Saturday festival caps weeklong event
Posted On: Friday, Feb. 27 2009 05:52 AM
By Olga Peña
Killeen Daily HeraldThe day is near.
Killeen's first extravaganza of art will be Saturday.
The city of Killeen, the Killeen Independent School District, the Killeen Civic and Conference Center and Visitors Bureau, and the Killeen Art Guild will hold the "Take 190 West Arts Festival" blowout day, concluding the city's first weeklong art event Saturday.
Events, which began Monday, include a student art show, a student film festival, writing and drawing workshops and a host of activities featuring professional artists, illustrators and authors.
"We knew we wanted to have a family event – something that reflected the cultural interest in the community," said Killeen Senior Community Planner and Downtown Project Manager Beverly Zendt.
Deanna Frazee, committee chair for the event, is director of the Killeen City Library System. She said it made sense to combine visual arts and literature, providing something for everybody.
KISD events started Monday, with their student art show at the conference center but Frazee and Zendt said the big push is to get everyone in the community to come out Saturday. The day's event will feature professional artists and authors, book signings, an Internet café with videos, an art sale, writing workshops, panels on how to get published, lectures and illustrator panels, including graphic artists. Besides art, authors, illustrators and workshops. The Internet cafe will feature streaming live video with artists interviews.
"There is something for everybody there I feel like," Frazee said.
Big names have also signed up to come to Killeen, some on their own dime for Saturday's events.
The "Take 190 West" poster was designed by Marvel comic book artist David Nakayama and Marvel colorist Christine Strain, who will be at the event Saturday to sign autographs. Event posters, totebags and T-shirts will be for sale as well.
Frazee said authors also will be there selling books and/or signing copies that attendees bring to them.
"I found the authors have been just wonderful to deal with," Frazee said.
Authors began arriving this week, some making stops at KISD schools. Frazee said they are truly interesting and wonderful people.
Both Frazee and Zendt said they are concentrating on one day this year, as a starting point, but hope to grow this festival into many days at many locations.
"This is kind of where we've started," Zendt said. "We're really psyched about it. We hope to bring it downtown at some point."
"The whole thing is about giving something special to the community," Frazee said.
Contact Olga Peña at
opena@kdhnews.com or (254) 501-7555.