News Release No. 461

CELEBRATE SCOTT JOPLIN'S BIRTHDAY NOV. 19
AT SCOTT JOPLIN HOUSE STATE HISTORIC SITE

Volume 33-461

Contact: Sue Holst

(For immediate release)

573-751-6510

JEFFERSON CITY, MO, NOV. 7, 2005 -- What better way to celebrate the "King of Ragtime's" birthday than to listen to the sounds of ragtime music at the site of Scott Joplin's St. Louis home. On Nov. 19, celebrate Joplin's 137th birthday as ragtime music fills the New Rosebud Café at Scott Joplin House State Historic Site. Sponsored by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, the birthday party will be held from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

Performing at the event will be Reginald Robinson and Richard Egan. Robinson, from Chicago, developed a passion for ragtime at the age of 13. He recently was awarded a MacArthur Foundation Genius Grant to pursue this passion. Egan is a local artist who transcribed all the known recordings of Brun Campbell, making the folio available for all to play. He recently released his second CD. Birthday cake and beverages will be served.

Scott Joplin House State Historic Site, located at 2658 Delmar Blvd., preserves the home of ragtime composer Scott Joplin and is open for tours. Complementing the Joplin house is the New Rosebud Cafe, a reconstructed structure that recreates the turn-of-the-century bar and gaming club that once operated in the area.

For more information, contact the historic site at 314-340-5793 or the Missouri Department of Natural Resources toll free at 800-334-6946 (voice) or 800-379-2419 (Telecommunications Device for the Deaf). For more information about Missouri state parks and historic sites, visit the Web at www.mostateparks.com.

For news releases on the Web, visit www.dnr.mo.gov/newsrel. For a complete listing of upcoming meetings and events in the state park system, visit the online calendar at www.dnr.mo.gov/calendar/parkssearch.do.

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