News and Events - The LocaL

After 35 seasons, Paul Pierce Passes the Torch at the Springer

Posted on January 26, 2023February 1, 2023 by Editor - the Local

35 Years of Theatre Magic: Paul Pierce Passes the Leadership Torch at the Springer Opera House“The greatest honor and joy of my life”: Opera House Leader Retires After 35 Years One Tuesday night in January, the Springer’s longtime producing artistic director, Paul Pierce, gathered his staff onstage in Emily Woodruff Hall for an historic announcement. After thirty-five seasons through which he has played the same part to great acclaim, he has chosen 2023 as the…

Springer Opera House Receives Grant from Georgia Council for the Arts

Posted on August 26, 2022September 2, 2024 by Editor - the Local

The Springer Opera House was awarded a grant by Georgia Council for the Arts (GCA), a strategic arm of the Georgia Department of Economic Development, as part of its initial disbursement of grants for fiscal year 2023. A total of 213 organizations were awarded 253 grants that provide more than $3.1 million in funding to arts organizations throughout the state. The Bridge Grant will provide operating support funding to 134 organizations, the Project Grant will…

A Painter Comes Home: Katie Jacobson finds buzzing art community in hometown Columbus

Posted on June 14, 2019June 29, 2019 by Tom Ingram

There’s a great community here,” Katie says, “and coming home, I felt how strong it is. Everyone that I’m surrounded with wants this place to grow. It’s encouraging and it’s fun.”

Sometimes It Takes A Vision: New art gallery bridges past and present, art and underserved neighborhoods

Posted on May 17, 2019June 29, 2019 by Tom Ingram

Again and again, all signs pointed Dee Dee Tebeau to 2nd Avenue. Dee Dee was first drawn to the North Highland neighborhood by the example of Rob and Carrie Strickland, who help bring housing and educational opportunities to the area through their Truth Spring ministry. As the months went by and Dee Dee brought her son to Godwin Creek Golf Course to play, the question recurred, “how can I help the neighborhood?” She did not…

Barks and Blues returns to Woodruff Park

Posted on May 3, 2019May 17, 2019 by Tom Ingram

Saturday, May 11th marks the date of the fourth annual Paws Humane Society Barks & Blues Festival. What began as a modest attempt to bring more families onto the Paws campus drew such a crowd that we had to move it to Woodruff Park last year. This year we expect over 3,000 attendees and we can hardly wait till the music starts at 4:00 pm. The Festival now has its own website www.barksandblues.com where you…

Crowd-favorite Million Dollar Quartet Returns to the Springer

Posted on May 2, 2019May 17, 2019 by Tom Ingram

The Tony Award-winning Broadway musical inspired by a true story returns to the Springer Opera House May 3 through 18. On Dec. 4, 1956, four music legends–Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley–found themselves together at Sun Records in Memphis. Lucky for us, Sam Phillips, the “Father of Rock ‘n Roll,” pressed record. The rest is history–and, for us, a night of incredible music and story that will have you coming back…

Strut Your Stuff at Strut the Hooch Comic Parade

Posted on March 21, 2019September 2, 2024 by Tom Ingram

At 9 a.m. Saturday morning, April 6, be prepared. In front of the historic Springer Opera House on 10th Street, they will gather. Who will gather? The funnest, frolicking-est gaggle of lovingly wacky eccentrics the Fountain City has ever seen. Welcome to the 5th Annual Strut the Hooch Parade! Come for clowns, jugglers, horn tooters and snake charmers. The forecast calls for unicorns, kazoo bands, fire trucks and “lawn mower drill teams.” There’s really no…

The Joint Redemption: how one irresponsible publication embarrassed a respected local businessman

Posted on December 13, 2018September 2, 2024 by Tom Ingram

In the 70s, Ken Friedlander made a name for himself with his clothing store, Ken and Company. He was well-known, a man with a booming voice, the kind of man who never met a stranger. His son, Paul, remembers his father always smelling of Paul Sebastian cologne, and says, “you would hear and smell him before you saw him.” Ken would later go into real estate, where his personality and business acumen translated into a…

Alli Kaman Welcomes the Weird

Posted on November 15, 2018November 15, 2018 by Tom Ingram

The Springer Opera House has a new host for NO SHAME Theater, and that girl is Alli Kaman. At first I wondered how she would survive each week due to her wholesome disposition and the growing numbers in the crowd. Will she be tough enough to get the audience to respect performers or shut them up? After a few minutes with Alli, I realized that she has an impish personality to match her fiery red…

Pasafest: first annual music and arts festival expands the legacy of St. EOM with a day of celebration

Posted on November 9, 2018 by Tom Ingram

On Nov. 10, long-time admirers and first-time visitors alike will enter a new phase in the life of Pasaquan, Eddie Owens Martin’s outsider art environment in Buena Vista, Ga., at the first Pasafest, a music and art festival combining the southeast’s best outsider art with some of our areas most interesting music in a one-day, fun-for-the-whole family celebration of all things beautiful and exuberant. When Eddie Owens Martin returned home to Buena Vista, Ga. to…

« 1 … 3 4 5 6 7 … 11 »