NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Only a few performance dates remain in this year's SFA SummerStage Festival featuring "The Emperor's New Clothes: The Musical" by Karen Boettcher-Tate and Bill Francoeur and "The Glass Menagerie" by Tennessee Williams.

Audiences have responded enthusiastically to both productions, posting glowing reviews on social media.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Gary Parker was always interested in art. But it wasn't until he was in his 20s that he began to think he could make art his life's work.

And that's what he did, eventually.

"I have an undergraduate degree in biology, so, obviously, I wasn't headed in that direction at first," he said. "After I got my undergraduate degree, I studied some other things, then finally decided that maybe I'd like to try to be an artist."

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Local art lovers look forward to July each year because it signals one of their favorite events - the annual 12X12 fundraiser of the SFA Friends of the Visual Arts.

And this year's event has an added bonus: Two pieces by artists who had solo shows at the Cole Art Center this past year, one by David Yapp and another by Stuart Riordan, have been donated to the auction.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Dr. Keith Hubbard, associate professor of mathematics and statistics at Stephen F. Austin State University, is the latest recipient of an endowed professorship established to reward faculty members who serve as excellent mentors and teachers.

The Jim Towns Mentoring Professorship recognizes professors who instill, foster and promote a mentoring culture at SFA. The award is named for Dr. Jim Towns, a longtime SFA professor of communication studies.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - The Stephen F. Austin State University James I. Perkins College of Education's Phi Upsilon Omicron Beta Upsilon Chapter received the 2015 Professional Project Region III Award, which includes universities in Texas, Kansas and Oklahoma.

Members of the Beta Upsilon Chapter, in partnership with the Nacogdoches Treatment Center, worked throughout the year offering assistance to the treatment center's clients, staff members and caregivers.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Stephen F. Austin State University's SFA Gardens will host the monthly Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 9, in the Ina Brundrett Conservation Education Building at the Pineywoods Native Plant Center, 2900 Raguet St. in Nacogdoches.

Dr. Justin Scheiner, assistant professor of horticultural sciences and viticulture specialist at Texas A&M University, will present "Grapes for Table and Wine-Can Both Fit in Texas?"

NACOGDOCHES, Texas -Silent bidding begins July 1 for the annual 12X12 scholarship fundraiser for the Friends of the Visual Arts at Stephen F. Austin State University, and this year's event features donated pieces by renowned artists David Yapp and Stuart Riordan.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas -The lineup alone is enough to generate enthusiastic audiences at this year's SummerStage Festival at Stephen F. Austin State University: "The Emperor's New Clothes: The Musical" by Karen Boettcher-Tate and Bill Francoeur and "The Glass Menagerie" by Tennessee Williams.

But in addition to featuring a popular high-energy children's show and an American classic play, this year's SummerStage Festival offers coupons for daily discounts, "pay-what-you-can" performances, sweet treats and live music, all on top of the opportunity to see live theatre.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - The Stephen F. Austin State University School of Art and the Friends of the Visual Arts will present a free, one-night screening of "Manufactured Landscapes" at 7 p.m. Friday, July 3, in The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House in downtown Nacogdoches.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - The Stephen F. Austin State University School of Music and the Music Preparatory Division will once again offer the popular Kindermusik Adventure Camps this July for children age newborn through 7 years.

The camp classes, which run July 13 through 17, will be held in the Prep Performance Hall of the Music Prep House, located at 3028 Raguet St. Each class has a different theme and is age appropriate, according to Pat Barnett, director of the Music Preparatory Division of the SFA School of Music.