The Lawrence Civic Choir celebrates 50 years of song and community
Cay Thompson designs contemporary Native jewelry with metal fusion
As friends, neighbors and healthcare teams, LMH Health supports vibrant communities. With leading edge medicine and dedicated clinicians and staff, we’re building a strong, healthy future.
As friends, neighbors and healthcare teams, LMH Health supports vibrant communities. With leading edge medicine and dedicated clinicians and staff, we’re building a strong, healthy future.
See what’s possible at lmh.org/thrive.
See what’s possible at lmh.org/thrive.
Welcome to the spring 2025 edition of Lawrence Magazine!
As I sit to write this letter, a blanket of snow covering my neighborhood, marking another snow day at home with my restless family, I look forward to the arrival of spring. I’m ready for warm walks with my dog, window shopping along the Downtown Lawrence sidewalks, margaritas with my friends on outdoor patios and pushing my children on the swings behind the library. While I enjoy the quiet of winter, I welcome this season of renewal that is just around the corner.
My name is Gina, and I am thrilled to be the new editor of Lawrence Magazine. I have lived in Lawrence for 20 years and have always loved this city’s vibrant community. As I step into this new role, I stay committed to sharing stories about the people who make Lawrence a special place to call home. This issue is full of such stories.
In “Harmonious Legacy,” page 38, Katherine Dinsdale writes about the Lawrence Civic Choir, which welcomes anyone to their group—perfect pitch not required. The choir, now in its 50th year, is made up of people from all walks of life who are willing to put in the work and whose desire is to share in their passion for song. (But I wonder if they would hold true to that sentiment after hearing me sing!) Cay Thompson’s passion for art and design has blossomed into a career as a beadworker and metalsmith. Jordan Winter had the chance to talk with Cay about the importance of uplifting Indigenous artists (“Ironclad Artist,” page 24). Then there’s the Kansas Public Radio program 105 Live. Nick Spacek writes about Nick Carswell’s efforts to share local music from all 105 counties in Kansas in “‘Made Right Here in Kansas,’” page 8.
And, of course, there is our cover story, “Against All Odds,” page 33. If you’re eager for spring, Amber Fraley has found a community of plant enthusiasts in Lawrence whose houseplants seemingly live forever. As someone who got her start in the magazine industry working for a title called The Herb Companion, you might think me a gardening connoisseur. Although I can tell you what herbs can help treat sensitive skin, and whether “chocolate basil” exists (it does not), I am cursed with a black thumb. I may have to add some green to my home with a ZZ plant or snake plant, which are recommended in this article.
EDITOR
Gina DeBacker
DESIGNER / ART DIRECTOR
Shelly Bryant
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Joanne Morgan 785.832.7264 jmorgan@sunflowerpub.com
AD DESIGNER
Alex Tatro
COPY EDITOR
Leslie Clugston Andres
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Katherine Dinsdale Amber Fraley
Lauren Kanan Susan Kraus
Nick Spacek Darin White
Jordan Winter
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS
Molly Adams Fally Afani
Jason Dailey Carter Gaskins
PUBLISHER
Bill Uhler
DIRECTOR
Bob Cucciniello
CONTACT SUNFLOWER PUBLISHING 1035 N. Third Street, Suite 101-B Lawrence, KS 66044 | 785.832.7264
EMAIL COMMENTS OR SUBSCRIPTION INFO TO lawrencemagazine@sunflowerpub.com
Gina DeBacker, editor
I may be stuck indoors right now, but this spring, I can’t wait to hear your stories and learn what Lawrence Magazine means to you. Your voices are the heart of what we do. Thank you for welcoming me into this role. I can’t wait to see what we’ll create together.
Lawrence Magazine is a publication of Sunflower Publishing, a division of Ogden Publications, Inc.
IN 2024 CHECKING REWARDS
Claim your share in 2025.
features smorgasbord
33 Against All Odds
These oft-neglected houseplants might just stand the test of time
38 A Harmonious Legacy
The Lawrence Civic Choir celebrates 50 years of song and community
8 ‘Made Right Here in Kansas’
The Kansas Public Radio program 105 Live embraces live, local music
12 Subverting Expectations
Two local authors release new works that challenge convention
18 Bronze Dreams
Local foundry creates works of art that stand the test of time
23 Lawrencium Free State Festival people
24 Ironclad Artist
Cay Thompson designs contemporary Native jewelry with bead and metal fusion places
28 Soul of the South
From blues to BBQ, Memphis, Tennessee, is a vibrant city worth the road trip
On the Cover
Tammy Schafer shows off her domino cactus. Photograph by Jason Dailey
‘Made Right Here in Kansas’
The Kansas Public Radio program 105Live embraces live, local music
Nick Carswell’s new show for Kansas Public Radio (KPR), 105 Live, “celebrates and promotes music made right here in Kansas.”
The title refers to the 105 counties in Kansas, and the goal is to play music from each of them. While the show premiered in October 2024, it’s been percolating since the Irish-born host and musician first came to Lawrence in 2011.
“When I first arrived in Lawrence, I was knocking on the door of KPR for some work,” Carswell says. “I’ve always done radio alongside music. It just makes sense as another gig to have, obviously, in the music world.”
The concept for the show came about when KPR’s new director, Feloniz Lovato-Winston, took over in 2023. She seemed open to leading KPR in new directions, and later that year, Carswell felt it was the right time to make his pitch.
“I don’t want to say we’ve been waiting,” Carswell admits. “But it was always something that I wanted to come back.”
The most interesting thing about the show is the concept behind it. 105 Live isn’t pigeonholed to one genre, bluegrass, rock ’n’ roll or otherwise. Carswell plays everything from everywhere. Best of all, the show demonstrates that all music is local, in some way or another.
“The local show always kind of got shoved over here,” Carswell says. “‘Here’s the local thing’—it’s almost been tokenized.”
What Carswell finds interesting is where people are choosing to live, post-Covid. Generally speaking, he says people have options now that there are more work-at-home opportunities: If they choose to stay in Kansas or prioritize staying in a community they feel connected to, then we should celebrate these artists’ connection to their community rather than label them as nothing more than a “local musician.”
“The other piece is that the show is aspirational,” Carswell continues. “I’m open about the fact we’re aspiring to support a scene, and part of that is people can see themselves getting played on the radio or being in a cool video, or even just imagine themselves being talked about. That’s something that we’ve lost a little bit. Those are the mechanics of a scene, and that’s what I see the show as being part of trying to recreate.”
105 Live isn’t just playing music sent in by musicians. The host and KPR are firmly behind the “live” part of 105 Live, so there is a live performance element to every program. As well as bringing artists into KPR studios to record live sessions, Carswell is visiting local venues to record bands’ live performances.
“That allows us to create that excitement around a live performance with a live audience,” Carswell says. “There’s no chance to do it again. There’s no chance to repeat or fix mistakes. It’s raw. It’s also a kind of challenge to the artist to step up their game as well.”
It’s also aspirational. Carswell knows there are musicians out there who can pull it off, who can deliver a great performance on The Bottleneck stage in front of hundreds of fans, for example, and also sound great in a studio setting.
“It’ll feel and look and sound different,” Carswell says. “The range is what’s most exciting about that.” Additionally, 105 Live and KPR plan to present shows under their banner.
“We’re just dipping our toe in on this, but for KPR to present live events that our listeners can go to is something we want to do more and more,” Carswell says. Additionally, in acquiring music for the program, Carswell also hopes to highlight underserved regions, audiences and genres.
