Spring semester is in full swing, and students at UW-Stout are gearing up for a plethora of events, inviting the community to celebrate their creativity, research and innovation.
The Stout Spring Showcase, featuring special events in April and May which highlight what Wisconsin’s Polytechnic University is all about, includes:
- “Alice by Heart”: Thursday, April 10, to Saturday, April 12
- Communications Skills Showcase: Wednesday, April 16
- University Choirs concert: Saturday, April 26
- Symphonic Band concert: Sunday, April 27
- WEAR Fashion Show, Saturday, May 3
- Blue Devil Jazz Orchestra concert: Saturday, May 3
- Research Day: Tuesday, May 6
- Stout Game Expo: Thursday, May 8
- SOAD Senior Show: Friday, May 9
- Student Artist-in-Residence exhibition reception: Friday, May 9
- Unspooled Film and Animation Festival: Saturday, May 10, to Sunday, May 11
- 4th Annual Design Wisconsin: Friday, May 16, to Sunday, May 18
Fashion, gaming and design events rival industry exhibitions
Fashion design and development students’ clothing collections will be featured at the WEAR Fashion Show, at 4 p.m. on May 3, in the Memorial Student Center Great Hall. Tickets are on sale.
Juniors and seniors will show their design collections, modeled by the designers themselves, friends, family and alumni. Seniors will model their capstone projects – full collections, complete with brand names. The event is hosted by the WEAR Fashion Association student organization.
Fashion Without Fabric, to be held on April 12, is sold out. Overflow tickets are still available.
Join the fun at Stout Game Expo, western Wisconsin's largest game developers' event from 6 to 9 p.m. on May 8, in the Memorial Student Center Great Hall and ballrooms.
SGX features the works of about 250 first-year to senior students in game design and development-art; and the game design concentration in computer science. They will share their tabletop games, board and card games, conventional video games, virtual reality experiences and rhythm games.
SOAD Senior Show features capstone projects by nearly 120 graduating School of Art and Design seniors, 6 to 9 p.m. on May 9. Meet with students and talk about their creative works in exhibits throughout Applied Arts and Micheels Hall.
Fine art sales by students will be held throughout the buildings. The Student Artist-in-Residence reception will be held in Furlong Gallery.
Design Wisconsin, May 16-18, celebrates Wisconsin's legacy of industrial design and fashion design innovation and impact on culture, commerce, community and brand. The event includes an open house of major Wisconsin and Minnesota design and manufacturer groups. In the past, these have included TREK, Milwaukee Tool, Kohler, Mercury Marine, Polaris, Fiskars, Oshkosh and more.
Polytechnic research showcase highlights societal impact
Research Day, on May 6, hosts multiple events, including WiSys Quick Pitch Competition from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Quick Pitch is a three-minute, elevator-pitch-style competition open to undergraduate and graduate students in all programs.
The community is invited to meet with UW-Stout faculty, staff and students, as well as students from Chippewa Valley Technical College, as they present their research through more than 150 posters, exhibits, art and design displays, and oral and panel presentations.
The day also includes:
- 1 to 2:45 p.m.: Innovative Insights, a faculty and student showcase of oral presentations
- 3 to 5 p.m.: Posters and exhibits, with researchers open for discussions
- 5:15 to 6 p.m.: Outstanding Researcher awards ceremony
An awards ceremony will recognize outstanding faculty and students across fields of study, nominated by their peers.
Research Day is coordinated by UW-Stout’s Office of Research and Sponsored Programs.
UW-Stout student researchers also showcased their research at Wisconsin’s Capitol Rotunda on April 2, during Research in the Rotunda, and students will present at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research, April 7-9, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They will join more than 4,000 undergraduates from across the country, representing all disciplines.
Student writers, artists invite community discussions
Join the launch of the 2025 issue of Prometheus for a reception and reading from authors and talk with artists, from 6 to 7:15 p.m. on April 11, in Harvey Hall Café.
The Communication Skills Showcase will begin at 6 p.m. on April 16, in the Memorial Student Center ballrooms. It is a celebration of student work, with presentations from first-year composition and communication courses, philosophy, advanced writing, and digital humanities, as well as an opportunity for audience members to interact with students and discuss their work.
The showcase will also recognize the finalists and the winners of the Andrea Deacon Writing Award, which recognizes excellence in first-year composition courses.
Author Peter Geye will present and read from his new novel, “A Lesser Light,” from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. on April 21, at Harvey Hall Theatre. The novel will be released on April 15.
Journey down the rabbit hole in ‘Alice by Heart’
Students will perform “Alice by Heart” at Harvey Hall Theatre. Performances will be at 7:30 p.m. on April 10*, 11 and 12.
“Alice by Heart” is a musical set during World War II, in the rubble of the London Blitz. Alice Spencer’s teenage life is turned upside down, when she and her friend Alfred are forced to take shelter in an underground tube station. When Alfred is quarantined, Alice encourages him to escape with her into their cherished book and journey down the rabbit hole to Wonderland.
* An accessible performance will be held on April 10, with a more informal atmosphere aimed to welcome those with sensory difficulties or autism. The performance will remain the same but with small adjustments. House lights will remain on, loud noises will be softened, and audience members are free to leave and re-enter.
Tickets are available at uwstout.universitytickets.com.
The Symphonic Singers, Chamber Choir and Devil Tones Acappella will perform their concert Life on the World Scale at 7 p.m. on April 26, at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, 910 E. Ninth St., in Menomonie.
The Symphonic Band will perform Around the World at 2 p.m. on April 27, in the Memorial Student Center Great Hall.
The Blue Devil Jazz Orchestra will perform at 7 p.m. on May 3, at Harvey Hall Theatre.
Tickets are available at uwstout.universitytickets.com.
Unspooled welcomes international filmmakers to Menomonie
The Unspooled Film and Animation Festival is an annual juried event, featuring films and animations made by regional and international independent storytellers – professionals and students alike.
Films are screened at UW-Stout’s historic Harvey Hall Theatre. The event also offers workshops and guest speakers, and awards in several categories.
Reserve tickets, or submit a film via Film Freeway by April 20.
