By By JOHN EBY / Dowagiac Daily News
As the Dogwood Fine Arts Festival keeps growing and becoming more profitable, it's hard to cram everything in one week, even with "bookend" weekends.
Increasingly, May overflows into October, making it seem as though the annual festival comes twice a year.
That will be especially evident this fall with Sherman Alexie's lecture, an Oct. 11 encore performance by rising flamenco guitarist Johannes Linstead and the return of Michael Collins to promote his new novel, "Lost Souls."
Collins will also be awarding $600 in creative writing scholarships to local students in increments of $300, $200 and $100.
Alexie is a Native American author and filmmaker whose appearance is being funded in part by the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians education department.
Joyce Carol Oates calls Alexie one of the most important voices in literature today.
Spirits were understandably high at the annual Dogwood announcement party Wednesday night at City Hall, where outgoing president Shirley Laylin and incoming president Rich Frantz announced a more than $12,000 profit -- up from $3,400 for the 2001-2002 festival -- and a 2004 lineup that includes Booker Prize-winning author Margaret Atwood, a double bill of Encore Dance Company with tap legend Robert L. Reed, the musical trio The Manhattan Rhythm Kings, who are also a triple entertainment threat of singing, dancing and instrumentals, the return by popular demand of storyteller Donald Davis and a visual art night with fine art photographer Algimantas Kezys.
In winning her second Booker, Britain's equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize, Atwood last year edged Collins. Her books include "The Handmaid's Tale," "The Blind Assassin" and "Oryx and Crake."
Billy Collins of Somers, N.Y., who in the fall of 2001 became the 11th U.S. Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry, has been signed for October 2004, Frantz reported.
Encore Artistic Director Amy Rose said Reed is the founder and artistic director for the St. Louis Tap Festival, toured with Cab Calloway and was featured at the Peg Leg Bates Country Club.
He's opened for such luminaries as Sammy Davis Jr., Jerry Lewis, Cher, Redd Foxx, the Temptations, the Smothers Brothers and Liberace. Reed is currently a resident teacher at Rose's alma mater, Oklahoma City University.
Thelda Mathews said Kezys was born in Lithuania and fled to the West prior to Soviet occupation.
He came to the United States to study and was eventually ordained a Jesuit priest.
During that time he immersed himself in studying photography.
In 1965, Kezys' artistic talent was recognized with his first exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago.
He's published more than 20 books of photographs, including some taken at Deer Forest in Coloma. In June and July 2003, his work was exhibited at the Chicago Cultural Center.
Mathews said the Visual Arts Committee's next gallery show at Dogwood headquarters in Huntington Bank will begin Wednesday, Oct. 22, from 4 to 5:30 p.m., for pastel artist Al Harris Jr. of Kalamazoo to coincide with Alexie's appearance. His work in a "painterly-like photorealistic style" has been displayed as far away as London.
Rich Bressler of the music committee said, "It's a shame more people don't come hear these events. There's no place else I know where you can come to a small venue and mingle with them after the event."
Bressler said The Manhattan Rhythm Kings have teamed up numerous times with Tommy Tune, have been on Broadway five times, performed at the Tony Awards and this summer played at Interlochen with the Boston Pops.
Bressler showed a clip of The Manhattan Rhythm Kings dancing with Tune.
The tea, Toast 'n' Jam classical music for kids, a night at the Beckwith Theatre and the Thursday night showcase for Dowagiac's student musicians, singers, artists and actors will also be returning to the Dogwood schedule.
Frantz presented a plaque to Laylin acknowledging that she came up with the idea for the Dogwood Festival 13 years ago and was "instrumental in developing and perpetuating the festival from the beginning."
In recognition of her "selfless dedication," the board bestowed upon her the "title of founding life member."
Laylin always says her gift has been bringing together people much more knowledgeable than herself about the arts, proven by bookings of people ahead of the curve, from Frank McCourt and "Angela's Ashes" to Johannes. Dogwood announced wheelchair ballet the night before a feature story appeared on it in USA Today.
Laylin reviewed the Michigan Council on Arts assessment done through coordination with Wayne State University.
Dr. Brian Inbody of Southwestern Michigan College dissected feedback at Dogwood's June retreat.
Laylin reported two grant proposals are written for 2004 and "we will be doing lots more as we go along." The festival will be notified in September if funding is awarded. "We've already been warned that Michigan will be cutting its funding probably about 50 percent. We needed a big profit to carry us through, but that's not going to stop us. Grantwriting is what I will be doing next year."
Laylin was particularly pleased by another first -- every 2003 artist participated in some kind of master class or worked with students, strengthening the festival's youth-oriented educational mission.
Elected unanimously to the 2003-2004 board on the traditional motion by the Rev. Robert A. Smith were Bressler, Frantz, Mathews, Kathy Johnson, Laylin, Elaine McKeough, Barb Ickes, Mike Petersen, Judy Root, Rose, Dan Neese, Nancy Pallas and Ann Thompson.
Proposed as the slate of officers was Frantz as president, former president Neese as first vice president, Johnson as second vice president, Pallas as secretary and Ickes as treasurer.
Succeeding Rebecca Maxey as the high school representative will be Humanities Club President Brynn Ward.
Nora Hipshear, who just returned from an international tour with Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, will fill a new position, SMC representative.