Peer-to-peer contact is part of his strategy for finding new music. Carswell has asked most of the folks who’ve done in-studios at KPR to recommend another artist or three.
“With LYXE—our very first session—we recorded them saying, ‘I’m Ryan Wise from LYXE, and here’s a band I love out of Manhattan, Kansas … Headlight Rivals,” Carswell explains.
OPPOSITE Nick Carswell hosts a program on Kansas Public Radio that showcases local music and aims to play music from all 105 counties.
“When I first arrived in Lawrence, I was knocking on the door of KPR for some work. I’ve always done radio alongside music. It just makes sense as another gig to have, obviously, in the music world.” –Nick Carswell –
The idea is that if 105 Live continues to promote local musicians, other bands will notice the support and know they can be showcased appropriately. The host would love to see artists spread the word. As Carswell designs strategies for 105 Live to grow legs, he keeps the music ecosystem in mind. For example, he has been targeting specific places and genres to make sure the show is as diverse as possible.
“I’ve been circling in on the new, original and noteworthy,” Carswell says about what makes it to air for the onehour program. “New” is selfexplanatory. “Original” means he wants to highlight work that speaks to the creative output of Kansas artists.
“Noteworthy” is something akin to steel guitarist Nate Hofer, who recorded his album Decommissioned in a former Atlas F Cold War-era missile silo.
“You don’t get that in every state,” Carswell says. “Again, that’s a crazy story about the how and where, about the place that music and that art was made. But it could be about the place or the identity of a place we have submissions from—artists who reference the prairie or the Flint Hills. Those are important.”
What makes it on to 105 Live is ultimately up to the artist and how strongly they feel tied to Kansas, Carswell says. Even if they grew up in Kansas and later moved away, but still have enough of a connection to reach out, then it’s valid to feature them as a Kansas musician. The concept of playing artists in Kansas and with Kansas roots was intended to get the show up and running, he says.
“As we were sharing the concept, people were challenging it constantly, and that’s great,” Carswell says. It just shows that an idea can evolve because, really, there are no rules. “If you’re asking questions about ‘Does this fit?’ the answer probably is ‘Yes.’”
105 Live airs Saturdays at 5 p.m. on Kansas Public Radio. To submit your music for the program, go to kansaspublicradio.org/podcast/105-live and click “Submit your material to be played on 105 Live.”
Two local authors release new works that challenge convention Subverting Expectations
To Keanu, With Love
There’s an Easter egg on the cover of Natalie C. Parker’s newest novel, The Assassin’s Guide to Babysitting. It’s a nod to where the story takes place. Here’s a hint—Kansas City lovers should be able to spot it.
On the bottom right-hand corner, there’s an imitation of the iconic Western Auto sign. This is only one of the many Kansas City locations readers will recognize. The main character takes morning runs to the River Market, for example, and the city’s assassin guild operates in the tunnels underneath Union Station.
“Everything kind of beats from the heart of Kansas City,” Parker says.
The Assassin’s Guide to Babysitting (Candlewick Press, 2025) is Parker’s ninth novel. It follows Tru, a 17-year-old trying to navigate high school while concealing dangerous secrets. Tru has a powerful talent (indestructible skin, muscles and bones) that she must hide from others, all while dealing with the loss of her parents, who were killed by an underground assassin guild. One day, assassins interrupt Tru’s babysitting job, and she is forced to flee with a baby strapped to her back.
Parker set her novel in Kansas City because she loves the city and believes it is underrepresented in literature. She has lived in Lawrence since 2005 and loves visiting Kansas City.
Her inspiration for the young adult novel came after brainstorming ideas for her next novel. She had just written her first horror novel, Come Out, Come Out (G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2024). Because writing such a heavy story took an emotional toll, she wanted to keep her next book joyful and fun. She turned to one of her favorite actors for inspiration: Keanu Reeves.
“I took my favorite Keanu Reeves movies and shuffled them with other story arcs that I also find enjoyable, which is how John Wick meets The Baby-Sitters Club came about,” Parker says. “Putting those two side by side made me laugh, and it also sparked an idea.”
The dedication to the novel reads, “This one is for Keanu Reeves. I’ve been a fan since Babes in Toyland and think Logan Dire would make a pretty great follow-up to John Wick. Thanks for being epic.” (Logan Dire is the name of the famed recluse assassin in Parker’s novel.)
“Writing for young adults and middle-grade readers is really invigorating because when young people are introduced to stories about people who aren’t exactly like them, their world gets bigger,” Parker says.
“Young readers give a lot of leeway when it comes to what is believable and what isn’t,” Parker says. “The ability to work with a sense of whimsy and magic is maybe just a little bit more fun.” That being said, Parker plans to write for adult audiences in the future.
Parker includes queer characters in all of her novels. Initially hesitant to represent queerness in her earliest works, she says she is done trying to hide it.
“It took me a long time to openly write queer narratives,” Parker says. “I was partially afraid that I wouldn’t get published in the industry if I wrote about queer kids because, at the time, there were not many openly queer authors or openly queer narratives, especially in children’s fiction.”
Parker’s recent horror novel Come Out, Come Out delves into topics such as homophobia, transphobia, gender dysphoria, religious extremism and conversion therapy. “It was a very heavy novel to write,” Parker says. “I wanted to write a story that was truthful and honest, but one that didn’t perpetuate the same harm I was examining through the lens of horror. It took an emotional toll.”
The main character in The Assassin’s Guide to Babysitting is queer, but her queerness is not threatened in the story. In that way, Parker says that Come Out, Come Out and The Assassin’s Guide to Babysitting are on different ends of the spectrum.
OPPOSITE Natalie C. Parker signs copies of her new action-adventure novel at The Raven Book Store. Photograph by Carter Gaskins
“For readers who might not be willing to pick up a book like Come Out, Come Out, this one is much more fun. There aren’t as many barbs rooted in queer trauma,” Parker says.
The Assassin’s Guide to Babysitting is a stand-alone novel, but Parker is working on a second novel set in the same world. The Assassin’s Guide to Dating is expected to come out in 2026.
Parker became a full-time writer in 2018. Her advice to new writers is to learn to finish something and overcome the psychological hurdle of taking a piece from beginning to end. Her writing process varies day by day, she says, but her goal is to write 2,000 words per day. She recommends the word-count planner Pacemaker Planner.
Parker has no need to explain her atypical work schedule to her wife, author Tessa Gratton, who’s written The Queens of Innis Lear (Tor Books, 2018) and Lady Hotspur (Tor Books, 2020) , among many others.
Living with another full-time writer is helpful, Parker says. Gratton is often one of the first to read Parker’s stories because she is good at seeing the structure of a story early on and always has helpful suggestions. Parker, on the other hand, helps Gratton with her stories toward the end of the writing process, as she has a knack for tightening a story.
It can get a bit comical whenever Parker and Gratton are both on deadline, especially early in their writing careers when they were both in that fugue state of trying to finish a novel. Car keys ended up in strange places, milk would be put in the pantry, and once, in an attempt to do laundry, a perfectly good pair of jeans ended up in the trash.
Luckily, Parker says no additional pairs of jeans have been chucked since that infamous occasion.
–Lauren Kanan
A new book by Iain Ellis, a senior lecturer at the University of Kansas, explores punk music’s lasting cultural influence. Photograph byCarterGaskins
What is Iain Ellis reading?
