Posted: March 20, 2006

WorldFest
Spurlock Museum
Saturday, April 1, 2006
12:30-4:00 PM

Mark your calendars!

Saturday, April 1st, will be a day at the Spurlock Museum you won't want to miss! Get three performances for the price of one at WorldFest, a celebration of cultural fun for the whole family. Hear Greek myths in the Ancient Mediterranean Gallery, watch marionette theater in the European Gallery, and experience Japanese taiko drumming and other traditional Japanese music in the Knight Auditorium. Crafts will also be available for kids of all ages. Performances will be presented between 12:30 and 4:00 PM, with multiple performances given in each venue. The suggested donation is $5.00 per person. This event is sponsored in part by the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency. Call Kim Sheahan at 217/244-3355 for more information.

Our Performers:

JASC Tsukasa Taiko (Knight Auditorium) is the leading taiko ensemble in the Chicago area. Basing its operations out of the Japanese American Service Committee of Chicago, JASC Tsukasa Taiko’s mission is to preserve and pass on the traditional concepts of taiko as a cultural legacy and to utilize these concepts in expanding and evolving the taiko form. Dedicated to building community and being a leader in the taiko drumming culture of the Midwest, it maintains a national profile by presenting public performances across the country throughout the year. JASC Tsukasa Taiko has performed at the Smithsonian, San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Gardens, the Chicago Jazz Festival, and Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art among many national cultural institutions. It presents classes, workshops, lectures, and demonstrations on taiko performance and its role in Asian and Asian American culture. Taiko classes are organized quarterly throughout the year for all levels of experience, for ages five and above.

Franceska’s Marionette Theater (European Cultures Gallery) was created in Czechoslovakia more than 35 years ago and has toured many international puppetry festivals throughout Europe. The group has extensive experience with every kind of puppet imaginable, but the Troupe’s favorite will always remain the marionette.

Franceska’s Marionette Theater’s programs include Hans Christian Anderson’s classic tale The Emperor and the Nightingale, Little Red Riding Hood played with hand and rod puppets, Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, and Christmas Around the World.

Dan Keding (Ancient Mediterranean Gallery) is an internationally acclaimed storyteller, musician, and author who has performed at some of the most prestigious events in storytelling. He has been a featured teller at the Sidmouth International Folk Arts Festival in England and the Cape Clear International Storytelling Festival in Ireland, among many others. In 2000, Dan Keding was honored by being inducted into The National Storytelling Network’s Circle of Excellence for his artistic achievements and contributions to the art. In October 2006, he returns for the fourth time as a featured teller to the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee.

His recordings have won such awards as the American Library Association Notable Recording for Children and six Storytelling World Awards. His first book, Stories of Hope and Spirit: Folktales of Eastern Europe (published by August House) recently won the prestigious Anne Izard Storyteller’s Choice Award and a Storytelling World Honor Award. His second book, English Folktales, which he coauthored with Amy Douglas, was released in the fall of 2005.