WCC announces spring events
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on January 8, 2014 1:46 PM
A stellar lineup of entertaining programs and activities are featured on the Arts and Humanities calendar at Wayne Community College in the coming months, said Jack Kannan, executive director the college's Foundation.
"I must say, I'm the most excited about this spring," he said. "I think we have brought in some good, quality programs."
He credited his staff, which includes Adrienne Northington and Emily Byrd, with putting together a quality schedule.
From the Civil War to Shakespeare, this spring's offerings include an architecture trip and a primer for those interested in the country's national parks.
The season kicks off with the fourth annual Praxis Film Festival, which is held the last weekend of this month, both on campus and at the Paramount Theatre. Sixteen international short and full-length films will be featured. Details will be announced soon and will be posted at www.Praxisfilmfestival.com.
Also this month, the 2014 lecture series will be a continuation of the 150th anniversary of Civil War battles.
Sessions, which are held in Moffatt Auditorium, are free and open to the public. Each starts at 7 p.m.
Dates and topics for each are: Jan. 21, N.C. Soldiers in Battle, 1863; Feb. 20, Battle of Plymouth; March 18, Atlanta Campaign; April 15, Battle of the Wilderness; May 20, Battle of Spotsylvania: June 17, Battle of Cold Harbor; July 22, Battle of Petersburg; and Aug. 19, Battle of the Crater.
The year 2014 also marks the centennial anniversary of the World War I, which has been called "the axis on which the modern world turned," said Bill Brettmann, director of the Arts and Humanities program.
In March, he will lead a five-night course on the subject entitled, "Over There But Not Over: The Legacy of the 'Great War' in Memory, Myth and Mapmaking.'"
"Although the U.S. lost 115,000 troops killed in only six months of combat in 1918, this horrendous war is largely ignored by the American public," he said. "Our five-session course intends to explain the enduring legacy of this world-changing catastrophe inherited by Europeans and Americans."
The Monday night course will be offered March 3, 10, 17, 24 and 31 at 5:30 p.m. Walnut 101. Registration is $20 per person or $35 per couple. An optional book is also recommended but not required. "The First World War" by Hew Strachan can be purchased by contacting Ms. Northington by Feb. 15.
Brettmann will also lead a weekend trip to Richmond, Virginia, focusing on art and architecture. The March 28-30 event will include a visit to the Virginia Fine Arts Museum, the John Marshall House, the Wickham-Valentine House and Agecroft Hall, a 15th Century Tutor manor house that was dismantled and reassembled in the 1920s on the banks of the James River. Registration for this event is required. The $100 fee covers transportation and entry to the different sites. Meals and lodging are extra.
Two events are planned for April.
The first is a four-session class on "Shakespeare Uncovered: For Those Who Know the Bard Well and Those Who Don't!" It will be held Mondays, April 7, 14, 28 and May 5 at 7 p.m. in Walnut 101.
Recently retired WCC English instructor Margaret Boothe Baddour will lead the program, based on a PBS series, and study three of his famed works, Macbeth's tragedy, Henry V's history and The Tempest's comedy.
Registration is $20 per person and $35 per couple.
An internationally recognized expert on national parks and railroads will be speaking at the college on April 24 at 7 p.m. in Moffatt Auditorium.
Alfred Runte, who also served as adviser for the Ken Burns documentary "The National Parks: America's Best Idea," speaks frequently in public forums on the need to protect our country's parks and is author of several books.
The presentation is free and open to the public. It is being sponsored by Baddour, Parker and Hine.
For more information or for events requiring registration, call 919-739-7017 or go online to www.waynecc.edu/foundation/artsandhumanities.