DANCE - FINE ARTS - MUSIC - THEATER - WRITING

ARTBITS by Richard B. Harper


VOLUME 7 * * All Arts News On the Web * * September 4, 2003

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. Each issue includes the entire text of our weekly newspaper column.


      Stop in for live music and more at the Fairfax Music Sessions at the Foothills Bakery in Fairfax most Saturday afternoons at 1 p.m., at ChowBella in St Albans 8-10 p.m. most Wednesday evenings, at the Kept Writer in St Albans most Friday and Saturday evenings, at the Bayside in St Albans Town most Sunday afternoons, and the Cambridge CoffeeHouses at 7 p.m. on the first and third Wednesday of every month.
     These gatherings bring new opportunities, gossip, "show-and-tell" and occasional workshops. The booked performances and acoustic Open Mike Nights feature music, readings, and more from the best new artists in Vermont.


WHAT'S COMING AND WHAT'S NOT

      We lost one upcoming concert, but there is still a busy Fall planned with shows almost every other weekend.
      Next Saturday, September 13, the Opera House at Enosburg Falls presents The Green Mountain Horn Club in the Opera House Mentors Series. This dozen French Horns, led by Alan Parshley of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra, brings music from across time.
      Tickets are available now at the All Arts ticket centers: Enosburg Pharmacy and Merchants Bank in Enosburg Falls, at Swanton Rexall, and at Better Planet in St. Albans.
      Upcoming, the Opera House Mentors Series will present Gabriel Piano Trio on September 27. Central Vermont's popular chamber group will play Mozart, Mendelssohn, and Frank Bridge for the piano, violin, and cello. The Emerging Talents Series reprises the Annual Opera House Talent Search on October 18. There will be a special presentation on October 25 as international entertainer Jenni Johnson starts a Tour Down Memory Lane on her Opera House Tour of New York and Vermont. With 10 musician and vocalists, she will perform the music of The Pointer Sisters, Lulu, Big Mama Thornton, Patti Page, and Bette Midler, plus a set devoted to the 60's ‘Girl Groups.' The Mentors Series will also bring in the Angel Band in as well as a celebration of our Franco-American Heritage in November.
      There will be live music on Wednesdays at Chow Bella. The Kept Writer will re-open with more live acts in its new Main Street home this month.
      Unfortunately, we were not able to get the Vermont Singer/Songwriter Festival organized this year, but it will occur in 2004.
      The AAC will join several area presenters for the return of the Arts and Fine Crafts Tour of Franklin County. This tour combines several of the best shows and sales in Northwestern Vermont with an exceptional tour of half a dozen picturesque Franklin County towns.


CALL FOR PEOPLE

      The kids are back in school. Now might be the perfect time to look for a part time gig. We have some, including a need for someone interested in singer/songwriter festivals.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (until filled)
      The growing All Arts Council needs an administrator to manage day-to-day operations, publicity, fund raise, provide tech support for artists and presenters, manage volunteers and membership, handle correspondence, and rent out and manage theatrical space. The ideal candidate will have grant writing, general business, and advertising experience.
      This job could be "job-shared" with another half-time opportunity.
      Call Jon Scott (802-933-6171) or email the All Arts Council for more info.

MONEY MONEY MONEY--Short hours. No Pay.
      The All Arts Council writes about 100 checks each year and must make reports to various granting agencies. Our Treasurer has done yeoman service for several years but has gotten overwhelmed in real life and asked if we can attract a brilliant new (to us) money person.
      If you can add, use QuickBooks, and really know what a Form 990 looks like, email the All Arts Council .

THEATRICAL
      The Opera House At Enosburg Falls is searching for a variety of front- and back-of-the-house people. Call Jon Scott (802-933-6171) or email the Opera House for more info.

PAYING GIGS
      The All Arts Council not only books acts for the Maple Festival, Summer Sounds, and other events, we also share info with other presenters. We need to know about every family performer, tumbling group, garage band, dance troupe, choir, magician, chamber orchestra, puppeteer, recitalist, and martial arts show within driving distance.

MEMBERSHIP--Long hours. No Pay.
      The All Arts Council is an all-volunteer membership organization. In order to find and keep our members, we need a membership director.

VOLUNTEERS
      For a new co-op all media gallery in Franklin County, Vermont. People needed to find the space and funding, to design the floorplan, and to recruit fine artists of two- and three-dimensional work.

      If you want to volunteer, are in a band or a company, or you know of a group you really really like, email the All Arts Council for more info about all these jobs.


ON STAGE LIVE

ST. ALBANS--next Wednesday, September 10, Matt Clancy, Eric Bushey, and Justin Bedell play Jazz live at Chow Bella, 8-10 p.m.

FAIRFAX--The regular Music Session continues Saturday with acoustic instrumentalists playing traditional songs at the Foothills Bakery, 1-4:30 p.m. Admission is free by donation.


CLICK HERE: ART SITE OF THE WEEK

      Arts on the Line's Richard Finkelstein offers tools for the arts advocate. He has two speeches from Colorado on the role and value of the arts in society. One, Public Funding of the Arts in Colorado, is a statement by Frank Hodsoll, the former chair of the National Endowment for the Arts.
      Thinking Outside the Box was given by Remarks By A. Thomas Young, Executive Vice President of Lockheed Martin, at a Colorado ArtsDay Legislative Luncheon.


FRANKLIN COUNTY BOOKSHELF

      Some writers from around the country dropped in on us recently, so I asked them whet they are reading. Nancy Ahern is an Engineering Development Manager, a writer, and a mother in Arizona. She writes op-ed pieces and the Parental Computing column for ComputerBits Magazine.
CURRENTLY READING: Freedom's Choice, the second book in a new series by Anne McCaffrey offers humans and aliens planning a rebellion on a penal planet. "She is one of my favorite writers because she writes SF and Fantasy and is a woman," Ms. Ahern said. ARIZONA AUTHOR: E. J. Montini has a skewed b rand of humor. He is the editorial writer for the Arizona Republic.
RE-READ: "I've reread many books," she said, listing particularly fantasies including Watership Down by Richard Adams and most of Tolkien.
FAVORITE KIDS' BOOK: Stuart Little the lyrical, tongue-in-cheek story of a world that is always bigger than Stuart, by E. B. White.


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!


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      This article was originally published in the St Albans Messenger and other traditional print media. It is Copyright © 2003 by Richard B. Harper. All rights reserved. Archival material is provided as-is. Links are not necessarily maintained (if a link in this article fails, try Google.com or your favorite search engine).
      Thanks to recent misuse of copyright material on the Internet by individuals and archival firms alike, we emphasize that your rights to this article are limited to viewing it and printing it for personal use only. You must receive explicit permission from the All Arts Council and the author before reprinting or redistributing this article in any medium.