“Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” wants to be “Avengers: Infinity War.” It’s got a band of heroes, an unstoppable team of powerful villains and a race to acquire mystical McGuffins, the use of which will destroy the Earth and every life on it. Okay, so Thanos only wiped out half the life on Earth (and throughout the rest of the universe). “Rise of the Beasts” still wants to tell a very similar story.

If only the filmmakers had made this movie about the giant transforming robots instead of centering it on the human characters that we don’t really care about, they might have had something special.

Set in 1994, “Rise of the Beasts” introduces us to Noah (Anthony Ramos), a former soldier who’s struggling to keep his family’s heads financially above water, and Elena (Dominique Fishback), a talented but put-upon museum intern. They find themselves drawn into a battle to protect the planet from the evil planet-consuming Unicron (Coleman Domingo) and his henchbots led by Scourge (Peter Dinklage).

To do that, Noah and Elena must team up with Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) and his Autobot crew, as well as the Maximals and their leader, Optimus Primal (Ron Perlman). A race to pieces of a powerful Cybrotronian artifact, and lots of transforming robot carnage, ensues.

The biggest problem is that if you’re coming out to the theater to see a “Transformers” movie, you’re probably not doing it to see the human characters. You want to see Optimus Prime kick booty. You want to see robots transforming into various vehicles. You want to see robots in disguise, not some dude stressing about his family’s money problems.

Yes, you get a big opening fight between the Maximals and Scourge. But then the movie takes us into this first act that focuses on Noah struggling to help his family and Elena getting pushed around by her boss.

That would be fine if these characters were compelling, but they aren’t. They’re standard characters with standard motivations and even though Ramos and Fishback are talented actors, there’s only so much they can do.

While this causes the first act to drag, things start to pick up when Mirage (Pete Davidson) enters the story. Mirage’s interactions with his fellow Autobots are enough fun to keep the film from completely sinking until the action scenes spool up.

While there’s nothing we haven’t seen before in “Rise of the Beasts” (and I’m pretty sick of the slow-mo hero shot where a projectile whizzes past a main character, barely missing them), there’s still a bit of enjoyment to be found in watching giant robots pulverize each other. “Rise” could use some of the Bayhem that defined the action sequences in Michael Bay’s “Transformers” films, but the battle scenes save this movie.

Overall, “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” is a mediocre summer blockbuster. It shoots for something more grand but in the end, the human story inserted into the script to bring us into the world of the movie and give us someone to relate to is the very thing that almost kills it.

2 ½ Indy fedoras out of 5

MPAA Rating: PG-13

The post Human characters muck up the fun of ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’ appeared first on East Idaho News.

IDAHO FALLS — The Idaho Falls Youth Arts Centre is currently putting the finishing touches on its production of “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder.”

IFYAC is staging the play from Thursday, June 8, through Monday, June 12, at Ammon Elementary School in Ammon. The play is full of catchy musical numbers and constant humor that is sure to entertain. (Click here for tickets.)

“The play is about this man Monty Navarro,” said the play’s stage manager, Phylicia Fife. “He’s in line in succession for a huge estate and a banking company. He’s destined and determined to fulfill that and become the successor. But while he’s doing that, he finds out that there are multiple people in line ahead of him. So, as the title of the production is ‘A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder,’ you can kind of tell what he’s going to have to do to succeed and become the estate holder.”

Shelane Tuttle plays Sibella, one of the play’s two leading ladies. She says audiences should come ready to laugh uproariously.

“‘A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder’ is musical farce at its best,” Tuttle said. “The story becomes wildly complicated (and hilarious) when he determines to take his rightful place in the family as heir. Throughout the show, the audience is introduced to eight family members who stand between Monty and the Earldom, and each family member is portrayed by the wickedly funny Jacob Meldrum.”

The cast of “Gentleman’s Guide” is made up of local actors who have plenty of meaty material to work with, thanks to the play’s excellent script.

“The script of ‘Gentleman’s Guide’ is cheeky and so playful,” said Tuttle. “The brilliant vocals and comedic timing of my co-leads Devin Bean, Jacob Meldrum, Jessica Wright and Lonna-Joy Smoot are just delightful.”

