West Plains Council on the Arts (WPCA) will host their quarterly “Lunch with Art” event for current and prospective members on Monday, August 10, from noon till 1p.m. in the Community Room at the West Plains Public Library, 750 West Broadway, West Plains. Marideth Sisco will be the featured presenter.
Attendance is limited, so reserve your spot early. Masks will be required to attend this program. “While we appreciate that masks are somewhat inconvenient, best practices at this time call for wearing one indoors when close to others,” organizers say. “We’ll do our best to provide a safe, socially distanced, but intimate experience for all.”
Marideth Sisco’s observations on life in the Ozarks are carefully distilled from a wealth of hill-country lore handed down through generations of rural and small-town living. At turns heartwarming, hilarious, and haunting, the tales extracted from family, townspeople and her personal journey are a tapestry of humor, irony and a discerning wit, prying timeless truths from the stark simplicity of life lived close to the bone and closer to nature.
She shares, “I began my singing career at age 3, standing on an ice cream freezer at an auction, when my great uncle Tom Ferguson stood me up there during a break in the sale and told me to sing for the crowd. I’ve never stopped.”
She’s never stopped talking about the Missouri Ozarks where she was born and raised, either. A consummate storyteller and extemporaneous speaker, especially when it comes to sharing tales of the unique Ozarks culture that is fast passing away, Sisco is much in demand as a public speaker.
An Ozarks mainstay, Sisco has invested much of her life in cultural preservation work. Years were spent covering her community as a reporter for the West Plains Daily Quill newspaper before her retirement. Today, her writing still is heard regularly through “These Ozarks Hills,” her radio program on KSMU that focuses on the daily life, joys, and lore of the region. She also garnered national recognition through the acclaimed film “Winter’s Bone,” in which she served as a music consultant and vocalist. She is a Missouri Master storyteller and is the 2018 winner of the Quill Award from the Missouri Writers Hall of Fame.
After the brief program, WPCA board members will open discussion on current plans, programs available through Arts Alliance partners, and invite discussion regarding future arts endeavors for the area. Here’s an opportunity to open conversation with current board members and contribute to the future of arts in West Plains.
Lunch will be catered by Dawn Dionne. Cost of the luncheon is $10 for WPCA members, $15 for non-members. Reservations may be made online through the August 2020 Lunch with Art event page, by calling Paula at 417-293-2325, or via email info@westplainsarts.org
Individual membership is $25/year. Other membership levels and benefits are described on the website westplainsarts.org, along with a membership application.
