn’t limited by gender, age, race, size or any other factor, so you have full rein over the character you choose to be.

A material world Krogman says to work ahead of the convention to sew and alter your garments. It also helps to take some pressure off. Beginners might want to use reference images to pick material that resembles their chosen interpretation. Krogman and Ben Watkins, an MU instructor and cosplayer, say JOANN Fabrics and Crafts is a great place to start. Martin sews or alters many of her costumes and either uses pre-made patterns or sketches out designs. “If I’m getting to a point where I can’t figure things out, I’ll deconstruct each piece of the garment on paper,” she says.

If you’re struggling to sew a piece, Krogman says to check secondhand stores such as Plato’s Closet and Goodwill to find items.

Accessorize, accessorize, accessorize Accessories bring a costume together and add creative flair. “Why go through the trouble of creating the whole outfit if you’re not going to do everything?” Martin says. Some costumes might need a wig. Arda Wigs and EpicCosplay Wigs are good places to check, Krogman and Martin say.

Krogman also encourages the use of makeup, but — as with almost everything else — she advises to practice beforehand. “Don’t underestimate it,” Krogman says. “Even if you’re cosplaying a guy, do your makeup.”

If your character carries a weapon, you probably won’t be able to bring the real thing into the convention center. So leave your swords and crossbows at home, and pick up some foam. Watkins suggests foam because it’s cost-effective and easy to find. He recommends using floor mat foam from Harbor Freight Tools for props or armor.

Make it your own Some cosplayers reinterpret what they see on screen or in the pages of a comic book to add a distinct twist; think Harley Quinn in the zombie apocalypse. Cosplay is limited only by your imagination. Watkins says adding a personal touch to the costume is often the best way to find a unique take on a character. “Take something from your own life experience, and mesh it with your favorite character, and see what comes out,” he says.

Hannah Krogman, Brittany Martin and Ben Watkins have created cosplay outfits and attended conventions. Krogman is dressed as Sidon from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Martin wears a ballroom-inspired Marinette from Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir. Watkins is dressed as Talion from Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor.

PHOTOS BY JORDAN KODNER, HAILEY HOFER AND PHU NGUYEN

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After a decade at her eponymous restaurant, JINA YOO is tackling a new venture with a fast-casual eatery

K

orean-born Jina Yoo, owner of Jina Yoo’s Asian Bistro on Forum Boulevard, spent her childhood practicing music. Yoo’s mother barred her from entering the kitchen in fear that she might cut her fingers and miss valuable practice time. But her father would often pick up young Jina from school and take her to every street food vendor and farmers market they could find. The two would then attempt to re-create the dishes they’d eaten. This inspired Yoo to open her first restaurant ten years ago.

Today, Yoo makes only one meal at home on a regular basis: ramen noodles. She doesn’t have a stove in her small apartment, and she uses her cabinets to store her shoes. Her apartment is stacked to the ceiling with items for her new restaurant, Le Bao, a fast-casual eatery. Justin Heintz, the manager of Jina Yoo’s, says he believes Le Bao is a reflection of Yoo’s drive to keep trying something innovative.

“The new concept isn’t exactly something that would fit here at Jina Yoo’s, but she’s a creative person,” Heintz says. “She doesn’t stand still, whether it’s physically or mentally. She wants to keep moving forward and trying new things.”

Featuring a menu built around bao — Chinese-style steamed buns — and street food-inspired cuisine, Le Bao will be located at 10th Street and Park Avenue and is set to open in mid-May.

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What led you to open another restaurant that serves a different kind of menu?

When I first started my restaurant, I thought I wanted to do a little more upscale. But, believe it or not, I am not super classy. And I love anything that’s street food. But, just because it’s street food and that they can’t charge as much, they put a bunch of cheap stuff in it. And I started thinking, “Why don’t we put in really good stuff?”

Did you consider making Le Bao another location of Jina Yoo’s?

Yes. But Jina Yoo’s is very, very complicated. We pay attention to very, very, very small details, and that’s why we’re so good because it’s not just the recipe. If you want the recipe, then you can Google anything. So it’s about technique. It’s about the way we serve, and timing, and all those sorts of things factor in there. So it’s really hard to duplicate. But Le Bao is something that I create, and then you make a standard recipe that you can make over and over.

The challenge of Le Bao is I have to get out of that made-to-order thought. We’re labeling ourselves as fast-casual, so we have to be a fast-casual restaurant.

You have a background in music. How did you go from that to opening an Asian restaurant?

