Coastal Carolina University announces the release of its Fall 2017 Cultural Arts Calendar, available in print and online versions. The calendar provides overviews and full production information for an array of events including lectures, concerts, plays, art exhibits and films taking place at the university and other CCU-related locations around the area from late August through late November.

Highlights of the calendar include an address by Mary Matalin, conservative political commentator and former presidential adviser, titled "Populism, Polemics and Polarization in 21st-Century Politics." The keynote address takes place Thursday, Sept. 14, as CCU celebrates Constitution Day 2017.

In late September, CCU's Department of Theatre presents "Arms and the Man," George Bernard Shaw's romantic comedy set in Bulgaria in 1885 against the backdrop of the Serbo-Bulgarian war. Directed by Monica Bell, CCU Department of Theatre chair and associate professor, "Arms and the Man" was first produced in 1894 at the Avenue Theatre in London; the play runs from Thursday, Sept. 21, through Saturday, Sept. 30.

CCU's Departments of English; Languages and Intercultural Studies; History; and Communication, Media and Culture are each sponsoring a film series that runs throughout the semester with monthly screenings of films and related discussions of key themes and analysis of context related to corresponding academic fields.

The South Carolina Arts Commission celebrates its 50th anniversary with a yearlong schedule of events running from June 2017 through June 2018. CCU will host a celebration Friday, Nov. 3, that recognizes honorees in fine and literary arts. Awardees from around the state will read poetry, perform original music and present theater pieces that earned commission awards throughout the years.

Guest artist Ziyu Shen, 20, will perform a recital of traditional and contemporary music for viola and piano, accompanied by Daniel Francis, CCU teaching associate in the Department of Music, on Tuesday, Nov. 14. At 14, Shen won the Johansen International Competition for Young String Players in Washington, D.C., and the next year won the Chamber Music Competition of Morningside Bridge Chamber Music Festival in Canada.

CCU's Fall 2017 Cultural Arts Calendar includes more than 50 events appealing to the senses and the intellect. To view the online version, visit www.coastal.edu/culturalarts.

To obtain a print copy, call Amy Tully, associate dean of the Edwards College and associate professor of music, at 843-349-2352 or email at culturalarts@coastal.edu.