(June 20, 2009) – The Betty Strong Encounter Center will celebrate one of
Siouxland’s most famous foods with two free sessions of “A Poppin’ Good Time” at
10 a.m. Tuesday, June 23 and Thursday, June 25.
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Admire to honor dads with country music
(June 15, 2009) – The Center will present a Father’s Day program by singer Katie Admire at
2 p.m. Sunday, June 21 on the Center’s grounds. Admission will be free. Visitors are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and blankets.
“Singing at the Encounter Center on Father’s Day will be a high point of being back home in Siouxland. I’m thrilled to be honoring the great men in our lives,” says the Sergeant Bluff-Luton High School graduate who is a sophomore at Belmont University, Nashville, Tenn.
Katie became known as “Siouxland’s Idol” when she advanced in the 2007-2008 season to semi-finalist on the popular TV show “American Idol.” Her standing-room-only programs at the Encounter Center inspired the upcoming appearance.
The Encounter Center program will include a range of favorites that will emphasize Katie’s love for country music. It also will showcase some new pieces.
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Program looks at immigrants and English language
(June 5, 2009) – The Center will host “Coming to America: Why Some ‘Foreign’ Languages Endure in the Heartland” at
2 p.m. Sunday, June 14 with Dr. Alex Poole, assistant professor of English at Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green. Admission will be free.
Poole, a 1994 graduate of Sioux City’s North High School, will discuss the
myth that previous generations of immigrants learned English almost immediately
upon arriving in the United States but today's newcomers are reluctant to do so.
Rather, in his illustrated program Poole will show that today’s immigrants
tend to switch to English more readily than European immigrants of several
generations ago.
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Center kicks off free summer kids’ activities
(June 1, 2009) – Free, hands-on activities for kids, kindergarten through
sixth grade, will get under way at 1 p.m. Tuesday, June 2 when the Betty Strong
Encounter Center kicks off the first of two sessions of “Summertime Fun at the
Center.”
Session I includes hour-long music encounters; model keel-boat building;
Seaman the Dog mapping adventures; cultural games and history crafts. Events
will be held in the Center’s activity room. Admission and materials will be
free. Registration is not required.
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Center hosts river clean-up planning
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (June 1, 2009) – Plans for the annual Siouxland Missouri River clean-up will be discussed at
10:30 a.m. Tuesday, June 2 at the Center. The public is invited.
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“Floyd & F.L.” candy bar celebrates Yards, L&C link
(May 26, 2009) – The Center has joined with Palmer Candy Company to honor the legendary Sioux City Stockyards’ link to Lewis & Clark history.
The collaboration has resulted in the “Floyd & F.L. Bar,” a Palmer Candy Company treat that will be given to history-savvy visitors at the Center from
1 to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 30, the 108th anniversary of the Floyd Monument dedication. The date also will mark the installation of the Center’s 20-foot-tall reproduction of the Floyd Monument.
Crafted by Mike McCormick, the model obelisk will be displayed as part of “Building a Memory,” a new exhibit that tells the story of the local effort that led to the Floyd Monument.
The “Floyd & F.L. Bar” consists of two chocolate-coated English toffee bars in a package that honors Sergeant Charles Floyd, the only member of the expedition to die during the exploration, and F.L. Eaton, the Stockyards executive who negotiated the sale of the land that held Floyd’s grave and became the site of the Floyd Monument.
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WWII veterans’ exhibition returns to Center
(May 18, 2009) – Stories of 14 Siouxland World War II veterans will take focus when the Sioux City Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center opens an encore exhibition of “Our Stories: World War II Veterans Remember Extraordinary Times” Friday, May 22. Admission is free.
The show comprises portraits by photojournalist Fr. Don Doll, S.J.; stories by Tim Gallagher of the Sioux City Journal; and WWII images from the National Archives. The exhibition was designed by Fr. Doll and Carol McCabe, of Magis Productions.
The project began with Gallagher’s interviews of veterans in Iowa, South Dakota and Nebraska. The journalist found men and women who recalled vivid details of service in Europe, the Pacific, Australia, Africa and on the home front.
