DANCE - FINE ARTS - MUSIC - THEATER - WRITING

ARTBITS by Richard B. Harper


VOLUME 8 * * All Arts News On the Web * * June 10, 2004

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 mostly once each month, 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.


KEEPING THE MUSIC FRESH

      "I am very left-brained," Enosburg Town Band Director Alis Martin said. "I keep track the date we play things on the library list [of Town Band music]. I try to cycle through so we don't overplay things. The Town Band library has thousands of songs. We have a playlist for this summer with about 150-200 tunes. Realistically, we could get through the entire season without repeating anything. There are favorites that people want to hear more often."
      Next Tuesday, the Enosburg Town Band and Success by Six present a double header concert with Marko the Magician, food, and the kick-off Town Band summer concert for the 2004 season.
      A Dairy Festival favorite, Marko does close-up magic, stand-up magic, and stage magic, and has been creating magic and hypnosis performances for over twenty years. He has five "Magic In You" programs that use magic for learning. Each show is geared for specific student ages but work well in a multi-age concert environment.
      "We'll be playing songs that are familiar to the kids," Alisa Martin said. There will be marches including When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again, folk songs such as Down By the Riverside, a medley with Home on the Range, and "kid friendly" show tunes "like 76 Trombones, plus the Teddybear's Picnic, and a medley with Frere Jacques."
      The selections make a brass band more accessible to a younger audience. Ms. Martin teaches K-12; this year her students included Kindergarten and Grades 4-12. "I teach general music for the younger kids and instrumental for the older kids."
      The Band has more than 15 summer concerts scheduled. They are returning to the Catholic Church and the Milton Harmony Band will perform with Enosburg this year.
      The Town Band will not have a rain location for the Tuesday concerts. "If it's raining a little bit," Ms. Martin said, "people will watch from their cars anyway." The bandstand is covered sufficiently for protection against a light drizzle. They will cancel for thunder and lightning.
      Marko the Magician begins at 6:30 on the Lincoln Park bandstand, Tuesday evening, June 15. There will be a reception with refreshments. The Town Band takes the stage at 8 p.m.
      These concerts are continuing thanks to generous donations from the community. The donations replaced the stolen sound system and added to the music collection.


Summer Town Band Schedule

Lincoln Park, Every Tuesday, from June 15 through August 17, 8 p.m.
Enosburg Catholic Church Lawn Social, Sunday July 11, 6:30
Franklin United Methodist Church Ice Cream Social, Thursday, July 15, 7 p.m.
Davis Park Farmer's Market in Richford, Saturday, July 17, around noon
Enosburg Methodist Church Ice Cream Social, Thursday, August 5, 6:30 p.m.
      "Our last concert is August 17," Ms. Martin said, "however, oftentime we play an extra. We don't want to give it up."


SUMMER MUSIC IS COMING

SHELDON--Summer Music at Grace presents a night of gypsy jazz and Brazilian grooves with the Will Patton Quartet next Thursday, June 17, at 7 p.m. in Grace Church, 215 Pleasant Street, Sheldon Creek.

ST. ALBANS--The Vermont Maple Festival Summer Sounds concert series begins its season on Franklin County's first day of Summer, next Sunday, June 20, at 7 p.m. The season kicks off in high gear with 8084 in the newly dedicated Edric Loomis Bandstand in Taylor Park.
      Summer Sounds concerts are always on a Sunday night, always in a Town park, always at 7 p.m., and always free.

HELP WANTED

      Boring Board Stuff: The business of the All Arts Council is guided by an all-volunteer Board of Directors. The Council is allowed between five and fifteen directors who broadly represent business, communications/marketing, dance, education, finance, the law, literary arts, local government, music, theater, and other interests. Our activities and charitable goals demand an informed, active, and activist board. Each director is tasked to set policy, promote the AAC, recruit and support members, and to assure that AAC projects actually work.
      The Board of Directors will meet next Thursday, June 17, at 7 p.m. in Northwestern Medical Center Conference Room 2. One item on the agenda is to recruit new board members. If you would like to nominate someone to serve a three year term on the AAC Board, email us for details.

      Wall-eyed: A commercial operation in Chicago offers the 1000 Walls Gallery to give artists "the vast canvas of Chicago's vibrant scene and flamboyant playground." It is a way to exhibit and sell work in a setting where buyers actually go. The 1000 Walls includes lounges and piano bars, five star restaurants, and modern hotels.
      That happens in Franklin County, too, but it isn't quite as organized.
      The AAC needs one dedicated volunteer to take over our summer portfolio.
      A unique setting with reasonable traffic can become not only the venue to sell but also to make Franklin County a more attractive place to live. There are at least 100 Walls in the County that can show interesting work in unusual surroundings; area artists have already staked out many of them from the Blue Eyed Dog Gallery in St. Albans to the Welcome Center at Highgate Springs. An AAC volunteer project will inventory the 100 Walls, discover who is showing now, and work with artists to increase the number of pieces on exhibit.
      email us for details.

      Money, Money, Money: 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, really know what a Form 990 looks like, and want a great chance to work long hours for no pay, call 802-868-3351 or email us.


JULY-AUGUST ART DEADLINES

ART QUILTS NEW ENGLAND (June 15)--This juried biennial exhibition is open to all quilt artists in the 6 New England states. Entry fee. click here for info and prospectus.


NEW PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION(June 27)--New Photography seeks high quality, exciting work for juried exhibition at the L.A. County Fair. More than 500,000 people view this exhibition of contemporary photography. $5000 in prizes. click here for prospectus and registration form.


POETRY SCHOLARSHIP COMPETITION (June 30)--Open to US high school seniors accepted for enrollment and undergrads currently enrolled in an accredited college who demonstrate financial need. Genre is sonnet, theme is seasons. Prize $1000. No fee. Click here.


NATIONAL JURIED ART EXHIBITION (July 1)--The Allegany Arts Council's Fifth Annual Will's Creek Survey and juried exhibit at the Saville Gallery. Entry Fee. click here or email e-mail for info.


ART FAIR (July 16)--This juried show in the lighted tents of Telfair Square in Savannah's historic district has more than 10,000 visitors. Open to fine arts and crafts, including painting, drawing, graphics, sculpture, jewelry, pottery, photography, and furniture. More than $5,000 in awards. Entry fee. click here or E-mail.


CLICK HERE: ART SITE OF THE WEEK

      "Raise a song and sound the timbrel, the merry harp, and the lyre." The 2004 season of Summer Music at Grace is online in great detail at gracechurchsheldon.org.


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!


AAC dancing logo

All Arts Council of Franklin County

Support Free Speech on the Internet
Dick Harper, Chair
P.O. Box 1
Highgate Springs, VT 05460
email us

Go to [ Dick Harper | All Arts Index | ArtBits Archive ]

      This article was originally published in the St Albans Messenger and other traditional print media. It is Copyright © 2004 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.