Kansas making the case that punk is as much a cultural phenomenon as a musical one. In addition to the records and performances of bands in the genre, punk encompasses film, literature and comedy—all of which Ellis explores in his new book.
While the book is meticulously researched, the author’s central conceit draws from his own experiences, inspired by what happened to Ellis when he discovered punk.
“At the age of 14, 15, it started leading me to types of films, types of books,” Ellis explains from the living room of his Old West Lawrence home. “Then you start realizing this is what punk does: It’s a state of mind. It’s an attitude.”
Ellis thinks that for so long, punk has been reduced to just another music subculture. It’s not, he contends; it’s more like modernism or postmodernism. He describes it as more of a cultural epoch, a virus that has infected just about everything.
“We sometimes call it the avantgarde,” Ellis says. “It’s a way of seeing life, culture and art that has been going on for hundreds of years. This was a manifestation of it that started in 1976, but it didn’t just explode out of nothing.”
“Humor has always been something that I have seen as an important form of communication. To me, it’s also an important form of rebellion.” –Iain Ellis –
As Ellis explains, punk came out of the art school kids. Those who became the early punk rockers had studied Dada, experimental film from the ’20s and ’30s, or surrealism.
“All these art movements or rebel literary figures fed into it,” Ellis says. “I think unless you see it in context, you’ll never appreciate what my main argument is, and that is that punk isn’t just a subculture—it’s a culture.”
Punk Beyond the Music started as Ellis’ Ph.D. dissertation in the ’80s. Its evolution into a book was driven by various aspects and offshoots that Ellis discovered during his research. One such aspect was craftivism, a term coined by Betsy Greer in the early ’00s to define crafting motivated by social or political activism.
“I started discovering all these women knitting, and they’re really influenced by punk aesthetics,” Ellis says. “Then you start tracing it, and you think, ‘Oh yeah, the whole Riot Grrrl thing was way more than just the music.’ A lot of it was a kind of consciousness-raising thing where they would do a lot of crafting and make their own clothes and things of that nature.”
As Ellis puts it, punk’s influence extends far beyond music, shaping various art forms, from literature and film to comedy and crafts, in a wide range of creative and subversive ways. To the author, however, humor is the real focus, a concept explored in his previous books, Rebels Wit Attitude: Subversive Rock Humorists and Brit Wits: A History of British Rock Humor. In Punk Beyond the Music, Ellis traces the lineage of punk humor from Lenny Bruce and Monty Python to punk poets like Attila the Stockbroker and Bill Hicks to contemporary stand-ups like Hari Kondabolu.
“Humor has always been something that I have seen as an important form of communication. To me, it’s also an important form of rebellion,” Ellis says. “I’ve always been interested in subversion and youth culture and youth expression, so everything is applying to that.”
Whether in Ellis’ two rock humor books or in Humorists vs. Religion: Critical Voices From Mark Twain to Neil DeGrasse Tyson, he intends to focus on artists who combat rigid mindsets with critical humor.
“To me, humor is the common person combating systemic prejudice,” Ellis says. “That runs through everything; that runs through punk. Probably one of the reasons I was so attracted to punk was its sense of humor. To me, that’s the most caustic way of getting your point across. The most permitted way to get your voice across, as well. I think you can do a lot more as a rebel in society by using humor than by using other methods.”
–Nick Spacek
TheDevil’sMusic
by Randall J. Stephens
TrendyFascism by Nancy S. Love
God Gave Rock &RolltoYou by Leah Payne
No Future by Matthew Worley
says that “punk isn’t just a subculture—it’s a culture.”
Ellis
Photograph by Carter Gaskins
STORY BY Darin M. White PHOTOGRAPHY BY Jason Dailey
LABOVE The traditional technique of bronze casting has been around for more than 6,000 years.
OPPOSITE Foundry workers at Ad Astra Art Bronze wear fireresistant bibs, coats and caps to protect against radiant heat and molten splash.
Bronze Dreams
Local foundry creates works of art that stand the test of time
ocated just outside Lawrence, Ad Astra Art Bronze is a foundry dedicated to the age-old art of bronze casting. This traditional technique is a metalwork process that’s been around for more than 6,000 years. Ad Astra produces a wide range of artwork for a variety of artists, studios and organizations.
Bronze is a metal alloy that is made with a high amount of copper and with lesser amounts of lead, tin and zinc. Most foundries create bronze castings with silicon bronze, which is a type of bronze made of copper, silicon and manganese. To create a bronze casting, you must first melt down the bronze, often at temperatures of 1,880 to 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit, then pour the molten metal into a mold that holds the negative shape of its desired form. Eventually, the bronze is removed and cleaned to reveal a bright golden color.
There are around 2,500 metal foundries in the United States. Only a portion of these foundries cast bronze, and out of those foundries only a few cast bronze artwork. Lawrence has a cherished history with bronze art casting, thanks to the late Elden Tefft. A Lawrence sculptor and University of Kansas professor, Tefft was the first to bring a metal casting foundry to a university campus. He also taught other universities and artists how to build their own foundries, giving artists control of their product. Before, foundries were typically run only as industrial facilities. But because of Tefft’s efforts, universities and artists around the world have built foundries devoted to making art.
Ad Astra was co-founded by artisan Eric Schweppe in 1994. He started it as a two-person operation but
expanded the business in 2004. The foundry uses the lost wax method to create most of their bronze art castings. This method pours molten metal into a mold that has been created using a wax pattern. The wax pattern then becomes “lost,” and the wax itself is collected and poured back into a mold to make more patterns.
“We almost exclusively work with lost wax,” says foundry worker Rebekah Sheridan. “Once an artist has created a piece, they have a mold made. This process generally ruins the work, especially if it’s sculpted in clay. A wax ‘positive’ replica is made from that mold. This mold can be used multiple times depending on its construction. A ceramic mold is created around the wax and then melted out. Once we pour molten metal in, the ceramic is broken off and discarded, leaving us with a positive of the piece.”
Foundry work is not for the faint of heart, and it can be difficult to find people suited for it. “It is labor-intensive,” Sheridan says. “Working at a foundry requires heavy lifting, swinging hammers, and using angle grinders and air hammers.”
For a job with such grueling demands, a background in construction can come in handy. But equally as important is having an artist’s keen eye. “Designers, sculptors and painters are a great pool to draw from,” Sheridan says. “There’s a science and engineering involved in the process from start to finish. And without a doubt, you have to be able to handle heat.”
Filling foundry positions can be a challenge. “We look for people with skills that can translate into the work we do and train on the job as we go,” Sheridan
says. “It takes a long time to learn and even longer to master everything. It takes someone who doesn’t get defeated easily.”
The Ad Astra team currently includes owner and operator Schweppe, as well as foundry workers Lance Atkins Jr., Beth Hanna, Brian Hubbel, Foy Keith, Benjamin McKay, Steve McCoy, Keith Ranney, Erick Shields, Debra Taylor, Rebekah Sheridan, Oscar Wheeler and Halsey Yankey. “No one works in just one department. Most people have a main responsibility but are cross-trained in at least one or more department,” Sheridan says.
The current staff at Ad Astra Bronze is an eclectic bunch. McKay is the only person on their crew who has previous experience working at an art foundry. Hubbel pursued a degree in aviation and worked in HVAC. Hanna is an independent artist who joined Ad Astra after working for the Lawrence Humane Society.
Over the years, Ad Astra has taken pride in a lot of artwork they’ve produced. One of their most impressive works is a massive 6-foot tall, 10-foot long bear mascot that weighs 2,500 pounds. The Boston Bruins, a professional ice hockey team, recently unveiled this sculpture as part of their centennial celebration. It was designed by sculptor Harry Weber.
