6A NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAS
FRIDAY MAY 1, 2009
ART
Second annual art festival adds cultural elements
Event almost triples number of artists featured, along with bands and dancing
BY JENNIFER TORLINE jtorline@kansan.com
For the second year in a row, Student Union Activities and the Spencer Museum of Art's Student Advisory Board are teaming up to bring the Spring Arts and Culture Festival to campus on Saturday.
But this year it's bigger and more culturally diverse, said Megan Turner, Olathe senior and student outreach coordinator.
Last year's art festival had 10 local and student artists selling artwork, but this year's festival will have 28 artists.
"Last year, it was just the arts festival," she said. "This year, we've added 'cultural festival' to the title and opened it to different cultural groups."
Student organizers of the festival added the cultural aspect to celebrate the diversity of campus organizations.
Amy Gairs, Leawood freshman and SUAs cultural arts coordinator.
SPRING ARTS AND CULTURE FESTIVAL
WHAT: The second annual festival featuring live music, dance performances and artwork for sale by local and student artists.
WHO: The festival is sponsored by Student Union Activities and the Spencer Museum
of Art's Student Advisory Board.
of Art's Student Advisory Board.
WHERE: The museum's front lawn and the street space between the museum and the Kansas Union.
WHEN: Noon to 4 p.m.
Saturday
COST: Free. The festival is open to students, families and members of the public.
said four groups, including the Peruvian Association and the KU African Drum and Dance Ensemble, would perform music and dance demonstrations.
Astrid Houchin, president of the Peruvian Association, said four student dancers in the group would perform traditional dances. A Peruvian musician in the organization will play the pan flute, drums and other instruments.
"The focus of our organization is to promote the knowledge of Peruvian culture," Houchin, Lima,
Peru, sophomore, said. "We're going to perform dances from the highlands and rainforests."
Houchin is also a painting major, and she will sell some of her paintings at the festival. Several other members of the Peruvian Association will also sell watercolor paintings and other artwork.
The festival is free and open to both students and families. Other activities include tote bag decorating, music by three local bands, a maypole dance and the
opening of the museum's annual "Children's Art Exhibition," which features artwork from local children who have taken art classes at the museum.
Artists such as Dave Loewenstein and Jouvelt will create art live at the festival, and the museum's exhibitions will be open as well.
The festival lasts from noon to 4 p.m. on the museum's front lawn and street space between the Kansas Union and the museum. Mississippi Street will be closed to traffic during the festival.
"We're going to fill that space up with as much art and culture as we can," said Melissa Melling, Leawood sophomore and the festival committee director. "It should be a great Saturday afternoon activity for families and students to come together in the Lawrence community to celebrate our artistic achievement and cultural background."
- Edited by Casey Miles
Diana Cardenas, Tarapoto, Peru, senior, and Jorge Pizarro, Lima, Peru, graduate student, practice a traditional Peruvian dance with the Peruvian Association of Lawrence. The Spencer Museum of Art is hosting the second annual Spring Arts and Cultural Festival on Saturday. The event will feature live music, BMX bikers and artwork for sale from local and student artists.
Matt Bristow/KANSAN
Spending continues downward slide as savings rate stays over 4 percent
ECONOMY
BY JEANNINE AVERSA
Associated Press
WASHINGTON Consumer spending fell more than expected
two straight monthly gains, a stark reminder of a fragile economy that has pushed a record number of Americans to draw jobless benefits.
"Whether the recovery begins later this year ... or takes a bit longer is hard to know."
The Commerce Department said Thursday that
CHRISTINA ROMER Economic adviser
Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York on Thursday. The Dow Jones traded flat after Chrysler LLC filed for bankruptcy
Consumer spending in the first quarter grew at a 2.2 percent annual rate after two consecutive quarters of declines, but some analysts said that may be just a blip. Economists closely watch consumer spending
consumer spending dropped 0.2 percent in March, worse than the 0.1 percent decline economists expected. Incomes, reflecting persistent mass layoffs, dropped 0.3 percent, also worse than expected $ ^{d} $
The fact that spending turned negative in March after two straight gains is a worrisome sign.
