June is one of my favorite months of the year for several reasons, and in Hattiesburg it's because of FestivalSouth--a three-week long music/art/cultural extravaganza. A big favorite this year was the USM Southern Chorale celebrating America's 250th birthday. The chorus performed American fine art music to gospels, spirituals, and popular music and is invited to perform in Estonia again this summer.
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| Southern Chorale, Dr. Greg Fuller, conductor |
There are concerts and exhibits at venues all over town, like this one by Lisa Wolynec, Daniel Petrocelli, and Brian Lorettt at the new bookstore, Storied Bookery, and emerging artists performing at OLLI.
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| Juan Carlos Piedra Carvajal, oboe, Teresa Sanchez, piano |
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| Daniel Petrocelli, Lisa Wolynec, (Brian Lorett not pictured) |
We have had an unusually wet June, with flash flood warnings and high water damage. Elizabeth has stayed very close during the thunderstorms.
I've finished two interesting books this month from the Hattiesburg library--Culpability and All Quiet on the Western Front. Both were absorbing and thought-provoking, involving AI innovations, and family dynamics. The 1929 WWI classic was a new translation with more personal details about the young German soldier author.
Several months ago Hector Boldo and I agreed to exchange artwork. I created a fiber art piece of Hector's dog Marta, and he came to my home to photograph me working at my sewing machine on Marta and later created a painting of the scene. Here we are with Hector's painting at the Creator's Plaza last weekend, followed by Hector with my fiber art piece of Marta. This was a fun collaboration!
