Theater production for young audiences still can appeal to older ages

By: Mandi West

The “Still Life with Iris” opens tonight at the Utah State University’s Morgan Theatre. The show starts at 7:30 p.m. and an additional matinee showing at 2 p.m. was added to Saturday.

This show will be put on by the Department of Theatre Arts at USU. This work was created by Stephen Dietz and is meant for young people and families. In summation it is a story about a girl who lives in an imaginative world on a quest to regain her memory and to find her home.

Children will be engaged by the creativity and imagination of the plot while adults will be given the chance to reflect on a much bigger allegorical theme of the play explained Matt Omasta, the director of the play.

“Still Life with Iris explores the poignant question of who we are,” Omasta said. “This play will allow all ages an opportunity to find themselves.”

Some are excited for a play for children to enjoy like mother Kristi Jensen. All plays for that have been performed this semester have been intermediate.

“It’s nice that there is one for the whole family to enjoy,” Jensen said. “We love going to plays and there haven’t been very many this year that I can take my 2 and 4 year old to.”

Tickets are $13 for adults and $10 for seniors and kids. Omasta hopes that everyone will take the opportunity to come and enjoy the show.

“Our hope is that the production provides audience member s of all ages with self-discovery and a fun time,” Omasta said.

Logan LDS Institute will release Christmas album

By: Mandi West

The Logan LDS Institute will soon finish up work on a second Christmas album in the next week. All songs in the album will be showcased in the Counting Down to Christmas concert at the Logan Institute Cultural Center at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and 5 and 7:30 p.m. on Saturday. 

The album will showcase a combined choir that includes the Latter Day Voices, Logan Institute Choir and the Sky View High School Encore. All choirs will be performing at the event. Tickets are free and can be collected at the main office of the Logan Institute of Religion building located at 600 East Darwin Avenue or from any choir member performing.

This will be the second Christmas album recorded by the choirs and sold on iTunes. Many of the songs have been recorded already and some will be recorded live at the concerts. Nyles Salmond, the director of the Latter-day Voices choir, said that there were many reasons for recording live.

“Just from past shows I expect a full house and there will be so much great energy there,” Salmond said. “It’s great to have the audience be a part of such a great experience and to witness the hard work that these students have put into it.”

Salmond said that everyone is excited to release another album. Songs have been purchased from over 40 countries.  All the money earned from sales go straight back to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

The Christmas concert is an annual event put on by the Logan LDS Institute choirs. Mike Rees has been a member of the Latter-day Voices back when they recorded the first Christmas album and said that it is an amazing experience.

“I look forward to the Christmas Concert every year and think it’s cool that we get to record it,” Rees said. “It will definitely be the climax of the semester and the payoff of a lot of hard work that we can share with everyone.”

Salmond said that he encourages all ages to attend and that it will be a perfect way to start off the holiday season.

Annual sale helps local artisans in Cache Valley

By: Mandi West

When winter starts it marks the end of the Cache Valley Gardeners’ Market that many local artisans sell their crafts at and only there. The Winter Gift Market is an annual event that acts as an extension to the market so that vendors have a chance to sell all year round.

This Christmas themed sale is free to everyone and will begin at 6 to 9 p.m. on Friday and the last day will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday. The venue will be at the Bullen Center located at 43 South Main Street.

Sharon Ohlhorst is one of the three coordinators of the sale event. She said that out of the 35 vendors that will have items including pottery, photography, soaps and lotions, jewelry, glass, painting, wood, fabric arts and giftable food items. Everything is locally made.

“The Winter Gift Market is all about showcasing and supporting our local artists, many of whom do not sell their art any place else,” Ohlhorst said. “All vendors have affordable giftable items for sale and this is a great venue to buy local.”

Along with supporting local artisans, many local musicians have an opportunity to perform at the event as well. Becky Yeager is another coordinator of the event who was in charge of setting up the schedule for live music. They have many different varieties that will be playing throughout the weekend.