Local sculptor Lori Norwood has also commissioned Ad Astra to cast bronze busts for the Kansas City professional football team’s Hall of Honor in Kansas
City, Missouri, as well as other works. “Ad Astra works well with artists. You can be as involved or uninvolved as you like,” Norwood says. “I stay very involved and like to work with all my waxes, help with the patinas, and even help with chasing the bronze when something needs adapted. It’s easier to do than try to explain. They always work with me.”
A lot of past projects at Ad Astra are close to the hearts of the foundry workers. Schweppe loved working with the late Jim Brothers, a local and nationally acclaimed sculptor, on such pieces as his Dwight D. Eisenhower statue. It was installed in the U.S. Capitol’s rotunda as part of the National Statuary Hall Collection. Yankey savored the challenge of working on a 7- by 14-foot wall piece by artist Brett Grill because she had to “weld upside down, backwards, with a mirror.” McKay enjoyed casting mud sculptures for artist Patrick Jacobs. Ad Astra has even cast custom monuments for sculptor James Hall III.
Ad Astra also creates productions of limited edition sculptures for Kansas City-based sculptor Tom Corbin, whose work can be found in many museum collections, the U.S. Capitol, and even private collections of celebrities such as Nicole Kidman, Jack Nicholson, George Brett, Frank Sinatra and Sofía Vergara.
“It is really cool getting to help people create works of art,” Ranney says.
ABOVE Ad Astra Art Bronze uses the lost wax method to create most of their bronze art castings.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT Wax is burned out of its ceramic shell mold; Foundry workers move a Tom Corbin sculpture; Molten bronze is poured into a mold; Ad Astra Art Bronze poses for a photo; A ceramic shell mold is broken off and removed from a cooled bronze casting.
Free State Festival 2025 June 26–29
Go to freestatefestival.org for more information and to purchase tickets and all-access passes.
Lawrencium
Free State Festival
The Lawrence Arts Center launched the Free State Festival in 2012 with a weekend of feature films, film shorts and visiting artists. In 2014–2015, the festival received a large grant from the National Endowment for the Arts that allowed the Arts Center to expand the festival to a week-long celebration of films, guest speakers, panel events, comedy performances and visual art exhibits, cementing the festival into the Lawrence arts scene.
Years the Free State Festival will have been held (after 2025)
13
Movies the Free State Festival plans to screen in 2025
15
Screens in use at the 2025 Free State Festival
3
“Although last year we did have one event that utilized nine different screens for a single multimedia dance/film/live music experience, so you never know.”
–MARLO ANGELL
Percentage of films screened that come from the open submission process versus curation
Approximately
50-50
“This is the recipe that makes Free State Festival so special—we love to mix local content with national, and sometimes international, makers to spark conversation, invite networking and foster creative collaborations.”
–MARLO ANGELL, Free State Festival director
Economics of the Free State Festival
$1 = $3
For every $1 the City of Lawrence invests in the festival, about $3 return in money spent on hotel rooms, in local restaurants and in stores.
Percentage of festival-goers who come in from out of town: 50–65%
Expected attendees
3,000
Expected speakers
20
Popcorn to be popped for the Free State Festival
Approximately
500,000 kernels
Dedicated Free State Festival sponsors
18
These are the City of Lawrence, Explore Lawrence, Kansas Public Radio, SpringHill Suites by Marriott, KU Film & Media Studies, Lawrence Modern, Liberty Hall, Lawrence Music Alliance, Cider Gallery, Downtown Lawrence Inc., Watkins Museum of History, Audio-Reader Network, B.L.A.C.K. Lawrence, Haskell Indian Nations University, Lawrence PRIDE, Trans Lawrence Coalition, Spencer Museum of Art and Dole Institute of Politics.
“One fun thing to note is that we typically sell out of all-access passes each year and subsequently increase the capacity for pass holders the following year. Last year, we sold out at 65 passes and are aiming for 75 in 2025.”
–MARLO ANGELL
Ironclad Artist
Cay Thompson designs contemporary Native jewelry with bead and metal fusion
In Native American culture, Haudenosaunee people start their ceremonies and gatherings by saying the Ohenten Kariwatekwen, an expression of gratitude for the elements of creation. Out of respect for the people around us, the water that brings us life, plant helpers, and more, this ritual is known as “The Words That Come Before All Else.”
Cay Thompson, a descendant of the Cayuga Nation, honors this tradition every day by giving thanks for where their journey has taken them. Right now, it’s in Lawrence, where they’ve developed a fulfilling career as a second-generation beadworker and metalsmith, following in their father’s footsteps.
Thompson creates unique mixed-media pieces by blending intricate, Indigenous styles of beadwork with metalwork, using materials like silver and copper. Their portfolio is full of flat-stitch beaded bolo ties, brickstitch fringe earrings, natural stone rings and more.
“There are a lot of challenges on the road, especially as an artist. But things that may seem like a setback are actually moments that teach us how to be prepared in the future. Just have faith in yourself and your work because other people can feel it. Just keep going; keep creating.”
–
Cay Thompson –
Thompson made the leap to starting their own business, Creating Cay, in 2023. Being an entrepreneur is more than a livelihood; it is a reflection of how far they’ve come in their craft. Thompson is a lifelong artist with roots in Kansas City, Kansas.
Refining Their Art
“I first started creating when I was a kid,” Thompson says. “It’s always been a family tradition to go to the Kansas City Gem and Mineral Show, where I got a lot of practice picking out rocks and gemstones, and the Haskell Indian Art Market, where I loved seeing the beautiful art that people brought from all over the country. Those were my favorite times of the year.”
After graduating from the Sumner Academy of Arts and Science in Kansas City, Thompson attended Haskell Indian Nations University. That’s when their jewelry style became more inspired by their Native heritage.
College was also a time when their artwork became a powerful medicine. When struggling with addiction and mental health issues, Thompson withdrew from Haskell and reflected on their life’s direction.
“I really fell back on my artwork during that time,” Thompson says. “I started creating more than I ever had before. It became a daily meditative practice for me. I was putting good manifestation energy into it, and I was able to achieve sobriety.”
Now, Thompson is fully committed to their goals, especially to refining their metalsmithing. Thompson
OPPOSITE Beadworker and metalsmith Cay Thompson shows off a pair of their brick-stitch fringe earrings.
RIGHT Thompson’s jewelry, such as this natural stone ring, is inspired by their Native heritage.
Roots Forged in Metal
For Thompson, metalsmithing is a meaningful art form that reflects their family’s history.
For generations, Indigenous men—especially those from the six nations of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois Confederacy)—have been working with steel. Many have even moved away from their reservations, enticed by employment as ironworkers in large cities.
These Native men, specifically the Mohawk, constructed some of the most recognizable buildings in the country. The most notable are found along the New York City skyline—from the Empire State Building to the twin towers—but span as far as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. The Mohawks’ legacy in the steel trade goes back to the late 19th century, and members of other Haudenosaunee nations started taking up the trade in the following decades.
Thompson’s father, David, was one of these men. He became an ironworker in the late 60s and early 70s, starting with smaller construction projects before moving to the Midwest and working on buildings like the Willis Tower (formerly known as the Sears Tower) in Chicago. After becoming fascinated by metal, he got into jewelry making and silversmithing in the 80s.
