The College of Humanities and Fine Arts will host its 15th annual Taste of the Arts event featuring live performances, alumni awards and fundraising to support Murray State students.
The Taste of the Arts program is a yearly dinner and live auction event hosted by the College of Humanities and Fine Arts (CHFA) and sponsored by FNB Bank. The event serves as a fundraiser for the Taste of the Arts Scholarship Fund, which goes to CHFA students.
“The Taste of the Arts event is a great event for our MSU supporters to attend and have a great time, while supporting our students in the arts,” said David Balthrop, dean of the College of Humanities and Fine Arts.
The event will be held on stage in Lovett Auditorium. This year’s event will feature performances by fine arts students, Racer Band, EQ Blu and the cast of the musical ‘Godspell.’ The event will also include fine dining provided by Sodexo, as well as a cocktail bar.
The CHFA will also host an award ceremony for two Murray State alumni during the event. Carrie Stover will receive the award for Outstanding Alumni in Fine Arts. Stover graduated from Murray State in 2005, and now serves as the director for the Shrode Art Center at Cedarhurst Center for the Arts in Mount Vernon, Illinois.
Leva Bates, a 2003 graduate, will receive the Outstanding Fine Arts Young Alumni Award. Since her time at Murray, Bates has pursued a career as a professional wrestler. In 2008, she won the Southeastern Championship Wrestling Women’s Championship. She also spent four years working for All Elite Wrestling as “The Librarian.”
The night will conclude with a live auction conducted by auctioneer Tanner Roberts. Some of the items up for auction include paintings by Murray State alumni Tom Cannady and Jessie Pierce, trips to Disney World and Churchill Downs and an autographed manuscript page by composer Lee Sanders.
Proceeds raised during the night will help fund the Taste of the Arts Scholarship Fund, which provides scholarship money for fine arts students. According to the University, this fund supported 46 students during the 2023-24 academic year.
The Taste of the Arts event is organized by Director of Development for the CHFA, Kala Dunn. According to her, Taste of the Arts started 15 years ago as a way to showcase the hard work of fine arts students and raise money to support their education. This year will be Dunn’s third year organizing the event, which she said has been an inspiring experience.
“I majored in music at Murray State and was the recipient of scholarships, so I feel a great deal of personal responsibility for helping our current fine arts students pay for their education,” Dunn said. “It is so heartening to see a crowd of people who are devoted to that same mission provide the financial support needed to help train the next generation of artists.”
The Taste of the Arts event is sponsored by FNB Bank. Sally Hopkins, president of FNB Bank, said the bank has been the event’s largest sponsor since its start 15 years ago. Hopkins said the bank originally sponsored the event as a way to support Murray State students.
“I don’t think there is anything more important than scholarships and helping students for college,” Hopkins said. “Tuition has gotten very expensive, housing has gotten very expensive. And if there’s any money that can be raised for scholarships, I think that’s important.”
Ticket sales for the event ended Oct. 7. Attendees will meet at 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 17 at the Lovett Auditorium for cocktail hour, followed by the dinner at 6 p.m.
