KU presents Spring Concert

This year’s Kansas University Spring Concert provides an opportunity to experience the combined talent of KU Symphony Orchestra, the University Dance Company and several choral ensembles.

The concert serves as the grand finale performance for Brian Priestman, artist in residence and director of orchestra.

The concert will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday in the Lied Center on KU’s campus. The cost is $7 for the public and $5 for students and senior citizens.

Tickets are available at the Lied Center Ticket Office, 864-ARTS; Murphy Hall Ticket Office, 864-3982; and SUA Ticket Office, 864-3477.

Youth Ballet Company ready to dance to Beatles tunes

A Beatles tribute is coming to the Lawrence Arts Center.

During “Beatles Ballet-o-mania,” the center’s Youth Ballet Company will dance to a collection of Beatles songs including “I Will,” “Dizzy Miss Lizzy,” and “Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” The performers range in age from 9 to adult.

Director is Debbie Bettinger, who has been with the dance group for more than 10 years.

Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2:30 p.m. May 5 at the arts center, 940 N.H. A $4 donation is suggested.

Poetry links ocean, Plains

Poet and Trinidad native Serina Alison Hearn, above, may be a long way from the islands, but the Lawrence transplant still feels connected to the sea.

“Kansas is the floor of an ancient sea,” Hearn said.

Through her poetry, Hearn bridges the distance between the Plains and the ocean.

In “Mermaid’s Lament” she writes: “You smell of wild flowers, freshly dug earth, and sweat, which tastes different than the sea. Sweeter than oysters, or abalone; feverish whispers across my cheek, along my neck, leave me weak.”

Hearn’s first collection of poems, “Dreaming the Bronze Girl,” was published this year by Mid-America Press.

Hearn and fellow Lawrence poet Gary Lechliter will present selections from their works at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Lawrence Public Library auditorium, 707 Vt. For more information, call 843-3833.

Lawrence photos sought for National Tourism Week

In celebration of National Tourism Week, the Lawrence Convention and Visitors Bureau is asking photographers to contribute images of Lawrence that would entice travelers to visit.

The 2002 photo contest has five categories: City of the Arts, From Ashes to Immortality, The People of Lawrence, Lawrence By Night and the Great Outdoors. Photos may be black and white or color and must be no smaller than 4 by 6 inches and no larger than 8 by 10 inches.

Entry forms are available at the Chamber of Commerce office, 734 Vt., or the Lawrence Visitor Information Center, 402 N. Second St. The deadline is 5 p.m. May 6.

Bureau staff members will evaluate entries for originality, artistry, effectiveness and content relative to visitors.

The grand prize photograph will be featured in the 2002-03 Visitors Guide. All entries will be displayed May 8-17 at the visitor center.

For more information, contact Ashley Arnold at 865-4492 or cvbadmin@visitlawrence.com.