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Category Archives: Entertainment
Chamber Announces The Artificers Ribbon Cutting and Grand Opening Gala
The Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce announces a Ribbon Cutting and Grand Opening Gala to celebrate the launch of The Artificers, T.E. Freeman Studio & Kate Freeman Studio at 8 N. National Ave. in the Downtown Historic District on Saturday, January 28, 2023. The ribbon cutting and remarks will take place at 5:45pm and the gala will follow from 6 to 9pm. Light refreshments will be offered. The gala will feature art from Trent and Kate Freeman as well as some of their house artists that will be with them on a regular basis. This long-awaited event will kick off the opening of the art gallery and hosting of art classes and workshops that will be held in the teaching studio.
Classes and workshops will start February 1st, and those interested can sign up for emails at their website theartificers.com and always be the first to know what’s being offered. The Gallery will also periodically feature master artists who will teach workshops about their art.
Trent & Kate will also be conducting a silent auction of some exclusive pieces of artwork as well as a special announcement, regarding the artwork. Only those in attendance will have the opportunity to purchase these pieces.
The Freeman’s recently moved to Bourbon County from Kansas City after selling their home and studio. Trent has been a mixed media sculptor for 26 years and received his Undergraduate in Fine Art from Emporia State University. Kate Freeman is a ceramist and acrylic painter as well as the marketing and day to day management of the studio. The Freeman’s have been restoring the Hammons’ Real Estate building and are planning to continue the restoration and have their residence in the upper level. The Freeman’s are glad to be part of the Fort Scott community and are excited and encouraged by the amount of support they have received from fellow business owners and residents of Fort Scott and the surrounding areas.
The galleries first artists will include; Kenny Felt- photography, Tim Kienzle- copper jewelry, Erin Shevling- pottery, Dianne Miller- glass, Kristin Girard- electroforming jewelry, Kristan Hammond- photography, Rachel Painter- painting, Amy Smith- mixed media, and “Forged in Fire” Champion, Ryan DeMott- Bladesmith.
Chamber members and the community are welcome and encouraged to attend the ribbon cutting and gala event this Saturday. The Artificers look forward to a festive evening by suggesting cocktail attire or nice dress. Although the event is free, those attending are requested to RSVP under the event on fortscott.com or email [email protected].
Chamber Coffee at the River Room Event Center on Jan. 26
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Cathy Bishop is New Event Coordinator for The River Room
Cathy Bishop, who retired from Niece Products of Kansas on December 31, 2022, is the new event manager for the River Room Event Center, at Oak Street and National Avenue.
Al Niece is the owner of the building at 3 W. Oak and the River Room is located on the second floor.
Bishop, who was the Niece Products of Kansas Human Resource Director prior to her retiring, now schedules reservations and manages the set up of the alcohol bar.
Renters will need to secure catered food for their event, Bishop said.
“We don’t have a working, cooking kitchen, but do have a refrigerator,” she said.
“There is a cash bar and we supply the bartender and alcohol or beer,” she said
Some of the bigger reservations this year are for the Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce Banquet in April and the Fort Scott High School Prom on May 6.
“We contract by volume of people attending,” Bishop said. “We also charge by the hour for a small two-hour event.”
Contact Bishop via email for more information on rates charged at [email protected].
In addition to banquets and proms, they have provided a venue for weddings, anniversaries and graduations, to name a few.
The event center will hold 700 capacity, but that would be standing room only, Bishop said.
“Four hundred people is a comfortable number of attendees,” she said.
Although the email is the preferred way to contact Bishop, the phone number for the River Room is 620.820.0536.
History Of The Building
According to hearsay, the building has housed a roller rink, car dealership, bowling alley and a couple of restaurants, the most recent: Luther’s BBQ, Bishop said.
Bishop came upon a book about the building with some information:
Writings From Vietnam Author Book Signing on Jan. 28
All during January there will be a special sale of Buy 2 Books Get 1 Free on Action/Detective/Mystery and Christian Fiction at Hedgehog INK! Bookstore located at 16 S. Main.
The store showcases book signings featuring local authors.
On January 28, Mary Barbara McKay will introduce her book, Writings from Vietnam, at 1:30 p.m. at the store.
“We are excited to have her launch her book and book signing at Hedgehog.INK!,” store owner Jan Hedges said.
McKay has lived in neighboring Linn County since 1996, when she and husband, Rod, bought 40 acres of Kansas farm ground and built a country home. They moved from Sacramento, California, where she had been a high school English and art teacher and then nurse and he, a commuter airline pilot.