“I think that’s a beautiful story of resilience,” Thompson says. “The offers of these jobs in large cities were somewhat designed to bring Native people away from their home communities. And my dad still ended up finding his way back to accessing art and engaging with our culture through the job that was originally a means to take him and others away from it.”
By watching their father’s passion for metalsmithing, Thompson became inspired to take it up, too.
is excited to explore this new medium, the newest in their skillset.
“Metal seems difficult to work with, but once you start, it’s very rewarding,” Thompson says. “I can give my pieces different shapes, textures, patinas. I like to practice just working with the metal and understanding how it reacts to different things, then mixing it with my beadwork.”
Thompson’s father inspired them to start metalworking, but other mentors have played a role. Thompson has been taking metalsmithing classes at the Lawrence Arts Center, starting with a beginner’s workshop led by local artist Emily Markoulatos in the fall of 2023.
“Cay was an impressive student. They came to class every day with lots of ideas; they were a fast learner and motivated,” says Markoulatos, who also teaches ceramics and jewelry making at Lawrence High School. “Cay was really helpful with making suggestions to other students, which contributed to a friendly climate.”
a great example of combining traditional methods with modern trends.”
Building
a Community
Thompson is hands-on outside of the studio, too. An active figure in the local art community, Thompson spends time networking with other creatives and vending at events such as the Kansas University First Nations Student Association Powwow, Lawrence Busker Festival, Haskell Indian Art Market and Third Friday Art Walk in Kansas City.
“The Lawrence art community is really supportive,” Thompson says. “There’s a lot of unknowns when taking up art as a career. Having a base of other artists who you know, and who you see doing the work and building their careers as well, is really encouraging.”
Thompson is grateful to practice one of their culture’s traditional art forms and share that work with the world. They say it’s important to uplift Indigenous artists. Because Native motifs have been appropriated into mainstream culture, their significance can get lost.
“Creating authentic work is a testament to the resilience of our culture. Even with everything we’ve been through, we’re still here and practicing our traditions, and they’re evolving with us as time goes on,” they say. “There’s always new work that breaks the mold of what the colonial art world might consider to be ‘Native art.’”
Thompson wants to dig deeper into their heritage by learning the traditional Haudenosaunee style of beadwork. It’s an art form that has a raised texture, where beads are sewn into fabric in a threedimensional pattern. They’re motivated to learn and practice this type of beadwork and hope it will be one of the main products available from their business in the future, along with more metalwork.
OPPOSITE Thompson’s beading and metalwork combines traditional methods with modern trends. They are grateful to practice their culture’s traditional art form and stress the importance of uplifting Indigenous artists.
With access to the robust collection of equipment at the Arts Center, Thompson learned what tools were important to have at home. In their studio, you’ll find a jeweler’s saw to hand-cut shapes out of metal, a set of files and sanding tools, and a soldering station, complete with a small butane torch and benchtop fume extractor, where they heat metal to join pieces in complex designs.
“Their style, with the beading and metalwork together, is really unique,” Markoulatos says. “It’s
With an eye on the future, Thompson often reflects on what they’ve learned over the years: not just technical art skills but also what it takes to run a successful business as an independent creator.
“My biggest lesson? Perseverance,” Thompson says. “There are a lot of challenges on the road, especially as an artist. But things that may seem like a setback are actually moments that teach us how to be prepared in the future. Just have faith in yourself and your work because other people can feel it. Just keep going; keep creating.”
OPPOSITE Discover
roots of the blues and the struggles behind its soulful sound at the Memphis Rock ’n’ Soul Museum.
Soul of the South
From blues to BBQ, Memphis, Tennessee, is a vibrant city worth the road trip
Memphis, Tennessee. Home of the Delta blues. The city sits on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River, its downtown edging up to the river. It’s a Southern city—a hub from the days when cotton was currency. But now its currency is music, food, art, sports … everything that makes this vibrant city worth a visit.
One of the best ways to understand Memphis’ legacy is with a visit to The Cotton Museum. Located downtown, the museum features a long room with high windows that overlook the Mississippi. I liken it to the Wall Street of the South, as it too was packed with buyers and sellers, loud voices, prices scribbled on chalkboards, and fortunes made and lost. Its exhibits and videos present an overview of cotton’s history, economics, global impact and culture. I knew none of this, only that Eli Whitney had invented the cotton gin. (Most can recall this piece of history from our 4th grade textbooks, but few know why it mattered.)
Take a quick walk down Union Avenue to check out another iconic Memphis attraction: The Peabody Hotel. The original hotel opened in 1869, hosting grand balls and big-band concerts, then closed in 1923. The “new” Peabody Hotel re-opened in 1925, one block from its original location. Today, this Italian Renaissance structure is known for its
red-carpet march of the Peabody Ducks. The history of how mallard ducks ended up in daily parades from their rooftop home to the hotel’s fountain, complete with an elevator ride and “Duckmaster,” is one you can read about when you visit. (Seriously, it’s on the cocktail napkins at the lobby bar.) It was a joke that became the best PR draw in history, and thousands of people have come to watch and laugh in this amusing tradition.
If Beale Street Could Talk
Beale Street is the heart of Memphis. Established in 1841, it became a thriving area for Black businesses and families. Beale Street experienced a decline during the early years of desegregation, and later, like much of Memphis, following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. But social integration in Memphis began with music on Beale Street. Home to many Black musicians, it is the official “Home of the Blues.”
The Blues City Cafe on Beale Street serves up Delta soul food. Their “Best Meal on Beale” platter (ribs, catfish, beans, slaw, potatoes and toast) was plenty for two of us. But our real luck was in stumbling onto their live music room: a bar, about 10 tables and a compact stage. No cover. No hype. Just Earl “The Pearl” Banks, an 88-year-old musician who’s been rocking a 1971
Fender Stratocaster for 40-plus years and banging a piano since he was 11. We spent two nights tapping our feet, swaying in our chairs and feeling the blues.
There are plenty of other clubs and cafes to visit on Beale Street, including Silky O’Sullivan’s (gotta love their lucky goats), Rum Boogie Café, B.B. King’s Blues Club and Blues Hall Juke Joint, just to name a few. Stand in the back for a song or two to decide whether the music fits your mood, then grab a table or move on.
Be sure to spend an hour of daylight walking along Beale Street. You won’t want to miss the Orpheum Theatre, A. Schwab (there is a mini-museum in the back room and plenty of souvenirs up front), Handy Park, New Daisy Theatre, Beale Street Baptist Church or Robert Church Park.
The Memphis Rock ’n’ Soul Museum is another Beale Street gem. As a Smithsonian affiliate, it offers a digital audio tour along with exhibits and historical artifacts. When was the last time you found yourself dancing to headphones in a museum? Spend an afternoon here before you hit the clubs. The blues sound different when you understand the struggles that birthed the music.
Finally, the Withers Collection Museum & Gallery is set in the former studio of internationally respected photographer Dr. Ernest C. Withers. You may not recognize the name, but you’ll recognize his iconic photos. His work gave faces to the civil rights movement.
My Memphis Highlights
Located just half a mile from Beale Street, the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel is the No. 1 essential stop in Memphis. Take the trolley, walk or Uber. Before you enter, you’ll come face-toface with the balcony where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. It’s an image that was burned into my adolescent brain: King’s friends pointing in the direction of the deadly shots. I was still in high school that day in April 1968, in an almost all-white school in an almost all-white town. This museum covers everything we weren’t taught in school. Through a clear and unflinching narrative, it chronicles civil rights struggles, from slavery to present day.
