CMFA brings British pub to ArtSpace

Get the cozy feel of a British pub without the trans–Atlantic flight at Columbia Music Festival Association’s Pub Night. The event, officially named the Lize Wessels Pub Night after its founder, will celebrate its 28th year Saturday night at the CMFA ArtSpace.

A team of CMFA volunteers will transform the ArtSpace into a slice of England with a variety of decorations the group has accumulated over the years from old pub signs to traditional flags. One of the highlights of the event is a professional darts tournament, a pub standard.

“This is really the only fundraiser that CMFA has,” said CMFA president Cydney Berry. “It's such a traditional event. It’s the longest running event of its kind in the city.” The first Pub Night was started by Wessels, a native of Cornwall, England and former CMFA president.

Berry recalls the early days of the event when she and other volunteers would gather to cook all the traditional dishes like bangers and mash, cheese pies and lemon squares. Now the group has contracted Southern Way Catering to do all the cooking, but still using many of the same recipes, especially for the signature dish – an oddity know as Scotch eggs. Berry describes them as hard boiled eggs coated in a sausage and soft bread mixture, then breaded and deep fried.

A long–time supporter of the event and CMFA, local personality Joe Pinner will serve as emcee to guide the proceedings and door prize winners.

CMFA itself has been a Columbia tradition since its founding in 1897 with help from the city and local sector. Columbia Music Festival Association’s name may be misleading as they support all forms of arts. “I believe the term ‘festival’ meant something slightly different back in those days than it does now,” CMFA Executive Director John Whitehead said.

CMFA has helped raise many a fledgling arts group during the past century. The South Carolina Philharmonic, Columbia Choral Society, Columbia City Ballet, and Carolina Ballet all had early ties with the organization.

“One of the most important things that the association does is help new and emerging artists take their first steps,” Whitehead said. “You have an artist or performer who wants to put on a show but doesn’t have a clue, so we can work with them from the very beginning to carrying it through to when the curtain goes up the art show opens.”

CMFA currently has affiliations with many new organizations such as the Unbound Dance Company, as well as more established groups like Vibrations Dance Company and the South Carolina Shakespeare Company.

The association also has a long–running educational component that works with area schools to create a complete artistic experience for children. The classes will study all aspects of a performance from composers to choreographers and history prior to seeing a show at CMFA.

“I’ve seen it change and evolve to meet the needs of the community and the artists themselves,” said Whitehead, who has been with CMFA since 1967. “Since we got the ArtSpace 16 years ago we are able to offer the facility as a resource for performances, as a rehearsal space, for educational programming, teaching, dancing in all its forms, or music. There is set building and costume construction. All of that can happen here and does.”

Pub Night begins at 7:30 pm at the CMFA ArtSpace, 914 Pulaski St. Tickets are $25 per person in advance and $30 at the door. Call 771-6303 to purchase tickets.