First Book
McKay’s first book, The Good Horses: How Horses Taught Me God’s Plan for My Life tells the story of their move to the country and the important role horses played in making the transition from city woman to country woman pleasant, she said.
“Horses made my new life interesting, enjoyable, educational,” she said. “Country life brought me closer to God through the horses and our care of them and the peaceful natural world around us.”
“My first book was published in 2019 and is also available at Hedgehog Ink Bookstore,” she said. “It has my own photographs and paintings, and some favorite poems and Scripture quotations. I love painting, drawing and photography and also love writing from my own experience.”
Second Book
“The second book, Writings from Vietnam, was completed in November 2022,” she said. It is a compilation of my husband’s letters to me from his time in Vietnam, plus a short journal he kept for three months, and nine pages he wrote of what happened on ‘a terrible day,’ but never sent to anyone.”
Rod, survived serving in the Vietnam War, and died of a heart attack in 2018.
She had kept all his letters from his tour of Vietnam and wrote the book as a tribute to him, she said. “He very rarely talked about Vietnam, and then only a sentence or two.”
“Rod has an almost intellectual view of the war, though he is living through very dismal times (in the book)” she said. “I insert paragraphs from his time in Army Basic Training and Advanced Infantry Training within the war letters to show the differences and parallels between the Army at war and the stateside Army. My husband was a radio telephone operator, which means he carried the radio for his commanding officer.”
“He was in Vietnam for 11 months,” McKay said. “In April 1970 the U.S. was pulling back forces and he was discharged a month early. His letters show life in the field–sleeping in the mud, constantly watching for enemy, losing men he just met.”
“His last five months were spent as company clerk at a fire support base,” she said. “He wrote the letters home to families who’d lost a husband or a spouse. He has deep insights and always kept his faith. God always came first in his life.”
“This is a short book, it is only 114 pages, and it includes a few photographs and an addendum which is a journal he kept for three months from May 3 to August 12, 1969, his first three months in Vietnam,” she said.
Her husband of nearly 47 years was a thoughtful, principled man and has a message for everyone who reads the book, she said. “This book is a tribute to him with a message I believe will resonate with readers.”
“Merl Humphrey Photography (a local Fort Scott business) used two photographs to make the composite picture for the cover,” she said. “The color picture I took of Rod at the Vietnam War Memorial in 1994; the black and white picture of men in Vietnam placed within the wall was among Rod’s things.”
February’s Offers At Hedgehog INK!
Additionally coming up at Hedgehog INK! in February is Buy 2 Get 1 Free on Romance books.
Feb. 4 – Children’s Story Time, story and activity
Feb. 10-11 Love Local Chocolate Crawl – All Chocolates 25% off
Feb. 25? – Author Talk / Book Talk – Leon Perry
Local Cook Pays For a Movie as a Present to Her Community
A Fort Scott woman, who cooks at a local restaurant for a living, has paid for a movie for the community at Fort Cinema, 224 W. 18th.
On January 7 at 2 p.m. there will be a free showing of Puss in Boots The Last Wish hosted by this woman, who wishes to remain anonymous.
“This is Christmas present to the community,” Terri Belcher Turner, her cousin, said. “The first 95 people will get to enjoy the movie, free of charge. The concessions stand will be open. There was a scheduling issue before Christmas, so now it is the Saturday after the holidays.”
Turner sent an email to fortscott.biz with the story.
“I know the donor and want everyone to know she is a life-long Fort Scott resident with a love for her town and the families in it,” Turner said. “She works regular jobs and struggles like the rest of us but wanted to give families a chance for an afternoon out that they normally couldn’t afford. I hate I am 500 miles away and can’t be there to help promote this generous act.” Turner lives in St. Paul, MN.
“She is someone that cares and really doesn’t have the extra but wants to make a difference,” Turner said. “I’m just wishing I could be there and could help get other people or companies involved because this could help the community and be an ongoing thing on spring break, summer break anytime through out the year.”
“I’m wondering if anyone would like to step forward and pay for the concessions,” Turner said.
The donor paid close to $200 for renting the theater for this free event to the community.
“This is something for a family to do together, but because of the cost, can’t go to a theater anymore,” Turner said.
New Staff at Common Ground Coffee Shop
Common Ground Coffee Shop is a place to sit a spell, have a cuppa and relax. The shop’s specialty is coffee, baked goods, breakfast and lunch.
They sell special order cookie trays as well.