Fife said that there’s a little something for everyone in “Gentleman’s Guide.”

“There are so many different aspects to this show,” Fife said. “The music is beautiful. There’s love and romance. There’s murder, obviously. There are chances to see some incredible character development. It’s so fun. There are so many different dynamics, so many different characters who are introduced in ingenious ways.”

Tuttle said live musical theater events like “Gentleman’s Guide” can enrich our lives in a way few other mediums can.

“The joy of the laughter! Live musical theater is an unprecedented medium for the full spectrum of human emotion, both to watch and experience,” she said. “This show soars through the highs and lows of the emotional spectrum, but mostly it’s full of absurd belly laughs!”

You can see Idaho Falls Youth Arts Centre’s production of “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder” this Thursday, June 8, to Monday, June 12 at Ammon Elementary School in Ammon. The show starts at 7 p.m. each night, with a matinee at 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 10. Click here for tickets.

The post IFYAC to stage musical comedy ‘Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder’ appeared first on East Idaho News.

IDAHO FALLS — A new exhibit featuring the work of a quartet of Idaho-based artists is now open at the Willard Arts Center in Idaho Falls.

“Elemental” brings together works from the quartet of Beth Trott, Gary Peer, Michael Norsk and Avianne. The pieces in “Elemental” comment on the nature of both the world around us and inside our own minds.

“Specifically to this show, I’ve been exploring the more abstract version of my watercolor painting, mostly inspired by nature,” Trott told EastIdahoNews.com. “We also have a wood sculptor, Gary Peer. He does these abstract wood sculptures and his work is really amazing.”

“We have Michael Norsk, an abstract painter whose work is very meditative,” Trott continued. “He does these very detailed, intricate series of dots and lines that very much feel like you’re going into a meditative state. And then we have Avianne, and she does everything. She can paint anything you ask her to paint, but her ‘Elemental’ series has been focused on flowers and nature and animals.”

The exhibit began to take shape when Avianne and Trott began to throw idea band and forth about putting a show together.

“It was my brainchild, originally, to grab a bunch of artists together and say ‘Hey, can we do a show together?’” said Avianne. “So I reached out to Beth first and Beth and I got the ball rolling. We wanted to bust away from Boise because there’s so much happening in Boise and we felt like having an adventure and trying to do exhibitions outside of Boise.”

After scouting opportunities and venues that could possibly present “Elemental,” Avianne and Trott reached out to Norsk and Peer and invited them to participate. The resulting collaboration is a collection of art that explores various aspects of nature through form and color.

“We came up with the concept of ‘Elemental’ because I was working in this abstract nature realm, so ‘elemental’ felt really good,” Trott said. “Avianne and Gary really spoke to the theme that way. But for Michael Norsk, a lot of the reason he does his work is that he’s an advocate for mental health issues. He heard ‘mental’ and when we came to him with the theme of ‘Elemental,’ he thought of it as ‘mental health.’”

Avianne said that her paintings that are part of “Elemental,” as well as work done by the other artists, connect with Idaho by representing natural elements that are found throughout the state.

“I didn’t go a paint a tree in Idaho or a mountain in Idaho,” she said. “That’s not how it connects to Idaho. For me, it connects in a deeper way because I’m painting colors. I’m painting nature. Idaho has tons of natural resources. It’s a very beautiful state. I looked at this, and I said, ‘I want to connect on a deeper level.’ So what I’m trying to do in my work is use symbolism. You’ll see a lot of symbolism in my work. So I paint things that are real, but they speak to me of deeper things.”

You can see the work of Avianne, Beth Trott, Michael Norsk and Gary Peer in “Elemental.” the exhibit is open in the Willard Arts Center in Idaho Falls and is scheduled to run now through Sept. 3. Visit the “Elemental” Facebook page or the Idaho Falls Arts Council website for more information.

The post New exhibition spotlighting Idaho artists now open at Willard Arts Center appeared first on East Idaho News.

