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| Dear Friends of Arts in McNairy,
The response to our new email version of "Taking AiM" has been overwhelmingly favorable! Thanks for your input and positive feedback. We plan to continue the email newsletter format.
If you know someone who would like to receive updated news about the cultural events and happenings in McNairy County, please take the time to help us build our mailing list by forwarding this newsletter. Scroll to the bottom of the page, hit forward and enter your friend's email address. It is as simple as that!
Once your friend receives the email, there is no obligation. They can instantly choose to join or ignore future invitations to be added to our rapidly growing mailing list.
Thanks for helping us get the word out and as always, thank you for helping Arts in McNairy, take AiM on the arts! |
| Fall Artisan Trail Offers News Stops, More Artists and Adamsville Fall Festival - November 15 |
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 One of the most anticipated events on the Arts in McNairy calendar just got a lot better! The fall Artisan Trail tour is expanding to include several new artisan stops and the Adamsville rural heritage festival. It will be a great time to pick up unique, one of a kind, Christmas gifts, learn about the folk and fine art traditions of McNairy County and meet some of the best artists and artisans in Southwest Tennessee.
The biannual AiM Artisan Trail tour is an open invitation to visit with the artists and artisans in their shops and studios. Participants can watch the artists plying their trade, learn about their artistic process first hand and purchase their work. First time visitors will enjoy meeting the artists and seeing them in action while those who have participated in the past will find plenty of new things to excite their curiosity.
Participating artisans will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 15th. Visitors may start at any of the studios listed below and call on as many artists as their time and interests will allow. Updated maps will be available at all locations on the tour and there are no admission fees. Online maps will also be available for download one week prior to the event by visiting www.artsinmcnairy.blogspot.com.
Stops featured on the AiM Artisan Trail, November 15, 2008 fall tour are:
- Hockaday Handmade Brooms - Selmer
- Finger Broom and Mop - Selmer
- Appalachian Threads - Adamsville
- Firehouse Studio - Selmer
- 2-B Pottery - Stantonville
- Eco-Art by Tim Pace - Finger
- Woodturnings by Patricia Fisher - McNairy
- ATMT Art Gallery - Adamsville
- Beulah Land Alpaca Farm - Ramer
- Rose Creek Village Arts - Rose Creek
- Needles-N-Pins Quilters - Bethel Springs
- Trail Head and Heritage Festival - Adamsville
- McNairy County Museum - Selmer
- Duncan Christmas Tree Farm - Selmer
Please note that the schedule and participants are subject to change. Please visit the blog at the above location for updated information. |
| Literary Arts Reorganizing - Book Club (November 20) and Literary Events on the Way! |
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Every AiM committee has reason to be proud of their past track record. The Literary Arts Committee is no exception. Fiction and a Flick was an early success. The Southern Fried Poetry contest and reading attracted a great deal of interest and more than 200 local entries. More recently the screenwriting workshop with UCLA professor, Dr. Lewis Hunter, proved to be a high quality, well attended, event. All that being said, some AiM board members have openly lamented the fact that literary appreciation doesn't seem to get equal time and attention. All of that is about to change.
New AiM board member and Literary Arts Chair, Leanne Emmons has restructured the committee and assembled a first rate team to tackle an ambitious agenda that includes a new book club, poetry reading and a creative writing contest. Leanne is optimistic that literary appreciation events, like these, can have good community participation and impact if approached in the right way.
The Committee's first project is a book club that will meet regularly on the third Thursday of each month. An organizational meeting is scheduled for 7:00 PM, November 20th in McNairy Regional Hospital's conference/class room. Everyone is invited to attend. There are no fees for participation beyond book purchase and these may be bulk ordered at group rates. The first two book club selections and the moderator will be announced at the November meeting. The group then plans to take a holiday break and meet again in January for the first discussion. More information about the poetry reading, tentatively scheduled for February, and the spring 2009 creative writing contest will also be available at the meetings. Mark your calendar now and make plans to attend! |
| 2008 Photo Contest Draws Record Participation |
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 Arts in McNairy's annual photography contest and exhibit has quickly become one of the mainstays of the Visual Arts Committee's yearly activities. Now in it's fourth season, the contest continues to grow and improve under the direction of contest chairman Mark Boehler and VA Chair George Souders. This year's contest, again, attracted record entries from more than 60 amateur photographers around the Mid South. "We are very happy with the contest and the interest shown by area photographers," said Boehler. "We have some really quality art work and people will enjoy coming to see the photos," he continued, referring to the opening reception and month long exhibit at the UTM Center. Souders added that the number of participating photographers was up this year due, in part, to the handsome purse being offered for the winning photographs in seven categories and the strong possibility of selling the photographs at the reception and show.
