January 2018 - Fort Collins Lincoln Center

Voyage to the Heart of Celtic Culture

In the mid-19^th century, pushed by famine, taxes, persecution, and war, half of the population of Ireland ended up on the shores of foreign lands. Celtic Nights, the internationally-acclaimed group of Irish singers and dancers, venture to tell that story in Oceans of Hope. Established in 2012, Celtic Nights has traveled the world, sharing songs from their homeland and stories about the places their ancestors voyaged to. What began as a show that delved into the reasons why Irish emigrants made the journey to America, has now become an exploration of Irish history in an all-new production coming to the Fort Collins Lincoln Center March 6.

From America to Australia, the melodies and rhythms of Irish music and dance weave a rich tapestry of a people that may have left home behind, but never abandoned it in their hearts. Oceans of Hope will take the audience on an epic journey through moments of joy and sadness, and tell the stories of Irish ancestors. “We wanted Celtic Nights to combine every aspect of the Irish tradition,” states Celtic Nights singer Ciaran Olohan. “We have songs, dance, and story-telling, so we can give a real taste of every aspect in our culture.”

“Every Irish song has a story,” says Celtic Nights singer, Rebekah Johanne. “If you’re listening to the lyrics, you’re in the story.” In fact, it’s one of the reasons why this show is unique as compared to other Celtic shows. While the show is about exhibiting Irish culture, it’s also about inviting everyone into it.

“There are no walls between the performers and the audience,” says Johanne as she describes the wealth of emotions that the show explores, from the serious and reflective, to the comedic and heart-warming.

“The most incredible part of the show,” says Olohan, “is when the whole audience is on their feet and enjoying the show. We’ve given them an experience to connect themselves to their history.”

Enda Kenny, the Prime Minister of Ireland praised Celtic Nights as a group that has “brought our distinctive and evolving music and dance tradition to the world stage and showcased our tradition in spectacular fashion.” Johanne adds that the show is “very Ireland.”

But Celtic Nights: Oceans of Hope is not just about the past and the Irish diaspora and the hardship that forced them away from their homes and led them in alien lands. It’s about the now. It’s about the future. It’s about the family that we all share.

Celtic Nights is excited to come back to Colorado. Last time they were here in 2016, they just happened to be in a Denver Irish pub the day the Broncos won Super Bowl 50 — which left them with the impression that Coloradoans are excessively friendly and happy. (We argue this to be true no matter the circumstance, but we may be a tad bit biased.) “We look forward to seeing everyone in Colorado again,” says Johanne.

You can experience this epic tale of emigration in Celtic Nights: Oceans of Hope coming to the Fort Collins Lincoln Center March 6, 2018. Tickets begin at $15 and are available at LCtix.com.

Free Mental Health Awareness Events

There will be numerous mental health awareness events happening at the Lincoln Center in conjunction with PostSecret: The Show. (Find out more about the PostSecret project.) We encourage everyone to attend these free and valuable presentations.

Tuesday, February 6 | 7-8 p.m. | Lincoln Center Magnolia Theatre

– Presentation on depression and anxiety with hands-on strategies for combating anxiety and depression

– PHQ9 (Patient Health Questionnaire 9) testing for depression and anxiety

Wednesday, February 7 | 7-8 p.m. | Lincoln Center Magnolia Theatre

Panel discussion on children and adolescents focusing on topics such as bullying, self- harm, early identification, medication and autism

Thursday, February 8 | 7-8:30 p.m. | Lincoln Center Magnolia Theatre

Presentation on QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) training – three simple steps anyone can learn to help save a life from suicide.

Friday, February 9 | 5-7:30 p.m. | Lincoln Center Lobby

Resource table before and after PostSecret: The Show for anyone with mental health questions.

The Lincoln Center would like to thank our Season Sponsor UCHealth for making these events possible.

The Power of Sharing Secrets

For more than 12 years, people from all over the world have been sending their anonymous secrets to a mailbox in Germantown, Maryland. Whether simply scribbled onto existing postcards or thoughtfully handcrafted with personal imagery, a handful of these secrets are shared with the world via the site PostSecret.com every Sunday by the keeper of the mailbox and creator of this project, Frank Warren.

Back in 2004, Warren devised an idea for what he called “an ongoing community art project.” He started by printing up 3,000 self-addressed postcards. Blank on one side, the cards instructed people to anonymously share a secret before dropping it in the mail. Soon the project spread virally and postcards of all kinds from all over the country began pouring in.

