A year-long schedule of events to celebrate the Creston Valley Arts Council’s 50th anniversary continues on Saturday with a Chautauqua on Saturday evening at the Community Complex.
“This is an activity event, with fun for the whole family,” Arts Council president Joanna Wilson said on Friday.
With support from the Creston Lions Club, this will be the second year for the Chautaqua, which kicks off with a drum circle and children’s activities at 5 pm.
Children’s music with Ellie Reynolds is set for 5:30 and line dancing with Dances with Wolfs follows at 6:00. The local ukulele group takes to the stage at 6:30 and then a contra dancing session for all ages begins at 7:00. Music will be provided by Velle Huscroft Weitman, Zav Huscroft Young, Karl Sommerfeld and Kalen Huscroft.
Admission is by donation and the Lions Club will be selling hot dogs and popcorn.
“We are hoping that other community groups will take this event on and make it an annual one,” Arts Council Brenda Brucker said on Friday. The Arts Council can’t organize every event but would be happy to provide support.”
Wilson, Brucker and fellow director Anne Fetterly went on to outline the events planned to celebrate the arts in Creston.
• March 21 will feature a Poetry Slam at Creston Public Library.
• In April, a photography show entitled Through My Eyes at the Chamber of Commerce, which is also home to the Arts Council.
• Focus on Youth this year will feature Focus on Art in addition to the many musical performances throughout the week.
“Our students do some amazing art and the public always enjoys seeing their work on display,” Brucker said.
• On May 6th a Trash to Treasure art fashion show promises plenty of fun in the Creston Room of the Community Complex.
• Later in the month, the Arts Council will enter a float, and member groups will be invited to participate in the Blossom Festival parade. A student art walk will brighten downtown storefronts.
• A master art class is scheduled for June, in which a sculptor will work with locals to encourage them to work on a larger scale.
• On the August long weekend an Art in the Park will include painting a mural on a large canvas, face painting, a juggler, food vendors and more at Centennial Park. A pop up playground is also planned for the event.
• The Arts Council will once again have a booth at the annual Creston Valley Fall Fair and maybe, just maybe, the very popular scarecrow competition from last year will make a return.
• A gala art auction evening is now in the works and will be held at Casey’s Community House. Phantom of the Gallery will feature a collection of juried art works that will be auctioned off. Former Creston resident Guy Hobbes, whose wildlife drawings are in collections around the world, will be one of 20 featured artists. Two evenings of viewings will precede the auction.
• October will see the return of the student recital put on by the Creston Valley Music Teachers Association at Prince Charles Theatre.
• Christmas shopping is made easy in November with the ever popular Christmas Craft Fair, and once again a student art show will be on display at the Community Complex.
• The Arts Council’s 50th anniversary kicked off with a reception in January and in December another reception will bring the year of celebration to an end. Another art show and a birthday cake will be included with the reception, and wine will be served.
“This is a very ambitious year for us, but we have an amazing team of volunteers who are dedicated to promoting the arts in Creston, and their enthusiasm seems to be without limits!” Wilson said.
