Party at the Pavilion to feature music tied to KU Common Book

LAWRENCE — Potter Lake and Marvin Grove will be filled with the sounds of the Dirty Thirties as part of the final celebration for the 2013-14 KU Common Book, "The Worst Hard Time."

The University of Kansas Office of First Year Experience will host the event, 5 p.m.-7 p.m. Friday, April 25, with a dance at the Potter Lake Dance Pavilion. KU Common Music: Party at the Pavilion will feature two local bands, Maw and Drakkar Sauna, playing original music and Dust Bowl songs connected to Timothy Egan’s award winning novel.

During the Dust Bowl, communities across Kansas and other Plains states experienced trying times, but they also remained deeply connected despite drought, famine and economic hardship. Music served an important role in helping individuals and communities to address challenges and to also celebrate their relationship to the land and one another. In his novel, Egan successfully cuts through feelings of suffering with inspiring stories of determination, triumph, and celebration and the strength of community in dealing with ecological disaster.

Sarah Crawford-Parker, director of the Office of First-Year Experience, encourages students, faculty and staff to attend the Party at the Pavilion to celebrate the KU Common Book and related work happening across campus. 

“Community celebrations play an important role in Tim Egan’s book, so what better way to celebrate the accomplishments over the academic year than a celebration featuring music from the period?" she said. "It is an opportunity for the KU community to reflect on a year’s worth of research and creative activities and to remember the challenging questions that remain related to climate, resources and agriculture.

“We hope to see students, faculty, and staff join us on the Dance Pavilion to remember the spirit of the Kansans who lived through the 1930s and foster our Jayhawk community with a celebration of a great year and a great common book," Crawford-Parker said.

The Dance Pavilion is located to the west of Potter Lake and just east of Joseph R. Pearson Hall Drive behind Carruth O’Leary Hall. The Pavilion, flanked by shade trees and forsythia bushes, was presented to KU by the Class of 1943. Free hot dogs, popcorn, soda and water will be available.

For more information on KU Common Music: Party at the Pavilion, contact the Office of First-year Experience. See more information about MAW here and Drakkar Sauna here.