6A = THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
NEWS
MONDAY,MARCH31,2003
Eric Braem/Kansan
Thales Pirozi, Manhattan resident and Rio, Brazil native, hits the Abe & Jake's dance floor during the Carnaval celebration. Pirozi came to Lawrence with about 25 students solely to attend the party Saturday.
1,000 celebrate Carnaval discover Brazilian culture
By Henry C. Jackson
cjackson@kansan.com
kansan staff writer
Decorated in colorful green and yellow balloons, the signature colors of Brazil, Abe and Jake's Landing hosted about 1,000 people who gathered to celebrate Carnaval Saturday night.
The event, which was put or by the Brazilian Student Association, was the culmination of a week's worth of activities by the club, including free samba dance lessons, martial arts demonstrations and other fundraising events. Saturday's gathering featured a live musical performance by the Chicago Samba Band, which had traditional dancers and played Brazilian samba music.
Brandon Becker, Harper senior, said the music helped set the mood.
"You can really get into the atmosphere," Becker said. "I don't know a lot about the culture, but I'm learning more about it tonight."
Thais Brandao, the association's president and Boa Viagem, Brazil, senior, said her club emphasized introducing non-Brazilians to Brazilian culture. She said Saturday's event had impressed her because in addition to a large number of Brazilians, many unfamiliar with her culture attended the event.
"Most of the mission of BSA is to get Americans aware of Brazilian culture," she said. "It's impressive to see people coming and saying 'I don't understand the lyrics, I don't
understand the songs, but man isn't this culture wonderful?"
Saturday's Carnaval celebration allowed some, such as Chris Shaw, Lawrence junior, to experience Brazilian culture outside of Brazil for the first time.
"This is the first time I've been around a lot of Brazilians since I was in Brazil," he said. "I love the culture. Brazilian peo
ple are very happy, social people."
Shaw said the mood at Abe & Jake's, 8 E. Sixth St., made it easy to have a good time.
"In this kind of climate, you can't imagine anyone not going out and having a good time," he said.
Edited by Amber Byarlay
Jayhawks featured as art with Jayhawks on Parade
ByJJ Hensley
Kansan staff writer
jhensley@kansan.com
Kelley Weiss/Kansan
Alison and George Carter look at the "Chip off the old 'Hawk' fiberglass Jayhawk mold Thursday night at the Jayhawks on Parade reception. George Carter designed the bases for the jayhawks, which weigh 800 pounds each. Carter's company, Precast Engineering, designed the pedestals. For more about Jayhawks on Parade, see tomorrow's Kansan.
Even if the Jayhawks' march through New Orleans stops prematurely, there will still be 20 good reasons for Jayhawk fans to flock to Lawrence in the coming months.
This week marks the beginning of Jayhawks on Parade, a public art display of distinctly decorated Jayhawks constructed by local artists.
Lawrence's latest attempt at public art is modeled after the popular Cows on Parade in Chicago and the Bears on Parade in Kansas City, among others.
But the glut of other communities committed to parading fiberglass animals as art didn't dissuade planners at the Lawrence Convention and Visitors Bureau from duplicating the idea here. That was because the projects had been an effective boost to tourism in other communities, said Susan Henderson of the bureau.
Henderson said one goal of the project was to generate visitor traffic to Lawrence, particularly from KU alumni.
"They always seem willing to come back to Lawrence for a visit, and we wanted to give them a nice excuse," she said.
"I can usually tell where that story been picked up by where I'm
Henderson said another goal was to raise money for non-profit groups. So far, so good, she said. The bureau has done a lot to generate advance publicity and it seems to be paying off. An Associated Press story on the parade has run in papers around the country, generating traffic at the Web site, www.jayhawksonparade.com, and e-mails to Henderson each week about the pending display.
getting e-mails from," Henderson said. "The response so far has been great. We're pleased with the interest they've already generated and they aren't even up yet."
Interest in the unique Jayhawks has been high from the start among local artists and the businesses who sponsor the project, she said.
Individuals and 28 businesses paid $4,500 to sponsor each bird. The artists received $1,000 for each Jayhawk, which went to cover materials and other expenses. The remaining $3,500 costs associated with the event, from licensing the Jayhawk to getting the birds set up on pedestals around town — including on campus, in front of businesses and on Massachusetts Street, Henderson said.
Megan McNellis, Lawrence sophomore, found out she was chosen to decorate a Jayhawk on her birthday.
As the only KU student working on the project, the art major felt a certain obligation to capture the spirit of downtown. When changes had to be made to her original
design, McNellis decided to focus on the two most visible arts in Lawrence: music and painting. The Lawrence Convention and Visitors Bureau liked her design so much it chose "The Hawk of the Arts" to display in front of its downtown building.
"I don't feel like I was the one who did it," McNellis said. "But it will be a big relief to see it on display."
When the birds come down in October, they will go to a non-profit group of the sponsor's choice or be kept on permanent display. The non-profit groups, such as Habitat for Humanity and Tenants to Homeowners, can then auction the statues to individuals or businesses or keep the birds to themselves.
"We tried to pick one non-profit group to benefit from this when we started, but we couldn't agree on one even among ourselves, so ultimately, the sponsors got to pick their own charities to benefit from this." Henderson said.
—Edited by Brandon Gay
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