“We also have music at the event that is meant to be a way for musicians to have some visibility,” Yeager said. “They are all talented and are performing for free so everyone is encouraged to donate money or buy their albums if they like what they hear and I know that they will.”

The Winter Gift Market is a non-profit event that requires a lot of volunteer work. Café Ibis donates hot
beverages that will be sold. All proceeds will go to a local charity called 4Paws.

This will be the 11^th year of the Winter Gift Market which Ohlhorst and other coordinators said they believe will continue to be a long-standing tradition.

“The people around here are such a great support system to the artists trying to sell their craft,” Ohlhorst said. “After a survey we took last year, we believe it will stay a tradition with how many people plan on the event each year.”

Restaurant supports local talent

By: Mandi West

Jack’s Wood Fired Oven on Main Street hosts a Jazz Jam night every Monday night from 7 to 9 p.m. to try and showcase the musical talent around Logan, Utah.

The pizza place works with the Music Department up at Utah State University to help bring people in to perform. Harrison Davis first thought of the idea. He thought that it was something that not a lot of restaurants offered in the area.

“I know a lot of people that are very talented and that jazz is a good beat that I think all ages can jam to,” Davis said. “I think that there is a market out there that would love to listen to some live music and eat some great pizza.”

Local artist Nick Miner said that some restaurants in the valley used to have live music and open mic nights but don’t do it anymore because they felt it was not good for business. Miner said that he loved to perform at Citrus and Sage’s jazz nights but then it closed down because of funds.

“It’s nice to perform at Jack’s because it is always a great vibe there,” Miner said. “I think that music is a great way to bring customers in to have a great night eating and jamming.”

Miner is studying drumming and said that people came up to him after performances to ask him to work at events. He said that it has been great to publicize his talent.

One thing that Jack’s recognized is that having live music isn’t for everyone. But Davis feels confident that it is popular enough to keep the restaurant and Jazz Jam nights going.

“Good food, good music, good people. That is our philosophy and we strive to keep it that way,” Davis said. “We want to support the local talent and all that it has to offer along with our fantastic food.”

Jack’s offers many concerts on other nights along with the Jazz Jam nights and people interested in performing should call 435-754-7523 to ask about scheduling a night.

USU students get creative decorating trees for service

By: Mandi West

The Festival of Trees started at 4 p.m. today at Utah State University in the Taggart Student Center. Clubs and organizations at USU decorate trees that will go to families in need.

This year the festival has 55 trees set up in the International Lounge. Each club can decorate a tree to represent it.

The Festival of Trees has been a tradition at the school for awhile. Students have an opportunity to come together and participate in a creative service project. Zoe Fairbairn, the USU-SA traditions director, is in charge of the event this year and is excited to see it happen.

“I have been really excited for the event,” Fairbairn said. “It is always so exciting to see the creative ways the organizations decorate the trees. I’m already loving the western themed tree that has branding blocks in it.”

Each tree is unique to the clubs. One tree had socks in it and another tree used hats to decorate it. Cameron Olsen, the president of the Pre-Optometry Club, told how they had plans to really get their tree to stand out.

“We wanted ours to be a real eye catcher,” Olsen said. “We wanted to put chocolate eyeballs all over with glasses in it. We thought everyone could get a kick out of it.”

Once all the trees are decorated the public has an opportunity to vote for a favorite tree on Tuesday and Wednesday. The winner of that vote will get $100. A contest will also be held that will judge the trees for creativity, originality and overall appearance.

The public has an opportunity to come look at the trees until Friday.

“It is a great activity for families, dates and friends,” Fairbairn said. “There is no better way to get into the Christmas spirit than to give service.”

Christmas concert to raise money for orphans with down syndrome

By: Mandi West

The Utah State University fraternity Alpha Tau Omega will be hosting the second annual Starry Night: A Christmas Benefit Concert at 7 p.m. on Dec. 6 to help raise money for the organization Racing for Orphans with Down Syndrome.

