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MANUAL
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GET SOME CULTURE // ART ZYDECO AT THE
> It's not all about fast food and beer pong. LIED CENTER
The rhythmic sounds of Louisiana come to Lawrence with Jeffery Broussard & the Creole Cowboys. The group performs this Friday night at the Lied Center, 1600 Stewart Dr., as part of a free indoor concert and local arts festival that kicks off the 2010-2011 season.
Contributed photo
Contributed photo
Southern comfort: The Lied Center brings Jeffery Brousard &
the Creule Cowboys this Friday for a free indoor concert.
The concert has turned into a tradition, running parallel with the academic school year says Karen Christilles, associate director of the Lied Center. "We wanted to thank all of the people who have supported the Lied Center," Christilles says. "The free concert and festival is a way for us to do that."
Though the Lied Center hosts many priced ticket events throughout the season, this concert and arts festival is free.
Broussard and his band will play their own brand of contemporary Zydeco music, a genre that evolved from American roots and creole music in the bayous of Louisiana. Broussard, a Louisiana native and skilled accordion player, is the son of famed musician Delton Broussard, a member of the influential Zydeco band Lawtell Playboys.
Along with the band's washboard grooves
and accordion twang, the Lied Center is simultaneously hosting a family arts festival that includes more than 20 local arts and community organizations. The festival also features prize giveaways, crafts and activities to help students start off the new semester.
The festival begins at 6 p.m. with the concert kicking off at 7 p.m. Tickets can be picked up at the Lied Center Ticket Office or reserved by phone at (785) 864-2787.
IN THE LIFE OF ... // A CONSTRUCTION WORKER
JOHN HERMES
> Living vicariously through others is okay with us.
This summer's dangerous heat waves can't stop Aaron Brooks. Brooks and his asphalt-laying crew from Sunflower Paving Inc., 1457 E. 1832 Rd., wake up before the sun to smooth out cracks, gaps and pesky pot holes. "We try to beat the heat, but I think the heat is still beating us," Brooks says. Though this isn't the first scorching summer Brooks has dealt with in his 23 years of construction work, the demands on his crew keep piling up. Starting at 4:30 a.m. helps lessen the burn, but cramming 14 to 16 hours of work in a day leads to a lot of time in the open sun.
In the early morning, Brooks' crew of six men shovel asphalt out of the truck, leveling the 220 to 260 degrees Fahrenheit mixture on to the pavement of the Memorial Stadium parking lot. Jeans, safety glasses and neon-yellow shirts keep the workers safe from second or third degree burns. After the crew has the asphalt raked and flattened, they toss their tools in the back of their truck and zoom off to the next roadway imperfection. "People just expect the work to be done, but don't think about how it gets done," Brooks says.
Brooks says his crew does tons of asphalt laying around campus. By tons, Brooks means literally scooping around 12,000 to 15,000 tons of asphalt a day. This high capacity has changed over the years. Loaders were just being invented in 1988 when Brooks started, so the workers did all the heaving themselves, which meant only laying 200 to 300 tons of asphalt a day. More technology means more asphalt hits the ground at more locations. For Brooks and crew, tackling speed bumps on Jayhawk Boulevard or 31st Street is just another hot day on the job.
BRENNA LONG
All in a hard day's work Aaron Brooks and his construction crew spend many hot days repairing streets by mixing asphalt.
photo by Brenna Long