DANCE - FINE ARTS - MUSIC - THEATER - WRITING

ARTBITS by Richard B. Harper


VOLUME 3 NUMBER 7 * * All Arts News On the Web * * JULY, 1999

STUFF YOU SHOULDN'T MISS

      ArtBits always features a calendar of the goings on of Franklin County artists. Check out these events around Franklin County.


      There is no AAC Networking Meeting/Coffee House in June. These gatherings will resume in September with a new series of gossip, opportunities, and workshops.


A VERY SHORT EDITORIAL

      It's summertime. Do you remember what your mama always said.?
      "Get away from that computer and go outside."
      There are concerts and art shows in town parks,baseball games, murals at the pool, and plenty of "better things to do" that to sit here reading this. Have fun out there.


A SUMMER OF MUSIC

      Summer has been here for a couple of months, but the kids are just now finishing the school year.
      Summer Sounds '99 has 17 live free concerts lined up for every Sunday evening throughout the summer. Concerts always alternate between the Highgate Municipal Park and Taylor Park in St Albans. The popular series also alternates concerts in Enosburg Falls, Franklin, and Richford.
      Each summer concert is free. Settle in on your own blanket or lawn chair and enjoy outdoor family music. The lineup includes a medley of bluegrass, folk, country, pop, and classic rock-n-roll. Bring your own bug spray.
      Although the music begins at 7 p.m., you will want to arrive earlier because every outdoor concert this year features a festival or social. Local community groups will host each event with special activities, family fun, and enough food to make Sunday a great family holiday in the park. There will be a special flower fete, an art show, a pet day, and more. Check the calendar for your favorite acts.
      "Free" concerts are expensive. The five towns, the sponsors, and the All Arts Council hire the bands, create the publicity, and set up all 17 shows. They need your support to continue. Please remember to thank the hosts and patronize the sponsors.
      Summer Sounds concerts are always in a Town park, always on Sunday evenings at 7 p.m., and always free. The rain site is the Opera House at Enosburg Falls, The Methodist Church and/or the Highgate Arena, the Congregational Church in St Albans, and the Town Hall in Franklin. The rain sites will be announced in Richford.


IT NEVER RAINS...

      ... on Summer Sounds.
      Except last week when Highgate had the Blues. The Nobby Reed Project was finishing the first set when a 20 minute squall interrupted the concert. Unfortunately, Nobby's gear got too wet to continue, so we will reschedule the concert for later this season. Watch this space for details.


EXIT STAGE LEFT

      July marks the first production for a new St Albans Repertory Players company as Exit Stage Left presents A. R. Gurney's The Dining Room. A prolific playwright, Gurney explores the issues and realities of middle-class America. The Dining Room opened in New York in 1982.
      "It's an interesting show," said director Peter Murray. "It's about rebellion and it's very pro-woman as we see the characters coming out of their shells."
      The ensemble cast starts with a skit of a 1940s family coming to grips with the looming war. Milk, cream, and meat are rationed in the stores and at the table; the father quickly realizes that his son has a female teacher who is much smarter than he. Another scene has an architect and a doctor trade bills and gibes over the redesign of the psychiatrist's dining room/office and the architect's health. Then two rebellious teenagers raid the liquor cabinet while Mom and Dad are out of the house.
      Most of the Dining Room is a comedy, although there is a serious element throughout the play. "I've loved [this show] and always wanted to direct it," Peter said. The set is an atmosphere of teamwork and collaboration. "We make it fun for everyone in the company," Peter said.
      Performances are July 8-11 in the BFA-St Albans Theater. Tickets are $6 and are available at South Main Grocery, Jukebox CDs and Tapes in St Albans, and at the door. For info or to join the group, email Peter Murray.


STUFF YOU SHOULDN'T MISS

ISLE LA MOTTE--The historic Fisk Farm presents an art show featuring paintings by AAC artist Valerie Ugro of Fairfax, in the Horse and Carriage Barn on Sunday. This show is held in conjunction with the weekly English Tea held in the garden. Fisk Farm is 4 miles south of St. Anne's Shrine on the West Shore Road of Isle La Motte. For info call 928-3364.


ENOSBURG--The Constitution Brass Quintet, Summer Sounds favorite brass band, will present Summer in the Park on Monday at 7:30 p.m. in the Opera House at Enosburg Falls. Musicians from the Enosburg Falls Town Band and from Richford H.S. will join the group in a light-hearted celebration of Independence Day.
      Yes, it is an outdoor brass band concert indoors. That means great music, great acoustics, and no chance of drizzle-delays. Tickets are $6/adults, $4/children and seniors and are available at the door.


BURLINGTON--Mark Tougias of Fairfield is showing his oil paintings through August at the Fletcher Allen Health Center, UHC Campus, Medicine Department, fifth floor. His work is also on display in the Sugar Mill Gallery in downtown St Albans.