Miles Morales made quite a splash with his first big-screen adventure, “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.” The web-slinging adventure brought Spidey’s exploits to vivid life in a way that was closer to what you’d find in the pages of Ol’ Web-heads comics. While the latest chapter, “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” doesn’t feel quite as fresh and isn’t the sugar rush of fun that the first movie was, it’s still well worth watching.

“Across the Spider-Verse” finds Miles (Shameik Moore) trying to live something that resembles a normal teenage life while fighting bad guys. The Spot (Jason Schwartzman), a scientist who was collateral damage at the collider incident at the end of the last movie, has taken a heel turn and sworn to rob Miles of everything he holds dear.

At the same time, Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld) re-enters Miles’ life and he follows her to a different dimension where innumerable variants of Spider-Man led by Miguel O’Hara (Oscar Isaac) are trying to prevent worlds throughout the Spider-verse from blinking out of existence.

This movie doesn’t feel like just another installment in the “Spider-Verse” franchise, like way too many sequels from other franchises do. “Across the Spider-Verse” has more on its mind than just getting the hero into a situation where he has to beat this movie’s villain. It’s got questions it wants to ask, things it wants us to think about.

First and foremost, this movie is about loneliness and feeling like there’s nobody you can talk to because no one will understand what you’re going through. That point is made in the opening scene where Gwen tells us about the suffering Miles has been through. She keeps repeating “And he’s not the only one,” implying that to be a Spider-Man is to suffer and the only people who might understand are other Spider-Men.

But this movie could just as easily be about taking back one’s right to decide who you want to be and finding people you belong with. It’s also a cinematic rendering of that thought experiment where you have to choose between a runaway train killing one person you love or killing many people you don’t know. How can either choice be moral?

Because it’s juggling weightier topics, “Across the Spider-Verse” isn’t quite as much fun as the original movie. The front end of this flick also feels a little too long and it spends too much time taxiing down the runway before it really takes off.

Rest assured, though, take off it does. The action scenes make up for a lot of flaws in the film, combing stylish visuals, energy and color in a way live-action movies can’t reach quite yet. The scene where hundreds of Spidey variants chase Miles is a blast, and the fight scenes with The Spot employ portals in some really amusing ways.

Visually, “Across the Spider-Verse” can still take your breath away. From Miles and Gwen sharing an upside-down view of the city to the way the movie integrates multiple character designs and styles from multiple different comic books, this movie is always a joy to look at.

Throw in some solid voice work, especially from Steinfeld and Moore — who carry this film emotionally — and plentiful moments of humor, and “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” is almost as much fun as the first one. And with the more thought-provoking themes, this one might wind up being more rewarding on multiple watches.

3 ½ Indy Fedoras out of 5

MPAA Rating: PG

The post New ‘Spider-Man’ film a grand, universe-hopping adventure appeared first on East Idaho News.

The Idaho Falls Rec Center was packed full of toys, comics, video games and people who love them this past Saturday for Idaho Falls Retro X.

The event gathered together vintage toy and video game vendors, giving attendees a chance to add to their collections or pick up long-lost, much-loved items from their childhoods. The show also gave cosplayers a reason to get dressed up and show off their skill and creativity.

Beyond that, Retro X was about memories. For adults, seeing so many items from back in the day brought up warm feelings of nostalgia. For kids, the show helped to create new memories of meeting their favorite superhero or Disney princess.

Retro X was also a big hit. By about 1 p.m., the show had already welcomed over a thousand people through the doors and there was consistently a line of people waiting to get in for most of the day.

“We were kind of thinking maybe 1,500 (people would come out),” said Retro X cofounder Phil Langston. “But by about three hours in, we’re already close to our goal. It’s been great. I see a lot of money moving and people carrying stuff around, so I think that’s good for the vendors.”

Langston said that the potential impact of Retro X on the local nerd community is massive.

“A lot of these people are having to go to either Boise or Salt Lake to show off their cosplay stuff,” he said. “I looked at the map and from Pocatello to Rexburg, in all the little towns, we have over 200,000 people in east Idaho. Even if just a small percentage of those show up, it shows you something.”

