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Video courtesy of Reuters.

Tomorrow is the final day to see the Betty Branch exhibit ("Through a Crow's Eye: A Retrospective") at the Eleanor D. Wilson Museum at Hollins University.

And also tomorrow, admission to the Taubman Museum of Art, which just opened four new exhibits, including a collection of Rembrandt etchings, is free.

"Shopping" by Helen Hubler | courtesy of the artist

Botetourt County artist Helen Hubler has informed me that she's loaned several of her paintings (including the one above and below) to Roanoke's Star City Playhouse to be part of the stage set for the company's next production, "Class Acts: Three One Act Plays."

"Sentinel II" by Helen Hubler | courtesy of the artist

Those plays include "I'm Herbert" by Robert Anderson, a comedy in which two old men sit on a porch and talk about their past marriages and flings, with their memories perhaps a little hazy as to who did what when; as well as dramatizations of two short stories from "Kinfolks," a collection of tales set in Appalachia by Grundy native and current Kentucky poet laureate Gurney Norman.

"Class Acts" will be performed four successive weekends, from Nov. 27 - Dec. 20, with showtimes 7 p.m. Fridays, 7 p.m. Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays. Tickets $10, seniors and students $6. Call 366-0060 for more info.

If anyone wonders why I didn't post new entries yesterday, it's because I spent the day chasing down rumors of a baby Tyrannosaurus rex loose in Roanoke. See for yourself, courtesy of online producer Jordan Fifer.

Roanoke children shriek with dinosaur

Third-graders at Roanoke Catholic School were probably the luckiest pupils in the Roanoke Valley on Thursday morning.

Although it's possible that for a few moments — as a 7-foot-tall baby Tyrannosaurus rex disconnected a cordon with its teeth and began snapping its jaws at them — some of the kids might not have agreed with that statement.

But there was laughter amid the shrieks. And some students told their teachers they wanted the T. rex to come back — as soon as it was safely backstage again.

No one was in any real danger, but the utterly convincing, life-size puppet made that hard to remember.

The dinosaur's appearance at the Roanoke Civic Center was part of a promotional campaign for "Walking with Dinosaurs: The Arena Spectacular," a massive stage show involving full-scale free moving animatronic dinosaurs that's coming in January.

The 90-minute arena show features 17 dinosaurs, including a lumbering brachiosaurus that's 36 feet tall — tall enough that its head will be at risk of brushing the Roanoke Civic Center's ceiling. There are two 23-foot-tall adult tyrannosaurs. There's also an ornithocheirus, a flying dinosaur with a wingspan of 38 feet.

Matthew Rimmer, a spokesman for the production's North American tour, said the ornithocheirus actually flies during the show. When asked how that's done, he just smiled.

Click here to read the rest.

Sherrie Rollins Westin | courtesy of Taubman Museum of Art

Sherrie Rollins Westin (pictured to the left), executive vice president and chief marketing officer of Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit organization behind Sesame Street and other educational initiatives, will speak at the Taubman Museum of Art's sold-out Women's Luncheon this coming Monday. Westin, a native Roanoker, will also receive the Ann Fralin Award in recognition of her commitment to and support of the arts, education and community.

Philanthropist and community volunteer Sheila Strauss will also be a recipient of the Ann Fralin Award, marking the first time the award has been given to two women in the same year. The award was created in 2005, and past recipients include poet and writer Nikki Giovanni, artist Dorothy Gillespie and former First Lady of Virginia Lisa Collis.

Here's more details about Westin, Strauss, the award, and the luncheon.

SESAME WORKSHOP DYNAMO SHERRIE ROLLINS WESTIN
TO SPEAK AT SOLD-OUT WOMEN’S LUNCHEON ON NOVEMBER 23
Westin and Sheila Strauss to Receive Ann Fralin Award

The Taubman Museum of Art is pleased to announce that Sherrie Rollins Westin, the executive vice president and chief marketing officer of Sesame Workshop, will speak at the sold-out Women’s Luncheon on November 23. Prior to her remarks, Westin will be presented with the museum’s Ann Fralin Award, which recognizes the recipient for her vision, commitment to and support of the arts and education.

“We are delighted to present the Ann Fralin Award to Sherrie Westin to recognize her contributions to children’s education,” said David Mickenberg, the museum’s executive director. “Her achievements are remarkable, and her commitment to ensuring that young children continue to receive the highest level of educational opportunities possible is extraordinary.”

The Ann Fralin Award also will be presented to Sheila Strauss, a well-known community volunteer, philanthropist and children’s education activist. The museum’s interactive gallery and art center for children, Art Venture, is named for Strauss, who was instrumental in providing the funding and inspiration for the creative and engaging space.
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Mill Mountain Theatre has announced the complete cast of "Annie Jr.," a production of the beloved musical with the familiar roles filled by 35 students, ranging ages 6 to 18, from schools all over the Roanoke and New River valleys. The play will be performed Dec. 10-13 and Dec. 17-20 on the Trinkle Main Stage in Center in the Square. Tickets $10-$12. The cast list follows.

