Fans of poetry, photography, dance, music, drama, and stand-up comedy delighted in performances from Saint Leo University faculty, staff, students, and alumni as well as Dade City residents and students, at the Arts in the Park celebration in Dade City. The event was held at Agnes Lamb Park in the downtown area from 2 p.m.-5 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 7.
Though there were concerns of thunderstorms afflicting the area, the forecast shifted at the last minute to “partly cloudy,” perfect park weather. And so, the show went on seamlessly in front of a crowd of about one-hundred people.
Local Band “Time Warp” opened up the show, and Saint Leo University faculty and staff choir Just the FACTS followed with their covers of 1960’s songs. Just the FACTS will perform more groovy tunes at the fall concert “Change is Gonna Come: Music of the 60s” on Tuesday, Oct. 10 along with Saint Leo Singers, Totally TABS, Saint Leo Strings, and Saint Leo Rhythm Machine.
Frank Orlando, instructor of Political Science at Saint Leo took the stage as well. He is a novice stand-up comedian, and his act earned several laughs from the crowd. Orlando also can be caught performing his comedy at the Friday Night Open Mics at the Abbey Tavern across the street from University Campus.
Saint Leo’s theater program previewed their upcoming performance of “The Secret in the Wings,” a play about “loving the unlovable” according to sophomore computer science major Madison Bonnell, an actress in the production.
“I think that the crowd really got a kick out of our performance,” she stated. “We love being connected to the people around the campus and being able to show them what we work so hard to perfect. It’s important for Saint Leo to be involved in events like [Arts in the Park] because it demonstrates our core value of Community.”
This fall is the first semester that Bonnell has been involved in the drama program. “The Secret in the Wings” is projected to go on in early November at the Saint Leo Black Box Theater.
Instructor of Professional Writing at Saint Leo Marissa McLargin, instructor of professional writing, was the event coordinator. The event was co-sponsored by the Dade City Youth Council, Saint Leo University School of Arts and Sciences, Magic Space, and Friday Night Open Mic. Megan Orendorf, the administrator of events and special programs, operated the School of Arts and Sciences tent at the event. The mayor of Dade City was also present at the event.
The Dade City Youth Council hid painted rocks around the park for children to find, and the child that found the special rock was generously awarded a $20 gift card to a local toy store. There were also arts and craft activities available for children to enjoy. Local youth displayed their talents in performances with Blackwood Studios school of dance and Arts in Motion, a non-profit youth theater and arts education program.
The crowd also enjoyed a poetry reading from Instructor of Creative Writing, Gianna Russo. She was recently named Best Local Poet of 2017 by Creative Loafing’s Best of the Bay Reader’s poll. Russo is also the Editor-in-Chief of Saint Leo’s Literary Magazine “Sandhill Review.” The literary magazine is accepting submissions of poetry, prose, and artwork for the 2017-18 issue themed “My America” through the rest of October.
Another Friday Night Open Mic frequenter took the stage on Saturday. Senior Business Management major Edward Gemma performed an interesting selection of songs varying in genres. His most moving performance was a cover of Eric Church’s “Why Not Me,” a new song dedicated to the victims of the Las Vegas shooting that occurred earlier this month.
“As a country artist, and just a musician in general, I understand how music can play a role in recovery after something like what we saw in Vegas happens,” Gemma said of the song. “What music can do is take the worst humanity has to offer and make it bearable.”
A senior from Pasco High School also paid tribute to the Las Vegas victims by reading a poem by Maya Angelou. After a confusing and disheartening week, Dade City and Saint Leo University were strengthened by the sense of community brought on by joining together to appreciate each other’s talents.
