|
Be a part of our Renaissance! |
|
Help Us Help You!
We receive a great many emails with events for our newsletter. We wish we could include them all. Here's how to increase the likelihood of being included:
- Put your event on the WVIA ArtScene calendar. We're sure to find it. Just click Submit an event to the ArtScene calendar and fill in the blanks!
-
We like to copy and paste directly from your email to our newsletter, so please use plain text (or unadorned HTML) in your emails to us.
-
Include everything essential, but try to limit your notice to a paragraph or two. Be sure to include your location, date(s) and time, contact information and whether the event is free (provide prices if not).
-
It's ok to attach an image, but we may not have room for it. It helps if the image is small (maximum 200 x 200), but we can resize it if necessary.
-
Feel free to include a link for more information!
-
Try to send well in advance - preferably two weeks - but send anyway - we may have room at the last minute. As of yet, we don't have a regular schedule, but we're aiming for every two weeks.
-
Over 5,000 people receive our news-letter, and the list is growing. You can help us by forwarding it to folks - an easy way to inform them about YOUR event! (See the"Forward" link at the bottom of the newsletter.)
|
|
|
|
|
From the Executive Director
Got your attention with the title, didn't I?
No, my friends, the title does NOT refer to the Fine Arts FIESTA, which opens today on Public Square in Wilkes-Barre, but rather the Fine Arts FIASCO which is taking place in Harrisburg.
These two subjects represent the best and the worst about the arts in Pennsylvania! Fortunately, you can ENJOY the best and you can CHANGE the worst!
Read on!
Thank you!
Mike Burnside
Executive Director
ps: We'll be back soon with news of more exciting upcoming events (you might want to block out June 19th - 21st for RiverFest), but for now, check the WVIA Events Calendar!
|
First the GOOD news!
Today through Sunday is the Fine Arts Fiesta, and it looks like it's going to be better than ever! The Fiesta includes juried arts shows for
students and adults, live performances by area school groups and
professional acts, strolling performers, an artist market, and a
selection of ethnic foods to please everyone's palate. Click on the poster at right to go the the Fiesta's great web site to read everything that's going on this year. (I couldn't possibly fit it in here.) Here's a direct link to the SCHEDULE of events. Please note that it IS Third Friday and MANY places in the downtown area will be open and featuring regional artists and having entertaining activities for all ages! And Third Friday is also in gear on the West Side. Don't miss Something Special in Kingston from 6-8pm with music by Charlie Singer & Friends in conjunction with the continued Photography exhibition by Allison Maslow. There will be wine/beverages and some finger foods as well. And at Paper Kite Press we have "Works by Chance," A body of work that has been created by chance and skill by the artist Pat Stump. This at 6pm, followed by a Poetry Reading featuring ICE and Jane Ormerod at 8:15pm, followed (yet again!)by a limited open mic. That's the good news! |
Now the bad news (which you can change!)
We need your help NOW to save arts funding!
On May 6, 2009, the Pennsylvania Senate
passed SB 850, which included zero funding for arts grants through the
Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA), by a 30-20 vote. The vote was
along party lines. We may have lost this battle but we haven't lost
the war. On Monday, House Appropriations Chair Dwight Evans introduced
the House budget bill (HB 1416) which includes $14 million for arts
grants. The House will act on this piece of legislation later this
month.
We need to keep the pressure on the General Assembly. Please take a few minutes to contact your legislators and:
Urge your House member to vote YES on HB 1416 that includes $14 million for PCA grants to arts organizations and tell your Senate members that you still support a $14 million
funding level for arts grants. If your Senator voted no on SB 850
thank him/her for the vote. If your Senator voted yes, express your
disappointment and tell them, as the budget process moves forward, that
you strongly urge them to include $14 million for arts grants in the
final version of the PA State Budget.
Here is how Luzerne County senators voted (a "Yes" vote cuts funding):
Lisa Baker - Yes
John Gordner - Yes
Robert Mellow - No
Raphael Musto - No
This issue is especially important to Luzerne County residents, because unlike Lackawanna County, which distributes over $1 million for the arts annualy, there is hardly any public funding for the arts in Luzerne County. So we are particularly dependent on PCA funding for grants to county artists and organizations - like the Fine Arts Fiesta!
Here are two sites to visit to learn more AND to voice your opinion to your legislators:
Read the full story on the Citizens for the Arts in Pennsylvania's Legislative Action site, where you can contact your legislators. It's very easy, and there are sample messages for you to use.
And please sign a petition at the Save the Arts in Pennsylvania petition site. Again, it will just take a moment. At this site, you have the option of enterring your county. Please do so - I'd SO love to see a lot of Luzerne County folks on board! You can also read comments from other folks, and leave your own if you like. The statewide goal is 2,500 signatures, but so far there are only just under 500. If HALF of the people who receive this newsletter sign the petition, we'll reach the statewide goal from our readership alone. YOU can help change this fiasco and support the fiesta!
Thank you so much for your help with this important advocacy campaign.
That's the bad news, which you can change.
|
|
|
|
|
The Cultural Council
