Savannah Book Festival, in collaboration with Savannah Music Festival to Host Eudora Welty Tribute Concert February 6

Five-time Grammy Award-winner Mary Chapin Carpenter, along with fellow musicians Kate Campbell, Claire Holley and Caroline Herring, will perform a unique tribute to the late Pulitzer Prize-winning Southern writer Eudora Welty in a tribute concert on Saturday, February 6th, 2010 at 8pm. The concert is presented by the Savannah Book Festival in collaboration with the Savannah Music Festival.

This exciting addition to the Festival schedule will feature these four celebrated singer-songwriters performing their own songs chosen specifically for and inspired by the literary legacy of Mississippi, writer Eudora Welty, whose 100th birthday would have been April 13th, 2009. The concert, which debuted at the centennial celebration for Welty earlier this year has received rave reviews, and it is in perfect keeping with the Savannah Book Festival’s mission to
promote the written word, including the work of lyricists like Savannah’s own Johnny Mercer.

Taking place in historic Trinity Church on Telfair Square in downtown Savannah at 8 pm on Saturday, February 6th, 2010, the concert will be a ticketed fundraising event for the Festival. General admission tickets for $50 will go on sale in January and will be sold through the Savannah College of Art & Design’s SCAD Box Office.

The four singer-songwriters first presented this show on April 17, 2009, at the Eudora Welty Centennial Celebration in Jackson, Mississippi. Here’s what one critic said about the show, which also took place in a Methodist Church: There is something about a church that invites a visitation from the muse. The stage was bathed in the glow of blue Fresnels that enhanced the sense of mystery and romance. Throw in the incredible artistry of four women who have the dirt, sweetness, and sweat of the South in their bones, along with songwriting abilities that summon aching memories of the pain, triumph and anguish of the South, and the profound becomes
tangible -- the impossible, possible. Georgianne Nienaber, The Huffington Post The Savannah Book Festival is thrilled and honored to be working with the world-renowned Savannah Music
Festival to add this exciting concert to the 2010 Savannah calendar.

Songwriters have been a part of the Festival since its inception in 2008, and this literary tribute to one of America’s most treasured writers will offer festival goers a unique perspective on the Southern literary tradition.

The Savannah Book Festival, which will take place February 5-7, 2010 in and around Telfair Square, is an annual, free and open to the public celebration of the written word and its role in improving the human experience. Our mission is to promote reading, writing and civil conversation. For each of the past two years, the Festival has attracted dozens of popular and critically acclaimed authors and thousands of readers from all over America to Savannah’s Telfair Square, and the culturally significant buildings that surround it—Telfair Academy, Trinity
Church and Jepson Center for the Arts. Within these beautiful venues, the Festival’s authors and their readers experience the intimacy and hospitality for which Savannah is famous.

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Cajun Masters Coming to UWG in January

In the spirit of Ballet Memphis and Jon Faddis and The Chicago Jazz Ensemble, the third annual Live Art at the Townsend Center event will feature yet another unique entertainment opportunity, the Grammy-winning BeauSoleil, one of the country's foremost Cajun bands. The group will perform Saturday, Jan. 23, on the Townsend Center Mainstage with the traditional cast party to follow in the Dangle Theatre.

BeauSoleil began in 1975 in Lafayette, La. and has elevated Cajun music to domestic and international acclaim. Blending elements of zydeco, New Orleans jazz, Tex-Mex, country, blues and more, the band appears regularly on Garrison Keillor's "A Prairie Home Companion" and has received 10 Grammy nominations. In 1998, they became the first Cajun band to win a Grammy in the traditional folk category.

The group recently celebrated its 29th release, Alligator Purse, which originated from a benefit concert assisting victims of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Community volunteers Michelle Morgan, Claire Cooley and Susan Fleck are co-chairing the event. According to Morgan, there are two main reasons to support the Live Art series, in addition to the obvious evening of outstanding entertainment.

"Last year, the Live Art committee was delighted to establish the P.J. Hovey Live Art Scholarship Fund for awards to the departments of art, music and theatre," Morgan said. "It is our intention to endow this fund as soon as possible."

The series was also established to provide at least one signature production annually at the Townsend Center, while raising funds to increase the premier programming each season.

"We strive for profitability and growth, and the executive committee for Live Art is pleased that the series has exhibited both during the first two seasons," said Morgan. "However, the philanthropic goal for this year's event is to take the fundraising component one step higher and raise at least $15,000 for increased quality programming at the Townsend Center and to endow the Live Arts Scholarship."

For more information on how to become involved in the Live Art event at any number of giving levels, contact Robert Jennings, director of the Townsend Center, at 678-839-4722 or rjenning@westga.edu.

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Contemporary Christian Recording Artist Melissa Pierre-Louis Releases Free Christmas e-Album, Launches Operation Touch Web Site for Free Downloads

/PRNewswire/ -- Looking for ways to celebrate the Christmas season without adding to your credit card bill? Tired of listening to six versions of "Winter Wonderland" on the radio? Contemporary Christian singer Melissa Pierre-Louis is offering free downloads of original Christmas songs on her newly launched Web site Operation Touch (www.operationtouch.org).

On Operation Touch, the 22-year-old recording artist performs three new songs: "Touch Someone," "Thank You Emmanuel," and "Sing We Noel." The songs and lyrics are available in English, as well as French and Kreyol, a tribute to Pierre-Louis' Haitian background.

"We live in difficult times in which a lot of people are struggling, but part of the beauty of Christmas is renewed hope," said Pierre-Louis. "'Touch Someone' encourages everyone - regardless of background - to reach out to others and share the gifts we each have to offer. Hopefully Operation Touch will inspire people to do just that."

The songs on Operation Touch were penned by Pierre-Louis' father, award-winning songwriter Marc-Arthur Pierre-Louis. Mr. Pierre-Louis emigrated from Haiti to the U.S. in 1981 to study mathematics and computer science at Florida Atlantic University and earned a master's degree from Southern Evangelical Seminary. His song "Bless the Memories" recently won the American Bible Society's Scripture Song Award at the Gospel Music Association's IMMERSE event.

"The joy and hope of the Christmas season shouldn't come with a price tag. I think music can reach people at such a basic level and connect them with that hope and feeling of renewal," adds Ms. Pierre-Louis. "We wanted to make that accessible to as many people as possible, whether they themselves need some inspiration, or they want to share the music with others."

Pierre-Louis' music can also be heard on radio stations in the US, Haiti and Canada.

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Silent Monks Singing Halleluia

This is wonderful, creative and fun:



Thanks to Bill Bibb, Seen Gallery Atlanta, for sharing!