The First Thaw Arts & Culture Festival took place this Friday, April 15th in the Administration Auditorium. This event, hosted by the English and communications departments, featured many different forms of storytelling, including music, speech and film. Campus Activities Board director Logan Light introduced the evening as “something in the community that would be a little different.”
The event featured three student storytellers. Senior McKenna Futrell read an original comedic short story about an odd murder investigation in Monroe, LA. Senior Zach Hailey told the story of his “life-or-death” experience in a graveyard late at night that he later discovered to be a joke. Senior Holly Jones reminisced about a childhood birthday party in which she got lost in a cornfield in the rain. Senior Erin Hasler said while she went to see her friends perform, but left with a deeper understanding of expression and art.
“I got a better appreciation for different forms of art,” Hasler said. “I don’t think about oral storytelling and movies as art very often, so it was new to be able to think about them in that way.”
The group Vanderzee from Oklahoma performed at several points during the event. The alternative folk trio played several songs from their new album, “The Hopeful Bright,” including “Even When” and “Dance All Night.”
Two videos created by alumnus Kidron Cannon were screened. The first featured film, titled “Globetrotters,” featured small segments of other films he had made this year. The second highlighted senior Matt Rogers challenging himself through rock-climbing.
This event also featured the work of the creative studio 1504, a group consisting of alumni Tyler Jones, Nick Michael and Mark Slagle. They have filmed and produced many short documentary-style films for groups, including Harding’s own Florence overseas program, the American Red Cross and the alternative folk band The Civil Wars. The group screened “Muddy Pond,” a short documentary about an old-fashioned sorghum farmer named Mark Guenther who owns a small processing plant.
The festival also featured the first public screening of “America’s Boulevard,” which highlights muralist Meg Saligman’s work on Martin Luther King Boulevard in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
“I know there’s a lot going on on campus tonight, so I thank you all for coming to see some of my favorite people from around the country tell their stories,” Carpenter said.
