The Arts Council - Thanks So Much for a Wonderful Evening!!

This is a short post my friends - not because tonight's Arts Council of the Blue Ridge Annual Meeting wasn't something worthy of a long post, but because I am just too awed for words. If you are a Roanoker and into the whole love-affair of our area's Arts presence, then you will appreciate this short and sweet entry.

First of all, I am a newbie Arts Council member. I belonged to my hometown's Council years ago in Elizabeth, NJ. We were not exactly bursting with members and programs. (I am still friends with one fellow who is a world-class 6-string Contra Bass player, a member and son of musicians/ artists, his mother being one of the leaders of the Elizabeth Arts Council. In fact, he will be performing here at the Taubman this coming Sunday. I will give details at the end of my post.)

Anyway, as a member to the Arts Council here, I went by invitation to its Annual Meeting and experienced a history lesson of this organization by one of its founding members: Ms Carol Bewley Dalhouse, the Arts Council's first Executive Director. She was the Guest Speaker for the meeting tonight held at the Eleanor D Wilson Museum at Hollins University. What a heart-warming story she told! And it was a real treat to hear it from the person who did so much to make this Arts Council a reality today. One of the amazing things I learned was how in its early days, they felt they had no choice but to return an initial grant of funds because trying to get matching donations took them away from the Council's real mission.

I met and chatted afterwards with some of the wonderful people on the Council's staff and made my way over to the special exposition of Artist Betty Branch: "Through The Crow's Eye, a Retrospective." Her work is currently on display at the Eleanor D Wilson Museum, as well as throughout Roanoke and beyond. (You can find more information about Ms Branch's sculptures and drawings - including videos - on her website http://www.bettybranch.com/. The artist has a Roanoke studio you may visit by appointment. The Betty Branch Sculpture Studio and Gallery is located in the Historic Warehouse District in Roanoke, Virginia at 123 Norfolk Avenue.)

Scuplture of women's figures, crows, a variety of media including fire - I took my time walking through the museum in amazement. I can't remember the last time I was so moved to stare so long at an artist's creations. I wondered what her mind was telling her hands - or was it her heart speaking, or an other-worldly breath? I was also intrigued by the combination of the two subjects. Could it be one theme? Indeed, sculptures of the female form/ female rites of passage (see Biographical Notes on her website) interspersed with sculptures of crows. The soft and the hard; the blunt and the sharp; the curved and the angled... those are just the visual contrasts. It seemed somehow perfect to me in the same room.

Well, I lied. This is not a short blog post after all. Therefore, let me finish by saying that my friends Denise Jordan Finley and Daniel Pagdon, singer-songwriters, will be performing at the Taubman this Sunday at 1pm. Perhaps I can see a woman-crow combination in their musical partnering now that I may never be able to shake that concept... Hmmm.

(Photos of Betty Branch's work are from her website, http://www.bettybranch.com/ and if there are any objections to embedding them here, please contact me and I will humbly comply with your request to remove them.)

11th Annual Kite Festival at Green Hill Park 4/18/09

Blue Ridge Kite Festival

Hi, I am Leda Sapp, the flava of STAR CITY FAME. My partner Ron and I are so excited about attending the 11th Annual Kite Festival this year (presented by the Salem-Roanoke County Chamber of Commerce). We’ll be there doing some video coverage. This will be Ron’s first time attending the Festival and my third. All three of my experiences at the Kite fest have been awesome. The very first time was the best. I had never been to any Kite festival before that. Green Hill Park has this fabulous huge open air space. When the sun and wind are at its best - the sky above is phenomenal, filled with an array of colorful kites. I remember lying on the blanket and gazing at the sky full of beautifully colored kites and enchanting white clouds. I know I laid there for over an hour. The sounds of children laughing and playing gave me a sense of the past when families spent more time together. This event is the ultimate for great family time for any age, any culture. I believe that every person in the Valley should experience the Kite Fest.

Here are the details for the Kite Festival - courtesy the Chamber’s website:
http://65.169.107.89/Section_Cat_Content_Detail.asp?SID=30&SCAT=43&ID=42

“The skies above Roanoke County’s Green Hill Park will be filled with kites on Saturday, April 18, 2009 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event features free t-shirts and kites for children along with lots of additional kid friendly activities provided by sponsors. This year’s attendance is expected to be over 10,000. So come early and enjoy the entire day.
The Award Winning Richmond Air Force Kite Club will present a colorful and interactive kite show and exhibition during the event, which is sanctioned by the American Kite Flyers Association. A variety of food vendors, arts and craft vendors and activities for children also add to the excitement of the day.
If you would like to be a vendor, sponsor, or need more information, please call the Salem-Roanoke County Chamber of Commerce office at 540-387-0267.”