HARVIN COLUMN: Tribute to Anne Worsham Richardson is this week

The arts are in full swing now, so there’s a lot of events to choose from, some of which you might not have heard about, and one important tribute this week.

Artist Anne Worsham Richardson’s life and career will be celebrated at a public event planned for 3:30 p.m. Friday at the Dock Street Theatre. Richardson died Sept. 2 at 92.

Born in Clarendon County in 1919, she began painting at an early age. At 16, she moved to Charleston and began specializing in bird representations, an art form that endured throughout her life. She followed the path set by John James Audubon and Mark Catesby with lifelike paintings in gouache and watercolor.

Her painting, “Carolina Wren and Yellow Jessamine,” hangs in the S.C. Statehouse and represents the official State Bird and Flower. She also painted the State Butterfly (“Yellow Swallow-tailed With Wild Azalea”).

The tribute will feature comments from family, friends and colleagues and showcase some of her work. It is free and open to all.

Catesby’s birdlife

And an event to mark on your calendars is the National Geographic tour of the Catesby Commemorative Trust that will be celebrating the 300th anniversary of Mark Catesby’s arrival in North America. The trust will feature events in three cities, with Charleston as the final stop. In early Colonial America, notably South Carolina, Catesby recorded flora and fauna and published the first account of them, preceding Audubon by 80 years. Both are known for their detailed bird life, although until recent years, Audubon was more famous.

The trust tour begins Nov. 4 in Richmond, Va., travels to Washington, D.C., and then to Kiawah Island on Nov. 7 with speakers and wildlife tours. Conference passes are $1,250, or $300 daily. Visit catesbytrust.org for tickets.

‘Flyin’ West’

The department of theater in the College of Charleston School of the Arts is presenting “Flyin’ West” by Pearl Cleage starting Thursday and running through the following Tuesday.

Set in 1898 Kansas, the story follows a family of African-American women who will do whatever it takes to protect each other and their land. The play looks past history and racism to consider the toll of slavery on succeeding generations, the strength derived from family and self-respect, and the self-determination that comes with landownership.

Curtain times will be 7:30 p.m., except Sunday at 3 p.m. Shows are at the Emmett Robinson Theatre in the Simons Center for the Arts, 54 St. Philip St. Tickets may be purchased at the box office or by telephone at 953-5604. Admission is $10-$15.

Wando play

Students from Wando High School Theatre are taking the Shakespeare classic “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and throwing it right into the Jersey Shore.

“It’s a play that really relates to the kids of today with all the ‘Jersey Shore’ elements,” says Christian Schaefer, a senior at Wando.

The story, produced with special permission from Samuel French Inc., follows the lives of four orange-tinted, beach-bound high school sweethearts, and dives into the impending marriage of New Jersey’s governor, the acting abilities of the local beauty salon, and the trials and tribulations of a high-maintenance batch of fairies.

Teenagers suffer the same angst everywhere, and this mix is sure to please.

The show opens Thursday at the Wando Performing Arts Center, and continues through Saturday with shows at 7 p.m. Tickets are available at the Wando box office Thursday-Saturday starting at 6 p.m. Tickets are $7 or $5 with a student and senior discount. Call the box office at 375-3537.

Reach Stephanie Harvin at 937-5557 or sharvin@postandcourier.com.