Hitting the Right Note with Make Music Day

Hitting the right note

Sunday, June 21, will be the longest day of 2020. And in Liberty, it might just be one of the most harmonious.

For the fi fth year, the city will join a global celebration of music and musicians on the summer solstice.

Make Music Day started in 1982 in France when Jack Lang and his staff at the Ministry of Culture imagined a day when free, live music would be everywhere: street corners and parks, rooftops and gardens, storefronts and mountaintops. Th e decision was to perform on the day with the longest amount of sunlight.

Now Make Music Day Liberty is a high note in the local arts and culture scene.

Th is year’s event coincides with Father’s Day and performances across town will take place from about noon to 6 p.m.

“We are going to focus on fathers,” Make Music Day Liberty Chairman Bill Stilfi eld said. “I want to see kids bringing their dads to the musical afternoon. It’s free and it’s something everyone can do together.”

While the bulk of the music — and maybe even a harmonica jam session — will be at venues around the historic downtown Liberty Square, a few parks and businesses open their doors to performers.

Because the solstice is a Sunday, Stilfi eld hopes to see local churches join in the music making.

For more details, visit makemusicliberty.org. Summer solstice has its own soundtrack with Make Music Day Bratcher Cooperage & Gifts

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ENTERTAINMENT, ARTS & CULTURE

LIBERTY ARTS COMMISSION

The Liberty Arts Commission continues its efforts to raise the artistic profile in the city. The group's efforts include public involvement in local arts and cultural activities as well as awarding art grants.

Commission members also coordinate three community exhibit spaces used for displays of mainly two-dimensional art: • Liberty City Hall, 101 E. Kansas St.; • Liberty branch of Mid-Continent Public Library, 1000 Kent St.; and • Stocksdale Gallery of Art, 252 William Jewell College Drive, Brown Hall, second floor.

Many of the exhibits feature local artists or artists connected to the city. For information about local artist news and exhibits, sign up for notifications through the Liberty Arts News Flash on the city website, libertymissouri.gov.

LIBERTY ARTS FOUNDATION

The Liberty Arts Foundation is a separate nonprofit organization created in 2011 and committed to supporting all art-related endeavors that benefit Liberty residents.

As funding becomes available through private donations and grants, the foundation supports projects of the Arts Commission, Liberty Symphony, Community Chorus, Corbin Theatre and other arts-focused organizations and individuals. One of the biggest projects spearheaded by the foundation is the creation of the China Slaughter Reading Park, which includes a sculpture unveiled in April of 2018.

LIBERTY PERFORMING ARTS THEATRE

The 700-seat Liberty Performing Arts Theatre is located inside the Liberty Community Center at 1600 S. Withers Road. The space hosts a plethora of events produced by the Liberty Symphony Orchestra, Liberty Public Schools, local dance studios and other local and national organizations. The theater recently had upgrades to lighting and sound.

To see what’s happening at the theater or to check out rental information, visit libertymissouri.gov/37/Liberty-PerformingArts-Theatre.

celebration, lots of children's activities and fireworks at Capitol Federal Sports Complex of Liberty, 2200 E. Old Highway 210, formerly known as Fountain Bluff Sports Complex.

For more details, visit thelibertyfest.com.

SUMMER BAND

The Liberty Summer Band, an all-volunteer group of approximately 80 musicians, annually performs three free concerts during the month of June plus a performance in conjunction with a patriotic concert around the Fourth of July. The June concerts are usually scheduled at 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays in front of the James S. Rooney Justice Center, located at 11 S. Water St. Concertgoers should bring their own lawn chairs or blankets. In case of rain, concerts are held in the Liberty Performing Arts Theatre, 1600 S. Withers Road. To learn about concert dates and times, visit mo-liberty.civicplus .com/1500/Liberty-Summer-Band.

LIBERTY FEST

Liberty Fest celebrates Independence Day each year a day before Fourth of July with food and fun for all ages including a veterans

CORBIN THEATRE

The Corbin Theatre Company, located downtown at 15 N. Water St., is Liberty’s official community theater. The theater features numerous theatrical performances throughout the year in addition to regular live jazz nights, usually on the first Monday evening of the month, and other events including monthly poetry readings.

Theatrical productions being featured in 2020 are: • “13 the Musical,” April 2 to 4; • “The Nerd,” April 17 to 19 and 24 to 26; • “The Laramie Project,” May 29 to 31 and June 5 to 7; • “Brighton Beach Memoirs,” Aug. 14 to 16 and Aug. 21 to 23; and •“The Savannah Sipping Society,” Oct. 16 to 18 and 23 to 25.

To contact the theater, call (816) 529-4988 or email info@corbintheatre.org. For a complete schedule of events, visit corbintheatre.org. FALL FESTIVAL

Held on the fourth full weekend in September — this year Sept. 25 to 27 — the Liberty Fall Festival brings about 200 food and craft vendors, carnival rides, a parade, local entertainment and much more to historic downtown Liberty. The Historic Downtown Liberty Farmers’ Market rounds out the festivities. The event is organized by the Liberty Area Chamber of Commerce.

Visit libertyfallfest.com for more information. LIBERTY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

For more than 40 years, the Liberty Symphony Orchestra has presented the best in classical and pop music, and featured local musicians and composers. The symphony presents a series of four regular concerts annually and an educational concert for area youth at the Liberty Performing Arts Theatre. The symphony added a free community concert at the Woodneath Library Center and through a grant from the Arts Commission, the group plans to add more free concerts in the community. For concert dates and ticket information, visit libertysymphony.org. LIBERTY COMMUNITY CHORUS

The Liberty Community Chorus features the musical talents of a mixed choir open to singers 16 and older. Bryan Taylor of the Grammy-winning Kansas City Chorale directs the chorus, which performs concerts in both the fall and spring. The nonprofit chorus is funded through member dues, ticket sales and donor support.

For more information, visit libertycommunitychorus.org. ENTERTAINMENT, ARTS & CULTURE

PUBLIC ART

Commissioned by the Liberty Arts Commission, six kinetic wind sculptures add to the landscape of two roundabouts — on College Street between Conistor Street and Blue Jay Drive — to improve the appearance of this retail area. The sculptures were created by Lyman Whitaker.

Liberty Arts Commission also launched public art spaces throughout the historic downtown and other points around the city. The first sculpture purchased from artist Jacob Burmood, “Plumb Twisted” is now located at the Liberty Community Center. “Open Heart” by artist Matthew Duffy, a public favorite from the 2018-2019 rotating sculpture program by the Liberty Arts Commission, is now at the trailhead at Westboro-Canterbury Park on South Withers Road.

Public art spaces around the historic Liberty Square rotate annually.

In addition to rotating art, there are also currently three Great Americans sculptures around the downtown area. The newest, of Susan B. Anthony, is located on a corner in front of the County Administration Building at 1 Courthouse Square. The sculpture honors Missouri's ratification of the right to vote for women.

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