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Calvin College January Series 2014 – Remote Live Webcast
Jeremy Begbie is a Professor at Duke University Divinity School, Durham, North Carolina and Cambridge University, England, and founder of Theology through the Arts, a project “to discover and demonstrate ways in which the arts can contribute toward the renewal of Christian theology.” He is the author of several publications as well as the co-editor of Resonant Witness: Conversations between Music and Theology, Eerdmans, 2011. He studied philosophy and music at Edinburgh University, and theology at Aberdeen and Cambridge. A professionally trained musician, he has performed extensively as a pianist, oboist and conductor. He is an ordained minister of the Church of England, having served for a number of years as assistant pastor of a Church in West London. He has taught widely in the UK, North America and South Africa, specializing in performance lectures. He is married with four children.
This lecture will be broadcast via webcast at the Dogwood Center from 12:30-1:30 p.m. Admission is free. For those who would like a lunch provided for a suggested $5 donation, please call 231.924.8885 to reserve one at least 24 hours in advance of the lecture you would like to attend.
For more information on the Calvin College January Series click here.
The Dogwood Center, a remote site for the Calvin College January Series, is supported in part by the Fremont Area Community Foundation.

The Dogwood Center hopes you will take time to get in the holiday spirit and enjoy a family friendly film showing in the Dogwood Center’s Black Box. Admission is free. Everyone is encouraged to “Help the Arts Help Our Community” and bring non-perishable donated food items. All donated items will go to Love INC and TrueNorth Community Services Food Pantries which help Newaygo County families needing food assistance.

Come early and bring your camera to get your family Christmas photos done in front of Dogwood’s famous 15 foot Christmas Tree! Santa will also be here to welcome you!! The Dogwood will open at 2 p.m. for photos and visiting with Santa. Movie starts at 3:00 p.m.

Click here to watch The Rise of the Guardians preview.

When the evil spirit Pitch launches an assault on the world, the Immortal Guardians team up to protect the innocence of children all over the world. 2012 animated film. 97 minutes. Rated PG. Starring the voices of  Hugh Jackman, Chris Pine, Alec Baldwin, and Isla Fisher.

Karisa Wilson is an award winning singer-songwriter from Michigan. Her debut album Little Girl won the WYCE’s Album of the Year Jammie, one of Michigan’s most prestigious indie music awards. Karisa writes and performs a blend of indie pop, jazz, and blues. She’s also a classically trained violinist.

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Grace Amazing.
Her name is Karisa, Ka-REE-sa. Please don’t say it any other way.
Drives her crazy.
Karisa is from the Greek, XAPIS. It means grace.
When they gave her that name, her parents could not possibly have known that they would leave her so soon. The day before Karisa turned 29, she lost her mom. The next year, she lost her dad.
Overnight, Karisa became an orphan and, along with older sister Zoe, surrogate mother to younger brother Nathan and little sister Vida, just 16 years old.
“Everyone knows the cliche,” she says. “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”
Grace.
Not surprising that’s the title of she chose for her second album, Stronger.
“It’s a lot to deal with…the loss, the aftermath,” she says. I started getting panic-y, and I thought, I have to keep making music.”
So she wrote a song, Stronger, inspired by a friend who had survived breast cancer. And it became a bit of a mantra for her journey back from loss and grief.
“I don’t want to dwell on the dark things in life,” she says. “The album is part of a conscious effort to focus on what’s good. It encourages me, renews me.”
Grace.
Now an accomplished vocalist and guitarist, Karisa started her musical journey as a classical violinist. In high school she found her voice, and after college she picked up a guitar.
As she played local gigs in West Michigan, demand for her unique soulful blend of jazz, blues and folk – think eclectic Americana – grew.
She completed the recording and production of her debut album, Little Girl, in just eight months, and with help from her engineer Greg Baxter and a few friends, managed every detail of the album, and planned every detail of the event.
The August 2007 release party at the historical Wealthy Theater in Grand Rapids was an unexpected success.
“I was blown away when the event sold out,” she says. “They had to lock the doors.”
Karisa went on to capture the 2008 WYCE Best New Artist, as well as the coveted Album of the Year Jammie Awards.
Grace.
Her parents were not here to witness her success. But their influence continues in her life every day as she works to forge connections through her music.
“I just try to be real,” she says. “I am writing from my life and experience. Rather than dance around and wear costumes, I try to get to that place in the music that is real.”
She says she can feel the moment when that happens, when performance becomes conviction.
“It’s amazing. People stop, hear, and take note.”
Grace.
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Karisa performs solo and with ensembles. Her performance at the Dogwood Center will include her ensemble. She has shared the stage with national artists Sam Phillips, Billy Bob Thornton, Talib Kweli, Tim Reynolds, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, The Subdudes, and many others. She has performed and recorded with national artist Brian VanderArk (The Verve Pipe), and has often been a featured artist in the Meijer Garden’s Tuesday Summer Concert series. Favorite venues include Chicago’s Old Town School of Folk Music, The Living Room and The Bitter End in New York City, Wheatland Festival, Detroit’s State Theater, Muskegon Summer Celebration, and several other songwriter showcases. Karisa has been featured in a host of publications and radio stations, and co-writes with songwriter, author and screenwriter Mark Barger-Elliot. She is a columnist for the music and entertainment magazine, Recoil.
She is a private instructor of violin, guitar and voice, and lives in Grand Rapids with her husband, John.
Click here to visit Karisa’s website.