With food and music, I found that they’re very similar

in a way. I was trained to be a musician, but I never learned to love music. I was almost trained to be a machine more than anything else. I never really thought about what my life would be without (music).

Beethoven and Bach, the two amazing composers that I love in history, they have all the notes that they compose with (and make different compositions).

Same thing with a McDonald’s. They have beef, they have potatoes, they have carrots and all that, and what they can come up and what I can come up with is totally, totally different.

One repeated theme in reviews of the restaurant is your personal service. What inspired you to focus on that?

Desperation. I swear to God, desperation. You have a half-million dollar restaurant and 13 employees depending on you, and you have $300 in your business checking account, yet you don’t have any collateral or your personal checking account. So that’s where I was. I would make it work, whatever it takes.

And I was very good at it. I still am good at it. People come to Jina Yoo’s for food, too, but they also come because of me.

— KEEGAN POPE PHOTO BY JORDAN KODNER

THE TO-DO LIST

this week in Columbia

ARTS & CULTURE “Bold and Brash”: 2018 Senior Exhibit

View over 20 works in varying mediums from graduating MU seniors’ final exhibit.

The students not only create the works but also plan the exhibit, including conceptualizing the show, installing the work, designing publicity materials and planning and hosting the reception on May 4. Through May 4, All day, Fine Arts Building, Free, 882-3555

Seeing Anew

The Museum of Art and Archaeology is breathing new life into its permanent collection of works from the 1950s to the present by reinterpreting them with an emphasis on diversity. Tues.–Fri., 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Sat.–Sun., noon–4 p.m., Museum of Art and Archaeology, Free, 882-3591

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

It’s a timeless story: everyone is in love with the wrong person. See Shakespeare’s classic comedy performed by Hickman High School’s advanced acting class. Today through Saturday, 6:30 p.m., doors; 7 p.m., show, Hickman High School Theatre, $7, adults; $5, seniors and students, 214-3000

Missoula Children’s Theatre: Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs Back by popular demand, the country’s preeminent professional children’s theater company, The Missoula Children’s Theatre, returns to Columbia and will be recruiting kids to stage an original musical adaptation.

Saturday, 3 p.m. and 6 p.m., Jesse Auditorium, $15, 882-3781

Ain’t Misbehavin’

Enjoy Maplewood Barn Theatre’s production of Ain’t Misbehavin’. The 1978 Tony Award-winning show is a tribute to the Harlem Renaissance and features the music of jazz artist Fats Waller, among others.

Thurs.–Sat., 8 p.m.; Sunday, 2:30 p.m.

Maplewood Barn Theatre, $12, adults; $3, children under 10, 874-7460

CIVIC Party with the Stars

This event will start indoors with a slide show about the planet Venus and Mount Rumker, aka “the baseball glove on the moon,” before going outside — weather permitting — for some terrific telescopic views. For parking, enter through the Secret Garden at the west end of the main parking lot. Friday, 7:30–9:30 p.m., Daniel Boone Regional Library, Free, 443-3161

Larry C. Price visits Missouri School of Journalism

Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Larry C. Price will host a talk called “The Human Toll of Toxic Pollution,” in PHOTO BY PHU NGUYEN

which he will discuss his environmental and health reporting. Price will share images and his first-hand experiences in documenting health impacts from gold mining, battery recycling, lead mining, leather tanning and textile manufacturing in Asia and Africa.

Today, 6 p.m., 204 Neff Hall, Free, hiless@missouri.edu

Beginning Birdwatching with Columbia Audubon Society

Want to get into birdwatching, but don’t know how? Experienced birders from the Columbia Audubon Society can help. They will lead small groups on bird walks and teach them basic skills, such as identifying common species. Walks will begin when participants arrive, so you can drop by when convenient. No binoculars? No problem; there will be extra gear available. Sunday, 1–4 p.m., 3M Flat Branch Hinkson Creek Wetlands Pavilion, Free, 522-3260

Yoga In the Park

Finals week is creeping up, but don’t let it stress you out. Take a study break with this free outdoor yoga class. Saturday, 10–11 a.m., Kuhlman Court, Free, 882-1174

Halfway to Halloween Witches Night

Celebrate Witches Night with bonfires, classic witch movies and live music.

Costumes are encouraged but not required.

Concessions will be available for purchase.