It has been a community gathering place since its inception in 2013 by the Fort Scott Church of the Nazarene.
To view the first story on the business by fortscott.biz:
Common Ground Coffee Co. offers community a gathering place
Not in the picture: Payton Atwood, Barista; Ella Maher, Barista; Skylar Mohler, Barista
and Hannah Keyes, Barista.
New Staff
Heidi Dixon, 52, started as the new manager of Common Ground Coffee Shop on Dec. 19.
Dixon grew up in Fort Scott, moved away and moved back.
She has been a general manager for Fort Scott Taco Tico, operations manager for Dave and Buster’s Restaurant in Kansas City and worked at several other restaurants through the years.
The Fort Scott Church of the Nazarene board oversees the coffee shop and selected Dixon as the new manager.
Hired as assistant manager is Samantha Racy, 22.
“I volunteered for about a week,” Samantha said. “There was a period the coffee shop was struggling. Others from the church helped. My whole family volunteered.”
Samantha Racy is an esthetician at Healing Hands Therapeutic Massage and Salon and also works at the coffee shop.
In addition, several high school students work there.
The business is searching for an additional cook.
“There is an assistant manager and a manager to take a load off of one person,” said Stacy Racy.
Racy has taken on the scheduling of the Loading Dock, the big rental room, in the rear of the shop.
The Loading Dock
Stacy Racy is hoping to have an event in the Loading Dock at least once a month, she said. Stacy is Samantha’s mother.
In December they had two events: a 1940s Christmas Concert on Dec. 16 and a Photo With The Grinch event on Dec. 17.
The Loading Dock has a stage area and an outside patio area.
To rent the event center costs $60 for four hours during business hours, eight hours will cost $100. To rent the space during in off- business hours is $150 for six hours, she said.
For small groups there is a conference room with a large table in a private area, and it is free, she said.
Hours of operation are Monday through Friday 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Closed Sunday.
To contact the Common Ground Coffee Shop, call 620.223.2499.
Visit the shop’s Facebook page and webpage to see the shop’s latest news.
Find A Book For The Long Winter Nights
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The SEKnFind Newsletter
December 2022
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A 1940’s Christmas Concert at Common Ground This Friday
Common Ground Coffee Co. presents “A 1940s Christmas Concert” with CMT this Friday, December 16, at 7:00 p.m. Ensemble members are Ralph Carlson on acoustic guitar and vocals, Stephan Moses on electric lead guitar and vocals, Carolyn Tucker on keys and vocals, Aaron Tucker on drums and vocals, and Mariam Tucker Self as lead vocalist.
“The World War II era has long been recognized as one of the most prolific musical periods of the 20th century. Hundreds of songs which became popular during this time have continued to maintain their hold on our memories,” band member Ralph Carlson said. “Some of the most beautiful, heartfelt, and fun songs of the season will be featured this Friday.”
The audience will hear a variety of Big Band, classics, standards, traditional carols, gospel, and blues Christmas tunes. A partial song list includes I‘m Dreaming of a White Christmas, I’ll Be Home for Christmas, Silver Bells, Winter Wonderland, Do You Hear What I Hear, Silent Night, Go Tell it on the Mountain, Merry Christmas Baby, and more.
The concert will be held at the Loading Dock inside Common Ground Coffee Co., 12 E. Wall Street. An assortment of goodies and beverages will be available for purchase. Admission to the concert is free. Sound is provided by Dave Oas and Jim Butler.
Christmas Lights Contest With Prizes
CHAMBER ANNOUNCES CHRISTMAS LIGHT CONTEST SPONSORED BY NIECE PRODUCTS
The Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce encourages businesses, residents and neighborhoods to “Deck the Fort” and make the community merry and bright for the holidays. Niece Products is sponsoring a Christmas Light Contest with cash prizes for the winners including:
Residential: 1st $100, 2nd $75, 3rd $50
Top Business: $100
Top Neighborhood: $100
Other contest details:
- Lights should be in place by December 15th and judging will take place between the 15th and 17th.
- Properties within a 1 mile radius of city limits will be considered for contest
- Those wanting to ensure their property is judged should call or email the Chamber with their address, name and phone number. Otherwise, no registration necessary and the judges will do their best to seek out lights in the area.
- Lighting and decorations must be visible from street view
The Chamber encourages everyone to get in the spirit with lights this season. For more information contact the Chamber at 620-223-3566 or by email at [email protected].
Cocoa and Caroling Dec. 9 Downtown Fort Scott
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Christmas Trolley Tours Start Dec. 9