With over 200 million visitors, PostSecret.com is now the largest advertisement-free blog in the world. Warren’s original project has since raised over $1 million for suicide prevention and spawned into six best-selling books, multiple live talks and events on six continents, numerous art exhibits and even transitioned into a live show, PostSecret: The Show, which is coming to the Lincoln Center on February 9.

Much like reading these posted secrets on the blog, the live show will take you on a journey through the humor and humanity of the stories we keep to ourselves.

“Secrets can take many forms — they can be shocking, or silly, or soulful. They can connect us to our deepest humanity or with people we’ll never meet,” says Warren in his popular TED Talk from 2012. “Secrets can remind us of the countless human dramas, of frailty and heroism, playing out silently in the lives of people all around us.”

Using projected images and video, three actors will guide the PostSecret: The Show audience through the backstory of some of these postcards. It is through these narratives that the true stories behind the secrets are revealed. The show also changes every night as secrets are gathered from the audience and shared on stage.

“Secrets are universal,” Warren told BuzzFeed in a 2014 interview. “I go to my mailbox and secrets are coming from different countries, different continents. They’re all expressing the same taboos and longing and heartbreak and hope. We think that secrets separate us and make us different. But if you find the courage to share them, we shatter that illusion. We see that secrets aren’t walls; they’re bridges.”

Warren’s ultimate hope for this project is that people recognize that they are not alone. There is a shared commonality in the experiences we share as human beings. “It’s wonderful to see people reached individually but then come together in an audience and understand that no one is ever alone,” says Warren. “[It] really is the ultimate message of this project.”

You can be a part of this emotional, moving and sometimes humorous experience at the Lincoln Center February 9, 2018. Tickets start at $15 and are available at LCtix.com.

Find out more about the mental health awareness events and the Art Gallery exhibition the Lincoln Center will be hosting in conjunction with this show.

The LC’s New Year’s Resolutions

It’s the New Year, and we at the LC are making our resolutions! What are yours?

Mikala:

I like to keep my New Year’s Resolutions simple, shallow, and highly attainable. In 2018, I resolve to learn 4 new ways to tie scarves. The year starts out with an easy victory, and I can check my resolution off the list in week one. #winning

Victoria:

I resolve to take better care of myself! I experienced a few non-serious health issues in 2017 that might have been mitigated had I listened to my body and gone to the Dr. sooner. But in 2018, I’m resolving to kiss all of that good-bye and ring in the new year with a new focus on self-care. Massage therapist, here I come!

Vincent:

Play my trombone more. It is a key to who I have become since I started in 4^th grade and I need to have that creative expression as part of my life ongoing.

Lyn:

Alison:

I’d like to really go for the gold this year, and learn to reply to at least one-third of the texts I receive. Also, I am going to make it my goal to go to at least 10 shows this year!

Secrets Expressed Through Art

The Lincoln Center Art Gallery is excited to announce two new exhibitions opening on January 12, and on view through February 24.

The first is PostSecret (read more about the PostSecret project here), held in conjunction with the upcoming performance of PostSecret: The Show. The second is Stigma Stains, an exhibition by local artist Jennifer Ivanovich who focuses on secrets and mental health.

To create the PostSecret exhibition, Fort Collins community members were invited to submit secrets pending two stipulations: 1) the secrets must be truthful and 2) the secrets had never been shared with anyone before. Provided with a blank 4” x 6” postcard, individuals shared a regret, hope, belief, fear, desire, and any other type of confession. By thinking of the postcard as a canvas, these individuals will take on the role of artist as they utilize creative techniques, such as collage or drawing, to visually express their secret.

Each anonymous postcard contributed to the whole of the exhibition helps tear down societal stigmas on taboo subjects such as mental illness and trauma, while simultaneously facilitating a feeling of human connection between the postcard writer and the viewer.

The PostSecret exhibition is continually growing. Create and submit your own secret postcard using the art supplies in the Lincoln Center Lobby Gallery.

Also on view in the Lincoln Center Art Gallery is Stigma Stains, an exhibition featuring the work of local artist Jennifer Ivanovic. Her paintings correspond with written narratives, illustrating the struggles of real people with different forms of mental illness. Each of the personal narratives give moving accounts of the subjects’ adversity and marginalization living with mental illness and their determination to triumph and live healthy, fulfilling lives. Stigma Stains strives to inspire a personal dialogue, between artist and audience, challenging the audience to examine their own perceptions and prejudices around mental illness.

Artist Jennifer Ivanovic will give a free First Friday artist talk on February 2 at 5:30 in the Lincoln Center Art Gallery. Join us as Jennifer shares how her paintings interpret the personal stories of mental illness that she has collected through interviews and website submissions.