Family

At Caldwell Zoo This Month: Make Your Summer Plans Now

The Caldwell Zoo is located at 2203 Martin Luther King Blvd., Tyler. For more info call (903)593-0121 or email info@ caldwellzoo.org. Caldwell Zoo is open March-Labor Day, 9am-5pm and 9am4pm September-February.

Summer is such a magical time. Free days give us endless opportunities for fun and adventure. Summer is a time to fill your days with excitement and action. Summer Camps at the Caldwell Zoo are made to engage the mind and body through programs that are packed with unique experiences that teach, inspire wonder, and fill the hours with loads of fun. Zoo camps are cus- tom-built with hands-on activities that connect kids with the wonders of nature and the awe- someness of animals.

Caldwell Zoo Camps run weekly from June 1st-August 7th. Programs are available for all children from 4-13 years old.

Registration opens March 2nd. Camps fill up fast. All details are at caldwellzoo.org/sum- mer-camp/ including times, topics, dates and registration forms. Full-day camps for nonmembers is $225; Zoo members are $200. Halfdays camps (available for ages 4-6) for nonmembers is $135 and Zoo members $120. All full-day camps run Monday-Friday, 9am-3pm. Half-day camps are available for children 4-6 years old and run 9am-12 noon.

Other events going on at the zoo are: Daily (2pm): Penguin Encounter - Birds that can’t fly? Discover all of the amazing adaptations these creatures possess. Understand life from the perspective of a penguin and get the opportu- nity to have a close-up encounter with one of the zoo’s penguin ambassadors. Cost is $80 per two people.

Daily (10-11:45am and 1:15-3pm): Giraffe Feeding - Stop by the African Overlook for a chance to feed lettuce leaves to the giraffes. The giraffe feeding deck is open daily, weather per- mitting.

March 7th and 28th (1pm): Ranch of Dreams Bus Tours Visit the Ranch of Dreams! The Cleve- land Amory Black Beauty Ranch is a worldrenowned animal sanctuary in Murchison, Texas that was founded in 1979 by author and animal advocate Cleveland Amory. The sanctuary is not a zoo but is now open to the public two times per month for small, prescheduled, guided tours to respect the peace and privacy of the animals. Tours are March 7th, 28th, April 11th, 25th, May 9th and 23rd.

On these tours, you can go on an inspira- tional journey through 1,400 acres of the Cleve- land Amory Black Beauty Ranch to see and hear about more than 800 domestic and exotic ani- mals that have been saved from lives of neglect and abuse. This bus tour will take you past dynamic enclosures and rolling pasture. Your guide will share a video presentation, and you’ll learn why many of the animals needed to be res- cued and came to be at the ranch.

While they can’t guarantee sightings of spe- cific residents, you may see Penelope, a pot-bel- lied pig found wandering down a street after being abandoned; or Midge, a male chimp pre- viously used in medical research.

Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch is located at 12526 CR 3806 Murchison, TX 75778. Tickets are available at fundforanimals. org/blackbeauty or call (903)469-3811.

April 23rd (1-4pm): 3rd Annual Opportunity Fair at the Career and Technology Center

This year the Tyler ISD Opportunity Fair is changing their format and will be holding the Opportunity Fair in the afternoon from 1-4pm. Businesses will be able to setup that morning from 9am-12 noon and will be provided lunch from 12 noon-1pm, prior to the event. More than 60 businesses will be in attendance that students are eager to network with. Many of the students that will be in attendance already have industry-recognized certifications and will be looking for opportunities. The event will once again be co-sponsored by Workforce Solu- tions of East Texas. Register today at forms.gle/ LS7fLqh4z5KLvmW59.

March 2nd (6-8pm): LitCON The Career & Technol- ogy Cen- ter, located at 3013 Earl Camp- bell Pkwy., Tyler, will host the 2020 LitCON! This evening of activities and family fun will feature all cam- pus libraries represented and author Jonathan Reynolds of “Monster Street” books. You can also visit with reps from Therapet, Tyler Pub- lic Library, and Literacy Council & Mentor- ing Alliance. Be sure to check out the LEGO Brick Truck! There will be free books, free food, lots of door prizes, and Fine Arts perfor- mances. This free event is open to the com- munity. For more info go to facebook.com/ events/535299687336300/. LitCon celebrates literacy and the love of reading and writing by showcasing Tyler ISD Library Media Services and other district resources.