Click here to purchase tickets. $12.50. Black Box. General Admission. 7:30 p.m. Tables can be reserved with the purchase of 8 tickets. Please call the Dogwood Box Office to reserve yours today!

Dogwood Box Office Hours are Tuesday-Friday 10:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. and two hours prior to an event. For more information please contact Dogwood Box Office at 231.924.8885.

Tickets may also be purchased at NCCA-Artsplace in downtown Fremont. Hours are Monday – Friday 9:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., Thursday, 9:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m., and Saturdays 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.. For more information please contact the Artsplace at 231.924.4022.

Ralston Bowles is a modern folk, Americana and folk rock singer/songwriter with a natural warmth and glow.
For the past 25 years he has traveled around playing clubs and coffeehouses and theaters throughout the Midwest, making up songs about the people and places he visited. His songs have been performed and recorded by many notable songwriters. He has received awards from American Songwriter Magazine, NSAI/CMT, Unisong International Song Competition, among many others. As a Kerrville New Folk finalist, he even found himself opening for such artists as Shawn Colvin, T-Bone Burnett and Arlo Guthrie. He was invited to open for Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan at the notable Rothbury Festival and has toured the UK, Scandinavia, and Germany with legendary blues artist Walter Trout.
His first recording, Carwreck Conversations, was produced with Marvin Etzoni. The album earned him triple Jammie Awards locally, and recognition as Best Musician in West Michigan by Grand Rapids Magazine. It also led him to his first commercial release through Judy Collins’ Wildflower Records Rally at the Texas Hotel which features Bob Dylan’s Band leader Charlie Sexton. Ralston has become a bi-annual favorite at the historic Club Passim in Boston.
Ralston will be accompanied by Zac Bunce on bass and David Molinari on piano.
Listen to Ralston’s music here.

This show is a part of  the Dogwood Center Black Box HOT ticket promotion! Treat yourself to a musical three-in-one ticket package! This great package includes one ticket to each of the following: Ralston Bowles on November 23; Braunschweiger Blues Band on December 7; and Karisa Wilson on January 18!

Get a ticket to all three shows for $33! Regular ticket prices are $12.50 each.

This is a great opportunity for savings on your entertainment dollars. Save some cash while securing your seat for three fabulous shows! Come on over to the Dogwood and “get in on the act!”

To purchase the Black Box HOT Ticket click here.
Click here to purchase tickets for this show only. $12.50. Black Box. 7:30 p.m. Tables can be reserved with the purchase of 8 tickets. Please call the Dogwood Box Office to reserve yours today!

Dogwood Box Office Hours are Tuesday-Friday 10:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. and two hours prior to an event. For more information please contact Dogwood Box Office at 231.924.8885.

Tickets may also be purchased at NCCA-Artsplace in downtown Fremont. Hours are Monday – Friday 9:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., Thursday, 9:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m., and Saturdays 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.. For more information please contact the Artsplace at 231.924.4022.
Photo credit: Sara Quashnie

Lightwire Theater presents DiNO-Light as created by Corbian Visual Arts and Dance where electroluminescent creatures light up the darkness in a heart-rendering original tale. Truly unique and visually dazzling, DiNO-Light has been praised for its cutting edge blend of puppetry, technology, and dance by audiences around the world.

Broadwayworld.com “…an eye-popping display of storytelling that’s like nothing else you’ve ever seen.” “Corbian Visual Arts and Dance is a force to be reckoned with.”

The story begins with Professor Henslow, a famous scientist who has magic powers. We find him in his workshop, putting his latest creation, Darwin, together piece by piece. With a wave of Henslow’s magic wand, Darwin is brought to life.

Darwin is much more than a pet – his is a dinosaur, a wild and primitive creature. Though he learns to take his first steps from his creator, Darwin’s animal instincts eventually take over and he succumbs to his predatory nature.

