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Cass County Performing Arts Council

CPAC season kicks off with 'Texas Gypsies'

By ANGELA GUILLORY

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Cass County Performing Arts Council announces its 2010-2011 season with performances by "The Texas Gypsies," the "Texas Boys Choir," "Peg Roach Loyd," "The Fantasticks"-a musical and the "Dallas Original Jazz Orchestra."

"It is going to be a wonderful season," said Ruth Halleck, CCPAC president.

This year’s 10th season kicks off with a catered dinner and the sounds of the ‘30s and ‘40s as "The Texas Gypsies" perform a dinner theatre at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 2, at Indian Hills Country Club in Atlanta.

Halleck said the "Texas Gypsies" are back again with a wonderful blend of pop, swing and hot jazz. A dancing area will be provided for patrons to get up out of their seats and dance. Due to limited seating, reservations are required by calling 903-824-4383.

The "Texas Boys Choir," founded in 1946, consists of boys and young men ages 9 to 18. Since the beginning, the TBC has won numerous awards and performed throughout the U.S. and abroad. They will perform at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 12, at Linden-Kildare High School inside the Nelson Murphy Auditorium.

"Peg Roach Loyd" will perform in an intimate setting at 6:30 p.m. Friday, March 18, 2011, at the Rose Garden Eatery in Queen City.

This singer-songwriter will entertain with traditional Celtic and American folk-style songs. Halleck said Loyd’s melodic voice with a hint of her Irish heritage will surely create a delightful evening.

"The Fantasticks," the longest running musical in the world, will be brought to Linden using local talent and directed by Dr. Dub Narramore. It is described as a timeless fable of love that manages to be nostalgic and universal at the same time. Two performances will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, April 8, and Saturday, April 9, 2011 at Music City Texas Theater.

The season will wrap up with the "Dallas Original Jazz Orchestra" returning to the Nelson-Murphy Auditorium in Linden with the legendary Galen Jeter Jazz Band at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, May 14, 2011. This Grammy-nominated "Big Band" has hosted many jazz luminaries and toured the world for 30 years.

"This fantastic 21-piece orchestra and vocalist Drenda Barnett was so impressive we brought them back. If you love the ‘ Big Band ‘ sound you will love DOJO," Halleck said.

Funding for these performances is provided by The National Endowment for the Arts, The Texas Commission of the Arts and by generous supporters.

CPAC is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the fine arts and quality live entertainment throughout Cass County by bringing education to the schools and entertainment to the county. Contributions are tax deductible.

Season ticket sales and membership are now available. Members receive invitations to meet-the artist-receptions." Memberships may be individual or household. Supporters’’ names are listed in the program.

Individual season membership starts at $70, and other levels are available. Non-member prices are $20 for an individual at the door and the dinner theater is $30. Tickets may be shared if the owners are unable to attend. Students are free with a ticketed adult, except during the dinner theatre and no child under age 4 is allowed.

For more information call 903-824-4383 or 903-799-8841 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

County-wide contest

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Readers choose Mark Stevens as 'Best Dad'

By CHRISTY GREEN

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Mark Stevens says he didn’t expect to be the winner in the Citizens Journal’s "Best Dad in Cass County" contest for Father’s Day.

"I made a joke to my daughters and told them that’s what I wanted for Father’s Day," Stevens said. "I had no idea they were actually going to do it until I saw it in the newspaper."

Children up to 12 years old were asked to write in 100 words or less why their father is the absolute best in Cass County. After readers voted, Stevens won the title.

Stevens’ two daughters, Randa, 10, and Ashton, 12, agreed this would be a good Father’s Day gift, so they entered their dad in the contest with a little help from their mother, Nicole.

"I knew it was going to make Dad happy," said Randa.

In her entry to the newspaper that was inadvertently omitted from publication, Randa described her dad as "the key to her heart."