2020 Festivals

East Texas is a great place for all kinds of fes- tivals: from family fun to wine festivals, rodeos, and food galas. Plan now for these future festi- vals. • March 7th: FRESH 15, Tyler • March 7th: Hops. Shops. Bubby: A Wine & Chocolate Festival, Tyler • March 7th: Back the Blue Bash & Concert with Mike Ryan Band, Lindale • March 14th: Ben Wheeler Barstool Races, Ben Wheeler • March 14th: Tyler Vinyl Record Expo, Tyler • March 20th-April 5th: Azalea & Spring Flower Festival, Tyler • March 28th: Tyler Quilt Show, Tyler • March 21st: Pineywoods Music & Arts Festi- val with Roger Creager, Crockett • March 27th: 38th Annual Tyler Quilt Show, Tyler • April 4th: Mineola Amtrak Wine Fest, Rolin’ 20’s, Mineola • April 9th: 2020 Taste of Tyler, Tyler • April 11th: VanGogh Fair, Van • April 16th-18th: Smith County Medical Soci- ety Alliance Book Fair • April 17th-18th: East Texas Gusher Days, Gilmer • April 17th-19th: Vintage Market Days, Lindale • May 2nd: Red Dirt BBQ & Music Festival, Downtown Tyler • May 2nd: Challenge Air Tyler 2020 Fly in Day, Tyler • May 8th-9th: Piney Woods Wine Festival, Lindale • May 14th: Lindale Championship Rodeo • May 16th: Tyler Celtic Fest, Tyler • June 13th: Jacksonville Tomato Festival, Jack- sonville • June 13th: Tyler Cattle Baron’s Gala, Tyler • June 19th-21st: Great Texas Balloon Race & Festival, Longview • June 27th: 9th Annual Lake Palestine Adap- tive Aquafest, Bullard • July 4th: Fireworks at Lindsey Park, Tyler • July 17th: Great American Arts Fair, Tyler • September 25th-October 4th: East Texas State Fair, Tyler

Exciting things are happening... New Dealers with New Items! Hit the Bricks! Azalea Trails! St. Patrick’s Day! Come Enjoy Sas,Surpres,Refshments! & much much mo!

Downtown Tyler, 302 E. Locust St. Tyler, 10am-5pm (903)705-1145 (903)705-1144 oldcitytyler@gmail.com www.oldcitytyler.com

Inside the Artist’s Studio: The Dreamcatcher: Ray Sikes By Derrick White

“My experience with art started with Ms. Bobbin. I lived in a small, poor mining town. The school did not have an art program, but in the fifth grade, a roving art teacher was employed to conduct an art class for one hour a week for each grade. I remember being quite excited by this experience. We did soap carvings from large bars of soap. I carved a rabbit. It was great,” remembers local artist Ray Sikes.

While attending college, Ray Sikes became interested in theatre and scene design. At com- munity college, Sikes took art classes because the teacher was a famous native artist. He later transferred to a university and continued to major in theatre. Afterward, Ray enrolled at Baylor University for a Master’s degree in The- atre in Scene and Lighting Design. After grad- uating from Baylor, Sikes started teaching set design and lighting at a community college in St. Louis, then moved to Washington D.C. and worked as an assistant to a noted sculptor. After- ward, he ended up in West Virginia where he became Managing Director for an art complex, but resigned and moved to Tyler so he and his wife, Linda, could care for her aging mother. Ray recalls, “In Tyler, I played golf almost every day for two years. I became very bored. I told Linda I wanted to start taking some art classes. I had always wanted to just draw and paint full time, though I had been painting and drawing some during all my teaching years. I signed up for a life drawing class at the Univer- sity of Texas at Tyler. Then I took a sculpture class. Karen Powell, the department chair at the time, told me if I were going to keep taking classes I should just earn a degree in painting. I told her I already had two degrees why would I need another, but she convinced me. Since I already had a Bachelors’ degree, it only took me about two years to complete a Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting and drawing.”

During the time Ray was taking classes at UT Tyler, he was asked to start working for the department. Ray was the gallery director for the university’s Meadows Gallery. The Mead- ows Gallery is located within the R. Don Cowan Fine and Performing Arts Center on the campus of The University of Texas at Tyler and features rotating exhibitions throughout the year. The exhibition schedule includes nationally known guest artists, the Annual International Exhibi- tion, faculty curated shows, Master of Fine Arts degree thesis exhibitions, and an annual student juried exhibition. The Annual International Exhibition is juried by an invited guest art- ist, historian or critic. The current 35th Annual International Exhibition is on view through March 6th, and was juried by independent cura- tor Leslie Moody Castro. The Meadows Gallery will feature Jessica Sanders’ M.F.A. Thesis Exhi- bition March 16th-20th with a reception on March 17th. Nora Schreiber’s MFA Thesis Exhi- bition in the Meadows Gallery will run March 30th-April 3rd with a reception on March 31st. FINE ARTS

“After my first few paint- ing and draw- ing classes at UT Tyler, I real- ized I wanted to explore my native heritage through art. This started me on a research exploration about native aboriginals. This research led me to see most native arts had a spiritual/social conscience con- tent. It just was not art for art’s sake; it had a societal purpose. I ask myself how this could be portrayed through my art. I came to use native forms like shields, deer skins, beads, and feathers. Plus, after visit- ing the Denver Art Museum and seeing origi- nal ledger paint- ings, I realized that the native style of paint- ing was very flat and did not fol- low the western strictures of per- spective. I have tried to paint in this way; although, there are times when I forget and revert to the Western canon. It is hard to forget how one was trained.”

