SUNY Potsdam Announces Sixth Annual LOKO Festival

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Abadeer Patten, a junior in the Bachelor of Fine Arts program at SUNY Potsdam, dons her wearable art project during last year's Festival of Light event as part of the LoKo Festival of Arts.

POTSDAM, NY (04/19/2017) (readMedia)-- SUNY Potsdam's annual Lougheed-Kofoed Festival (LoKo) Festival of the Arts, the north country's most comprehensive arts experience, will take over campus from April 28 to May 7. Both campus and community are welcome to experience a variety of free cross-disciplinary art experiences at the 2017 LoKo Festival.

Every day offers unique performances, workshops and guest speaker appearances. Two accomplished SUNY Potsdam alumni will be back on campus to discuss their careers in the arts. Saad Hajidin '88 will talk about his transition from a SUNY Potsdam printmaking studio to a career at Donna Karan, Liz Claiborne and Ralph Lauren, where he is currently a senior director. Stephan Savoia '75, a Pulitzer Prize winning AP photographer will share his photographs and stories from a career as a photojournalist covering presidential campaigns, natural disasters and the Olympic games.

Take in a concert by the Crane Chorus and Crane Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of JoAnn Falletta, as they perform Francis Poulenc's "Gloria" and Sergei Rachmaninoff "The Bells" one night, then attend the Senior Choreography Concert the following afternoon and a workshop on stage makeup or creating human forms for theatrical props the day after that.

The LoKo Festival will also feature five performances of "The Bacchae of Euripides: A Communion Rite" by Wole Soyinka. The play is an adaptation of Euripides' Ancient Greek classic play. Under the advisement and direction of faculty, the piece is completely student run production.

The annual Festival of Lights is a dynamic, family-friendly event not to be missed! Students display their illuminated sculptures and interactive displays to light up the quad at night. Families can also enjoy a production of "The Three Bears." This one-act children's opera is a sequel to the tale of "Goldilocks and the Three Bears." Or come join us for a hands-on stage makeup workshop where participants will learn how to use airbrush guns, stencils and other supplies to complete their own stage makeup designs.

Parking permits will not be required during the LoKo Festival. All events are free and open to the public, except for one special performance by Branford Marsalis Quartet. This concert features one of the most innovative and forward-thinking jazz ensembles around today. For tickets and information about this concert visit www.cpspotsdam.org or call (315) 267-2277.

"Being 'LoKo' for the arts means that we are passionate about the culture of creativity on our campus, and that we embrace the diversity of expression that is embodied here at SUNY Potsdam," President Kristin G. Esterberg said. "We are so thankful to the Lougheeds for making this incredible festival possible, both for our campus and the entire North Country community."

Kathryn (Kofoed) '54 and Donald Lougheed, Hon. '54, founded the Lougheed-Kofoed Festival of the Arts in 2012, to bring the campus festival tradition back to Kathy's alma mater.

New this year is the free LoKo Festival mobile app. To keep up with all that's happening, please go to the App Store or Google Play Store, search for and download Guidebook. After downloading the app, search for "LoKo." The interactive app features the full schedule, artist bios, and festival updates.

To see the full jam-packed schedule of events, visit www.potsdam.edu/loko.

To keep up with the latest, visit www.facebook.com/lokofestival.

Founded in 1816, The State University of New York at Potsdam is one of only three arts campuses in the entire SUNY system. SUNY Potsdam's arts curriculum offers the full palette: music, theatre, dance, fine arts and creative writing. No matter the discipline, people from all backgrounds can find their creative compass at Potsdam, with myriad arts immersion experiences available for both campus and community.

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