“Eclectic Live!” will be presented free at 7 p.m. Saturday at The Amp on Bradley Street in Carrollton.
“The show was inspired by our award-winning art and literary magazine,” said Tommy Cox, director of the School of Arts in the UWG College of Arts and Humanities. “The magazine has art, plays, short stories, poetry and even comes with a DVD. It makes a lot of sense to do a live version of it as a fundraiser.”
Leading up to the event will be what Cox described as a “festival-type atmosphere” complete with face painting, sidewalk art and puppet-making. Cox said about a dozen or more booths will be set up by departments in the School of the Arts and other local artists.
The money raised by the event, raised not by admission to the event but by other fundraising activities, will go to the College of Arts and Humanities to fund scholarships and study-abroad opportunities and to bring in guest artists.
Tables for four sold as part of the fundraising activities have now been sold out, and Cox said the competition for who will have the best decorated table has gotten friendly but competitive.
“We’ll have a best-dressed table award at the end of the evening,” he said. “There’s been some hype generated around town, and I’m looking forward to see what these donors come up with for their decorations.”
As for the event itself, Cox said the live acts will come directly from the spring edition of “Eclectic.”
“We’ll have poetry readings and a 10-minute play, but also new pieces and a marching band will perform to student poetry. There’s something in it for everybody.”
Cox said the marching band will be first on the agenda, so attendees should not be late.
“I have a feeling they’re going to knock it out of the park,” he said.
The event is family-friendly and suitable for all ages, Cox said.
“There will be something for everyone,” he said.
Eclectic has been published for more than 65 years at UWG. Originally, the magazine featured authors and artists from the university, as well as submissions from the literary world at large. The annual magazine now features writing, artwork, and more recently, music, created by university students.
Eclectic is paid for by student activity fees and is given free to the student body in the spring.
“The release party is an anticipated student event,” Cox said. “It’s a time when student editors and contributors are acknowledged. Now, we hope to make it an annual event of having a live version in the fall.”
He said the 2005 issue of Eclectic received national acclaim by winning the Association of Writers & Writing Programs National Award and the Southern Literary Festival Award. That issue is available for downloading at www.westga.edu/~eclectic/Archives.html.
“Eclectic is completely student driven and has been acknowledged as the best student developed literary magazine in the nation,” Cox said. “It continues to grow.”
Cox expressed appreciation from corporate sponsors who are funding the event, Times-Georgian, Underground Books and Roenigk Digital Craft.
“We are hoping to build a better bridge with the community, and this event will go a long way toward doing that,” he said.
For more information about the event, contact Tommy Cox at 678-839-4918 or at tcox@westga.edu.
Times-Georgian reporter Winston Jones contributed to this report.
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