Award-winning pianist Alpin Hong is coming to OCCC on Friday, April 20 as one of the four special productions Cultural Programs is holding this semester.

His visit was rescheduled from an earlier March date due to becoming a new father, however Director Lemuel Bardeguez said Hong will now be hosting two events that day.

First, he will present a free 1-hour masterclass from 10 to 11 a.m. in the concert hall.

“Provided that people participate, he will broadly coach on piano playing,” Bardeguez said.

Then, Hong’s concert will officially take place at 7 p.m. in the Bruce Owen Theater. Lasting about two hours, the concert is to go on until about 9 p.m. with an intermission in between.

A fundraiser on campus Friday, April 20, will help raise money to promote awareness about gay rights at the Oklahoma City Pride parade in May.

OCCC’s Gay Straight Alliance is gearing up to sell popcorn near the Communications Lab in the Main Building to help fund their activities.

The Gay Straight Alliance is a student group on campus that provides awareness of sexually diverse students to the community and promotes unity among students, said Tennent Emmons, GSA staff sponsor.

Bad weather on a rainy Saturday afternoon didn’t hinder a couple dozen volunteers from coming out to help the community for the annual Christmas Connection consignment pick-up in Oklahoma City April 7. OCCC students were among the volunteers.

About 15.2 percent of Oklahoma County’s population, 105,000 people, lives below the poverty level, according to the Christmas Connection website at www.christmasconnection.org.

This includes one in four children.

No passport is required to enjoy a weekend hearing and speaking the Spanish language from April 20 through 22 at the Canyon Camp and Retreat Center in exotic Hinton, Oklahoma.

OCCC’s Spanish Immersion Weekend is a one-credit-hour class that provides a unique opportunity for students with some Spanish experience to develop their listening and speaking skills, said Ginnett Rollins, one of the Spanish professors planning the event.

“The weekend was created as a means for students to overcome psychological and emotional barriers that sometimes hinder a student’s progress in using the Spanish language in real-life, authentic conversational situations,” Rollins said.

Budge over for budgeting.

Student Life will be hosting a Brown Bag at 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 17 in CU1.

Student Life Assistant Director Amy Reynolds said the session’s theme will be budgeting.

Professional dancers from around the world will take the stage at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 17, when Tulsa Ballet II performs “Dance Diversified” in the Bruce Owen Theater on campus.

Handpicked, professional dancers from places such as Latin America and China will be featured at the performance, said Lemuel Bardeguez, Cultural Arts Director at OCCC.

“Journey Through Dance,” a free noon program by the ballet, will be held in the Bruce Owen Theater. Tulsa Ballet II is being brought to campus as part of the college’s Cultural Arts Series.

One of Leonardo da Vinci’s ancient designs has helped the Water4 Foundation bring clean drinking water to more than 200,000 people in numerous developing countries in Africa, Asia and South America.

Chris Cotner, executive director of the non-governmental organization, visited the OCCC campus in late March to explain how Da Vinci’s design has helped so many.

“We needed to come up with a design for a water pump that was both inexpensive to produce and easy to maintain,” Cotner said. The Water4 Foundation enlisted the help of Steve Stewart to create a pump.

The automobile accident that claimed the life of high school senior Alex Brown in 2009 also redirected the lives of her parents who have devoted themselves since then to warning others about the dangers of texting while driving.

The Brown family from Wellman, Texas, formed the Alex Brown Foundation to fund their public service work.

The Foundation visited OCCC to speak about the dangers of texting and driving.

Parents Johnny Mac and Jeanne Brown, along with their daughter Katrina, spoke on campus March 26 about how they lost their beloved Alex, who was texting on her mobile phone just before the single-vehicle accident that took her life.

Mother Jeanne Brown, 45, left her teaching job to become president of the foundation. She directed her focus in the speech to young people who text and drive, warning them of the consequences.

“We’re here because we want you to understand,” Jeanne Brown said.

The three Canadian folk musicians used their feet to keep the beat with a hollow box that captured the sound and projected it to the audience. Vishten’s foot percussion was an intriguing sight to watch because it created a rich sound that captivated listeners on campus March 27.

The box made the sound louder and more precise.

The sound resonated in the theater and essentially took the place of a drum set that helped the audience along with the musicians keep the rhythm of each piece.

A modest amount of attendees were present when the Communications Lab host an hour-long workshop at 11 a.m. Monday, April 2, in CU2. Assistant Tonja Nelson, said the theme was “A Writer’s Voice and Audience.”

Through a PowerPoint presentation, handouts and a number of interactive exercises, students had the opportunity to become familiar with the essentials of written pieces.

The subject matters included understanding how to organize, research and present certain types of topics through consideration to personal style and reader perception.