"I don’t know what I would do if I lost him. He’s my friend forever and ever. He is the perfect dad. He’s a girl’s wish. I love my dad, he is great. He is so awesome. I don’t care what anyone says, I love him. He’s the best dad ever and always will be. I love him. He is perfect, loving, and all the good stuff. I’m so lucky I have a dad that loves me. My dad is handsome too. He loves me and I love him. I LOVE MY DAD."

During Randa’s interview, she said her dad is one that would be there for anyone who needed him.

"We eat supper together and always take trips," said Randa. "Sometimes I go to work with him."

According to Ashton’s newspaper entry, describing her dad with 100 words in a story would be too easy.

"I am going to give you my top 25 reasons that I love and cherish my daddy," she wrote. "Loving, kind, caring, amazing, wonderful, magnificent, awesome, cherish, grateful, fun-spirited, giving, generous, Christian, admired, dependable, he is the best in the world, he is my friend, he is the sweetest man, he is a great man, on my list he is number one, he cares for me, he loves me, he rocks, he takes care of me and HE IS MY HERO. These are the reasons why I love and cherish my dad so much."

During her interview, Ashton described her dad as kind and generous and said her dad is always there if they need help.

"He’s nice and he cares about us and loves us," she said.

Ashton said she enjoys spending time with her dad when he’s off work and spending a whole week with him during vacation time.

"I feel so honored," Mark said. "I don’t know that I’m the best dad in Cass County, but I try to raise my kids right. I spoil them, but in the same aspect teach them to do the right things."

Mark said receiving this honor was the happiest day of his life.

The couple also has a son, Austin, who is 14 years old.

"Proverbs tells us, ‘Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it.’ Unlike so many men today, Mark truly leads his children by example," said his wife, Nicole. "He is as wonderful a husband as he is a father. The children and I know how blessed we are to have him, and we are so very thankful."

In addition to his "bragging rights" as the Best Dad in Cass County, Stevens received an 18-volt cordless drill set from Price Hardware and a 12-month subscription to Citizens Journal.

Saturday, June 5, in Athens

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Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center celebrates fishing

ATHENS – The Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens will kick off National Fishing and Boating Week by making a family fishing trip affordable with free admission for kids 12 and under plus free fishing for the whole family and free hot dogs and drinks from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Saturday, June 5.

Each child will receive a free raffle ticket good for prize drawings at 3 p.m. in the Anglers Pavilion; those drawn must be present to win.

In addition to fishing, visitors can walk the wetlands trail; see a diver hand feed fish; learn about the history of fishing in the freshwater fishing museum; shop for a Father's Day gift in the Flat Creek Bait 'n Goods Gift Shop and watch the alligator feeding at 3:30 p.m.

The TFFC Fishing Festival is sponsored by Athens Wal-Mart Supercenter, Ernie Yarborough, Friends of the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center and Cole's Air-Conditioning and Appliance.

National Fishing and Boating Week comes at the start of the summer vacation season and is designed to encourage families to spend time together on and around water. No fishing license is required anywhere in the state on the first Saturday in June, which is designated Free Sportfishing Day.

The Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center is an aquatic nature center and hatchery complex operated by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. It is located 75 miles southeast of Dallas and four miles east of Athens on F.M. 2495. Dive shows take place at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturdays, 11 a.m. Tuesday through Friday, and 2 p.m. Sundays. Hours are 9 to 4 Tuesday through Saturday and 1 to 4 Sunday. Usual admission is adults, $5.50; seniors, $4.50; children 4-12, $3.50. For information go to www.tpwd.state.tx.us/tffc/ or call (903) 676-2277.

Richard Bowden and friends

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New comedy act to premier at Linden’s Music City Texas Theater

Three nationally known musical comedians have not-so-secretly banded together as a trio to bring one of the most entertaining comedy experiences to the stage since Blue Collar Comedy. James Lee Reeves of Reno, Nev., Denny Johnston of La Quinta, Calif., and Richard Bowden of Linden have formed “The Smoldering Embers,” and are touting the motto, “We Ain’t Done Yet.”

Tickets are $12 per person and available by calling MCT at 903-756-9934 or by emailing This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

All three are experience performers in a variety of media – and Bowden said they have another common denominator – their age.