Realizing that he is suddenly in danger, Professor Henslow cleverly responds by making Darwin a heart, thereby creating in Darwin compassion for other beings. Darwin is transformed and a lasting bond develops between creator and beast.

Professor Henslow encourages Darwin to explore life beyond the workshop and send him off with fireflies to guide him through the night. Darwin encounters many different types of creatures – Verla, the gangly ostrich; Peche, the beautiful fish; and Brutus, the menacing red dinosaur to name a few. From each experience, he learns something new about the world around him.
In the end when Brutus threatens Professor Henslow, Darwin is forced to make a decision. A decision that will alter his life forever and, ultimately, lead him to discover the true meaning of love.
Check Lightwire Theater’s website and videos here.
Click here to purchase tickets. $17.50 adults, $10 kids 18 and under. Main Stage. Reserved seating. 7:30 p.m.
The presenting sponsor for this program is Deur Speet Motors, your Chrysler five star dealer.

Introducing the Dogwood Center Main Stage HOT ticket! Treat yourself and your family to a high quality entertainment two-in-one ticket package! This full experience package includes one ticket to each of the following: Lightwire Theater’s all ages show DiNO-Light (as seen on America’s Got Talent) on February 14 at 7:30 PM and The Cashore Marionettes’ entertaining show Life in Motion for ages 12 and up on March 21 at 7:30 PM.

The Main Stage HOT ticket offers you a great discount off the regularly priced tickets!

· $30 for two reserved adults seats – regular price of $35!

· $15 for two reserved seats for kids 18 and under – regular price of $20!

This is a great opportunity for savings on your entertainment dollars. Save some cash while securing your seat for two fabulous shows! Come on over to the Dogwood and “get in on the act!” Click here to get your HOT Ticket today!

Tickets are available online, at the Dogwood Box Office, or at NCCA-Artsplace in downtown Fremont.
Box Office hours will be Tuesday – Friday 10:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. and two hours prior to an event. For information, phone 231.924.8885.

NCCA-Artsplace hours are Monday – Friday 9:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., Thursdays 9:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m., and Saturdays 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. For information, phone 231.924.4022.

Bringing Art to Life
A performance by the Cashore Marionettes is a celebration of life. The program consists of a collection of engaging pieces encompassing a broad range of themes, each delivered with simplicity that expresses the essence of the moment.
“The quality of manipulation is unparalleled, and the effect upon the audience is powerful.” ~The Center of Contemporary Arts, St. Louis.
Life in Motion
In the performance Life in Motion, Joseph Cashore presents his collection of marionette masterworks. Characters of depth, integrity, and humanity are portrayed in a full evening unlike anything else in theater today. The performance is a series of scenes taken from everyday life and set to beautiful music by composers such as Beethoven, Vivaldi, Strauss, and Copland. Through a combination of virtuoso manipulation, humor, pathos, classic music, and poetic insight, The Cashore Marionettes take the audience on a journey that celebrates the richness of life. Life in Motion is a powerful, entertaining, surprising, theatrically satisfying, one-of-a-kind evening for adults and young adults.
Click here to purchase tickets. $17.50 adults, $10 kids 18 and under. Main Stage. Reserved seating. 7:30 p.m.

Tickets are available online, at the Dogwood Box Office, or at NCCA-Artsplace in downtown Fremont.

Box Office hours will be Tuesday – Friday 10:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. and two hours prior to an event. For information, phone 231.924.8885.

NCCA-Artsplace hours are Monday – Friday 9:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., Thursdays 9:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m., and Saturdays 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. For information, phone 231.924.4022.

The Braunschweiger Blues Band will be back in the Black Box on December 7!  Come on out for a great time with Doug Harmon and crew….these guys know how to have fun!

This popular local group has a great sound, gets everyone up and dancing, and having fun! Join us for a great night!
Band members include:  John Chandonnet on drums and vocals; Todd Juengel on guitar, keyboard and vocals; Wade Perkins on horns, keyboard and vocals; Randy Seabolt on bass and vocals; Doug Harmon on guitar and vocals; and Cousin Richie on vocals and sound technician.

This show is a part of  the Dogwood Center Black Box HOT ticket promotion! Treat yourself to a musical two-in-one ticket package! This great package includes one ticket to Braunschweiger Blues Band on December 7 and one ticket to Karisa Wilson on January 18!

Get a ticket to both shows for $22! Regular ticket prices are $12.50 each.

This is a great opportunity for savings on your entertainment dollars. Save some cash while securing your seat for two fabulous shows! Come on over to the Dogwood and “get in on the act!”

To purchase the Black Box HOT Ticket click here.
Click here to purchase tickets for this show only. $12.50. Black Box. 7:30 p.m. Tables can be reserved with the purchase of 8 tickets. Please call the Dogwood Box Office to reserve yours today!

