 Your Passport To Adventure! |
 |
| Mobile
International Festival Press-Register "I ask people, 'What's the Iron Bowl?' Of course, it upsets them when I ask them that." Estela Dorn laughs. She's had plenty of years to play her little prank on people. For most of its 24-year history, the Mobile International Festival has had a conflict with the state's biggest football game. But not this year. Thanks to a quirk of the calendar, the Auburn-Alabama game takes place the Saturday after Thanksgiving rather than the Saturday before the holiday. That leaves the festival, which celebrates the food, music and cultural traditions of nations around the globe, with a relatively open field. It opens today with the first of two student days. Dorn said she expects about 12,000 students, mostly from Alabama and Mississippi schools, to visit the Mobile Civic Center. The second student day, Friday, is followed by family day on Saturday. Auburn is off, and Alabama plays Louisiana-Monroe, so football fever is much less likely to keep people away from the festival this year. "Isn't that wonderful?" asks Dorn. The festival hasn't exactly been hurting for attendance, she notes. Last year about 6,000 people turned out for family day. "But I still want people to come and see what the festival is all about," she said. This year's theme, "Landmarks Around the World," gives only a hint. Much of the Civic Center's peripheral corridor and lobbies are filled with cultural exhibits reflecting the varied heritages of people living in the Mobile area. All include general information; many feature art displays, souvenirs and clothing from the represented lands. Other attractions include a children's corner and hands-on art activities. Visitors are given "Passport" booklets and encouraged to collect stamps at each of the countries they visit as they tour from landmark to landmark. On the floor of the arena, meanwhile, an international food court offers the chance for patrons to taste dozens of foreign snacks, entrees, desserts and beverages. (Food is not included in the admission price.) And in a sign that the festival is still growing, one year short of its 25th anniversary, entertainment expands from two stages to three this year. As always, entertainment includes a mix of foreign performs and domestic troupes representing foreign traditions. Six years after Sept. 11, 2001, Dorn says the festival still suffers increasingly difficult travel restrictions on performers trying to enter the country - but the mix on hand includes a wealth of musical and performing arts. Some, such as the University of Mobile's RamCorps, the Matsuriza Traditional Taiko Drummers and the Kenya Safari Acrobat, are returning favorites. Others, such as Celtic performer Red McWilliams, are entertainers the festival has been trying to bring in for some time. "We've only been trying this for there years, to get him performing," said Bobbie Bayne, the festival's education coordinator. Dorn said that the festival originally was formed, in large part, to help Mobile become more aware of the cultural richness of its own population. And even though the focus is on the world at large, she said, she still wants people to come and appreciate what they have in their own hometown. Dorn said that she thinks children in second grade and higher get the most out of the festival on field trips, but that younger children may benefit in the company of their families. Regardless of a visitor's age, it's a lot to take in. "Bring your comfortable shoes and walk around the world," said Bayne. Family day runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission at the door is $7 for adults, $6 for seniors, $4 for children ages 7-15 and free for those 6 and younger. Advance tickets are discounted $1 each; they can be purchased at the information booth in Colonial Mall Bel Air and the Mobile Civic Center box office. For more information, visit www.mobileinternationalfestival.org or call 470-7730. |
Festival
A Worthy Event The year the Mobile International Festival will be presented at the Mobile Civic Center starting today. It is the goal of the festival to develop a greater awareness of the world and its diverse culture among the students in public and private schools in and around Mobile and Baldwin counties and other outlying areas. I have taken my class to the festival since 1984. My students always enjoy a great time of exploring other cultures and acquiring information about other countries. It takes them out of the classroom and gives students the opportunity to actually experience food from other countries and interact with people who represent that culture. When we return from our trip, the students are able to more knowledgeably discuss the countries that we study in class. Our trip to the International Festival is consistently remembered as one of the highlights of the school year. A second aspect of our trip that is enjoyed is a visit to the Mobile Museum of Art. This is coordinated with the International Festival and ties in with the theme of the festival, which is "Landmarks Around the World." I encourage our community and school groups to attend the International Festival. Saturday is Family Day. It is a family-oriented event and is truly a passport to adventure for everyone. Steve Bray |
|
2007
Mobile International Festival a 'landmark' occasion Visitors can taste and sample the delicious fusion of foods, drinks and desserts from the festival's 28 food booths which include Japan, Brazil, Trinidad & Tobago, Philippines, Taiwan, Greece, India, Honduras, Italy, Ghana, Germany and more. Pre-packed envelopes of $5 and $10 worth of food tokens will be sold at the festival for convenience. Entertainment from across the globe will be featured, including:
Admission is $7 for adults, $6 for seniors, $4 for children 7-15, free- 6 and under. $1 discount for advance tickets sold at Bel Air Mall. Contact Customer Service and Mobile Civic Center Box Office at 208-7381. Tour groups, schools, churches, families and individuals are welcome. Visit www.mobileinternationalfestival.org or call 470-7730 for further information. |
|
Joe Riemer conducts the Baldwin Pops Band during one of its performances. Riemer is a recipient of the 2007 Greater Mobile Arts Award. Other honorees include, below from left, Lil Greenwood, Mack Clark and the Joe Jefferson players - here, Joe Jefferson as "Rip Van Winkle."
