Everything Nac

Stephen F. Austin State University’s Stone Fort Museum will host a St. Patrick’s Day concert featuring local band El Camino Real de Nacogdoches from 2 to 3 p.m. March 11.

This year’s St. Patrick’s Day concert marks the return of the annual event since the last one was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Carolyn Spears, Stone Fort Museum director, Irish settlers brought their traditions to Nacogdoches in the 19th century, with more than 3,000 Irish people listed on the 1860 census. The St. Patrick’s Day concert will showcase Celtic, bluegrass, traditional country, Appalachian, folk and other music genres.

“This concert will allow us to enjoy traditional music from Ireland, as well as music that celebrates the rich history of Texas,” Spears said. “Live performances such as this allow us to connect to our musical heritage in the same way that hands-on activities help learners connect to their studies.”

According to the rotating ensemble that makes up El Camino Real de Nacogdoches, the band is East Texas’ answer to the Old Crow Medicine Show, an Americana string band based in Nashville, Tennessee. The group plays old-time acoustic music using the fiddle, guitars, mandolin, banjos and percussion.

El Camino Real de Nacogdoches formed in 2002 and has played at a variety of art, theatrical and musical events associated with SFA. It also has been featured during Nacogdoches’ annual Texas Blueberry Festival, Old-Time Christmases at Millard’s Crossing Historic Village and The Pine Knot Music Co-op. In 2017, the band released its first CD, “Camino Real: The Nacogdoches Sessions.”

The concert is free and open to the public. The band will perform on the north lawn of the museum, weather permitting. Light refreshments will be served and will include traditional Irish treats.

For more information, contact Spears at cspears@sfasu.edu or (936) 468-2408.

To mark Stephen F. Austin State University’s first 100 years, university students, faculty, staff and alumni are holding a friendly competition to see which group can complete the most service hours between now and SFA’s Founders Day, Sept. 18.

The goal is for all four groups to earn a total of 100,000 service hours by that date. If they don’t reach that goal, the competition will be extended to the end of the fall 2023 semester, said Dr. Hollie Smith, executive director of Student Life at SFA.

“We want to get all four groups involved in our centennial celebration, and the best way to do that is by giving back to the Nacogdoches community that has supported SFA for a century, as well as to the communities in which our alumni live now,” Smith said.

So far, students are in the lead with approximately 10,000 service hours from the university’s annual MLK Day of Service and various SFA Athletics service projects, Smith said.

“We’ll keep everyone posted on the competition through social media and our centennial website,” she added.

Those competing in “100,000 service hours for 100 years” can log their service hours through the form at gosfa.com/100Kfor100Years.

To view monthly updates on the service hour progress, watch SFA’s social media channels and visit sfasu.edu/centennial.

Jennifer Sommers, director of education and community engagement with the Houston Ballet, recently led an arts-in-education workshop for students in Stephen F. Austin State University’s James I. Perkins College of Education. Sommers’ visit was the first in a series of experiential learning events made possible by the Margaret Hoover Perkins Research award, administered by Dr. Lauren Burrow, SFA associate professor in elementary education. The ongoing partnership with the Houston Ballet is set to serve as a model for the types of school and community engagements teacher candidates can adopt when they enter kindergarten through sixth-grade classrooms.