Arts for All Ages: LoKo Festival Returns to SUNY Potsdam

As always, the talent and creativity of SUNY Potsdam students will be on full display throughout the LoKo Festival. Performances include the Crane Opera Club Gala, the LoKo Broadway Showcase, the Idol Showcase presented by the Anime Club and the Crane Eclectic Ensembles concert. Graduating seniors in the Bachelor of Fine Arts program in creative writing will lead readings of their poetry and prose, while graduates of the College’s dance program will present an evening of their original works, with the Senior Choreographers Concert. 

The traveling educational and creative program BIG INK will bring people together to collaborate on creating original prints using large-scale woodblock printmaking techniques, on Friday and Saturday, April 28 and 29, in the Performing Arts Center lobby. Additional hands-on opportunities abound, from a Stitchathon, to Graphic Design Day, to an Early Language and Writing Technology Workshop, and experiments with mixed media, among many other activities. 

LoKo will also welcome the Hughes and Vecchione Dance Project for a student workshop and a live performance of excerpts from the duo’s newest original work, “Scaled Views,” on Saturday, April 29 at 6 p.m., in the Proscenium Theater. The piece explores how a human can feel small in comparison to the vastness of the Alaskan landscape or in the bustling crowds of New York City, inspired by the two co-founders, Christina Hughes, based in Ketchikan, Alaska, and Angela Vecchione, based in New York City. 

You won’t want to miss the unforgettable Glow Night after dusk in the Academic Quad, on Sunday, April 30 at 8 p.m. The Boston-based artists Ben Foley and Allison Tanenhaus, known as Bent/Haus, will bring their illusion projection art and immersive sound installations to the North Country, including the “Mistery Machine.” There will be family-friendly glowing activities around the Quad, including glow-in-the-dark face painting, games, a glowing tote bag painting station and a glowing scavenger hunt. 

The award-winning Swampy Cree author and graphic novelist David Robertson will offer a keynote speech, “Sharing Life’s Stories,” on Tuesday, May 2 at 4:30 p.m. in the Knowles Hall Multi-Purpose Room. He is the author of numerous books for young readers and has won the Governor General’s Literary Award twice, for his picture books “When We Were Alone” and “On The Trapline,” which also won the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award. “The Barren Grounds,” the first title in his middle-grade “The Misewa Saga” series, has spent nearly three years on the Canadian Children’s national bestseller list. With works that span across forms and genres, from children’s books to adult literature, Robertson is concerned with positive Indigenous representation in literature, and the vital role that story plays on the path towards healing and reconciliation. 

With “Gently As We Go,” LoKo will host a back-to-back film screening and live performance of the same play on which it is based, on Thursday, May 4 at 7:30 p.m., in the Black Box Theater. The text follows two young people navigating the shifting insecurities of early love, portrayed by Cole Siebels and Grace Plumley. Completely produced in Northern New York, the film is directed by Megan MacDonald, based on a play by Damon Falke and with cinematography by Morgan Elliott. 

The new bandshell in Marshall Park, funded by the Student Government Association, will host performances during LoKo, including a concert by the award-winning a cappella group, Stay Tuned. Madfest will take over the bandshell on Saturday, May 6, starting at noon, with a series of live performances organized by Madstop Records, including the day’s headliner, Seeing Double. 

The traditional Spring Festival Concert at SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music will be presented on Saturday, May 6 at 7:30 p.m., in the Helen M. Hosmer Concert Hall. The renowned conductor Donald Schleicher will lead the Crane Chorus and Crane Symphony Orchestra, presenting Valerie Coleman’s “Seven O’Clock Shout,” an anthem honoring frontline healthcare workers during the pandemic, followed by Ludwig van Beethoven’s underrated masterpiece, the “Mass in C-Major, Op. 86.” This concert is made possible by the Dorothy Albrecht Gregory Visiting Conductor Fund. 

Kathryn Kofoed Lougheed ’54 and Donald Lougheed (Hon. ’54) founded the LoKo Arts Festival in 2012, to bring the campus festival tradition back to Kathy’s alma mater. 

North Country Public Radio is the media sponsor for the 2023 LoKo Arts Festival. 

For more information, visit www.potsdam.edu/loko. 

About SUNY Potsdam:  

Founded in 1816, The State University of New York at Potsdam is one of America’s first 50 colleges—and the oldest institution within SUNY. Now in its third century, SUNY Potsdam is distinguished by a legacy of pioneering programs and educational excellence. The College currently enrolls approximately 3,000 undergraduate and graduate students. Home to the world-renowned Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam is known for its challenging liberal arts and sciences core, distinction in teacher training and culture of creativity. To learn more, visit www.potsdam.edu.