“One of my first shields was made from rose bush stalks tied with leather and stretched over with tanned deerskin. I painted the pictures on the shield with red clay from my yard. I then realized I did not want to take the time to find and process natural dyes, so now I paint with acrylic paint on tanned leather. I tried oil paint first, but it tends to bleed into the leather sur- rounding the object leaving an oil stain.” “I think calmness is a gift from my art. When I am in my studio and working on some piece, I am in the ‘flow’ much of the time. There was one noted artist who said, ‘When I go into my studio all my friends are there in my mind, then after a while, it is just me, then I leave and my work of making an art piece begins.’ I start to work on a certain piece and when I look up four hours have passed on the clock and I am calm.”

“Waiting so long to do what I really wanted to do - just paint! I think this happened because I listened to a very significant person in my life long ago that pushed their agenda on me and I believed them. I learned much later one needs to ‘follow your bliss’ and to hell with what other people say about what you want to do.”

“The first one is Henri de Toulouse-Lau- trec, a 19th-century post-impressionism painter, who recorded many details of the late-19thcentury bohemian lifestyle in Paris. Lautrec mastered many visual art forms: printmaking, drawing, painting, caricaturist, and illustra- tor. Because of his title and disability, he was accepted into many levels of society, but he chose mostly to paint from the lower classes. He especially liked the people of dance halls and brothels. I find his work honest and clearly stated.”

“Fritz Scholder is a native 20th-century art- ist, who mostly paints natives. His ‘most influ- ential works were post-modern insensibility and somewhat pop art in execution as he sought to deconstruct the mythos of the American native.’ Fritz was a Luiseno native, part of the California Mission culture. I like his work because it pushes the edge of work by natives about natives. Since a lot of my work is about natives on this conti- nent, he gives me inspiration and insight into what I think about what I want to paint.”

April 11th (10am-5pm): Van Go Art Fair, Van

The second annual Van Go Art Fair takes place in Van from 10am-5pm April 11th at Van City Park. The Van Go Art Fair is held at 300 VZCR 1527, Van. It is free to attend.

The juried art show features hand-crafted jewelry, paintings, metal art, wood work, fiber art, glass, pottery, ceramics, and mixed media. A variety of talented musicians perform authentic Texas Jazz and Americana music throughout the day in the pavilion with gour- met coffee, wine, and chocolates. Ginny Mac adds to the “sidewalk cafe in Paris” ambience with her dynamic group that brings a fresh and exciting twist to vocal and instrumental music stylings.

The food truck court features gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches, authentic Mexican food with an island twist, grilled meats, popsi- cles, and more.

The Van Go Costume Contest offers a $200 cash prize to the best “Dress Like a Famous Painting” competition. Another activity dur- ing the day includes a large Van Gogh painting backdrop for selfies. This is also a pet-friendly event.

A Van Go Kids area has several projects for kids of all ages and the Van ISD STEAM Bus is on hand to give kids even more opportunities in their mobile maker space. A Young Artists Exhi- bition features local student artwork.

The event is co-produced by the City of Van and the Van Zandt Arts & Cultural Dis- trict Foundation, a 501(c)3 organization that promotes the arts for education and tourism for Van ISD and the district communities of Edom, Van, and Ben Wheeler. It is sponsored by Door Controls USA, County Line Magazine, Austin Bank, Stanger Surveying, The Forge Bar & Grill, and Edom Art Emporium.

For more info, go to vangoartfair.com, email info@VanGoArtFair.com, or call (903)312- 9556. Pets are welcome on a leash.

Artists to be on-site are constantly updated plus more info is available at facebook.com/VanGo-Art-Fair or vangoartfair.com/the-arts/.

Events at your fingertips.... “EGuide Tyler TX” In all the App Stores!

TYLER CIVIC THEATRE

400 Rose Park Dr., (Next to Tyler Rose Garden Center) Tyler, TX 75702

For tickets: Box Office: (903) 592-0561 or tylercivictheatre.com Box Office: Monday - Friday 10am-1pm & 2-5pm

At Tyler Civic Theatre This Month: And Then There Were None October 25-27 and October 31-November 3 (Auditions October1-2) Little Women November 21-24 with morning school shows November 19-20 The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe December 6-8 and 12-16 An Encore by George & Anita Faber: A Soulful Christmas 2.0, A Vocal & Instrumental Concert One weekend only - December 20-22

EGuideMagazine.com • Download “EGuide Tyler TX” App for Free! 21 On Stage March 20-22, 26-29,2020