Centennial Celebration Schedule:
TODAY Preview Night at Silvermoon on Broad, 6:30 p.m. ($35) Vintage rock by Texarkana Trio Jazz from Candace Taylor and Carol Miles with Three of a Kind Boogie woogie by John Tennison Hors d'oeuvres and drinks by local chefs SATURDAY Scott Joplin International Centennial Celebration at Perot Theatre, 7:30 p.m. ($15-$40; student discount available) MacArthur Genius Award winner Reginald Robinson performs ragtime Grammy-nominated jazz singer and Texarkana native Roseanna Vitro performs Texarkana Jazz Orchestra performs Carol Miles performs original arrangement of "The Texarkana Jazz Rag" Winning ensemble from Saturday's Four States Student Jazz Showcase Presentation of the first Regional Music Heritage Center Lifetime Achievement Award to Rule Beasley SUNDAY Texarkana ROCKS! 1954-1956 at the Perot, 2 p.m. ($18-$45) Elvis impersonator George Thomas as "Young Elvis" performs in honor of the late impersonator Dr. Carl "Cheesie" Nelson Texarkana Trio performs in honor of Pat Cupp, Texarkana native and rockabilly pioneer Post-show: Free Arkansas Municipal Auditorium tours, photos with "Elvis" and AMA Walk of Fame dedications for Cupp and the late Texarkana jazz musician Jay Franks Tickets and more information: http://texarkanarmh…" target="_blank">texarkanarmhc.org or 832-498-3830.The Museum of Regional History will screen documentary movies about Scott Joplin this Saturday in conjunction with the Scott Joplin International Centennial Celebration.
The talent and accomplishments of Joplin, a pioneer of ragtime music, will be explored through two documentary movies. Screenings start on the hour from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. They're free to see, courtesy of the Texarkana Museums System. Museum and Joplin exhibit tours are $5.
The SJICC is a three-day celebration of Joplin and Texarkana's music heritage, starting today. It's being presented by the Regional Music Heritage Center at the Perot Theatre and Silvermoon on Broad.
"We are going to be screening some documentaries. There's one that was done in the late '70s that is narrated by Eartha Kitt," said Velvet Cool, board president for the TMS. That movie, "Scott Joplin: King of Ragtime Composers," was directed by Amelia Anderson.
"She did extensive research on Joplin and this focuses on the environment that Joplin would've existed in and some of the struggles that he would have had to overcome and go on to his success as being the father of ragtime," Cool said.
The TMS will also show a video of a 1998 concert at the Perot Theatre that honored Joplin. "It was an evening of ragtime music," Cool said. The goal is to have 45 minutes of play time for the hour, repeating at the top of the hour.
Because it's the first Saturday of the month, the event is held at the museum. Each TMS property is hosting one event per month now.
Of course, part of the museum's Beasley Music Exhibit includes a piano thought to have been played by Scott Joplin. Joplin grew up in Texarkana and learned how to play the piano here. The importance of celebrating Joplin?
"Because he is so underappreciated in what is possibly his own hometown," Cool said. "That is, I think, something that's another of aspect of history that needs to be clarified and fixed. Too often we look elsewhere for things that we place importance on. We tend to undervalue the things that come from our own backyard."
To appreciate Joplin's life and legacy, visit the museum on Saturday.
(The Museum of Regional History is at 219 State Line Ave. in downtown Texarkana. For more information, call 903-793-4831.)