KCAIC

The Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission has added seven artists to the official Kansas Touring Roster, a directory of Kansas artists which helps match artists with venues.

“The Kansas Touring Roster represents the best in Kansas arts and culture. If you are an artist, becoming a member of the roster helps you to be found by presenting organizations in communities across the state and the region. If you are a presenting organization, the roster provides assurance that featured program offerings meet high standards for both artistic quality and community impact,” said Peter Jasso, Director of the Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission.

The newly added artists, which range from music and dance performers to authors and visual artists, include:

Angela Pickman – Visual Arts / Lawrence

Angie Pickman is a nationally recognized cut paper artist that combines the art of traditional paper cutting with collage to create intricately detailed works of art and animations. She exhibits at galleries and art fairs nationally, does illustration, animation and design work, conducts public presentations on her art, and teaches various art classes and workshops. Her work has been featured in Midwest Living and Martha Stewart Living magazines, and her animation work was featured in Daughters of the Forest, a PBS documentary, in the summer of 2016.

Annette Hope Billings – Literature / Topeka

Annette Hope Billings is an award-winning author and actress who infuses elements of theater to present her original poetry and prose. Dubbed “Maya of the Midwest” by audiences, she has published two books of poetry with a third due in winter of 2017. Awards to date include Renna Hunter acting award, Topeka ARTSConnect ARTY Award in Literature, and Troy Scroggins Award. She has also been published in numerous journals and several anthologies.

Carswell & Hope – Music / Lawrence

With Irish frontman Nick Carswell, Carswell & Hope mix big vocal harmonies and rich arrangements with inventive songwriting and a fearless mix of pop, rock and experimental. Their debut LP, A Hunger, was hailed as “a breath of fresh air” (iheartlocalmusic.com) and “an audacious debut” (Deli Magazine).

Erin Mae Music – Music / Wichita

Erin Mae is a mountain dulcimer virtuosa who has taken an obscure American folk instrument, and with it has developed a high level of technical proficiency and musical expression. Erin has been playing for over twenty years and in that time has developed a unique and progressive style. She is a member of the nationally-touring groups Scenic Roots and S.E.A.

Maura Garcia – Dance / Lawrence

Dancer/choreographer Maura Garcia collaborates within communities to create stories of identity and place. Originally from North Carolina, Maura is an Indigenous woman (non-enrolled Cherokee/ Mattamuskeet) who brings her own mixed-blood southern story to all of her work. She collaborates to create multi-media, interactive shows and engage via arts projects and experiential workshops involving everyone in the creative process. Maura uses her art to form connections, to uplift Indigenous cultural values and to explore the rhythms of the natural world.

Poke Salad Orchestra – Music / Fairway

The Poke Salad Orchestra is a string trio that is firmly rooted in American traditions of old-time, country and early popular music. An orchestra in the humblest sense, their spontaneous approach to music ranges from down-home to downright harrowing, as they navigate musical twists and turns at sometimes breakneck speed. The group’s three-way rapport, combined with individual command of their instruments, draws listeners in and envelopes them in the sound of strings being coaxed to their limits.

WC String Quartet – Music / Peabody

The WC String Quartet plays everything from Mozart to Jazz to Sufi chants. An innovative group, the members are all fine classical musicians, but are also adept at improvising and enjoy exploring a wide variety of genres of music. They are all seasoned music educators and delight in working with others. The WC String Quartet has been together for ten years and has played at a variety of events. They are all consummate musicians, educators, and are involved in arts organizations and projects across the region, bringing a creative and joyful spirit to their performances.

ABOUT THE KANSAS TOURING ROSTER

The Kansas Creative Arts Industries, a division of The Kansas Department of Commerce, maintains an approved Touring Roster of Kansas-based touring companies and artists. In this program, the artist or artist’s management sets the fee and negotiates the booking. Applicants must have a history of touring and maintain a reasonable fee range.

Roster artists are required to perform outside their community regularly. Touring artists offer single performances or exhibitions as well as complementary services that may include workshops, master classes, lecture-demonstrations, arts education components, residencies, or short performances.

The full roster can be viewed here: https://www.kansascommerce.gov/705/KS-Roster

For more on the Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission, visit KansasCommerce.gov/caic.

KDWPT

PRATT – The key to a successful upland bird hunting season is flexibility. Scouting and locating new hunting areas will definitely add birds to your bag, and with the 2017 Kansas Hunting Atlas, Kansas State Park Guide, and 2017 Kansas Hunting and Furharvesting Regulations Summary in hand, you have almost infinite possibilities.

Pheasant, quail and greater prairie chickens, for the most part, found good to excellent nesting and brood-rearing conditions this spring and summer, so the hunting forecast is positive. However, as always, there were weather incidents, such as hail, a late-April snowstorm, and heavy rains that affected populations locally. If this happened in an area you usually hunt, traveling just 30 miles could be the difference between disappointment and great hunting.

Check out the 2017 Upland Bird Forecast and you’ll see regional predictions on bird numbers based on spring and summer surveys. Use the atlas to find public hunting areas and Walk-in Hunting Access (WIHA) areas in the good regions. However, even if the area you select has abundant public access, finding good hunting still requires some scouting. A pre-season drive-through can help you pinpoint good fields. Remember that WIHA lands are open only to hunting and only during dates specified in the atlas and on posted signs.

Once you’ve figured out where to hunt, the next step will be figuring out where to stay. Now is the time to make plans. Lodging can be limited in many rural areas of western Kansas, as some motel rooms are often reserved a year in advance during the first two weeks of the season. However, there are other options. Kansas has 26 state parks scattered around the state, and many are right in the middle of some of the best hunting. They are also conveniently located near large public wildlife areas that surround federal reservoirs.

For hunters with an RV, Kansas state parks can be the perfect base camp. Call ahead now to find out what hook-ups are available this winter at the state park you’re considering. Some have heated showerhouses open through the winter. If you don’t have an RV, there are more than 100 cabins available for rent in Kansas state parks. You can learn more about state park cabins and availability at www.ksoutdoors.com.

Deluxe cabins offer full amenities, including heat, air conditioning, a full kitchen and bathrooms. Rustic cabins and yurts offer beds, electricity, and heating and air conditioning. Some Rustic cabins may also have a refrigerator, microwave oven and coffee maker. And all rustic cabins are located near a showerhouse.

If you’re a tent camper, state parks provide ample primitive camping sites. Keep in mind that camping is allowed only in designated areas on public hunting areas.

All of us have at one time or another thought about hunting a different part of the state, either because we’ve heard good things or we just wanted to see new country. This is the year to do it. Grab an atlas and forecast and find a part of the state you’ve always wanted to explore.