Saturday, 9 p.m. to 1:30 a.m., Fear Fest Haunted House, $5, 446-3327

FOOD & DRINK Pint Night at Alpine Shop

Fifteen dollars gets you a unique stainless steel pint glass from Klean Kanteen and two pours of beer from Logboat Brewing Company. All proceeds go to Missouri River Relief. Today, 5–7 p.m., Alpine Shop, $15, 817-2955

CCUA’s Spring Taco Potluck

Anytime is a good time for tacos. Bring your favorite taco meat, veggie, topping or side. Tortillas and drinks will be provided. All are encouraged to bring a dish and enjoy the festivities. Friday, 6–8 p.m., Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture, Free, 514-4174

MUSIC

DON’T MISS: INTO THE WOODS

Relive your favorite fairy tales with the Stephens College production of this classic musical in which characters such as Cinderella and Rapunzel try to find their happily ever afters. Stories collide, and chaos ensues. (A production at Columbia College is pictured above.) Friday and Saturday, 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m.; May 3–4, 7:30 p.m., Macklanburg Playhouse, $16; $8, seniors and students, 876-7199

The guitar player and vocalist will perform with Tara Thompson. Today, 7:30 p.m. doors; 8:30 p.m. show, The Blue Note, $15 in advance; $18 day of show, 874-1944

STARflyer Fest 2018

See 12 bands from six Midwest states in this musical experience. The event features a combination of music genres to create a concert that presents like a live mixtape.

There’s something for everyone. Saturday, 5 p.m. to 1 a.m., Cafe Berlin, $12, 441-0400

Drake White

Country music rising star Drake White blends current themes with traditional country twang.

Raise money and awareness for brain cancer at this 5K run and walk. Funds from the event will benefit both the Ellis Fischel Cancer Center in Columbia as well as the Brain Tumor Trials Collaborative, a national organization.

Sunday, 8–11 a.m., Stephens Lake Park, $30–40, 816-308-8404

Mizzou Swimming UMIZZ Invite (Long Course)

Casey Donahew

Texas-born country musician Casey Donahew will play The Blue Note with duo Murphy’s Ford, who specialize in country-rock.

Saturday, 7:30 p.m., doors; 8:30 p.m., show, The Blue Note, $15 in advance; $18 day of, 874-1944

Metal Meltdown ft. Degrave

Watch MU Mens’s and Women’s Swimming in 13 events during this weekend’s invitational.

Friday, 5 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m., Mizzou Aquatic Center, $5, ages 13 and over; Free, under 13 and students, 882-6501

SCREEN Avengers: Infinity War (PG-13)

Experience Metal Meltdown, headlined

by Degrave and featuring performances

by Awaiting the Gallows, Out of Orbit and Dodecad. Sunday, 8:00 p.m., doors; 8:30 p.m., show, Rose Music Hall, $5, 874-1944

In this massive meeting of Marvel universe pieces, characters from movies including The Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, Black Panther and more come together to beat their most daunting enemy yet and protect reality as they know it. F, R RUNTIME = 2:40

MisterWives

Still playing

Indie-pop group MisterWives is returning to Columbia after performing four times locally.

Friday, 7:00 p.m., doors; 7:30 p.m., show, The Blue Note, $27.50 in advance; $29 day of, 874-1944

MayDay Hip-Hop Showcase

Dramatik, a local hip-hop performer, headlines his first show to release his song “MayDay.” Dramatik will be joined by a variety of other hip-hop groups and performers. Tuesday, 8:00 p.m., doors; 8:30 p.m., show, Rose Music Hall, $5 in advance; $7 day of show, 874-1944

9th Annual Head for the Cure 5K Run/Walk – Mid-MO

SPORTS Barre & Bubbles at The Roof

Pure Barre is hosting a pop-up class to benefit the Ronald McDonald House of Mid-Missouri.

Take a class, and learn about Pure Barre, then reward yourself with a post-workout bloody mary or mimosa, available for purchase.

Sunday, 10 a.m. to noon, The Roof, $10 suggested donation, 874-9006

Black Panther (R) F, R Blockers (R) F, R Blumhouse’s Truth or Dare (PG-13) F, R The Death of Stalin (R) RT I Feel Pretty (PG-13) F, R Isle of Dogs (PG-13) RT The Miracle Season (PG) R A Quiet Place (PG-13) F, R Rampage (PG-13) F, R Ready Player One (PG-13) F, R Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero (PG) F, R Super Troopers 2 (R) F, R You Were Never Really Here (R) RT

Theaters F = Forum R = Regal

04.26.18

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RT = Ragtag 3D = VOXMAGAZINE.COM

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