Notable Happenings
Ohio Wesleyan University Announces October 2023 Calendar of Public Events
DELAWARE, Ohio – Ohio Wesleyan University today announced its October 2023 lineup of public events. Unless otherwise noted, admission is free.
Now through Dec. 15 – “More or Less,” featuring art created by Kim Faler, OWU Class of 2002, in the Werner Gallery inside Edgar Hall, 35 S. Sandusky St., Delaware. The exhibit brings together three bodies of work – Cull, Undone, and Wasting Time – by Faler, a sculptor and multimedia artist. The title “More or Less” alludes to the sense of touch and surface tension, as well as emotions that are hard to articulate. Faler’s work invites viewers to look closer at what is familiar and focuses deeply on the materials she uses. Notions of anxiety, ephemerality, and the slippery nature of memory permeate the art. Learn more at https://kimfaler.com. The gallery is open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday when classes are in session. The gallery will be closed for mid-semester break from Oct. 11-13. Admission is free. Learn more at owu.edu/ross.
Now through Oct. 29 – “Personal to Political” and “Abstract Art from the Permanent Teaching Collection,” at Ohio Wesleyan’s Richard M. Ross Art Museum, 60 S. Sandusky St., Delaware. “Personal to Political,” on loan from the Bedford Gallery at the Lesher Center for the Arts in California, presents works by 17 artists who capture the personal narratives and political discourses of African Americans across the country. This exhibition of figurative and abstract prints explores history, identity, and spiritual inspiration. At the heart of the show is Paulson Fontaine Press, a fine arts printer, with a roster of celebrated artists including Martin Puryear, Kerry James Marshall, and the Gee’s Bend Quilters. “Abstract Art” invites viewers to learn more about the background, movements, and artistic choices that make abstract art a vital component of the artistic landscape. It includes works by artists including Willis Bing Davis, Jose Luis Cuevas, Dennison W. Griffith, Edmund Kuehn, Lee Krasner, Kim Lim, Robert Motherwell, and Frank Stella. During the academic year, the Ross Art Museum is open Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. The Ross will be closed for mid-semester break from Oct. 11-13. The museum is handicap-accessible and admission is always free. Call (740) 368-3606 or visit owu.edu/ross for more information.
7 p.m. Oct. 5 – “Binocular Basics – Using Binoculars to Augment Your Telescope Observing” and “Advanced Observing Techniques – Lunar, Deep Sky, and Solar Observing,” at Perkins Observatory, 3199 Columbus Pike (U.S. 23), Delaware. The two-hour event features back-to-back workshops to help participants become experienced telescope observers. Tickets are $50 per person. Reserve tickets by calling (740) 363-1257. Learn more at owu.edu/perkins.
7:30 p.m. Oct. 5-7 and 2 p.m. Oct. 7-8 – “365 Days/365 Plays,” by Suzan-Lori Parks. Written between 2002 and 2003, Parks’ plays remain relevant in today’s modern socio-political climate, says Bradford Sadler, the show’s artistic director. Ohio Wesleyan students will perform 24 of the 365 plays, most of which are less than five minutes long. “Each play is independent, but important national themes will recur, including trauma, gun violence, immigration, war and its emotional aftermath, the treatment of women in our national society, and the LGBTQIA+ community’s fears in contemporary America,” said Sadler, a 2005 OWU graduate and Performing Arts instructor. “365 Days/365 Plays” will feature a directing team, each of whom will direct four scripts. The directors are expected to include faculty members Sadler and Lusie Cuskey, and students Dyna Bresson, Chloe Williams, Miriam Lang, and Isabelle Tinti-Kane. The plays contain adult themes and are not suitable for children. “365 Days/365 Plays” will be performed in the Studio Theatre of Chappelear Drama Center, 45 Rowland Ave., Delaware. Admission is free, but reservations are required by visiting owu.edu/PerformingArts beginning two weeks before the show debuts. For questions, call the box office at (740) 368-3855.
Oct. 7 – OWU Homecoming and Family Weekend: Ohio Wesleyan will host its 2023 Homecoming and Family Weekend on Oct. 6-7, and the community is invited to join in these Oct. 7 public celebrations.
- 12 p.m. to 12:15 p.m., Parade of Bishops – Show your Ohio Wesleyan pride and join the walking parade from the JAYwalk fountain to Selby Stadium, led by the Battling Bishop football team, the Marching Bishops, the OWU cheerleaders, and the Battling Bishop himself. (Meet at the fountain in front of Hamilton-Williams Campus Center, 40 Rowland Ave., Delaware.)
- 12 p.m. to 2 p.m., Battling Bishop Tailgate – Enjoy lunch as you get fired up for the Ohio Wesleyan vs. Kenyon football game. Food trucks will have items for purchase outside Selby Stadium, 45 S. Henry St., Delaware.
- 2 p.m., OWU vs. Kenyon football game – Halftime recognition includes the 2023 “W” Association Hall of Fame inductees. Game tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for senior citizens and students. Admission is free for Ohio Wesleyan students with a valid university ID and for children under 12 for homecoming and all regular-season games. Learn more at www.battlingbishops.com.