|
By Thomas B.
Harrison, Arts Editor New Orleans native Joe Riemer grew up with music, and as a youth he had some fairly decent role models in jazzmen Al Hirt and Pete Fountain. During the 1950s he played in a high school band that mostly did covers of rock 'n' roll and Dixieland. The band's trumpet player took lessons from Hirt, who invited the boys to listen in when he broadcast his radio show from Hirt's Pier 500 Club on Bourbon Street. "We'd show up every Sunday afternoon and spend three or four hours listening to Al Hirt, Pete Fountain and a whole lot of others who'd come in, " Riemer says. "It was great." "(Hirt) would come over and talk with us about music, what a great thing it is, how much fun it is, and I began to think that might be a great way to go." It was indeed a great way to go, and Riemer has shared that gift of music with his fellow musicians and audiences along the Gulf Coast. He was one of the founders of Mobile Symphonic Pops (now Mobile Pops) and was a co-director for 10 years. In 1997 he and others founded Baldwin Pops, a community band that plays 10 concerts a year in Fairhope, Foley, Daphne, Gulf Shores and Bay Minette. He recently stepped down as music director, but will conduct a few concerts during the season, he says. For his lifelong service as a volunteer, Riemer is the recipient of the 2007 Greater Mobile Arts Award presented by the Mobile Arts Council. The five-member selection committee also honored these GMA Award winners: • Artist: Jazz vocalist Lil Greenwood. • Organization: Joe Jefferson Players, founded in 1947, is the oldest continuing community theater in Alabama. • Educator: Charles Madison "Mack" Clark, who retired last year as dean of the University of Mobile College of Arts and Sciences. • Business: Alabama Power Co., for its support of local arts organizations including the nonprofit Centre for the Living Arts and Mobile Symphony. The fourth annual Greater Mobile Arts Awards, which acknowledge the contributions of individuals, groups and businesses to the cultural life of our community, will be presented at 7 p.m. Friday in Cathedral Square. A reception will follow in the MAC offices at 318 Dauphin St. (See information box.) This year's awards were created by Mobile sculptor Casey Downing Jr. , a 2005 winner of the GMA honor. The artwork is fabricated in forged steel and rests on a mahogany pedestal. Lil Greenwood, 83, is a Prichard native, who recently released a new CD titled "Back to My Roots." A preacher's daughter who moved west and made a living singing at clubs around the San Francisco Bay area, she also toured with the great Duke Ellington. She stayed with the Duke until his death in 1974 and continued to tour with his son. Eventually, she came home. Joe Jefferson Players is in its sixth decade, having reconstituted itself from the Mobile Little Theatre, which was dormant during World War II. Its production season usually brings a mix of musicals, comedies and drama. This season began with "I Do! I Do!" and continues with "See How They Run," "A Carlen Street Christmas III," "A Delicate Balance," "A Chorus Line" and "The Lion in Winter." Mack Clark, 62, retired in 2006 after 31 years at the University of Mobile, where he was founder and director of the juried competition "Art with a Southern Drawl." The multifaceted Clark, whose passions include gardening, painting, interior design and collecting porcelain wall pockets, was born and raised in Montevallo and attended college at Auburn. In 1967 he earned a degree in visual design with an emphasis in painting and commercial art. He got his master's degree in painting (oils) and design at the University of Mississippi. As an educator, Clark influenced innumerable students including UM alumni Allan Butt, Tony Alderman and Craig McMillan. Through the annual "Art with a Southern Drawl" competition, he showcased artwork by gifted artists such as Bruce Larsen, David McCann, Russell Goodloe and Mary Kirk Kelly. As an artist, Clark is well known for his exquisite porcelain creations, and his porcelain eggs and watercolors can be found in private collections in the United States, Europe, Asia and Australia. Earlier this year, Alabama Power Foundation pledged $750,000 to the National Maritime Museum. Other arts and cultural organizations that have benefited from Alabama Power support include Gulf Coast Public Broadcasting, Junior Achievement of Mobile, the Gulf Coast Exploreum and Mobile International Festival. The GMA Volunteer Award carries the added distinction of being named for Fred and Ann Delchamps, longtime local art supporters who contributed financial resources, time and talents. Joe Riemer received his bachelor's and master's degrees in music education at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, La. He began his teaching career in 1962 and was band director at Davidson High School and