“We’re seeing middle-aged people wearing costumes,” he added. “It’s not just young kids.”

Langston said that he knew of people who traveled from as far away as Salt Lake to attend Retro X. BYU-I students Jane Orr and Spencer Massey drove down from Rexburg to check out the show. They expressed excitement to see an event like Retro X in east Idaho.

“We have cons that are a lot bigger,” said Orr, who is from Oregon. “It was nice to see and hear that east Idahoans are doing things like this as well.”

“A lot of east Idaho is growing, population-wise,” said Massey, originally from Indiana. “I think it’s pretty cool that they’re starting to do (pop culture shows) at the same time.”

Orr said that events like Retro X show the wide appeal of pop culture properties that would be considered uncool not that long ago.

“It really brings to light how mainstream being a nerd really is,” she said. “A lot of us have seen ‘Star Wars.’ A lot of us have seen ‘Harry Potter.’ A lot of us have seen anime, so by having an event that will tailor to that side of people, a side that isn’t usually shown, it can really bring people out in droves to support that side of themselves that they’ve never really expressed.”

Langston said that plans for next year’s Retro X are already underway and that they’ve already begun reaching out to voice actors and other people who can attract fans. You can keep up with future Retro X developments by visiting the show website or following the con’s Facebook page.

The post Fans celebrate pop culture, nostalgia at Idaho Falls Retro X appeared first on East Idaho News.

HOLLYWOOD — “F9,” the last entry in the “Fast & Furious” franchise, did something I’d been waiting for years to see in these movies. It sent members of Dom Toretto’s gang to space. It was a singular moment that captured how far these movies had come since the original “Fast” flick debuted in 2001.

The problem is that once you’ve been to space, where else can your franchise go from there? For the makers of “Fast X,” the answer was to re-travel a well-worn road the franchise has traveled several times before.

“Fast X” finds Dom (Vin Diesel) and Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) in a celebratory mood the day before members of their found family embark on a mission in Italy, led by Roman (Tyrese Gibson). When they realize the mission is a trap, Dom and Letty race to help their friends out, only to run right smack into Dante Reyes (Jason Mamoa), the son of a guy they tangled with all the way back in “Fast 5.”

Cue the mayhem.

This movie is the “Fast” franchise’s latest variation on the theme of “rich, powerful baddie comes to take revenge on Dom and his family.” Dom and the gang have been running afoul of rich, powerful baddies for years and they usually tell Dom some variation of, “Your family is your weakness.” This plot is so old, it’s growing grey whiskers.

That bad guy, Reyes, is one of the weakest parts of this movie. Mamoa plays him in such a cartoonish, over-the-top way that it’s hard to take him seriously as a threat. One moment he’s talking about killing everyone Dom cares about; the next, he’s talking about ballet or dancing around like Peter Quill. I get that he’s probably going for menacingly insane but it’s hard to buy that this cat can think coherently, let alone be ten steps ahead of Dom at any moment.

Another weak link is that the dynamic between the characters in Dom’s crew is growing stale. Roman and Tej (Chris “Ludacris” Bridges) continue to bicker like an old married couple, but now it’s just tired and lacks humor, as if they’ve run out of trash talk so they have to recycle old lines.

On the plus side, director Louis Leterrier is a good fit for this franchise. He knows how to use camera movement and editing to create energy and excitement. The action scenes are fun, even if a good portion of the time you’re watching computer-generated cars crashing and creating CG explosions, CG flames and CG smoke. The early scene involving a giant rolling bomb is like the scene at the beginning of “Raiders of the Lost Ark” times a thousand.

Also, John Cena adds a bit of levity as Dom’s brother, Jakob. The scene of him rocking out to Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch was one of the few things in this movie that made me smile.

Overall, “Fast X” isn’t the worst movie I’ve ever seen. But it’s full of lazy writing, one-dimensional characters and tired plotting. They can’t even keep their in-universe laws of physics consistent in these movies. But if you like watching movie stars, “Fast X” gives you plenty of bang for your buck. The action is pretty solid. If you’re looking for some turn-off-your-brain good times, “Fast X” will be hard to beat.

