State of Stories: Commemorating the Missouri Bicentennial
State of Stories is a series of free public programs developed by The Story Center at Mid-Continent Public Library and the University of Missouri Extension Community Arts Program. Programs will explore Missouri history and culture through storytelling performances and workshops, book conversations, lectures, a publication, and other activities.
Charles McPherson: The Journey Home
Charles McPherson: The Journey Home is the celebratory homecoming of acclaimed jazz musician Charles McPherson, who is from Joplin, Missouri and will be held July 23-25, 2021. Events include a free public performance featuring McPherson and his band; the establishment of a scholarship in McPherson’s name; and a public art piece featuring McPherson and other Black Americans influential in the performing and literary arts. The Minnie Hackney Community Service Center of Joplin is collaborating with several community stakeholders to organize this week-long celebration, including: Connect2Culture, George Washington Carver National Monument, Joplin Emancipation Park Days, Missouri Southern State University, Post Art Library, Pro Musica, Spiva Center for the Arts, and Visit Joplin.
Missouri Community Legacies
Missouri Community Legacies is a documentation initiative of the State Historical Society of Missouri, a partner in the Bicentennial Alliance. The goal of the program is to create a “snap shot” of Missouri traditions, creative expressions, meaningful places, organizations, and institutions during its bicentennial of statehood and develop a resource – built by the people of Missouri – of long-term use to students and teachers, researchers, and others interested in the rich history, life, and culture of the state.
Missouri Bicentennial Quilt
Since the pioneer days of the American Midwest, quilts have been a cornerstone of Missouri culture, fashion, and tradition. In honor of our great state’s two-hundred-year anniversary, the State Historical Society of Missouri, a partner in the Bicentennial Alliance, and Missouri Star Quilt Company, in partnership with the Missouri State Quilters Guild, teamed up to create the Missouri Bicentennial Quilt! With one quilt block to represent every Missouri county and the independent City of St. Louis, the Missouri Bicentennial Quilt showcases the unique characteristics of Missouri culture and style.
Missouri Bicentennial Poster
In 1921, Vinnorma Shaw designed a poster to commemorate the Missouri Centennial and advertise the Missouri Centennial Exposition at the Missouri State Fair. One hundred years later, what should a Missouri Bicentennial poster look like? Missouri students – grades three through twelve – are invited to help the Missouri Bicentennial Commission commemorate the state’s 200th anniversary by submitting a design concept for the Missouri Bicentennial poster. Four concepts will be chosen, with each winner receiving $200 and a certificate acknowledging his/her achievement, as well as an invitation to attend the poster unveiling.
Submission forms were due by October 31, 2020. All artwork must be received NO LATER than November 12, 2020.
Art Makes History!
Missouri’s anniversary of 200 years of rich history coincides with two other anniversaries: the incorporation of Blue Springs, Missouri in 1881, and the anniversary of the Santa Fe Trail, which passed through the town from 1821-1825. Our project will incorporate public art awareness and its impact on the community with accessible activities for all ages. Our project will reach out to all creating active engagements to show how art and history are connected. We are hoping to create enthusiasm for both. Both have stood the test of time. The history of Missouri statehood opened up more access to the west part of the state, like our town of Blue Springs. The project will show and contrast life now and in the 1820s. There is a rich history in this town and we hope to have the community open its new eyes to our future!! We want to emphasize our history to mark the importance of our celebration!
Old-Time Music, Ozark Heritage Festival
The Old-Time Music, Ozark Heritage Festival in West Plains celebrates old-time music and the distinctive culture of the Ozark Highlands. Different from its rural counterparts, bluegrass and country, old-time music has its own distinctive sound that makes an important contribution to the complex palette of what we call indigenous American music. Demonstrating the spectrum of art forms from dance fiddling, local jig steps, and gospel singing, to the songs, narratives and ballads that tell the story of a place, to the occupational traditions of blacksmithing, log skidding, spinning and basket making, artists show how these arts are embedded in the experience of our daily lives and how they fit the functional and symbolic needs of our community. This will be our 26th celebration in Missouri’s Bicentennial year on June 5, 2021.
Celebrate Wildwood – 25+1!
Join us on September 25, 2021, for Celebrate Wildwood — the City of Wildwood’s annual celebration, held in commemoration of its anniversary of incorporation. Last year, 2020 marked the City’s 25th anniversary. Since 2020’s festival was cancelled due to COVID, this year’s festival theme will be “25+1!” It is the hope that this will be a large-scale public event with a parade, kids’ activities, local authors, live music, food and drinks, local organizations booths and demonstrations, Civil War reenactors, a Scouting area, and an art festival. The event is all about the community!
Show Me to the Stage: A Missouri Bicentennial Season at Maplewood Barn Community Theatre
To commemorate the Missouri Bicentennial, Maplewood Barn Community Theatre will produce three plays in 2021 with a Missouri theme, featuring the work of a Missouri playwright, a Missouri subject matter, or a Missouri setting. The three shows selected showcase the wonderful talent of Missouri playwrights, the exciting history and stories of Missouri’s culture and heritage, and the majestic landscapes of this beautiful state. Shows and performance dates are as follows:
“Fifth of July” by Lanford Wilson: June 3-6, & June 10-13
“Henry V” by William Shakespeare: July 8-11 & July 15-18
“Plan 9!:The Musical from Outer Space” Book by Chris Bowling & Meg Phillips Crespy with Music & Lyrics by J. West: August 19-22, August 26-29, & September 2-5
Missouri Art Now: A Bicentennial Celebration
Missouri Art Now is a call-for-entry based competition that was juried among the four corners of Missouri to shed a spotlight on exemplary artists chosen for the distinguished honor of representing Missouri’s vibrant visual arts culture as we celebrate our Bicentennial. This traveling exhibition consists of 60 diverse works by 60 artists whose artistry stood out among hundreds of others. Missouri Art Now: A Bicentennial Celebration will visit the following venues throughout 2021:
- March 5-27, 2021: Arts Council of Southeast Missouri in Cape Girardeau, MO
- April 9-May 15, 2021: The Center for Missouri Studies in Columbia, MO
- May 29-July 17, 2021: Spiva Center for the Arts in Joplin, MO
- July 24-September 4, 2021: Hannibal Arts Council in Hannibal, MO
- September 18-November 7, 2021: Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art in St. Joseph, MO
Missouri Art Now: A Bicentennial Celebration is a collaboration among Post Art Library and Spiva Center for the Arts in Joplin, MO; Hannibal Arts Council in Hannibal, MO; the Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art in St. Joseph, MO; and the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri in Cape Girardeau, MO. Missouri Art Now is endorsed by Missouri 2021, an initiative of The State Historical Society of Missouri.