The awards reception and exhibit opening was held Sunday, Oct. 12 from 2:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m. at the UTM McNairy Center in Selmer. Those on hand for the event had the opportunity to meet the artists and enjoy a magnificent and diverse collection of photographs. The ongoing exhibit will be on display daily at UTM McNairy from 9:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m. through November 14th for those who happened to miss the reception.
The 2008 AiM Photography Contest Results:
Best in Show,
Nick Diaquisto, Finger - Transparent Office (Above)
Architectural Landscape
1. Lisa Wilbanks, Corinth - Crossfire
2. Patricia Fischer, Bethel Springs - Elvis in Australia 3. Marti Thweatt, Ramer - Street in Salvador
HM Cheryl Meints, Corinth - A Distant Memory
Digital/Computer Enhanced
1. Charles Randolph, Bethel Springs - Rainbow
Reflections
2. Don Meints, Corinth - Mama's Store
3. D. Meints, Corinth - Bicycle
HM Doris Hurley, Kingsport - In the Spotlight
Natural Landscape
1. Gary Kirk, Finger - Pier into a Dawn in Blue
2. Kerry Seghers, Medina - Lover's Key
3. Brenda McSurley, Nashville - Misty Morning
HM D. Meints, Corinth - Drought
Black & White
1. Briana Brakhage, Bethel Springs - Man's Job
2. Brandy McClain, Selmer - Blast From the Past
3. Donna Plunk Mayfield, Selmer - Scenes From the Past on the Farm
HM Ashley Blankenship, Selmer - Walking the Dog
McNairy County
1. Patricia Fischer, Bethel Springs - Fire in the Sky
2. Debbie Harbin, Adamsville - Door of Opportunity...Closed
3. B. McClain, Selmer - Browsing the Web
HM Ashley Tyler, Selmer - Colorful Music
Animal/Pets/Wildlife
1. Renee Young, Selmer - Casper the Friendly Cat
2. Steve Vetter, Bethel Springs - Can I Have a Lick
3. S. Vetter, Bethel Springs - Welcome Spring
HM C. Meints, Corinth - Dancing with a Crab
People
1. Virginia Williamson, Jackson - Honey Boy Edwards
2. Melissa Williams, Michie - Spirit of a Child
3. Ashley Hartle, Selmer - Open Wide
HM Elyse Martin, Selmer - Days Gone By
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| A Christmas Carol - November 21-23 |
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Charles Dickens' immortal classic, A Christmas Carol will take the stage November 21-23 for three public performances at the MCHS Little Theatre. Friday and Saturday shows are at 7:30 PM and there will be one matinee, Sunday at 2:00 PM. The show, which features more than forty local actors, is the second of the, ever popular, AiM theatre season. Tickets for all performances will be available at the door.
A Christmas Carol is one the most beloved Christmas stories ever written in the English language and has also become a popular holiday stage offering for many theatre groups. Audiences of all ages will delight in the familiar characters, Scrooge ("Bah! Humbug!"), Tiny Tim ("God bless us everyone!") and the colorful cast of Christmas ghosts. It is a heart warming tale of love, redemption and the power of the Christmas spirit.