2 ½ Indy Fedoras out of 5

MPAA Rating: PG-13

The post ‘Fast X’ proves franchise is out of ideas appeared first on East Idaho News.

IDAHO FALLS — The Idaho Falls Rec Center will be filled with vintage toys, video games, comic books and much more this Saturday, May 20, when it hosts the Idaho Falls Retro X pop culture convention.

Retro X will have something that will appeal to kids of all ages, whether they’re into toys, video games, cosplay, comic books or general pop culture. The show gathers vendors together, giving attendees a chance to reacquire that long-lost favorite childhood toy or video game. (Click here for tickets.)

The show will also feature appearances from the 501st Legion “Star Wars” costuming group, characters from Storybook Parties Idaho and a cosplay contest with a grand prize of $250. One lucky winner will even get to take home a brand-new “Mario” edition Nintendo Switch.

If you’ve been waiting for an opportunity to let your geek flag fly, Retro X is the event for you.

“We’ve emphasized this show as video games, comics and collectibles,” Retro X co-founder Brandon Kimball told EastIdahoNews.com. “We have vendors coming just with video games, just with toys, Funko Pops and comic books. Really, this event is focused on the 1980s and 90s, what adults now grew up with. It’s a blast from the past and a family event.”

While the toy vendors are a major focus, there will be much more to see and do at Retro X.

“Wild Lines will be there doing face painting,” said Retro X cofounder Phil Langston. “DragonTails Rescue will be showing reptiles. We’ve got a lot of backdrops we’ve purchased for if you want pictures.”

Both Langston and Kimball are veteran toy collectors who have spent years in collecting communities in the Midwest and Utah. When they saw there was an opportunity, they were both very excited to bring a toy show to Idaho Falls. As Retro X developed, it grew into something bigger than their original vision.

“This all started in November,” Kimball said. “We weren’t going to try to start a convention but when we had commitments from the 501st and Storybook Parties Idaho, we thought ‘Okay, this is bigger than a toy show now. Let’s see what we can do with it.’”

Kimball and Langston said there’s a notable excitement in the east Idaho community about Retro X. They are both excited to have an opportunity to grow the local pop culture community and give geeks another cool event they can attend.

“There is a demand, a passion, an excitement for this type of event,” Kimball said. “You’ve got ‘Star Wars’ and Marvel (Comics) that have really taken off the past fifteen to twenty years in film, so that’s increased the passion for this type of stuff. Seeing Salt Lake, seeing their (geek) community grow and seeing how much of Idaho goes down to participate in their events, it’s time for something here and we wanted to try it.”

“(Parents) have introduced young kids to Transformers, to G.I. Joe, to “Indiana Jones,” to (Teenage Mutant Ninja) Turtles, to He-Man,” added Langston. “Things that we grew up with and kept us out of trouble. And Idaho, I didn’t feel, had a lot for people that didn’t want to go do outdoor things that would keep kids from going ‘Oh, I want to go drinking with my friends’ or something. (Retro X) is fun. It’s a safe place they can come to and have fun.”

The fun and nostalgia of Idaho Falls Retro X will take over the Idaho Falls Rec Center from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with early bird admission available at 9 a.m. Tickets are $10 for early bird admission, $5 for general admission and $20 for families. You can also get $2.00 off day-of-show ticket by bringing in one can of food. All food donations will go to Community Food Basket of Idaho Falls.

You can get tickets here and visit the Retro X website or Facebook page for further information.

The post Vintage toys, video games and comic books coming to Idaho Falls at Retro X convention appeared first on East Idaho News.

IDAHO FALLS — The Idaho Falls High School choir department is readying its choirs for its annual end-of-the-year concert.

The show is set for this Wednesday, May 17, at the Colonial Theater in Idaho Falls at 7 p.m. and will feature performances from different choir groups. The concert will display the singing talent at IFHS and serve as a farewell to the seniors singing in the choirs. (Click her for tickets.)

“The end-of-the-year concert is going to be really special,” IFHS choir director Caryn Marlowe said. “I have 28 seniors and they’re going to be honored at the concert. But it’s also going to be special because we’ll have really fabulous music and it’s going to be a great night.”