Shaw High School in Mobile. He subsequently served as band director at Bay Minette Middle School, Baldwin County High School and Faulkner State Community College. He has been a board member of Mobile Jazz Festival and as conductor of its High School All-Star Jazz Band with performances on the Mobile Jazz Festival concert programs. Riemer also holds membership in the Alabama Bandmasters Association, Florida Bandmasters Association and the music fraternities Phi Mu Alpha and Phi Beta Mu, and has been adjudicator, clinician and guest conductor throughout the Southeast. He and his wife, Mary Lou, are retired and reside in Fairhope. They have two children and four grandchildren. Baldwin Pops currently has about 85 musicians on its roll; for rehearsals the band draws between 60 and 70, and approximately 75 players for the concerts, according to Riemer. The Pops started with around 60 musicians, which surprised Riemer. "I really didn't think (we had) that many folks over here who would be playing," he says, "but we had some really fine players." One of the tuba players moved to lower Alabama after three years with the Chicago Symphony; a clarinetist had performed with the Dallas Winds. Some of the Pops musicians didn't start playing until they were in their 60s, he says. Baldwin Pops has grown from a group with no money to an organization with a budget of $12,000. The group can stage free concerts because it receives in-kind support from Fairhope and other Baldwin municipalities, according to Riemer. Fairhope provides a rehearsal venue and space for storage of the group's instruments. Even though Riemer is stepping down as Baldwin Pops' "go-to" guy, he will continue to share conducting duties with Randy Davis and Roger Jones. When he isn't conducting, Riemer will perform on clarinet and sax. Among his personal highlights with the Pops is a John Philip Sousa-style concert the band played a few years ago. "We did it the way Sousa would," he says, "starting with an overture and then right into the program of marches ... an operatic aria - no announcements, just one thing into another. That was the most fun for me. I dressed up like Sousa, and the band was into it. It was fun." |
| [back to top] | |
 |
Mobile International Festival Volunteer Committee Estela Dorn of St. Ignatius Parish, 2nd from right standing, Executive Secretary of the Mobile International Festival, is planning with her Chairmen of Volunteers, Cindy Scott, seated center, and Perilla Wilson, of Holy Family Parish, standing center, as they meet to assign volunteers to help the more than 13,000 school children, including most of the area Catholic schools, and their teachers and parents who will attend the 24th annual Festival November 15-17 at the Mobile Civic Center. Also working hard to be sure each of the 70 countries and 28 food booths have all the volunteer help they need are: seated, Mary Anne Brutkiewicz, adjunct professor of languages at Spring Hill College, and stand, Sarla Sharma, Bobbie Bayne and Angela Gibbons. Anyone who is interested in volunteering should call Estela or Bobbie at 470-7730 or visit http://www.mobileinternationalfestival.org/MIF/volunteer.htm to download a volunteer request form. |
| [back to top] | |
WHO'S WHO IN MOBILE & BALDWIN COUNTY MAGAZINE The Mobile International Festival is on Saturday, November 17th at the Mobile Civic Center. From 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m., Mobile International Festival lets you visit the “Landmarks Around the World” from many nations in a day. The nations from North and South Americas, Asia, Africa, Australia and Europe are at your fingertips. Experience the traditions and cultures through food, exhibits, entertainment, art gallery, puppetry, storytelling, children’s activities and parade of flags. From cuisine to shopping to entertainment, we have it all for the entire family! Mark your calendar for this exciting event. Admission costs are $7.00 adults, $6.00 seniors, $4.00 children 7-15, free – 6 and under. Advance tickets with $1.00 off available at Colonial Mall Bel Air Customer Service and Mobile Civic Center Box Office effective October 15. Visit our web page www.mobileinternationalfestival.org or call (251) 470-7730 for further info. |
|
|
|
True Love Defined At Mayor's Meeting Mobile