For more music history, Stax Museum of American Soul Music celebrates the roots and reach of soul music. From 1959 to 1974, in a tiny movie theater-turned-recording-studio, siblings Jim Stewart and Estelle Axton produced what became known as “American soul.” Notably, Stax Records was one of the first integrated record labels, welcoming Black songwriters, musicians and producers.
You’ll experience interactive exhibits, videos, memorabilia, galleries and artifacts, including Isaac Hayes’ 1972 Cadillac Eldorado. It hit me how many danceable moments in my life were to Stax Record hits.
Sun Studio, an oddly shaped building of narrow staircases and jumbled rooms, is easy to overlook. But it’s a place where many musicians got their start: Johnny Cash, B.B. King, Ike Turner, Jerry Lee Lewis and even Elvis. Music history is in the walls.
Another Memphis staple, the Brooks Museum of Art, is in the middle of a massive expansion set to open in late 2025. The new facility will serve as a public promenade, linking the Mississippi River to downtown Memphis. The Metal Museum is the only museum to focus on the art and craft of fine metalwork, including architecture, sculpture and jewelry. Artist Preston Jackson’s work was on exhibit when I visited, and it was both intimate and breathtaking. I’d never heard of him, but now I will never forget him. That’s what I love about small, unusual museums: the element of surprise.
Good Eats
You’ll find “good eats” all across Memphis, but I wanted history with my meals. The Arcade Restaurant is the oldest café in Memphis. Opened in 1919 by a Greek immigrant, it is now a yummy breakfast and lunch spot located a mere two blocks from the National Civil Rights Museum. Locals line up at Central BBQ (the pulled pork and side dishes rock), but the line moves fast. Try one of their four locations. The Four Way Restaurant is my No. 1 must-go spot. Located near the Stax Museum, it’s history in a slice of pie and a platter of chicken or catfish. The walls are covered in photos and clippings. Ask to talk to the owner and you’ll hear quite a few stories.
“I’m
Going to Graceland”
It’s the road trip song of all times. We belted it out, off-key, on our drive to Memphis. But as it turned out, Graceland, the home of Elvis Presley, was my only letdown of the trip. The mansion (more like a big house) was over the top and not in a good way: too many mirrors, too much gold, too ornate and too staged. (However, the Jungle Room that featured a waterfall was unique.) Unless you’re a die-hard Elvis fan, the ticket costs are over the top.
All in all, Memphis makes for a swell road trip!
ryan.sparke@fbfs.com @sparketeam
all odds
These oft-neglected houseplants might just stand the test of time
Story by Amber Fraley
Photography by Jason Dailey
Collecting houseplants has become something of a fad in recent years—so much so that it’s not uncommon to overhear friends or folks at work discussing the difficulties of keeping houseplants alive and healthy.
And yet, sometimes those leafy, overlooked companions are remarkably tenacious. Despite neglect, these plants refuse to wither away—and sometimes even thrive.
A Prolific Fiddle-leaf Fig
Jordan Rose, a chemistry teacher at Lawrence Free State High School, has had a fiddle-leaf fig for 25 years, a gift from her mother-in-law in 2000.
“This original one was one of many large plants that she used to decorate the barn where we had our wedding reception,” Rose says.
The fiddle-leaf (or banjo) fig is a popular ornamental houseplant. It’s native to Africa and technically a tree in the mulberry and fig family. It also has a reputation for being a finicky houseplant when it comes to getting the correct light, water and temperature. But Rose hasn’t had that problem.
She thinks it might just be the conditions in her home, but whatever the reason, her fiddle-leaf fig grows, well … like a tree. Rose insists she doesn’t baby it. In fact, she says she largely ignores it, using a popular tool called a Plant Nanny to keep it watered. Still, it keeps reaching for the stars.
“Every time it gets too tall for my house, I cut off the top and it comes back,” she says.
a plant store in Kansas City to ask if it was possible to save any of the cacti.
Unfortunately, the person working at the potting bench berated Schafer for mistreating the plants. Sad and frustrated, Schafer made a pledge to one of the cacti. “At that moment, with that cactus, at that potting bench, I decided I was going to figure it out,” Schafer says. “Maybe I’m not a cactus person, but I’m going to try.”
She spent the next couple of years experimenting with one of her garden’s survivors, a domino cactus—repotting it in different containers with a couple different soil mixes and trying various window placements.
Not only is the cactus no longer sad, it’s thriving, and Schafer has named the cactus Vivir. “It has bloomed twice, usually somewhere between late April and early July,” she says.
Schafer says that in nurturing the domino cactus back to life, she ultimately nurtured herself back to happiness. She also gives much credit to Lawrence’s own Jungle House for their friendly guidance in helping her become a plant enthusiast. “That’s why I’m a strong proponent of having plants,” she says. “They bring me joy.”
“At that moment, with that cactus, at that potting bench, I decided I was going to figure it out. Maybe I’m not a cactus person, but I’m going to try.”
–TAMMY SCHAFER
A Tenacious African Milk Tree
Raised by her mother and grandmother in Chicago, Lauren Johnson grew up around plants. “My grandmother was a gardener and had plants around,” she says. But it was an art teacher who kindled her interest in caring for her own plants. “I think it may have started everything.”
When she was 10 years old, after showing interest in his plants, her teacher gave her several cuttings of his succulents to take home, including a cutting of an African milk tree. Though it’s sometimes known as a cathedral cactus and has a cactuslike appearance, it’s classified as a succulent. Johnson cultivated the cuttings, and the African milk tree did well. But when she went to college, she left it with her mother, where the plant stayed for several years.
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“A couple of years ago, my mom was like, ‘This thing is too big’ because it started hitting the ceiling,” Johnson says. Since her mother no longer wanted it, Johnson transported it to Lawrence. Johnson says her mother is good with plants, but she didn’t give the African milk tree any special attention. “It was in the same tiny pot for over two decades. She didn’t fertilize it or anything,” Johnson says. “I don’t know how it did so well.”
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Today, the succulent is 23 years old and stands an impressive 4 feet, 8 inches tall. Johnson takes the African milk tree outside in the summer and keeps it indoors in the winter, where she says it gets direct sun at least half the day. Other than that, it often goes without much attention, which is good because Johnson has 300 other plants to tend at home.
“It meant a lot to me to bring it to Lawrence and have it again,” Johnson says. “It’s doing well so far. I feel like if it dies, I will die.”
local plant experts share their secrets for growing houseplants—green thumb not required.
Perhaps half the battle in nurturing a green thumb is acquiring plants that are difficult to kill. Two local plant experts have tips for choosing plants that can take neglect.
“I personally love to recommend a ZZ plant,” says Jess Qian, marketer coordinator with Jungle House plant shop. “They are really tolerant of all sorts of different light, and they really only need water when their pot of soil is completely dry. I personally have gone a couple of months without watering mine, and it’s still held on. It also just looks really pretty. It can go in a fairly dark space or in a bright kitchen window.”
Other plants Qian recommends are snake plants, aloe vera and most cacti because those plants can be neglected for long periods.
“People tend to overwater,” Qian says. “You really want to pull back rather than do too much water.”
She notes that the frequency of watering can be more problematic than the amount of water. “If you think about it from a desert point of view, deserts get a really nice rain and then drought for a while.” That’s how Qian recommends watering your succulents and cacti— infrequently but thoroughly.
