Why you should be here on May 5

Hi everyone,

Today at 2:00 I’ll meet at The Library Center in Springfield with STEPHANIE SMALLWOOD and KATHLEEN O’DELL to go over the program for my 2-hour show on May 5. Stephanie, who is Youth Services Coordinator for Springfield-Greene County Library District, is my host for the event. She has advised and aided me throughout the process of bringing the program together. Kathleen, longtime distinguished journalist and former Director of Community Relations for the library district, will be stage manager for the event, making sure that the program moves smoothly from one performance to the next to keep us on schedule. The newly added Hatch Auditorium seats more than 500 and the show will involve 75-100 people. Here’s a picture I took last month when crews were putting the finishing touches on the great new space. The area between the seats and stage can accommodate more seats or tables as needed.

The name of this event will be David Harrison and Friends Celebrate Route 66 and the Arts. We pay our respects to the centennial celebration of the famous road that stretched from Chicago to California back in 1926 and enjoy numerous ways in which creative expression finds its way through music, art, literature, and song. The evening (6:30-8:30) will feature novelist SUSAN CROSE KELLEY high school students from the Youth Entertainment Series (Y.E.S.) Troupe, headliners CREEK ROCKS, folk singer JUDY DOMENY, Ozark folklorist KAITLYN McCONNELL, artists MARY JANE MOONEYHAM and ALICIA FARRIS, Missouri Poet Laureate JUSTIN HAMM, dramatic readings of my work by MICHAEL FRIZELL, SARAH WIGGIN, and MSU drama students, poems performed musically by BYRON BIGGERS BAND, elementary student performers from DISNEY, GRAY, MANN, and HARRISON schools, readings by former Missouri Poet Laureate KAREN CRAIGO plus Drury professor JO VAN ARKEL, MSU poet MARUS CAFAGNA, BOB STEPHENS (leader of the Bards of Moon City), and poet REX Ybañez. I’ll be Master of Ceremonies.

Springfield has been named the official host for the100-year celebration of the 2440-mile road made famous in song (think NATE KING COLE singing “Get your kicks on Route 66”) by novelist JOHN STEINBECK in Grapes of Wrath, and by millions of tourists who chose to drive the iconic road to see America. A wide array of celebratory events will occur from April 29 – May 3 and include my program on May 5. Visitors from around the world are expected to visit us during those fun-filled days. Will you be one of them? Why not plan a trip now. You know I would love to see you.