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Encounter Center event supports hospice care in HIV/AIDS pandemic
(May 11, 2009) – Reaching out to the human family will be the focus of “Why We Should Care: the HIV/AIDS Pandemic in Sub-Saharan Africa” at
1 p.m. Sunday, May 17 at the Betty Strong Encounter Center. Admission will be free and a reception will follow.
The event will present speakers representing hospice services in South Africa; their Hospice of Siouxland partners; and the Foundation for Hospices in Sub-Saharan Africa (FHSSA). It will mark the beginning of Jennifer and Michael Tuites’ walk across Iowa to raise awareness of hospice needs in Sub-Saharan Africa.
In 2008, more than 2 million Africans died of HIV/AIDS, including 520,000 children.
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“Heartland” photographer to present program
(May 3, 2009) – Photographer Charles W. Guildner will present an illustrated program about his photo exhibition, “The Heartland – Lives of Tradition,” at
2 p.m. Sunday, May 10 at the Betty Strong Encounter Center. Admission will be free.
“The Heartland,” which runs through July 26 at the Center, presents dozens of black-and-white photographs by the Nebraska native made during almost 20 years of traveling through parts of rural Nebraska, Montana, Wyoming and Colorado.
At the core of “The Heartland” are portraits of people living and working in ways that have changed little since European immigrants settled the areas. Most of the images are printed with traditional “wet” darkroom, silver techniques.
“Jim Myrick, Gibbon, Nebraska” captures “a
soft-spoken, gentle giant…who wanted some roots, went to Calloway, Nebraska,
fell in love with the community, sold his truck, bought a pick-up, trailer,
horse and saddle.”
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Big River kayaker brings adventure to Center
(April 27, 2009) – “Going with the Flow: A Quest on the Missouri River,” an illustrated program by kayaker Adam Brooks, will be at
2 p.m. Sunday, May 3 at the Betty Strong Encounter Center. A reception will follow;
admission will be free.
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Exhibit tells story of St. Augustine Indian Mission
(April 9, 2009) – Annual portraits of St. Augustine Indian Mission children
photographed by Fr. Don Doll, S.J. are among the most popular exhibits at the
Betty Strong Encounter Center.
Visitors will learn more about the heritage and history of St. Augustine
when the Center opens “Who Are These Beautiful Children?” ; at noon Sunday,
April 19 with live Native flute music, a program and reception.
The photo exhibit comprises contemporary images by Fr. Doll, archival
Mission photographs, and text by Marcia Poole that reach back to St. Augustine’s
beginning when it was founded in 1909 by St. Katharine Drexel. The exhibit was
designed by Fr. Doll and Carol McCabe of Magis Productions.
“This exhibit was inspired by thousands of visitors who’ve spent time
looking at the St. Augustine children’s portraits and who’ve asked, ‘Who are
these beautiful children?’” says Poole, director of the Center. “In this
centennial year of St. Augustine, it’s time to bring greater cultural and
historical context to the children’s story.y."
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‘Lives of Tradition’ photo exhibition opens
(April 3, 2009) – “The Heartland – Lives of Tradition” will open at noon
Sunday, April 5 at the Betty Strong Encounter Center on Sioux City’s riverfront.
The exhibition presents dozens of black-and-white photographs made by
Nebraska native Charles W. Guildner during almost 20 years of traveling parts of
rural Nebraska, Montana, Wyoming and Colorado. Admission is free.
At the core of “Heartland” are portraits of people living and working in
ways that have changed little since European immigrants settled the areas. Among
them are Craig Haythorn, a fourth-generation member of an Arthur, Neb., family
that owns a cattle and quarter horse ranch; Mick
Goettle, who operates the Stucky Ranch with his wife Earlene near Avon, Mont.;
and Rick Gaudreault, who trains horses for ranch work at the Bartlett Ranch,
LaGrange, Wyoming.
“It’s interesting to find people whose lives seem grounded in tradition, who
find vitality in long-standing ways of living,” says Guildner who now lives in
Everett, Wash. “It’s uncertain how long these traditional ways will endure. But
I find a spirit among these people that makes me think many will continue these
lives of tradition.”
In 1990, Guildner began photographing the landscape and lives of people, mainly in rural Montana, Wyoming, Colorado & Nebraska. He’s on the road, photographing almost daily for three to four months each year, beginning in April and returning home in July.
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WWII veterans’ exhibit headed for encore presentation