Households have been cutting back on spending and boosting savings during the recession, worried that they need to replenish depleted nest eggs as job cuts mount and investment values plunge.
The personal savings rate rose to 4.2 percent from 4 percent in February. It stood at 4.4 percent in January, the first time in more than a decade the rate has been above 4 percent for three straight months.
Meanwhile, the Labor Department said new applications for unemployment aid fell to a seasonally adjusted 631,000 last week. That was down from the prior week's 645,000, which
because it accounts for 70 percent of total economic activity.
of gray, which is an improvement from the fall and winter when it was uniformly black" said Stuart Hoffman, chief economist at PNC Financial Services.
was revised slightly higher from the government's initial estimate. Economists had expected a small
Christina Romer, chair of President Barack Obama's Council of Economic Advisers, predicted another economic contraction in the second quarter and delivered a downbeat assessment about unemployment. But she said the pace of the decline will moderate sharply over the next several months.
increase in new claims.
The four-week moving average of initial jobless claims, which smooths out volatility, dropped last week to 637,250 That was the lowest level since late February and $r$
"Whether the recovery begins later this year, as most private forecasters predict, or takes a bit longer is hard to know," she told Congress' Joint Economic Committee. "The recovery will almost surely take a long time."
The number of people drawing unemployment benefits jumped to more than 6.27 million, the highest on records dating back to 1967.
decrease of about 20,000 from the high in early April. Goldman Sachs economists have said a decline of 30,000 to 40,000 in the four-week average is needed to signal a peak.
"We are seeing a mixed picture with the data. Now we have shades
Still, the number of people continuing to draw unemployment benefits jumped to more than 6.27 million, the highest on record dating back to 1967. That was steeper than economists expected and a 13th straight record-high
New jobless filers — as opposed to those who remain on the unemployment compensation rolls — also are closely tracked by economists for clues about the future direction of the economy. Analysts want to see a sustained decline in new applications as a sign of improved conditions.
Hoffman called the drop in initial filings "mildly encouraging" and said he expects some of the big
Although last week's drop in new claims was welcome, the level remains elevated and signals a troubled jobs market. The labor market usually doesn't recover until well after a recession has ended. That's because companies won't want to ramp up hiring until they feel certain any recovery has staving power
increases logged to taper off as the year progresses.
Still, the record number of continued claims suggests that many laid-off workers are having trouble finding new jobs.
As a proportion of the work force, the total jobless benefit rolls are the highest since late December 1982.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average traded flat Thursday afternoon after President
Barack Obama confirmed that Chrysler LLC was filing for bankruptcy protection. The Dow had been up more than 100 points earlier in the day.
The economy is still expected to shrink from April to June, but not nearly as much as it has been. In the first quarter of this year, the economy tumbled at an annualized 6.1 percent drop. That followed a 6.3 percent annualized decline in the final quarter of last year.
REMEMBER THE MOMENT
KANSANSALES.COM
Your source for The University Daily Kansan memorabilia and merchandise
T-shirts, posters, specials sections, and much more all available online at kansansales.com
AUTO INDUSTRY Chrysler files Chapter 11, plans 30-day restructuring
DETROIT — Chrysler finally succumbed to bankruptcy Thursday, pinning its future on a top-to-bottom reorganization and plans to build cleaner cars through an alliance with Italian automaker Fiat.
Bur Bal play sea
Chrysler filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New York after a group of creditors defied government pressure to wipe out Chrysler's debt. The company plans to emerge in as little as 30 days, with Fiat potentially becoming the majority owner in the future. In return, the federal government agreed to give Chrysler up to $8 billion in additional aid and to back its warranties.
Associated Press