Press-Register Representatives of major religions explain what love means to them A diverse group gathered Sunday afternoon at the Saenger Theatre in downtown Mobile to celebrate love, the common theme of the world's great religions, Mayor Sam Jones said. As part of the mayor's continued campaign he calls Love Your Neighbor, Buddhists, Muslims, Jews and Christians worshipped alike during the one-hour service. The Government Street Presbyterian Church hand bell choir greeted worshippers with two songs as people found their sets. Then the choir sang "Go Up to the Altar of God" as the crowd stood to watch the mayor, city officials and faith leaders enter the auditorium and take the stage to begin the ceremony. Dressed in costumes that appeared to correspond with their ethnicities, the Mobile International Festival Children's Choir sang "It's a Small World After All." Then the mayor welcomed everyone and asked that each person there shake hands with two people sitting near them whom they did not know and say, "Neighbor, I'm so glad you're here." Jones has hosted a series of events promoting the Love Your Neighbor campaign, which is aimed at building better community relations. On Sunday, the first speaker, Phramaha Chalwat Moleechat of Wat Buddharaksa Temple in Irvington, gave the definition of love in Buddhism. "Love is wanting others to be happy," he said. Imam Ronald Ali of the Mobile Masjid of Al-Islam represented Muslims and read an excerpt from the Quran entitled "Neighborly needs." "Hast though observed him who belieth religion?/That is he who repelleth the orphan/And urgeth not the feeding of the needy. Ah, woe unto worshipers/Who are heedless of their prayer/Who would be seen (at worship)/ Yet refuse small kindnesses!" The Imam explained that "belieth religion" meant to misrepresent religion. He also explained that this verse spoke out against praying but then failing to act kindly. He likened the behavior to some members of the audience who may have ignored the homeless begging for food on their way to the Saenger. Next at the pulpit, Rabbi Donald Kunstadt of the Springhill Avenue Temple, told the story of how the life of the famous jewish writer Primo Levi was saved by a fellow Italian. During World War II, Levi had been sent to Auschwitz, a Nazi concentration camp in Poland, Kunstadt said. Risking his life, Lorenzo, a worker at the camp, lovingly sneaked Levi leftover scraps of food, without which Levi would have died, Kunstadt said. "Life is empty without love," Kunstadt said. Representing Christians, Candy Spitzer of the Dauphin Way United Methodist Church read part of the Gospel of Mark in which Jesus explains what is one of the greatest commandments. "You shall
love your neighbor as yourself," she said, quoting Mark 13:31. |
 A community choir sings at the Saenger Theatre during Mayor Sam Jones' Love Your Neighbor gathering Sunday. The choir was composed of the Government Street Presbyterian Church Chorus and members of other musical organizations in the community. |
|
|
Mobile
International Officers |
Mobile-Press
Register, Mobile County Neighbors Mobile International
Festival recently announced the scholars of the 2007 Annelle Jerome
Scholarship Fund. |
|
Mobile
Bay Monthly "People have such interesting faces," says Kate Seawell, a portrait artist for more than 20 years. A collection of 30 Mobile personalities, whom Seawell captured on canvas, will be on display during this month's ArtsAlive! event. Aptly named "Faces of Mobile," Seawell's exhibit is a cross section of the "people who make up our community," she says. Her subjects work in the arts, law enforcement, politics, business, education, journalism and religion. Some, such as former state Sen. Ann Bedsole, are recognizable. Others were selected by the artist simply because they represent an important aspect of the city. "Faces of Mobile" opens April 2 in the Skinny Gallery at the Mobile Arts Council. Artist reception April 3, 6 p.m. - 9 p.m. Meet the artist April 16, noon. 318 Dauphin St., Mobile. mobilearts.org; 432-9796 |
|
Kate Seawell's "Faces of Mobile" series will be on display at ArtsAlive! on April 21. (inset: Estela Dorn, organizer of the annual Mobile International Festival) |
|
Common
Threads How often do we ever think about our heritage? America is made up of many different cultures and backgrounds. Our ancestors came from all over the world to settle here and people are still coming today to make this great country their own. America has been described as a melting pot. South Alabama for example, has a rich cultural history. In Mobile's 300 plus years, it has been ruled under six different flags, including France, Spain and Britain. Immigrants come to America as brides or husbands, for business, through adoption and as students, or just to make a better life for themselves. This body of work (left) has 21 images, representing 21 different countries. I chose to use a medium format camera for the portraits of the people who were born in different countries for the infinite detail. I then used color digital images of their birth flags and the American flag to represent the past and present. The images were then transferred on to canvas to reinforce how these people have "transferred" themselves to America. To add to several compositions, text is sporadically placed. To unify them, I chose to embroider parts of each one, which also enhances their composition. |
| [back to top] |
