By ROWENA PLETT

Staff writer

The state’s motto, Ad Astra per Aspera, “To the stars through difficulties,” will be the theme of this year’s Symphony in the Flint Hills on June 15.

The event will be at a location its owners call Irma’s Pasture, south of Cottonwood Falls at Bazaar. Bazaar is an unincorporated dot in the prairie with 81 rural residents and a United Methodist church.

The event will be the culmination of an ambiguous project called “Jump!Star” that was launched last year in March in Wichita.

It was established by arts organizations to celebrate the natural phenomenon of shifting stars that result in a new North Star every 1,000 years.

The Symphony will present custom-composed, celestial-themed music accompanied by a display of large paper sculptures and costumed dancers in a parade-like setting.

Irma’s Pasture is owned by Mike Stout, board chairman for Symphony in the Flint Hills, and his brother, Joe Stout. It’s close to other family-owned land that was settled by their great-great-grandfather in 1868.

The daylong event features food and beverages, prairie walks, covered wagon rides, story circle poetry, inspirational talks, an art exhibit and auction, and a sunset concert performed by the Kansas City Symphony.

Tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. March 2 and will be available through Symphony in the Flint Hills website or at the symphony office in Cottonwood Falls. Purchase price is $95 for adults and $50 for children.

Symphony in the Flint Hills is in its 14th year.