The benefit concert will be held at the Manon Caine Russell Kathryn Caine Wanlass Performance Hall. All proceeds will be donated to the organization. Tickets are $7 and can be purchased either at the USU Card 

Office located in the Taggart Student Center, online at arts.usu.edu or at the door the day of.

Racing for Orphans with Down Syndrome or RODS was founded in 2012 by Brady Murray. It is a qualified charitable organization that races to raise awareness and money to help unite orphans that have down syndrome with a family willing to adopt them.

The concert will highlight many local artists and bands performing a variety of musical styles that reflect the holidays. A set list of performers has not been finalized yet, but main coordinator Patrick Hill said it would be the highlight of the Christmas season for everyone.

“It’s for a great cause and will be a classy, Christmassy event with talent that won’t disappoint,” Hill said. “I promise it’s going to be worth it.”

Hill is a member of the local band Children of the North who performed at the first ever Starry Night last year. It was in the Tippets Balcony located inside the Chase Fine Arts Center. Hill said that the room had every seat filled, people sitting anywhere they could on the floor and rows of people standing outside the doors.

“We had lots of fun performing and it seemed like a huge success,” Hill said. “The room was literally overflowing with people.”

Alpha Tau Omega works on many service related events throughout the year. The fraternity saw this as a great opportunity to raise money after seeing the success of it last year.

Now that the concert will be held in the Performance Hall, tickets will be limited. It is a bigger venue but Hill said that tickets were being sold pretty fast and that to guarantee a spot people should buy in advance. Brian Barnes was an attendee to the event last year and he bought his ticket as soon as he heard that it was happening again this year.

“The music was amazing and it was such a fun concert last year,” Barnes said. “I was hoping that they had a recorded version of all the music to buy. Since they don’t, you have to jump on opportunities like this one when they come. It also doesn't hurt that you are giving to a good cause.”

People that cannot make it to the concert and would like to give to the RODS organization can go to the website RodsRacing.org for information on how to help or donate.

Opportunity for students to leave behind legacy

By: Mandi West

Students at Utah State University have the chance to design the courtyard and entryway at the Chase Fine Arts Center that many people see whether they are on their way to a painting class or a play at the Morgan Theatre.

The Landscape Architecture and Environmental Department is having a contest to select one student or a group of students who are currently enrolled at USU to design the whole area instead of paying a professional landscaping company to take care of it. Participants have until 5 p.m. on Dec. 9 to submit a plan. Winners will be announced Jan. 13 and plans will then be implemented into the construction. The courtyard has been closed to the public for the rest of the academic year with no projected date of when it will reopen.

The construction may cause some inconvenience to the students, faculty and visitors to the Chase Fine Arts Center. David Evans, one of the contest coordinators, said that it is a necessary change that will benefit all in the end.

“The Fine Arts courtyard represents a home for some, a neighbor for many, and the doorstep to the arts for much of Logan and Northern Utah,” Evans said. “It should meet today’s needs and tomorrow’s change. It also must meet the needs of all our stakeholders and it just wasn’t doing that.”

Along with the opportunity to design the area, students will also be able to win a cash prize. Four award winners will split a $3,500 prize. Designs will be judged based on creativity, sustainability, feasibility and response to project goals and objectives as described in the competition rules.

Scott Allred, a senior majoring in landscape, decided to enter after hearing about it from his professor. He saw it as a great opportunity to see his own designs implemented at the university.

“I am really familiar with the courtyard, and like every place I go, I analyzed what I like about it and what I thought could be better,” Allred said. “I hope to contribute by designing a courtyard that accommodates everybody's needs, and is a place where people will enjoy going.”

Contest rules and applications can be found in room 230 at the Fine Arts-Visual building and questions can be sent to Evan’s email at david.evans@usu.edu.