In the summer heat, Athens residents usually retreat underneath the campus trees for a spot of shade. But this summer, they also can go there for entertainment.
Ohio University is sponsoring its summertime tradition, the Under the Elms arts series. The series is free and aims to provide various forms of outdoor entertainment for people in the Athens area. It takes place under the elm trees on College Green near the West Portico of Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium.
"People say there's nothing to do in Athens," said Gretchen Stephens, OU director of public occasions. "We wanted to challenge people to think otherwise."
The Under the Elms series has been in place for 40 years, but this year marks a major expansion, Stephens said. Previously, it only was a concert series on Wednesday nights featuring a summer band that comprises local residents and students, but this season will include Tuesday and Thursday activities. Wednesdays still will feature the band's concerts, and audience members will be able to view classic films on Tuesday nights. Thursdays bring a variety of different performers, starting at 5 p.m. with a TV personality and featuring a different show or performer on the hour for at least three hours afterward. The multiple shows allow people with young children to leave when they need to, Stephens said.
"It's all very family oriented," said Andrew Holzaepfel, assistant director of public occasions.
It cost $42,000 to put on the Under the Elms series, Stephens said. The money is raised from donations and local sponsors, the biggest being Pepsi Cola and the Ohio University Employees Credit Union.
Concessions Coordinator Andrea Kuba said 150 people were expected to attend each night.
"I've heard a lot of people buzzing about it," Kuba said.
One of those people is Athens resident Ruth Nostrant, who with her husband, Dick, set up lawn chairs nearly an hour-and-a-half before the start of Tuesday night's showing of Alfred Hitchcock's horror film, The Birds.
"I like the idea of it, a time to relax with no telephones." Nostrant said.
"It's like going to a drive-in -- except we're not in a car."
Athens residents since 1967, Nostrant said she and her husband had been attending the Wednesday night concerts for as long as OU has sponsored them.
"It's the place to be on a Wednesday night," she said.
Stephens said the series is rooted in historical traditions of outdoor performances.
"The goal was to bring the community -- the county, the city, the university -- together," she said.
The Under the Elms arts series opened Wednesday, June 18, and runs through the end of July. Tuesday night movies begin at 9:30 p.m., Wednesday night concerts begin at 7 p.m., and Thursday night performances begin at 5 p.m. and have shows as late as 9 p.m. The Thursday shows that begin at 6 p.m. will also be performed earlier in the day at 12 p.m. The event moves inside Mem Aud if it rains.
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Katie Gill
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The summer band prepares to perform for a large gathering of community members yesterday on college green. The Under the Elms series will run throughout the summer.