Wednesday night’s performances will feature a collaboration combining her beginning and mixed choirs, “Dimensions,” an advanced women’s choir, a 40-person a cappella choir and “Expressions,” Marlowe’s night choir composed of her top musicians.

Marlowe said the concert shows the high quality of the IFHS choir program and how well students entering from junior high schools have been prepared.

“I walked into this job two years ago and feel like I walked into a fabulous choral program with really good singers,” she said. “I think a lot of that comes from a really good feeder program at Taylorview Middle School. That choir director is Haley Baker and she’s doing such a phenomenal job starting those kids off with a love for music and an ability to read (music). She sends me really good kids year after year.”

Marlowe said the end-of-the-year program is studded with numbers that are sure to be memorable highlights.

“The beginning choir is doing some fun songs that are a little bit easier,” she said. “They’re doing a really beautiful piece of music by Eric William Barnum called ‘Dreams of Thee’ and we’ve got a solo violinist on the piece, Elanor Eddington. Dimensions is doing three, if I do say so myself, kick-butt numbers. They just sound so good!”

“My Expressions choir are such good musicians and they’ll be doing some really fabulous, beautiful music,” she added. “One piece will be conducted by a senior, Maddie Daley, and it’s called ‘Let My Love Be Heard.’ She chose it, she’s directing it, she rehearsed it. The a cappella choir is doing a combined piece with the 8th graders, ‘Not While I’m Around’ from ‘Sweeney Todd.’ That’s our message to those 8th graders: They have a place of belonging in the choir room and we want them to stay in the program all four years of high school.”

Marlowe said the show’s big finale, a spiritual called “Ain’t No Grave Can Hold My Body Down,” even incorporates sign language, which was taught to the students by one student’s mother. Getting the musical down to the point of it being effortless was hard work but having a chance to perform in front of a big crowd at a venue like the Colonial makes all the work worthwhile.

“It’s a big project to organize, that’s for sure,” Marlowe said. “But it’s such a highlight at the end of the year to put on a big concert and let them perform for their parents, for the community and for each other.”

You can catch the Idaho Falls High School Choir’s end-of-the-year concert this Wednesday, May 17 at the Colonial Theater in Idaho Falls at 7 p.m. Tickets are available here.

The post Idaho Falls High School Choirs to stage end-of-the-year concert this week appeared first on East Idaho News.

IDAHO FALLS — The Eagle Rock Art Guild (ERAG) is celebrating a big milestone this year, and they’re kicking it off with a special exhibit at The Art Museum of Eastern Idaho in Idaho Falls.

The guild’s 75th Anniversary show runs now through August 12 and is composed of pieces from ERAG’s permanent collection. The exhibition highlights the relationship the guild has fostered with the Idaho Falls community, as well as the artistic contributions made by guild members.

“We are the oldest art guild in Idaho,” ERAG president Dawn Langston told EastIdahoNews.com. “We teach people and encourage the arts, teach people who want to learn new skills or try new things. In the past, we’ve made arrangements for well-known artists to come and teach their techniques. We’ve taught classes. We’ve gone out to the senior center and had children’s activities, so we’ve had a lot of community outreach.”

“When I think of the guild, I think that they’re the ones who have really nurtured our artists and made the artists’ community here what it is today,” said Museum Executive Director Miyai Abe Griggs. “Without them, I don’t think we’d have this museum or all the other arts organizations in the community. Because of the guild, we have the vibrant arts culture that we do.”

The guild was founded in 1948 by local artists Helen Aupperle, Suzanne Fonnesbeck, Fred Ochi and Ina Oyler. Over the years, the guild has helped educate local aspiring artists of all ages and was instrumental in the construction of The Art Museum of Eastern Idaho.

The 75th Anniversary exhibit reflects this history by featuring pieces created by a number of artists that have been associated with the guild throughout its history.

“(These pieces) were done by our founding members and other influential members,” said Langston. “Some of them were done by artists who came to us to teach, and then some were donated to our collection, too.”

