| Arts
& Humanities
Festival brings acclaimed storytellers to Marquette
Storytelling has long been part of the culture of the Upper Peninsula, from the native inhabitants of the region to every immigrant group who settled in the region. For many years, the Peter White Public Library and the Beaumier U.P. Heritage Center at Northern Michigan University have celebrated storytelling through programs and exhibits. This month, these two institutions are joining forces to bring two nationally known storytellers to Marquette to perform and conduct workshops with local students. A performance by Bill Harley, February 10, will be followed with an appearance by Kevin Kling, February 24. Both performances will be held at 7:30 p.m. in Forest Roberts Theatre at NMU.
Additional sponsors for Harley’s performance are Friends of Peter White Public Library, Marquette Area Public Schools, Carroll Paul Memorial Trust Fund of Peter White Public Library and City Insurance Agency. Kling’s appearance is part of the Beaumier Center’s annual Upper Peninsula Folklife Festival and is funded by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs.
A two-time Grammy award-winning artist and recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities, Harley uses song and story to paint a vibrant and hilarious picture of growing up, schooling and family life. His work spans the generation gap, reminds us of our common humanity and challenges us to be our very best selves. A prolific author and recording artist, Harley also is a regular commentator for NPR’s All Things Considered and has been featured on PBS. He joined the National Storytelling Network’s Circle of Excellence in 2001 and tours nationwide as an author, performing artist and keynote speaker.
Harley began singing and storytelling in 1975 while still in college. His work has influenced a generation of children, parents, performing artists and educators. His songs are joyous, direct and honest. His stories are filled with the details of daily life—all told and sung from his slightly off-center point of view.
“Humor is my weapon,” said Harley of his recordings, which have also received awards from Parents’ Choice, NAPPA (National Association of Parenting Publication Awards) and the ALA (American Library Association). Harley also earned the highest honor from the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio for his concert DVD, Yes to Running!, filmed in conjunction with Montana PBS.
Kling is best known for his popular commentaries on NPR and his storytelling stage performances such as “Tales from the Charred Underbelly of the Yule Log,” which deliver hilarious, often tender stories. Kling’s autobiographical tales are as enchanting as they are true to life: hopping freight trains, getting hit by lightning, performing his banned play in Czechoslovakia, growing up in Minnesota and eating things before knowing what they are.
Kling grew up in Osseo, a Minneapolis suburb, and graduated from Gustavus Adolphus College in 1979 with a bachelor’s degree in theatre. His storytelling started when a friend from the now-defunct Brass Tacks Theatre asked him to perform his stories. Since then, he has been awarded numerous arts grants and fellowships. The National Endowment for the Arts, McKnight Foundation, Minnesota State Arts Board, Bush Foundation, Jerome Foundation and others have recogn ized his artistry.
Kling was born with a congenital birth defect—his left arm is about three-quarters the size of his right arm, and his left hand has no wrist or thumb. More than five years ago, Kling was in a motorcycle accident. The brachial plexus nerves in his right arm were pulled completely out of their sockets. Currently, he has partial use of his left arm and cannot use his right arm at all. Kling continues to write plays and stories in rigorous fashion. He travels around the globe to numerous storytelling festivals and residencies, and has been invited to perform for several years at the acclaimed National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough (Tennnessee). He has released a number of compact disc collections of his stories and published two books, The Dog Says How and Holiday Inn.
Advanced tickets for each performance will be $10.00 for adults and $5.00 for students. Prices at the door are $2.50 higher. Tickets for Bill Harley can be purchased at the Peter White Public Library and at the door. Tickets for Kevin Kling can be purchased at Forest Roberts Theatre, the NMU Bookstore, the Superior Dome, online at www.nmu.edu/tickets or by calling 227-1032.
–– Dan Truckey
Know a health care ‘hero’?
Special contributions that have opened doors to health care services for uninsured Upper Peninsula residents will be recognized in May as part of the sixth annual “Hero for the Uninsured” Awards program, sponsored by U.P. Health Access Coalition in cooperation with community health care providers and local U.P. access coalitions.
Nominations for 2012 “Hero for the Uninsured” candidates are being sought from throughout the U.P. to recognize deserving individuals, medical providers and programs that help make health care, prescription medications and medical services accessible to U.P. residents regardless of their ability to pay.
Nominators may recommend individuals, institutions, organ izations or programs that:
––Demonstrate exceptional effort in providing access to care for uninsured U.P. residents, either in a singular event or ongoing work.
––Make exemplary sustained or new contributions toward the goal of achieving 100 percent access to health care in the U.P.
––Provide special efforts in direct care services, program outreach and emphasis on dignity in care to Local Access Coalition enrollees or the uninsured population of the region in general.
––Create or implement new or innovative ideas or programs that support access to health care for uninsured U.P. residents.
Nominations may come from anyone, including patients served and the general public as well as from the health care community, access coalitions and their partner organizations. The deadline for nomination submission is March 9.
A simple, two-page nomination form is available online at www.uphealthaccess.org Forms and instructions for submitting nominations also are available from local access coalition offices in Escanaba, Hancock, Iron Mountain, Iron River, Manistique, Marquette, Menominee, Munising, Newberry, Sault Ste. Marie and St. Ignace, or from the U.P. Health Access Coalition office in Escanaba by calling 233-0210.
The 2012 “Hero” winners will be recognized at the annual “Hero for the Uninsured” Awards Dinner at Upfront & Co. in Marquette, Thursday, May 10.
The awards have been given out since 2007. That year, awardees were War Memorial Hospital of Sault Ste. Marie, OSF St. Francis Hospital of Escanaba, Portage Health System’s Financial Assistance Program in Hancock, U.P. Association of Rural Health Services, TDS Pharmacies of Dickinson County, Medical Care Access Coalition Clinic director Kevin Piggott, MD, of Marquette, and community volunteers Ruthann Davey of Calumet and Jeannette Hauver of Marquette.
In 2008, the winners were Dickinson County Healthcare System’s Patient Assistance Program in Iron Mountain, Care Free Dental Clinic of Escanaba, Medical Arts Medical Center of Houghton, Schoolcraft Memorial Hospital of Manistique, Martha Short, MD, with Melissa Broeders, PA, and Cathy Paquette, LPN, of Marquette, and Teresa Kowalski, FNP, of Dafter.
Hero awards were given in 2009 to James Hubbard, MD, of Ironwood, Northwoods Airlifeline of Kingsford, The Corporation for National and Community Service’s Michigan Office, Sault Community Pharmacy of Sault Ste. Marie, St. Vincent de Paul Society of Escanaba and Gladstone, and community volunteers Connie Diller of Gulliver and Faith Laken of Gwinn.
The 2010 awards went to Downtown Eye Care of Marquette, Emerald City Dental Center of Manistique, Catherine Kroll, DO, of Gwinn, Lynn Kihm of Newberry, and community volunteer Matthew Bixby of Hancock.
In 2011, the winners were Aspirus Keweenaw Hospital of Laurium, Daniel M. Mitchell, MD, of Iron Mountain, Alice Halsey of Pickford, Garrett Eye & Laser Center of Escanaba and Iron Mountain, Donald Fahrbach, MD, of Munising, and community volunteer Laurence Ziomkowski II of Marquette, who was the first recipient of the Dr. Richard Imm Memorial Hero Award.
––Nancy Matthews
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