River Campus to host inaugural Summer Arts Festival in June

Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus will host its first full-day Community Summer Arts Festival on June 21. The festival will feature live music, dance, theatrical performances, magic, visual arts displays, hands-on family-friendly art expression activities and more.

Scheduled for 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., the festival is free and open to the public.

"Here at the River Campus, we're always looking for activities that are a great blend for the community and can provide educational experiences for people of all ages," said Rhonda Weller-Stilson, director of the Earl and Margie Holland School of Visual and Performing Arts, associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts and a festival organizer.

In the past, the campus has had several arts-oriented summer academies, but nothing that brought all ages together.

"And people in town have been asking for programming in the summer at the River Campus, so we just took those suggestions to heart," Weller-Stilson said.

The campus hosted an open house in recent years that attracted 750 people. Weller-Stilson said she anticipates this event to be "even larger."

"I think it's going to be a great day," she said. "We're trying to capture all the various performing arts and the visual arts."

rcampbell@semissourian.com

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