- 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., Gospel Lyres 50th Anniversary Concert – Hear this heavenly choir perform a selection of secular music. The Gospel Lyres was created by a group of Black OWU students following an impromptu singalong in 1972. This event commemorates the group’s first concert performance and will be held in Gray Chapel inside University Hall, 61 S. Sandusky St., Delaware. Tickets are $10 and may be purchased (cash or card) at the door.
- 5 p.m. and 7 p.m., OWU vs. Oberlin soccer games – Cheer on the OWU women’s soccer team followed by the men’s team when the Bishops battle the Yeowomen and Yeomen of Oberlin College. Both games will be played at OWU’s Jay Martin Soccer Complex, 249 Park Ave., Delaware. Game tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for senior citizens and students. Admission is free for Ohio Wesleyan students with a valid university ID and for children under 12 for homecoming and all regular-season games. Learn more at www.battlingbishops.com.
Learn more about OWU’s 2023 Homecoming and Family Weekend at owu.edu/homecoming.
8 p.m. Oct. 6, 13, 20, and 27 – Friday night skywatches, at Perkins Observatory, 3199 Columbus Pike (U.S. 23), Delaware. Content varies based on weather conditions, but may include a planetarium show, observatory tours, and stargazing with the 32-inch Schottland Telescope. Tickets are $10 in advance or $12 on the day of the event and at the door. Reserve tickets by calling (740) 363-1257. Learn more at owu.edu/perkins.
8 p.m. Oct. 10 – Ohio Wesleyan’s Symphonic Wind Ensemble, conducted by professor Richard Edwards, in Gray Chapel inside University Hall, 61 S. Sandusky St., Delaware. Admission is free. For more information, visit owu.edu/PerformingArts.
7:30 p.m. Oct. 21 – The Central Ohio Symphony debuts its 45th season with a three-part performance and a welcome-to-Delaware tribute, in collaboration with the City of Delaware, to Ohio Wesleyan’s 17th president, Matt vandenBerg; his wife, Melissa; and their children. The concert includes the Ohio premiere of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Jennifer Higdon’s “Cold Mountain Suite”; Miguel del Aguila’s “Violin Concerto,” featuring renowned violinist Guillermo Figueroa; and Camille Saint Saens’ “Symphony No. 3: The Organ Symphony,” highlighting OWU’s Rexford Keller Memorial Organ, which boasts 4,644 pipes. (“The Organ Symphony” was featured in the movie “Babe.”) The concert and vandenBerg welcome will be held in OWU’s Gray Chapel inside University Hall, 61 S. Sandusky St., Delaware. For tickets, visit www.centralohiosymphony.org or call (740) 362-1799.
7 p.m. Oct. 25 – Pitch OWU, a two-hour competition that invites Ohio Wesleyan students of all majors to pitch their entrepreneurial ideas to a panel of judges in a quest for $1,000 cash. The competition will be held in Room 301 of Merrick Hall, 65 S. Sandusky St., Delaware. It is presented by The Woltemade Center for Economics, Business and Entrepreneurship. Admission is free. Learn more about OWU’s Woltemade Center at owu.edu/woltemade.
7:30 p.m. Oct. 26 – Kenneth Noe, Ph.D., Draughon Professor of Southern History Emeritus at Auburn University, discusses the impact of climate and weather on the Civil War. Noe will speak in Benes Rooms A and B of OWU’s Hamilton-Williams Campus Center, 40 Rowland Ave., Delaware. He is the author or editor of eight books, most recently “The Howling Storm: Weather, Climate and the American Civil War,” a Lincoln Prize finalist in 2021 and co-winner of the 2022 Colonel Richard W. Ulbrich Memorial Book Award. Civil War Monitor magazine calls the book “a magnum opus that successfully challenges historians to rethink all they have ever known of the war.” Learn more at https://kennethwnoe.com. Noe’s presentation is the 2023 Richard W. Smith Lecture in Civil War History. Admission is free. The lecture also will be streamed live at owu.edu/stream. Learn more at owu.edu/history.
3 p.m. Oct. 29 – OWU senior student recital, featuring Hannah Barenthin, clarinet, in Jemison Auditorium inside Sanborn Hall, 23 Elizabeth St., Delaware. Admission is free. For more information, visit owu.edu/PerformingArts.
All Ohio Wesleyan public event information is subject to change. For the latest updates, visit owu.edu/calendar or “like” www.facebook.com/OhioWesleyanUniversityNews. For more Battling Bishop athletics events, visit battlingbishops.com.
Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation’s premier liberal arts universities. Located in Delaware, Ohio, the private university offers more than 70 undergraduate majors and competes in 24 NCAA Division III varsity sports. Through its signature experience, the OWU Connection, Ohio Wesleyan teaches students to understand issues from multiple academic perspectives, volunteer in service to others, build a diverse and global perspective, and translate classroom knowledge into real-world experience through internships, research, and other hands-on learning. Ohio Wesleyan is featured in the book “Colleges That Change Lives” and included on the U.S. News & World Report and Princeton Review “Best Colleges” lists. Connect with OWU expert interview sources at owu.edu/experts or learn more at owu.edu.