The exhibit opened with an event on May 4, which featured relatives of some of the founding members sharing their memories and telling stories about the guild’s founders and the early days of the organization.

The celebration will continue with ERAG’s Sidewalk Art Festival on July 22 and 23 on the Idaho Falls Green Belt. Langston said that the guild is working hard to make this year’s show an extra special event in recognition of the 75-year milestone.

“We are going all-out to give it a party, festival feel,” Langston said. “We’re planning on having birthday cake, and entertainment on both days throughout. We’ll have lots of food vendors. We’re trying to get as many as possible since food truck culture is so big right now. We have a specific canopy that’s going to be set up for high school students so that they can show their work. The Art Museum is also going to be doing a booth for children’s activities.”

Langston said the guild is seeking artists to show their work, entertainers to provide mirth and music and volunteers to help set up, tear down and keep the Sidewalk Art Festival running smoothly.

The group is also looking for sponsors to help cover the costs of the guild’s activities and fund the group’s search for a permanent physical location. You can find links to sign up on the ERAG website or you can contact them by phone at (208) 529-2555 or email at eaglerockartguild@gmail.com.

You can see the Eagle Rock Art Guild 75th Anniversary exhibit at The Art Museum of Eastern Idaho now through Aug. 12. Visit the museum website for museum hours and more information.

The post New exhibit commemorates Eagle Rock Art Guild’s 75th anniversary appeared first on East Idaho News.

The Rexburg Tabernacle Orchestra‘s final concert of the season promises to have “Magic and Majesty.”

This concert Thursday night at the Tabernacle Civic Center in Rexburg is a family-friendly event. It will feature music written by Mozart, Antonin Dvorak and George Enescue. Brigham Young University-Idaho orchestra director Dallin Hansen selected the program and will conduct the orchestra.

Violist Marta Smith will perform as a soloist on Max Bruch’s “Romance for Viola.” Smith said the number is a beautiful piece that people will enjoy.

“(‘Romance for Viola’) is kind of lesser-known and not performed a lot, but it is a special gem of a piece,” said Smith. “It follows the format of a short, enjoyable piece where it starts with a theme, then develops down other pathways and ends with the same theme.”

This number features the viola, an instrument that is played like a violin but has notable differences.

“Violas share three of the same strings, but we have one pitched lower,” Smith said. “Because the body of the instrument is bigger just slightly, of course, it’s going to resonate louder and deeper. (‘Romance for Viola’) shows off some of the virtuosity of the viola, but mostly, it shows off the beautiful tone quality of the viola.”

“Romance for Viola” and the rest music performed during this concert promises to delight, enrich and inspire. Orchestra spokeswoman Gwyn Harris highlighted the Dvorak number.

“Dvorak is certainly a popular composer,” Harris said. “A lot of the melodies of his symphonies are recognizable. This symphony is a little more lyrical, with folk-like melodies throughout.”

Smith said that the overall mood and theme of the music to be played is summed up by the title of the concert, “Magic and Majesty.”

“It’s magic because if you want to be transported or if you want something that’s really exotic or kind of cool, it’s got that,” said Smith. “My piece is magical in that it’s a romance. That’s the magic part. Then Dvorak and the Mozart piece bring the majesty of it.”

The Rexburg Tabernacle Orchestra was formed in 2004 and is in its 20th season. It’s an all-volunteer orchestra that fills a need for local families and the musicians who play in the group.

“It is an educational opportunity for parents to bring their children,” Harris said. “We’ve also got a terrific music program in Madison schools. There are over a hundred strings students in each grade. So what happens when these students leave school? There’s a community orchestra they can participate in to keep up their skills.

“I just have strong feelings about what music does in our lives, not only when we participate but when we listen and let it be a part of our lives,” Harris added. “Cultural events enrich our lives.”

You can catch “Magic and Majesty” on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at the Tabernacle Civic Center. Admission is free.

Rexburg Tabernacle Orchestra Facebook

The post Experience ‘Magic and Majesty’ with Rexburg Tabernacle Orchestra appeared first on East Idaho News.