Restored Nacogdoches 1938 film to be shown again during festival

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - The SFA School of Art and Friends of the Visual Arts will offer Texas Blueberry Festival-goers the opportunity to view "Found Footage: Rediscovering Nacogdoches" and the George Hooker short promotional film "Nacogdoches: The Oldest Town."

The two films will be shown every hour on the hour starting at 10 a.m. with the last screenings starting at 3 p.m. on festival day, June 11, in The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House in downtown Nacogdoches. Copies of the DVD will be available for purchase during the festival.

"Found Footage" features scenes of Nacogdoches people and businesses in 1938 documented on film. The Stephen F. Austin State University College of Fine Arts and Humanities Texas, in association with the Charles and Lois Marie Bright Foundation, championed the effort to restore the forgotten 16mm film, labeled "Nacogdoches 1938." Discovered at Nacogdoches High School in 1967 but forgotten until a few years ago, the film was digitally restored and viewed in 2014 for the first time in 70 years.

The Cole Art Center will also serve as an official "oasis" during the festival, according to Lisa Steed, events coordinator for SFA galleries, with tables and chairs set up inside where festival patrons can escape the heat. The art center's restrooms will also be available to festival-goers.

Volunteers with the Friends of the Visual Arts will man an outside tent where they will sell homemade gumbo, blueberry tea and blueberry baked goods with proceeds going toward funding grants and scholarships the Friends of the Visual Arts awards annually to students in the School of Art.

Blueberry Festival also marks the end of the Texas National exhibition, Abelardo Morell's photography exhibition and the Boys & Girls Club's ImageMakers Photography Competition exhibition. 

Upcoming Cole Art Center events include the Nacogdoches Photographic Association and Nacogdoches Art League annual shows, which open at 6 p.m. Friday, June 24. The annual 12x12 Art Scholarship Fundraiser exhibition opens Wednesday, June 29, for viewing and silent auction bidding, with the closing party event slated for Saturday night, July 16.

Cole Art Center is located at 329 E. Main St. For more information, call (936) 468-1131.