Qian also points out that what works for one customer may not work for another. “We like to help people find what works for them. I feel like sometimes things are subjective where it’s like, ‘Maybe I can’t kill this plant, but maybe someone else can kill it.’”
Ann Peuser, owner of Clinton Parkway Nursery, also recommends snake plants for people who have trouble with houseplants, as well as spider plants and philodendrons. Unlike other plants, philodendrons will tolerate some overwatering.
When it comes to watering, Peuser refuses to give blanket instructions.
“I don’t recommend a timeframe. I don’t say, ‘Water every seven days’ because every house is different—some people have the thermostat set at 78 degrees, others 58. Where is the plant located? How much light is it getting? What stage of growth is it in? What time of year is it? Just because it’s inside and it’s winter, it still goes through a natural period of not wanting to grow as much.”
Peuser’s recommendation? “Water when it’s dry.”
H armonious LEGACY
The more we sing together
The happier we’ll be
’Cause your friends are my friends
And my friends are your friends
The more we sing together
The happier we’ll be
—adapted from a
armonious
1920s song by Irving King
The Lawrence Civic Choir celebrates 50 years of song and community
Story by Katherine Dinsdale
Photography by Jason Dailey
Steve Eubank, artistic director of the Lawrence Civic Choir (LCC), cut a distinguished figure as he stepped to the podium at the choir’s “50 Years of Holiday Magic” concert last December. The large sanctuary of First United Methodist Church was packed. As Eubank raised his baton, the 80-member choir snapped to silent attention. What came next were two hours of choral pageantry that featured a collection of their favorite concert selections from the choir’s first 50 years, as well as solos from many of the choir members.
Eubank anticipated excellence from his choir and was not disappointed. Together they’d been working for months on what the now-retired 45-year public school choral educator calls “The Five Ps of Performing.”
“We are all about passion, persistence, patience and the pursuit of perfection,” Eubank says.
Equally important is the giant “W.” Eubank insists on a wide-armed Welcome to anyone who wants to join, who wishes to sing their hearts out and who promises to work hard. Since its founding 50 years ago, the LCC has not required its members to audition. Instead, it invites anyone interested in joining its group to participate in the first rehearsals of each semester.
grade school that they could not sing and who never tried to sing again. Singing is indeed easier for some folks than for others. Some people may not realize how to attach their voice to a pitch. All of us have to learn how to connect to the music.”
From the Top
“I never want to destroy a person’s love of singing,” Eubank says. “I’ve heard too many stories from people who were told in
A children’s church choir director in Eubank’s hometown of Pratt, Kansas, helped Eubank discover the joy of singing. He began singing with other children at church but was not from a musical family—his father, Lawrence, often quipped that a tenor is one who might best “go sing 10 or so miles away.” When he started college at Friends University, he joined the Singing Quakers. After completing graduate work in choral music, Eubank started his career. He became the director of choral activities at Topeka High School in 1976 and the director of Topeka’s First United Methodist Church sanctuary choir in 1996. In 2002, he became director of the LCC. During these busy years, he was active with the Topeka Opera Society and directed more than 30 musicals at the high school and community levels. In his long career, he has received many awards, among them Teacher of the Year of the Kansas Federated Music Clubs. In 2010, he was inducted into the Kansas Music Educators Hall of Fame.
“I think the LCC is the best-kept secret in Lawrence,” Eubank says. “The people in the choir deserve to be heard. They feed my soul and
Steve Eubank, artistic director of the Lawrence Civic Choir, raises his baton.
keep me going. We are a community of intimate strangers who blend and meld together. We are high on the synergy of creating something big and full of emotion, joy and love.”
The Choir
Dave Grisafe, scientist at the Kansas Geological Survey, and Tom Wilcox, University of Kansas comptroller, founded the Lawrence Civic Choir in 1975. Their vision built on a tradition of choral music that began with the Lawrence Choral Union in the 1920s. Dr. Leslie Adams served as the LCC’s first director, and the choir’s first concert took place at the Haskell Junior College on April 6, 1975.
Since its founding, the LCC has provided opportunities for local singers to explore new and traditional choral music. Choir members have always been an eclectic mix from the community. Educator and C.S. Lewis scholar Nancy Yacher joined the choir in 1992 and sang with the group for almost 25 years.
Yacher treasures memories of singing with the choir at historic sites such as the National Cathedral, the Lincoln Memorial and Mount Vernon. “As we sang, I remembered the patriotism of ordinary people after the bombing of Pearl Harbor,” Yacher says. “I felt that our choir was part of that same tradition.”
Music’s power to build international friendships is also part of the fabric of the LCC. The group toured behind the Iron Curtain in Poland and Romania in the 1980s, in Austria and Hungary in 1990, and in England and Wales in 1993. Lawrence’s Sister City, Eutin, Germany, as well as Prague and Vienna, were part of a tour in 1996,
COMING SOON TO THEATRE LAWRENCE COMING SOON TO THEATRE LAWRENCE
The First United Methodist Church bell choir accompanied the Lawrence Civic Choir in the 50th Anniversary winter concert’s opening selection.
and in 2000, the choir visited Japan. Touring in the U.S. has been wide-ranging since 2001, including two concerts at Carnegie Hall.
George Escobar joined the group after some strong lobbying from his former Topeka High School choir director, Eubank. Since joining the choir, this piano teacher of 30-plus years and retired private school music teacher served as the group’s vice president (2019–2022), president (2022–2024) and treasurer (current). “Every year with the choir is like trying a new wine with hints of this and that,” Escobar says. “The mix changes and we become a new recipe with new ingredients and opportunities to share that new bouquet with others.”
Neurological research suggests our brains release oxytocin when we sing with others. Diana Ice grew up understanding these benefits firsthand and learned in college how music therapy can help those
Benefits of Therapy
Celebrate 50 Years
On April 5 at the Lied Center (7:30–9 p.m.), the Lawrence Civic Choir (LCC) will be joined by the Lawrence Community Orchestra and the Shawnee Choral Society for a jubilee concert celebrating the choir’s 50th anniversary. Brahms’ A German Requiem is on the program. “It’s a work of great beauty and great hope,” says Steve Eubank, artistic director of LCC. “It is one of the greatest choral works ever put on paper.”
Guest soloists include Dr. Joshua Markley, baritone, and Lindsay Ohse, soprano. LCC accompanist Dr. Geoff Wilcken will premiere a new composition.
suffering from physical or mental illnesses. When she and her husband moved to Lawrence in 1979, Ice enrolled at the University of Kansas to earn a master’s degree in music therapy. “That degree fit perfectly with my aspirations,” she says. She joined the LCC the same year.
“Singers experience an increase in endorphins and serotonin. The music itself brings joy,” Ice says. “It affects people. I know the positive physical effects of music, in both the brain and the body. I often feel a physical thrill from head to toe. I have always experienced complete joy when I am singing with others. Some of my dearest lifetime friends have come from choirs.”
Certainly not all the singers in LCC are professional musicians. Christine Ladner is an attorney who commutes more than an hour to make it to Monday night rehearsals after a long work day. “By the time I arrive, I am so glad to be here,” she says. “We are a kaleidoscope of ages and walks of life. It is life-changing and life-saving to be here. Together, through music, we can express love, fear and anger out loud. For many of us, we share deeper emotions in this choir than in any other relationship.”
“Singing with the choir,” she adds, “is bread for your head.”
