Columbia Festival of the Arts Launches Spring Festival VIVA LA VIDA Today

Following multiple sold out performances for the "Beyond The Blues" Winter Season, Columbia Festival of the Arts is starting to sell out their new Spring Festival, Viva La Vida." Recent 2016 Rising Star Award-winning classical Spanish guitarist Mark Edwards has already sold out his 4:00pm performance at Oliver's Carriage House on April 17th. Executive Director Todd Olson has added a second, 7:00pm, performance for Edwards due to popular demand.

Columbia Festival of the Arts launches a dynamic Spring Festival "Viva La Vida" today, April 8th, celebrating life with focus on Hispanic and Latino Artists. Now offering "Arts For Every Season" Columbia Festival of the Arts Spring events run weekends through 24, 2016.

In addition to a FREE Family Fiesta afternoon indoor celebration of Latin-inspired music, food, artists, cool vendors, mini-dance lectures, cha cha lessons, and a Taste of Latin America by Whole Foods, Columbia Festival of the Arts offers nine (9) days of uninterrupted entertainment and culture this April.

Key performances include a double header high energy music concert with both sensational Grammy Award Winning band La Santa Cecilia and another top group Las Cafeteras, voted "Best Latin Alternative Band" in 2013 by LA Weekly. Classical Spanish guitarist and 2016 Rising Star Award winner Mark Edwards is back by popular demand, plus a selection of powerful lectures on Imagining Post-Revolutionary Mexico and Cuba's Cinematic Revolution. Spring film selections include Julie Taymor's FRIDA, the award winning EAST SIDE SUSHI, plus the 2nd Annual Maryland Student Film Festival. There's an abundance of food and dancing with a Salsa Night led by Eileen Torres, plus Poetry and Paella with actor/musicians Jorge Acosta and Jennyfur Anaya who bring Spanish language poetry and food for an evening of rich language and complex tastes.

For more information and/or to purchase tickets visit www.ColumbiaFestival.org. A complete list of each event is included below.

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Columbia Festival of the Arts Spring 2016 Line Up:

Film: Julie Taymor's "Frida"
Starring Salma Hayek, Alfred Molina, Geoffrey Rush, Ashley Judd, Antonio Banderas, Roger Rees, and Edward Norton
Academy Award winning American biopic drama film which depicts the professional and private life of the surrealist Mexican painter Frida Kahlo.
Howard Community College, Room N220, Friday, April 8 from 7:30-9:30pm (talk-back to follow) $12

Lecture: Cuba's Cinematic Revolution
By Dr. Eyda M. Merediz
Explore the cinematic journey of the Cuban revolution as socialist utopia and the development of Cuban cinematic culture that took place during the mid 20th Century.
Roger Carter Community Center, Saturday, April 9 from 7:00-8:30pm - Pay What You Can

STAGED Reading: Casa Blue, the last moments in the life of Frida Kahlo
By Todd Olson, Karen Garcia, and Jeremy Childs
This bold play celebrates the most famous painter to come from Mexico, Frida Kahlo, which Creative Loafing called "Exciting...a formidable work of imagination."
Oliver's Carriage House, Sunday, April 10 from 4:00-6:30 (talk-back to follow) $12

Salsa Night with Eileen Torres!
Lecture, food, and dancing
A decade-by-decade exploration of the "Origins and Development of Salsa," intermission aperitivos (appetizers), followed by a one-hour Salsa dance instruction.
Historic Oakland, Friday, April 15 from 7:00-9:30pm $35 (includes food)

Free Family Fiesta!
Indoor Celebration with Cha-Cha, Salsa, and a Taste of Latin America!
Bring the whole family for a FREE afternoon of Latin-inspired music, food, artists, cool vendors, mini-dance lectures, cha cha lessons, a Taste of Latin America by Whole Foods, and more!
Wilde Lake HS Main Street/Jim Rouse Theatre Saturday, April 16 from 3:00-6:00pm FREE

Dos por Uno (2 for1) LAS CAFETERAS and Grammy winning LA SANTA CECILIA
Live Bands Featuring Special Intermission food by Whole Foods
Called the "Best Latin Alternative Band" in 2013 (LA Weekly), Las Cafeteras creates a vibrant musical fusion with a unique East LA sound and a community-focused political message. 6:00-7:15pm
Grammy Award winning La Santa Cecilia exemplifies the modern-day creative hybrid of Latin culture, rock, and world music. 8:00-9:15pm
Jim Rouse Theatre Saturday, April 16 $45 (includes 2 shows & intermission food)

Mark Edwards, classical Spanish guitar
Following a memorable performance at last year's Spring Festival, 2016 Rising Star Award winner Mark Edwards is back by popular demand, this time presenting a program of Spanish masters.
Oliver's Carriage House, Sunday, April 17 4:00-5:30pm. New second performance added at 7:00pm $18

Lecture: Imagining Post-Revolutionary Mexico:
Visual Art and Political Commitment in the 1930s and 1940s
Ryan Long, Associate Professor of Spanish, the University of Maryland discusses a range of visual artists in the decades following the Mexican Revolution
Slayton House Studio, Wilde Lake Village Center Friday, April 22 7:00-8:30pm Pay What You Can

2nd Annual Maryland Student Film Festival
Presented in Partnership with Howard Community College
In cooperation with Howard County Public Schools, Howard Community College showcases a rich variety of local and regional student films.
Monteabaro Recital Hall, Howard Community College Saturday, April 23 3:00-6:00pm Pay What You Can

Film: "East Side Sushi"
Winner of 12 film festival awards including 2 Jury Awards for "Best Feature" and "Best Screenplay"
A single Latina mom fights discrimination while pursuing her dream to become a sushi chef
Monteabaro Recital Hall, Howard Community College Saturday, April 23 7:00 9:30 (includes talk-back) $12

Poetry and Paella: Spanish Poems and Aperitivos
Featuring actor/musicians Jorge Acosta and Jennyfur Anaya
Spanish language poetry and food together make for an evening of rich language and complex tastes. Explore the deliciousness of tastes and words from Chile to Cuba to Cordoba.
Oliver's Carriage House Sunday, April 24 from 4:00-5:30pm $25 (includes food)

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Founded in 1987, Columbia Festival of the Arts is Howard County's largest ongoing arts event. Columbia Festival of the Arts "Arts For Every Season" presents four weekend-long arts festivals throughout the year, featuring world-class performances, exhibitions, concerts, music, theatre, family activities, master classes, workshops and community dialogues. The Festival brings together the arts community, businesses, local schools, and individuals to create events that shine a spotlight, not only on the arts, but also on the Howard County community as a Maryland showplace. For more information, visit www.columbiafestival.org.

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