The lineup for this year's Columbia Festival of the Arts includes Afro-Caribbean dance, gospel and blues, flying gymnasts, psychic predictions and Judy Collins.
Clearly, executive director Nichole Hickey is serious when she says her staff was looking for a wide range of artistic experiences for the 2008 season, which will run June 13 through June 28.
"I think we really put the focus on diversity in terms of genre as well as culture," Hickey said, "plus a couple of big names we always try to throw in the mix."
Folk singer Judy Collins, who is scheduled to perform June 24, is someone Hickey said the festival has wanted to book for some time.
"We're just thrilled we've been able to put that together," she said. The 750-seat James Rouse Theater is a smaller, more intimate environment than other places Collins has performed at in the area, and "that's why we wanted to present her in our facility."
Veronica Kapoor, an eighth-grader at Burleigh Manor Middle School, was the winner of the festival's fifth annual artwork competition for youth. Her artwork will be featured on the festival's posters and brochures.
Kapoor said her passions include drawing, dance and piano and she incorporated all three in her work. "The thing I see in common ... is the smooth flow, so I tried to show that by having [the images] branch out smoothly."
She said she was excited to win the contest, which her private art teacher encouraged her to enter. "It makes me feel really good because it is not only for me, but other people can appreciate it too," she said.
The festival will kick off June 13 with the free, three-day family-oriented LakeFest Celebration in Columbia Town Center, which will include crafts and activities for children, the annual sidewalk chalk drawing contest, a kinetic art parade and the Howard County Boat Float.
Musical highlights include rhythm and blues artist Ryan Shaw, Latin dance band Grupo Fantasma and the Glenelg Jazz Ensemble with Deanna Bogart. Visual artists from the community will turn birdhouses into works of art for a public display and sale.
The festival is cooperating with the county Department of Recreation and Parks to present another free event: the first concert in the Comcast Sunset Serenades series at Centennial Park. The June 18 concert will feature The Holmes Brothers' mixture of gospel, blues, country, pop and soul music.