ENOSBURG FALLS--Suitcase Theater began its summer tour with The Emperor's New Clothes & The Enchanted Pajamas in Enosburg Falls. Watch the local papers or check at your library for the schedule.
      Suitcase Theater is sponsored by the St. Albans Rotary.


MEMBERSHIP DRIVE

      The AAC needs members who want to assemble art exhibits, book bands, evoke events, and to paint or dance or sing or write. We began our annual membership drive last month.
      1999 members will receive a reproduction of a fine oil or watercolor painting donated by AAC artists. Member benefits also include networking with artists and other members, a member night celebration, regular news of local cultural happenings, priority seating or discount admission to AAC events, advance notice of events, educational and cultural opportunities, as well as other parties and discounts.
      Residents, businesses, and visitors can join at the saint, patron, donor, benefactor, sponsor, or general member Level. Student memberships are free; our student members complete community service projects to fulfill their membership. Check it out here.


CALL FOR ARTISTS

TRAVELING MURAL--This summer, the AAC and the Community Cares committees will begin a new mural project. Student artists from the area will work with Natalie LaRocque-Bouchard to create the traveling mural Scenes from Franklin County. This large exhibition piece will be painted in sections in each town, then will travel to shows, fairs, and barn raisings around our area.
      Check with your Caring Community volunteers or e-mail the All Arts Council .


MONTGOMERY--AAC member and part-time Montgomery resident Michael Domina will offer two Franklin County Watercolor Workshops starting in July and September. He shows how to capture impressionistic subjects on location and teaches design, value, color, and experimental technique. The three-day Visions of Vermont workshop begins July 22 and Early Foliage in Vermont in September in Montgomery at the Black Lantern Inn.
      Reservations for Foliage are required by July 30. Call (781-843-5799) or e-mail Mike for more info.


VISUAL ARTISTS--The Fisk Farm Horse and Carriage Barn Gallery on Isle La Motte is planning the 1999 summer showings in conjunction with the Sunday Afternoon Teas during July and August. E-mail Valerie Ugro for information.


WORKSHOPS--Are you planning to give lessons or run an art workshop in Franklin County this summer? Let me know the details. We will carry as much info in this column as readers send in.


JULY-AUGUST ART DEADLINES


ART SITES OF THE MONTH

      If you need summer arts and crafts for Kids, with activities, songs and more for Fourth of July, summer, ice cream, and more ChildFun is a good resource. The special summer themes and activities include vegetables, rainforests, rainy days, camping, gardens, and, of course, miscellaneous for the themes that didn't fit anywhere else, transportation, space travel and medieval times. Rainy Day Ideas include shape plants, a beauty/barber shop that require dolls with hair (the family dogs need not apply) office play and the phenomenal fat & skinny jar.
      Many of the ideas came from members of the ChildFun Moms & the ChildFun Themes List. The grew out daycare experience, newsgroups, mailing lists and other web pages. They add several new themes each month.


      The Millennium Project: The Heritage of Military Music 1700-2000, celebrates 300 years of military music. The site is jammed with articles and pictures and includes links to other resources. I found an encyclopedic reference to composer Henry Filmore as well as articles on the Sounds Of War, the Genius of Mozart, Different Drummers, and African-American Military Musicians. The Instruments of Military Music pages cover Serpents, Drummers, Fifes and Bagpipes and even the history of the Baritone and Euphonium.
      The site builders see the work as an evolutionary progression with a planned completion in May, 2000.


SEPCIAL ART SITES: COPYRIGHT COGITATIONS

      Artists, photographers, poets, and writers are often concerned about the having their work stolen when it is posted on the Internet. Others wonder about registering (or losing) copyright protection when submitting work to a publisher. That question also arose during our poetry readings for National Poetry Month.
      The United States and most other major nations are signatories to the Berne Copyright Convention. That means that everything you create privately after April 1, 1989, is copyrighted and protected whether or not you register it or display a copyright notice. You should also assume that other works are copyrighted and may not be copied without permission.
      The absolute source for the actual statutes is the U. S. Copyright Office which maintains an extensive website. This electronic introduction to the Copyright Office includes pages for Electronic Registration and Recordation, Copyright Basics, Information Circulars, Research in Copyright Office Files, and much much more.
      Another useful document is the Intellectual Property Law Primer for Multimedia Developers published by the Electronic Freedom Foundation.
      Brad Templeton has maintained the 10 Copyright Myths FAQ for several years. It's an excellent resource, as is the rest of his site.


FRANKLIN COUNTY BOOKSHELF

      ArtBits features a quick weekly peek at the bookshelf or night stand of the folks you know in and around Franklin County. That popular feature has a page of its own at the Franklin County Bookshelf here on the AAC site.


SUPPORT LIVE ARTS IN YOUR TOWN!

Dick Harper, Chair

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All Arts Council of Franklin County
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