Dogwood Box Office Hours are Tuesday-Friday 10:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. and two hours prior to an event. For more information please contact Dogwood Box Office at 231.924.8885.

Tickets may also be purchased at NCCA-Artsplace in downtown Fremont. Hours are Monday – Friday 9:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., Thursday, 9:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m., and Saturdays 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.. For more information please contact the Artsplace at 231.924.4022.

Three of the most original instrumentalists to ever mutate out of the classical gene pool join forces to breathe new life into the time-honored piano trio tradition. Violinist Tracy Silverman, pianist Philip Aaberg, and cellist Mike Block are on a mission to redefine contemporary chamber music.
Performing works from their new all-Bach CD, “Three Part Invention”, an album of reinterpreted versions of Bach masterpieces, their live concerts also include original works and reinventions of other classical repertoire. Their iconoclastic performances are full of approachable good humor and break all the pretenses of classical performance conventions – jazz, pop, and world influences paradoxically accent the beauty, elegance, and soulfulness of traditional masterworks.
All three artists have created vibrant solo careers by stretching from their classical roots into folk, jazz, rock, and world music. Together in Three Part Invention, their paths converge in homage to the music they first loved.
For more on Tracy Silverman and Three Part Invention please click here.
Click here to purchase tickets. $17.50 Adults, $10 Kids 18 and Under. Main Stage. General Admission. 7:30 p.m.
Box Office hours will be Tuesday – Friday 10:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. and two hours prior to an event. For information, phone 231.924.8885.
Tickets are also available at the NCCA-Artsplace. Hours are Monday – Friday 9:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., Thursdays 9:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m., and Saturdays 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. For information, phone 231.924.4022.

Newaygo County People for Peace is sponsoring their 3rd concert celebrating “30 Days of Peace”. This years show, “Plant Justice-Harvest Peace”, will showcase five musical groups. A silent auction will also be held.
Talent for the evening includes:
Swingtooth – David and Lee Middleman play their own handmade guitars and Chris Cudworth plays bass. This trio has become a learning lab for several other local musicians who sit in occasionally. The musical sap flows freely when the band plays 40’s vintage jazz.
Budd Greenman and Erik White – After their chance meeting at Wheatland Music Festival a few years ago, Michigan Luthiers Budd Greenman and Erik White have had a blast exploring the styles of celtic, old time, bluegrass, and jazz. Formed from a combination of these traditions, their sound features original tunes as well as melodies that have endured for generations.
Sandra Bernard – The local singer/writer is a lifelong musician who has been performing since the age of 5. She sang in churches in the mid 50’s with her four siblings where five part harmony was soulfully engrained. The bluesy, sultry singer has performed solo and as a vocalist for many bands over the years; which includes a popular Motown band with her two daughters called “Mother Soul”. Sandra has been a resident of Newaygo since 2001 and is very active in the community’s music and writing scene.
Luke Sayers – A member of a talented musical family, Luke has been playing music since he was eight years old and hand building guitars since he was 12. At a concert, he gave one of his guitars to Elliot Smith who has continued to inspire his musical style. For about 13 years Luke played with the rockabilly band, “The Deadalives”. These days, when performing solo, the songwriter, guitar playing singer’s choice is usually folk style.
Framing Rhythm – Brenda Huckins Bonter, Beth Kelonvea, Amy Oak, Barb Pitcher, and Heather Witkowski form a group dedicated to bringing alive the ancient power of the frame drum.
The evening will also feature Steve Albert of Blue Lake Public Radio as the emcee.
Click here to purchase tickets. $12.50. Black Box. General admission. Doors open at 6:45.  Come view and bid on fabulous silent auction items before the concert and during the intermission.

Box Office hours will be Tuesday – Friday 10:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. and two hours prior to an event. For information, phone 231.924.8885.
Tickets are also available at the NCCA-Artsplace. Hours are Monday – Friday 9:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., Thursdays 9:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m., and Saturdays 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. For information, phone 231.924.4022.

Nashville’s 2011 New Country Star winner, Matthew Huff, is back again putting on a benefit concert for Newaygo County’s Team Keegan! Matthew has had songs on the top 40 debut single chart on Music Row and is involved with Cure Search of Children’s Cancer. Check out Matthew’s sound here: www.matthewhuffofficial.com.
Local comedians will open the show providing an hour of comedy as well!

Team Keegan is a local nonprofit organization that creates handmade wooden treasure chests, fills them with $100 worth of toys, and sends them to the homes of children with cancer around theUnited States. To check out more on Team Keegan please visit www.team-keegan.com.