GCC presents four Cultural Arts events in October

Grayson County College’s Cultural Arts Series continues in October with a musical comedy performance as well as lectures by a knight, an American Book Award winner, and an Emmy Award-winning journalist. The series meets weekly on Wednesdays at 12:30 p.m. in GCC’s Cruce Stark Auditorium. Most presentations last one hour although some may go longer. All events are free and open to the public.           

On Oct. 6, Dr. Geffery Grimes presents “Three Keys to Culture.” A writer and college professor, he received a knighthood designation for his humanitarian efforts working more than 20 years with supervisors in Guatemala’s Ministry of Education. 

During his presentation, Grimes examines three defining elements of traditional cultures discernible in the Maya communities – mythology, religion and art – and how powerful elements of the progressive culture used each against Guatemala’s indigenous populations during the longest running civil war in the modern history of Latin America. In the struggle from 1953 to 1996, more than 250,000 were killed, more than a million were left homeless and more than 660 towns and villages were destroyed. 

On Oct. 13, GCC’s Theatre Department performs the musical comedy All Shook Up. Loosely based on Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night and featuring 26 Elvis Presley songs, the show is full of spectacle and foot-stomping music that appeals to all ages. Set in the 1950s, the story follows Chad – a hip-swiveling, guitar-playing roustabout – who rides his motorcycle into a small town. When Natalie, the local mechanic, sees Chad, their worlds collide. All Shook Up features a large cast and stunning theatrical effects. 

This Cultural Arts Series performance is the only free presentation of the play. For information about other show times and ticket prices, contact the GCC Theatre Department at 903-463-8609 or email theatre@grayson.edu.

On Oct. 20, American Book Award author Dr. Amanda Cobb-Greetham presents “The Chickasaw Indian Nation: Their Past, Their Culture, Their Heritage, Their Future.” Considered one of the Five Civilized Tribes, the Chickasaw Indians first made contact with Europeans through Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto. Later they were forced to leave their native land, becoming part of the Great Removal when they traveled the Trail of Tears to their new territory in what is now Oklahoma.           

Cobb-Greetham is administrator of the Chickasaw Nation’s Division of History and Culture, a tenured associate professor at Oklahoma State University, and editor of American Indian Quarterly Journal. Besides the American Book Award, her book “Listening to Our Grandmothers’ Stories: The Bloomfield Academy of Chickasaw Females, 1885-1949” also received the North American Indian Prose Award.

On Oct. 27, Mike Boettcher draws on his experience as an award-winning journalist to bring “The Brave and the Free.” As he relates stories of real American heroes, participants learn how U.S. troops need their help and what they can do to provide that help.           

Earning four Emmy Awards for Journalism Excellence, Boettcher has been on location to cover nearly every major war, revolution and terrorist attack of the last three decades. Kidnapped and threatened with execution in El Salvador in 1985, he also survived a suicide bomber attack and roadside bombing 20 years later in Baghdad. Boettcher led NBC’s investigation of the Oklahoma City bombing and was one of three journalists to speak with Timothy McVeigh while he was imprisoned. As CNN’s former chief terrorism correspondent, he also functioned as the network’s investigation unit for five years. Recently embedded in Iraq and Afghanistan, Boettcher was one of a small group of reporters installed with U.S. Special Forces during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Previously, he was embedded with the U.S. Marines during Operation Desert Storm in 1991.

GCC’s Cultural Arts Series debuted in September and runs through Dec. 1. It features lectures, performances and theater events from world-class speakers and performers from across Texas and the United States as well as GCC music and theater students. For more information about upcoming lectures and performances, visit the college’s website at www.grayson.edu and click on GCC Cultural Arts Series, or call 903-463-8662.