“We are all 64 years old and we’re finally doing something we’ve been threatening to do for the better part of a decade. We’ve always made each other laugh. This is something that we just plain want to do,” said Bowden, MCT executive director.

“It dawned on us,” added Bowden, “that there are millions of us 55 and older that have been left sitting in the dust by the nation’s current comedy scene. We are not interested in a 30-something year old comic, using ‘dude’ every other word, talking about text messaging or sexting or some other nouveaux- techno stuff that holds nothing for us electronically-challenged fuddy-duddies.”

Reeves, well known for his character “Professor Milo Tremley,” has headlined America’s flagship comedy clubs for more than two decades and made many comedy recordings for the nation’s popular morning radio shows.

As an actor, Reeves made guest appearances on ‘70s television shows such as “Kung Fu” and the James Garner series “Nichols.” He has performed at Farm Aid with Willie Nelson, plus a couple of Willie’s July 4 picnics in Luckenbach. He’s also headlined such Las Vegas casinos as The Dunes, The Aladdin and The Golden Nugget.

Johnston won Showtime’s Big L.A. Laff-Off out of the 109 comedians who signed up. He has appeared on The Tonight Show and Late Night with David Letterman and his TV credits include Evening At The Improv, Good Morning America, Merv Griffin, Comedy Central, Arsenio Hall, A&E Comedy Channel and Make Me Laugh.

He has opened shows for Michael Bolton, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Kenny G., Julio Iglesias, George Jones, Kenny Loggins, Seals & Croft and Creedence Clearwater Revival.

Bowden is a cofounder of the musical comedy duo of Pinkard & Bowden, who recorded five albums for Warner Bros. Records throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s. His comedy songs with Pinkard & Bowden reached the national charts with titles such as “Mama, She’s Lazy” and “She Thinks I Steal Cars.” Live cuts like “Help Me Make It Through The Yard” and “I’ve Got Friends In Crawlspaces” became morning radio hits nationwide and can still be heard on such great nationally syndicated radio shows as the Bob & Tom Show and the Johnboy & Billy Big Show.

Bowden’s solo CD cuts are now being heard on Sirius/XM Radio. Before embarking upon a comedy career, he provided lead guitar skills for such rock artists as Linda Ronstadt, Dan Fogelberg, Roger McGuinn (Byrds) and Johnny Rivers. He has also recorded on albums for Stevie Nicks, Commander Cody, Johnny Rodriguez, Doug Kershaw and sang backup vocals with Bonnie Raitt on the “Urban Cowboy” soundtrack album.

Bowden reports his two visitors will “converge on Linden in a few days to do a little fishing before the show on Saturday.”

The show will also be professionally videotaped for a promotional video.

“Because of the demographic we are targeting, we plan to keep the material no more risqué than PG-13 … is that still a rating?” Bowden laughed.

Combining their musical skills with their comedic expertise for the “Smoldering Embers,” the trio is sure to provide the audience with more laughs per second than any other comedy act working today.

“This is a must-see comedy performance,” Bowden said.

For more info, visit www.musiccitytexas.org for a complete lineup of events. MCT is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization classified by the IRS as a public charity, and as such, all donations, including tickets, are tax-deductible to the extent of the law.

Horseshoes, music, fund

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Crawfish boil on Saturday benefits St. Jude's

The 13th Annual Big Bird Crawfish Boil in memory of Noah Bennett and Jesse Cornett is Saturday, May 15. Proceeds benefit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Over the years the committee has raise more than $100,000 for the hospital.

The group will begin serving crawfish with all the fixings, hamburgers, hotdogs and barbeque at 11:30 a.m.

An auction starts at 11 a.m. A horseshoe contest will be held and Rodney Whatley Band will perform live music all day.

A drawing for a Browning Maxus 12-gauge semi-automatic shotgun 3.5-inch chamber with 28-inch barrel will be held with tickets going for $5. Participants need not be present to win.

To get to the event from Linden go west on Highway 155. Take the first left at County Road 1617. The event is 4.3 miles on the right; look for signs.

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