All about the ARTS in Ruston!

Written by Jessica Slaughter, NCLAC Executive Director

The North Central Louisiana Arts Council is pleased to present its 17th annual Holiday Arts Tour in downtown Ruston, November 20-23. Holiday Arts Tour is “all about the arts,” with music, visual artists, writers, dance and theatre.
Beginning on Thursday, November 20th, there will be live music each day, including jazz, bluegrass, country, barbershop harmony, classical, blues, Chinese harp, reggae and body percussion. Thirty-five downtown Ruston locations will play host to artwork by regional artists, as part of Ruston’s Main Street Christmas Open House. 

   

On Friday, artists will be on site in these shops selling their works from 5 till 9pm. One of the special parts of the Arts Tour is the artist-viewer dynamic; it’s an interactive weekend. Shoppers are welcomed to speak with the creators about their works and to get the inside scoop on these one-of-a-kind items. Saturday’s hours are noon till 6pm and will expand to include artists’ demonstrations, such as oil painting, printmaking, and quilting. In the afternoon there will be a round-robin poetry reading featuring four regional poets. The poetry reading was added to last year’s Tour and was a great success.

On Sunday, from 1:30 till 3:30, will be Sprout Sunday, art projects for children with six of the participating Arts Tour artists. A book reading by a local children’s author, a fiber-based ornament and a paper-folded puppet are included in the roster.
A perfect ending is the Community Variety Show at 4:00pm on Sunday. This show will include dancing, vocal and instrumental music, and theatre. It’s an entertaining line-up!

Photo credit: Peter Jones

All of the performances and activities in Holiday Arts Tour are free to the public as part of NCLAC’s mission to foster opportunities for creative expression and build a region where the arts can thrive.
For a complete schedule and listing of all artists and sites, please visit nclarts.org/HolidayArtsTour.

Holiday Arts Tour is supported in part by a grant from the Louisiana Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural Development, Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism in cooperation with the Louisiana State Arts Council and administered by the Shreveport Regional Arts Council.

 Tell us about your adventures in #RustonLA!