ANNIE JR. CAST LIST (order of appearance with understudy)

ANNIE - Kelly Devens, 11 (Glenvar Middle School)

The Orphans

• Molly – Olivia Goodman, 6 (Breckenridge Elementary)
• Pepper – Taylor Dawson, 13 (Blacksburg Middle School)
• Duffy – Jessica Wollmann, 12 (Blacksburg Middle School)
• Kate – Anne Peyton Brothers, 12 (James Madison Middle)
• Tessie – Ann Marie Soltis, 15 (William Byrd High School)
• July – Meredith Green, 15 (Faith Christian School)
• U/S – Nicole Chaney, 13 (North Cross)

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I mentioned yesterday that this week is National Opera Week. Roanoke City Council has issued an official proclamation declaring Opera Week in Roanoke. There aren't any events scheduled in Roanoke this year, but Opera Roanoke has informed me of a fortuitous development that they're understandably excited about. An anonymous donor has offered to match donations to the non-profit up to $250,000; if Opera Roanoke can reach that goal, the organization's endowment fund will reach the coveted $1 million mark. Details below.

Opera Roanoke Receives $250,000 Fundraising Challenge
Successful Completion Would Increase Endowment Fund to $1 Million

An anonymous donor is offering a dollar-for-dollar match up to $250,000 for contributions to the Opera Roanoke Endowment Fund. Contributions and pledges paid within the next three years are eligible for this matching opportunity. When successfully completed, the challenge would increase the value of the fund to $1 million.

The Endowment Fund is a permanently invested fund that provides a stream of income to Opera Roanoke annually, based upon a formula created by the Endowment Committee of Opera Roanoke. A portion of the earnings are made available to the company and the remaining earnings are reinvested in the fund to provide for future growth and as a hedge against inflation. As the value of the fund grows, the amount of money available to Opera Roanoke increases.
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Another week in Roanoke, another new work of public art to dedicate: next Monday, there will be a ceremony officially unveiling a sculpture-enhanced bus shelter by Patrick Henry High School. This is another project involving high school art students, supervised by Bassett artist Ed Dolinger (who, as you might recall, supervised the new student-created public art installed in the Center in the Square garage — and also won Best in Show in this year's Roanoke City Art Show. The man is certainly a newsmaker this year.)

Here's the official press release from Roanoke city.

City to dedicate its first Percent for Art bus shelter near Patrick Henry High School

The City of Roanoke, the Greater Roanoke Transit Company (GRTC) operating as Valley Metro, and the Roanoke Arts Commission will dedicate the first of two collaborative public art bus shelters on Monday, Nov. 23, at 11:45 a.m. on Grandin Road near the entrance to Patrick Henry High School. The Patrick Henry High School Band will provide music for the occasion.

The unique feature of this public art project is the collaboration among the city, Valley Metro and Roanoke City Public Schools, and the opportunity given to high school art students to participate in the process. Artists applied for the project through a Request for Proposals issued by the city and the GRTC, in which they were asked to outline how they would work with high school students to create a design for a unique bus shelter near each city high school. The selection panel reviewed the responses and recommended Ed Dolinger based on his artistic and teaching experience. Mr. Dolinger worked with the students of Patrick Henry High School art teacher Jennifer Fowler in the spring of 2008 to design the shelter.
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Virginians for the Arts has announced a new YouTube channel showcasing segments about arts organizations that have received funding from the Virginia Commission for the Arts. Organizations already featured on the site include Barter Theatre, the Virginia Highlands Festival and Roanoke Symphony Orchestra.

Here are details from the official press release:

YouTube Channel Offers Experiences of VA Cultural Treasures
Local Arts Organizations Stimulate Local Economies, Supplement Education

Virginians for the Arts has launched a YouTube channel featuring the work and contributions of arts organizations receiving grants made through the Virginia Commission for the Arts. The channel shows how, despite the challenging economy, Virginia’s arts organizations contribute to local economic development and supplement K-12 education all over the Commonwealth. Users can find the channel by going to YouTube on the internet and search for "VaforArts." Through the channel, Virginians can experience a sampling of the cultural treasures available in the state.
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Since I'm still here at the office, I'm going to share a national item that caught my arts and culture eye. The makers of "Couples Retreat" — by all accounts a subpar film in the first place — have stirred questions of racism by releasing promotional posters in the United Kingdom that delete the film's black couple from the ensemble. Here The Daily Mail reports on the hubbub and here Gawker.com offers a sarcastic but insightful breakdown of the issue.

This sort of awkward incident, which often ends in apologies from the perpetrators, has not at all been limited to film of late. This past summer a controversy exploded in the publishing world when Justine Larbalestier's young adult book "Liar" was printed with a cover featuring a white girl's face, when the book's narrator was in fact a black teen tomboy. Faced with angry readers, Bloomsbury relented and created a new cover that actually matched the protagonist.

A marketing perception that it's harder to sell books and movies with advertisements that make use of black characters appears to lie at the base of both of these dust-ups.