A look back: Arts & entertainment took center stage in Macon and didn’t disappoint

Here are some personal observations, favorite finds and surprises from our passing arts, entertainment and cultural year. Remember along with me and let’s be thankful for the year and look forward to 2024’s coming attractions.

The headline on my first column this year read, “2023 looks to be a banner year for art, entertainment in Middle Georgia,” and that set the tone. January was gangbusters with a sense of variety as The State Ballet Theatre of Ukraine headed to The Grand Opera House and modern southern rock luminary Charlie Starr of Blackberry Smoke was set for The Capitol Theatre in January.

The good news is he’s back at The Capitol this Jan. 19 for an acoustic show with Benji Shanks.

The rest of the year was no less filled with music, art and other goings on with highlights every week so I’ll call my recollections of bits, bobs, people and events mind-blowing highlights. Unfortunately, there’s not enough space for all.

▪ Event-wise, I’m thinking of a new one: The Firestarter Festival. It was a film festival, artist show and music event focusing on Indigenous creators that coincided with Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park’s Indigenous Festival. I hope it continues to bring such artists and filmmakers and their stories to town.

▪ I suppose the greatest revelation of the year came to me watching the documentary “Little Richard: I Am Everything” which was shown several times at The Douglass Theatre. I was surprised I didn’t know a seminal moment shaping Richard Penniman’s future was his performing on the Macon City Auditorium stage with Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the Godmother of Rock and Roll guitar.

How about a person of the year? We have so many people, foundations and others to be grateful for but I’ll tip my hat to Tony Long. From early days with Nutcracker of Middle Georgia to co-founding The Macon Film Festival to giving artists cheap studio space at The Macon Contemporary Arts Exchange, Long has gladly lent a skillful hand throughout. Next time you’re at The Grand or Douglass, notice the fine detail décor in these classic theaters. It was Long at his day job heading A.T. Long & Son Painting Contractors that brought about the quality, old-world restorations there and elsewhere.

▪ I’ll throw in a great idea category and give it to Susan Welsh and the Museum of Arts and Sciences. It could be for many things but I’ll point out the Fulldome Film Festival that’s in league with the Macon Film Festival. Welsh looked at the Mark Smith Planetarium there, thought it should be used more, and decided to show fulldome films, an emerging genre. Art and science, right? Because of such vision, Macon has become a world leader in fostering and promoting fulldome and the festival draws creators internationally.

▪ What would I give a biggest drawing attraction award to? Without hard data, I’d easily say it has to go to Bryan Nichols and those involved with The Macon Christmas Light Extravaganza. That first year he might have gotten a what-in-the-world-does-he-think-he’s-doing award but the proof is in the Christmas pudding and the increased downtown Christmas traffic. Be glad for it. A whole lot of those cars have out-of-town license plates and when they leave they leave quite a few dollars behind at restaurants, shops, hotels and in owner’s and worker’s pockets.

▪ Speaking of music, my best new-to-me band find of the year has to be Angel “Cash” Ocasio, Jr. and Cash’s Juke Joint. I’d heard of him but only caught him this year playing an event for A Friend in Me, the mental health awareness organization. Singer, extraordinary guitarist and rocking pedal steel guitarist — yes, rocking pedal steel guitarist — Ocasio is a huge, unique talent.

In fact, on Sunday, I’ll probably be heading to Perry to see Cash’s Juke Joint at the city’s annual New Year’s Eve Buzzard Drop. It’s downtown, starts at 7 p.m. and is the kick-off of Perry’s 200th birthday celebrations.

Find Ocasio and links to the Perry event at www.facebook.com/cashsjukejoint. While there, you might catch the New Year’s Masquerade Party at the Main St. Bar. See www.facebook.com/mainst.bar740 for that.

It’s a good spot to point to other, nearer, New Year’s Eve possibilities. Over the years, The Society Garden has done a great job welcoming the New Year for young and old. This year, their kid-oriented Family New Year’s Eve Party starts at 5 p.m. with a live DJ, hot chocolate and s’mores. It’s $5. After that, from 9 p.m. until sometime in 2024, Chris Hicks & Friends – a bunch of friends – ring in the New Year with music on the main stage. It’s $15. See www.facebook.com/thesocietygarden for details.

There’s a balloon drop Sunday at Just Tap’d on the corner of First and Poplar streets (www.facebook.com/justtapd) and Macon Black Culture and others are presenting a virtual ball drop at Rosa Parks Park. Festivities include a Kiddy Corner with activities to keep the youngsters engaged while music, food and beverages are provided by vendors. The ball drop will be projected on the side of the Macon City Auditorium. Search Macon Black Culture on Facebook for details.

Now, another few of those reflections:

▪ I’ll call this the delightful, timely-find category and it’s a book. Authors are artists too, you know. Roaming the December Triangle Arts Market I ran across a children’s book that asks “What’s Outside That’s Inside Here?” by Kym LaTasha. Wonderfully drawn and written, it compares aspects of nature with humans – what’s inside us. Being grandfather to a six-year-old reader and father of a mom who has faithfully read to her pretty much every evening for six years, I knew it’d be a hit. It was. I understand there’ll be a reading-signing sometime in the New Year at Bear’s Books.

▪ Under the not-to-be-missed heading is Wini McQueen’s “The Canopy Project,” a fabric-art installation and gallery at Macon Mall. If you blink you’ll miss it — it ends Saturday for good. Hours are noon to 5 p.m. both Friday and Saturday as indicated at www.facebook.com/winimcqueen. Macon-native McQueen is internationally known with work exhibited worldwide but rarely in Macon. This is the best chance to see it locally, including the fabric installation hanging from the mall skylight. The gallery displays her art and has items for sale.

▪ The most moving arts and entertainment moment came for me during an evening at the Macon-Mercer Symphony. Always a treat, this performance featured Roderick Cox conducting and a piece commissioned by Robert McDuffie called “Macon Portrait” written, or at least compiled, by Andrew Silver. He’d taken comments from a cross-section of Maconites representing a diversity of races, cultures and orientations making up our community. Their voices were, and will be, heard with the hope that though we are many and different, we can know each other and realize we’re one.

Art can help that happen. And if there was a what-makes-it-all-so-great category, it would end up being people — the people who make art and those we enjoy it with.

It’s been a good year.

Contact writer Michael W. Pannell at mwpannell@gmail.com

This story was originally published December 28, 2023 at 11:24 AM.