The show is under the direction of Tom Cook who also adapted the Dickens novel for the stage. Though this will be Tom's first time to occupy the directors chair, he is certainly no stranger to the theatre. Tom has been seen on the AiM stage as Potipher in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat; Clay Boy Spenser in The Homecoming; Max in Sound of Music and most recently in Circuit Rider's Wife - The Musical. Tom has also been active with community theatre groups in Jackson and Dickson, TN where he has been seen in 1776, My Fair Lady, Mikado, The Music Man, The Pirates of Penzance, The Luck Stiff and The Homecoming. He serves as a minister of music and is currently coordinating Mt. Zion Baptist Church's Christmas cantata. Tom lives with his wife Patty (also a talented actress) in the Finger Community. |
| Annual Holiday Singers and Community Band Concert December 4th at Lakeview Baptist |
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If getting in the holiday spirit is a challenge for you, Arts in McNairy has the answer! The AiM Holiday Singers and Community Band Concert is sure to do the trick. This annual event is one of the highlights of the holiday season for many local residents not to mention the community band and chorus participants.
Organized under the direction of AiM President and Music Committee Chair, Pam Stackhouse, the community music programs have been very successful for one very good reason: the Holiday Singers, children's bell choir and community band mobilize almost 200 residents from McNairy and surrounding counties. These programs highlights AiM's emphasis on community involvement at every level and the holiday and 4th of July concerts are among the best attended events every year.
This season the holiday concert in being held 7:00 PM, December 4th at Lakeview Baptist Church in Selmer. The Holiday Singers, children's bell choir, community band and several soloists and ensembles are scheduled to perform. Program details will be announced at a later date but you can expect some traditional favorites and plenty of surprises!
Those interested in participation still have the opportunity to get involved. Director, Ronnie Brooks, has just announced the updated rehearsal schedule for the holiday concert. The community band accepts all musicians young and old. Members should have basic musical skills, be able to read music and provide their own instrument. The band will next meet 7:00 PM, Monday, November 3 at the Selmer Middle School band hall. Anyone interested is welcome to attend. Potential chorus members should contact Pam Stackhouse through the Music Committee section of the AiM website at: www.artsinmcnairy.com |
| AiM Artist Spotlight - Sandy Carroll |
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Though she is one of the best known and loved, Beale Street, artists of her generation, Sandy Carroll is a McNairy County original. Heavily influenced by the potent combination of Blues, Gospel and Rockabilly Music of her native Southwest Tennessee, Sandy found her musical voice at an early age. After several years of performing around the country, Beale Street beckoned and Sandy landed at Lafayette's Corner on Beale in 1983. She was the headliner there for more than a year and became a regular at several other Beale Street hotspots. By 1984 she had released her first album. The rest, as they say, is history.
Sandy has recorded four solo CD's and a number of compilation projects including the 2002 release, "Memphis Belles - Past, Present and Future" featuring, Ruby Wilson, Carla Thomas and Cybill Shepard among other legendary female artists. Her skills as a writer have also been in great demand and Sandy's songs been recorded by literally dozens of other musicians and singers including such Blues luminaries as Albert King, Luther Allison and Don McMinn.
Performing at concerts, festivals and clubs across the U.S. and abroad while maintaining a busy Beale Street schedule, Sandy has performed with Rufus Thomas, The Memphis Horns and countless others over the years. She is featured in the 2001 syndicated PBS concert special, "In Their Own Voices," which pays tribute to Memphis' incredible songwriting tradition.
Sandy and her Grammy Award winning husband, Jim Gaines now live in the Pickwick area and they have converted the Carroll family home at Stantonville into a recording studio. In 2006 Sandy returned to McNairy County for a homecoming concert during the AiM Summer Concert Series much to the delight of her local friends and family. She continues to work around the region and nationally at selected events and appearances. You can keep up with her busy schedule by checking her website and blog with the links listed below.
Arts in McNairy is proud to be among the first to announce that Sandy is being awarded one of Memphis music's highest honors, the Brass Note on Beale, Friday, October 24 at 5:30 PM. The presentation ceremony at W.C. Handy Park, will kick off a weekend of music celebrating the 25th anniversary of the revitalization of Beale Street and the revival of the Memphis Blues tradition. Other inductees include Don McMinn, Preston Shannon and Kevin Paige. All artists will perform following their induction with a 9:30 jam session capping a spectacular evening of Blues.
Congratulations Sandy! You make us proud!
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