Sarah Hoadley, the development director at the Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center, works to raise funds from private philanthropy to increase community access to a wide range of mental health programs and services. She is quick to notice the therapeutic potential of singing in a choir. As a tenor in the Lawrence Civic Choir, she describes standing between 70-somethings and 20-somethings at a recent rehearsal.
“I feel so much joy experiencing the harmonies. I love to hear the chord progressions. I love all of it,” Hoadley says. “At an early age, I discovered I could hold pitch and harmonize with others, and throughout my life, I have looked for opportunities to be with others musically and create little moments of the sublime. We are so lucky in this community to have many excellent opportunities to be involved with music.”
When asked about her other hobbies, Hoadley says she loves lifting weights.
“I notice many parallels between singing and lifting weights,” she says. “Both activities require concentration, and I find that with singing and with lifting, I can put aside concerns or worries. Both activities allow my mind to relax. The setaside thoughts don’t go anywhere, but while I’m singing or lifting, they don’t need to be my focus.”
Part of what Hoadley enjoys about being a part of the choir is the community. “Singing and weightlifting are activities that are enhanced by the company of others,” she says. “Others can make us feel noticed and appreciated.”
The Lawrence Civic Choir is made up of a variety of ages and walks of life.
Final Fridays
Recurring monthly on the last Friday explorelawrence.com
CREES Spring Festival
March 2 | libertyhall.net
The Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies’ family-friendly festival at Liberty Hall features Ukrainian folk dance and traditional Turkish Music.
Chicken and Biscuits
March 7–9, 13–16 | theatrelawrence.com
Theatre Lawrence presents a comedy fresh off Broadway about what happens when family secrets intersect with funerals.
John Proctor Is the Villain
March 7–13 | kutheatre.com
University of Kansas Theatre presents a funny new play that explores Arthur Miller’s The Crucible through a contemporary lens.
Novelletten
March 8 | lawrenceorchestra.org
The Lawrence Community Orchestra presents a concert featuring contemporary works for the string orchestra.
English Country Dance
March 9, April 13 | lawrencecontra.wordpress.com
An evening of English country dancing features live music and calling at Sinkers Lounge.
Lucy Kaplansky
March 16 | lied.ku.edu
Acclaimed folk musician performs at the Lied Center.
St. Patrick’s Day Parade
March 17 | lawrencestpatricksdayparade.com
Celebrating all things green, the 38th annual charity parade benefits 100 Good Women, Ecumenical Community Center and Theatre Lawrence. Parade starts at 1 p.m.
Bird Watching at Bloomington Beach
March 22 | lawrencebirdalliance.org
The Lawrence Bird Alliance hosts a carpool trip and guided excursion along East Bloomington Beach. Sightings of several species of gulls, shorebirds and ducks are expected.
50th Anniversary Concert
April 5 | lawrencecivicchoir.com
The Lawrence Community Orchestra and the Shawnee Choral Society joins the Lawrence Civic Choir for a jubilee concert featuring Brahms’ A German Requiem at the Lied Center.
Jiji
April 6 | lied.ku.edu
An adventurous guitarist known for her virtuosity performs at the Lied Center.
Pippin
April 11–13, 18–19 | kutheatre.com
University of Kansas Theatre presents the Tony Award-winning musical, originally directed on Broadway by Bob Fosse, about a young man in search of his “corner of the sky.”
KU Powwow & Indigenous
Cultures Festival
April 12 | powwow.ku.edu
Free and open performances to celebrate First Nations cultures represented at the University of Kansas and in the Lawrence community.
spring 2025
Hadestown
April 14 | lied.ku.edu
The Lied Center presents the Tony Award winner for Best Musical about two young dreamers, Orpheus and Eurydice, and their journey to the underworld and back.
Jim Henson’s Labyrinth: In Concert
April 15 | libertyhall.net
Experience the classic 1986 film accompanied by a live band at Liberty Hall.
Kansas Relays
April 17–19 | kuathletics.com
The University of Kansas’ annual three-day track meet marks 102 years.
Friends of the Kaw Earth Day
Kansas River Cleanup
April 19 | kansasriver.org
Join the Kansas River cleanup team for a day.
Lawrence Earth Day Fair
April 19 | watkinsmuseum.org
Hosted by the City of Lawrence and the Watkins Museum, this annual fair offers family-friendly performances, crafts and activities. Event begins at 1 p.m. in South Park.
Wakarusa Wetlands Celebration
April 19 | lawrencebirdalliance.org
Local authors and artists share their work to honor the Wakarusa Wetlands. The event begins with a special land recognition at the Medicine Wheel Earthwork, located south of Haskell Indian Nations University’s campus buildings.
The Cher Show
April 23 | lied.ku.edu
The Lied Center presents the Tony Award-winning jukebox musical that chronicles legendary pop star Cher’s rise to fame.
Snap, Snap, Begin Again
April 24 and 26 | spencerart.ku.edu
KU Theatre & Dance students and the Move @KU dance improvisation club perform at the Spencer Museum of Art.
The Moth Mainstage
April 25 | lied.ku.edu
Devoted to the art of old-fashioned storytelling, the not-for-profit organization The Moth presents five raconteurs at the Lied Center.
Clue: On Stage
April 25–27, May 1–4 | theatrelawrence.com
Theatre Lawrence presents a hilarious comedy based on the 1985 film and iconic board game.
The Psychology of a Murderer
April 27 | libertyhall.net
Join forensic psychologist Dr. Rachel Toles for a dive into the minds of those who commit the unthinkable.
Spring Senior Showcase
May 3–4 | dance.ku.edu
Senior dancers with KU Theatre & Dance present their original choreography and dance.
Art Spaces
May 4–5 | lawrenceartguild.org
Artists open their studios, homes and alternative display locations for a self-guided art tour.
Black Violins
May 6 | lied.ku.edu
Violist Wil B. and violinist Kev Marcus combine their classical training and hip-hop influences to perform at the Lied Center.
Haskell Indian Nations University Commencement
May 9 | haskell.edu
Graduation ceremonies and community intertribal powwow; public welcome.
Julien Baker and Torres
May 10 | libertyhall.net
American country duo perform at Liberty Hall.
Bold Women Concert
May 17 | spencerart.ku.edu
The Lawrence Community Orchestra’s string quartet celebrates the work of bold women composers with a performance at the Spencer Museum of Art.
University of Kansas Commencement
May 18 | ku.edu
Public graduation ceremony.
events spring 2025
Art Tougeau
May 23–24 | arttougeau.org
Lawrence’s annual parade of art on wheels shows off plenty of imagination. Pre-parade party on May 23 with Downtown parade on May 24.
Lawrence Busker Festival
May 23–25 | lawrencebuskerfest.com
One of Lawrence’s largest events with a weekend full of street performances, vendors and food.
Jimmy Buffett’s Escape to Margaritaville
June 6–22 (various dates) | theatrelawrence.com
Theatre Lawrence presents a feel-good jukebox musical featuring music and lyrics by Jimmy Buffett.
Free State Festival
June 26–29 | freestatefestival.org
Produced by the Lawrence Arts Center, this annual event brings independent films, live music, comedy and art to venues across Lawrence.
The Jayhawk Club has a wide-range of membership options for people of all ages. From our most popular Golf membership, which includes full access to The Championship 18-hole golf course, to our Social membership, where you can enjoy the family-friendly, resort-style pool and exciting social calendar with events scheduled throughout the year; The Jayhawk Club has something for everyone.
BIRDIE WAY | LAWRENCE KS, 66047 | (785) 842-2929 | INFO@THEJAYHAWKCLUB.COM
