Chautauqua Welcomes –The World’s Greatest Athlete

 The official on-line biography of Jim Thorpe states, “Describing Jim Thorpe as a great athlete would be doing him a severe injustice. A better description would be calling him the greatest athlete of the 20th Century. This
label will probably be debated by many, but Thorpe's accomplishments speak louder than words. King Gustav V of Sweden told Thorpe: "Sir, you are the greatest athlete in the world.” At the tender age of 24, Thorpe sailed with the American Olympic team to Stockholm, Sweden for the 1912 Olympic Games.
  Remarkably, he trained aboard the ship on the journey across sea. He blew away the competition in both the pentathlon and the decathlon and set records that would stand for decades. Thorpe's glorious Olympic wins were jeopardized in 1913 when it came out that he played two semi-professional seasons of baseball.
  During much of his baseball years, Thorpe was also immersed in professional football. He played for the Canton (Ohio) Bulldogs from 1915 until 1920.”

As the 7th season on Elixir’s Chautauqua Series
continues, Jim Stoner will be making his first appearance of the season portraying the amazing athlete you’ve probably heard of but didn’t really know much about. His abilities and disabilities, triumphs and tragedies, ancestry and the acts of discrimination he faced lead to an astounding Chautauqua story.

Opening for Jim Thorpe, is storytelling songster Bob Ford. If you attended his presentation for Babe Ruth you know how he can pull out songs you never knew existed and portray athletes in a light you never existed.

The program is presented by Elixir Presents, on a donation basis. The event will be held at ThePlace@TheWoodward (111 S. Main Street) in
downtown Mount Vernon, a first floor facility that is wheel chair, walker, and stroller friendly. Doors open at 6 PM and program starts at 7 PM. For more information on this and upcoming programs visit www.elixirpresents.com, www.VisitKnoxOhio.org
or call 740-392-6102 or 740-392-3018. 

New Music Series to Premiere 
Mount Vernon – A new series is coming to town. Premiering on January 26, a monthly casual coffeehouse style, casual atmosphere will open at ThePlace@TheWoodward, located at 111 S. Main Street in downtown Mount Vernon. The series will be held on the last Saturday of each month from 7 – 9 PM on a donation basis to provide a relaxing way to enjoy music and friendship without having to travel long distances or pay high prices.


The series, called “The Last Saturday Café” to help remind the audience when the event will occur each month, is the brainchild of Chautauqua Beatles members Desmond Wall, Bill Miller and Mike Petee and they will be joined by Sarah Goslee Reed and a variety of friends and guests each month. The core group, who all write original material, will perform in a coffeehouse style
setting with coffee, tea, bottled water and various goodies available. 
 
The idea is to provide the area with a regular feature
showcasing the talents of many gifted musicians and a place for families, friends and colleagues can get together locally and enjoy an evening of entertainment without having to stretch their pocket books even farther than
they’re already stretched.


When asked about the new series, Mike Petee indicated, “I’ve been part of the wonderful experience we’ve provided with the Chautauqua’s, Lyceums and Music in America Series that Elixir presents and after the
experience of entertaining audiences and helping out the needy for the Chautauqua Beatles Food For The Hungry concerts, Desmond, Bill and I thought we would like to do something on a regular basis that would encourage music lovers in the area who don’t necessarily care or are able to attend the other series, but like music, to hear some of the area’s best and do it on a Saturday evening
so they can unwind from their week day jobs and relax without having to travel to Columbus or Cleveland and paying an arm and a leg.”

 “There is an incredible amount of talent in this area, as we’ve shown by the talented people doing Chautauqua’s and the musicians of the area deserve to show their stuff as well and I think this will do it in another win-win situation. We hope the good folks on Knox County and outside the county will come and join us on the last Saturday each month. It’s going to be fun, refreshing and filled with family friendly music.”

 For more information visit: www.VisitKnoxOhio.orgor call 740-393-8712 or 740-392-6102. ThePlace@TheWoodward is a
first floor facility and accessible to those with special needs such as
wheelchairs, walkers or strollers.