Community Voices, March 2015

Spring has arrived and that means that it is time to for everyone from our surrounding communities to come out to SMSU and experience all that we have to share. The next month is filled with activities and events from many areas of campus. Our annual Fine Arts Celebration runs from April 8-May 6 and will feature vocal and instrumental concerts, theatre productions, student art displays, and more. The faculty and students have worked tirelessly over the course of the academic year and this month is a great time to showcase their talents to the surrounding community.

A unique collaboration this year between the SMSU and Marshall High School Theatre programs will bring Monty Python’s Spamalot to town for two weekends, April 24-25 and April 30-May 2. The play will be performed the first weekend here on campus and will head east the following weekend to be performed at Marshall High School. The is a great opportunity for all involved to see how a theatre production is broken down, packed and taken on the road to the next location.

There are at least eight different concerts planned throughout the month featuring both chorale and instrumental groups. The Twin Cities Gay Men’s Chorus will visit for a performance on April 11 and the Southwest Minnesota Orchestra will have their spring concert on April 21. Both of these concerts will feature extremely talented individuals that we are very fortunate to have perform in southwest Minnesota.

SMSU is proud to be the home away from home for over 150 international students from 25 different countries. Each spring the students host the International Food Festival featuring a variety of foods from their respective countries. This year marks the 25th anniversary of this great event that will be held on April 11 in the SMSU Student Center. I would encourage you to come out and enjoy the international cuisine and meet our students from around the world and learn about their cultures.

I am also excited to announce that we will soon be opening a new Indigenous Americans Museum on campus in late April. Thanks to the generosity of professor emeritus William Hezlep, the museum will feature a diverse collection of artifacts and history honoring Indigenous Americans.

And with the onset of spring we all relish the opportunity to get back outside. Our spring sports are back in action throughout the month at home and I invite you to come to campus and cheer them on. Last spring we had a ribbon-cutting on the new Marshall Area Track and Field Complex and now we are hosting a Grand-Opening on April 14th at 3:30pm as Marshall High School hosts their inaugural meet.

Finally, April 24th promises to be a fun night as the Mustang Stampede moves to the evening and will be a "Glow Run." The 5K walk/run is a fundraiser for Women’s athletics and is open to everyone. I’m told that a "GLOWtastic After Party" will be held and the entire family is encouraged to attend!

Spring is a great time to visit SMSU. So look for details on these and many more events on our website at www.SMSU.edu and come to campus to enjoy all that we have to offer.

Published in the Marshall Independent, Saturday, March 28, 2015.