Mass Band Day among activities at Missouri Southern next week

(From Southern News Service)

Nearly 800 area high-school students will take the field with the Lion Pride Marching Band for a half-time performance on Thursday, Aug. 31, as the Lions open the 2017 football season vs. Fort Hays State at Fred G. Hughes Stadium.

The annual Mass Band Day performance will include students from high schools in Jasper, East Newton, Exeter, Seneca, Neosho, Webb City, Joplin, Miller, Aurora and Diamond,” said Dr. Rick Espinosa, director of bands at Missouri Southern.

“This is by far our biggest performance in terms of the number of kids on the field,” he said. “We’re going to be performing music from animated films. The Mass Band will play ‘Everything is Awesome’ from ‘The Lego Movie,’ the Lion Pride Band will perform ‘Get Back Up Again’ from ‘Trolls,’ and then the Mass Band will close with ‘How Far I’ll Go’ from ‘Moana.’”

The high-school bands will gather to rehearse the performance at 2 p.m. in the stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

Other events scheduled at Missouri Southern include a show by mentalist Chris Carter and lectures offered as part of the Korea Semester.

Tuesday, Aug. 29

Chris Carter: 7 p.m., Webster Hall’s Corley Auditorium. The mentalist’s performance is sponsored by the Campus Activities Board. Free and open to the campus community.

Thursday, Aug. 31

Archery Tag: 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., campus Oval. Similar to dodgeball, students will try to tag one another with foam-tipped arrows.

Top 10 Things Everyone Should Know About Korea: 11 a.m., Corley Auditorium. Author and teacher Gary Wintz will offer an introduction to Korea – it’s people, history, politics and culture. Free and open to the public.

Mass Band Day: 7 p.m., Fred G. Hughes Stadium.

Friday, Sept. 1

Touring North Korea – Absolutely Fascinating (But is it Real?): 9 a.m., Corley Auditorium. Gary Wintz has guided tours all over North Korea – a fascinating, if sometimes clearly staged and contrived experience for tourists. Free and open to the public.

Religions and Spirituality on the Korean Peninsula: 11 a.m., Corley Auditorium. Wintz will offer insights into the historical evolution of religion in both North and South Korea. Free and open to the public.