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The Arts Council of Mississippi County
The Ritz Civic Center 306 W. Main Street Blytheville, AR 72315 (Phone) 870-762-1744 (Fax) 870-763-1950
Director's Corner January, 2008 - The first month of my third year as Director of The Arts Council. In many ways, it sure seems I have been involved in this for a lot longer then two years, but I guess not. We kicked off the month on Saturday, Jan. 5th with another edition of “The Johnny Tolley Ole’ Time Variety Show”. It was a good evening and everyone had a great time. Special thanks to Johnny for all he does to help us out. If you are a Johnny Tolley fan or just want to be sure to catch his next show, go ahead and mark your calendar for Saturday, July 12th at 7:00 PM. We saw two presentations of “Macbeth: An Exploration” performed by Stephen Len White of Opera Memphis. The first was at The Ritz on Jan. 17th and the second at Rivercrest High School on Jan. 22nd. This was added recently to our 2007-2008 Series, bringing our total for the year to eight different programs. We had a little over 200 area high school students at the show and they seemed to really enjoy it. We hosted an Artist’s Reception for Jennifer Gilley Cole on Saturday, Jan. 19th to open her exhibit of original works in our gallery. The reception was well attended and we have had several great comments about her show. It will run through Thursday, Feb. 14th. Then on Feb. 15th we will open a display of area student artist’s works that are being submitted in a competitive statewide art contest sponsored by The Rockefeller Foundation. The Arts Council of Mississippi County is one of the Regional Partners for this event and will display and judge works from students from a six county area. That display will remain open to the public until late March at which time the Regional Finalists will have their works forwarded to the State level. Closing out the month, we had several evenings of great entertainment by our friends of ACT2! as they presented a stellar production of “The Legend of Sleeping Beauty”! There were several of the “regulars” involved, but they also had many new faces in the cast. Congratulations to all involved for a great show. See you at The Ritz, David
2007-2008 Series Update— Our Series is at the halfway point going into February. On Sunday, February 3, 2008, at 3:00 PM we will have a professional national touring company presentation of “The Taffetas, A Musical Journey Through the Fabulous Fifties” which will be a delightful, fun-filled afternoon featuring over 40 hits of the ‘50”s. This show had a successful off-Broadway run in New York City and is guaranteed to be a lot of fun. March 7, 2008 at 7:00 PM, we will see the return of John Two-Hawks, Native American flautist (which for those of you who might not know is a flute player), in a concert performance entitled “Cedar Dreams”. Mr. Two-Hawks will also present an afternoon program at Blytheville Middle School to about 500 students. He can be defined as a master musician who dreams into existence awesome, powerful music that transcends genre and reaches out to souls all over the world with a profound healing touch. For April, the return of the Wildwood Young Artists to Mississippi County will offer six performances of “Pinocchio” for our 1st through 3rd graders across the county. We already have over 2500 students registered to attend the daytime performances at The Ritz and at Rivercrest School. The family performance will be at 7:00 PM on Tuesday, April 29th. If you would like to see the excitement of having about 450 elementary children at The Ritz at one time, or if you have a first, second or third grader in our county schools and would like to join them for the show, call 762-1744. Ken or I can tell you which schools and grades are registered for which times for the shows, and we would love to have you join us. May 2nd features a concert of classical and popular music presented by a string ensemble called “Quintessence”. Their program will be part of our spring Gala Event evening, and will be preceded by our special “Meet the Artists Reception” at the Blytheville Chamber of Commerce office. The formal reception will be held from 6:00 to 7:00 PM and the Concert will begin at 7:30. To attend the reception requires that you either be a Patron or Corporate Sponsor, or purchase an advance ticket for that program. This will also be part of a week full of activities coordinated by The Arts Council, The Chamber of Commerce and Main Street Blytheville, which will end with “Springtime On The Mall” on Saturday, May 3rd.
Stretching Our Series Did you know that with the multiple presentations of the eight programs offered as our 2007-2008 Series that there will actually be seventeen different staging’s of programs? Five of our series programs for this year include performances scheduled specifically for our area school students. We have had or will have special performances for High School, Middle School, Intermediate School and Elementary aged children, reaching about 4000 students. I think our Sponsors, Patrons, Board Members, Volunteers and Staff can all take pride in that! I know I do.
From The Other Corner Hi everyone, and how are things in your world? I’m sure that many of you are aware of how busy things have been, and will be, at The Ritz. If you don’t know, then you need to stop by some time and find out. It’s always nice to see a friendly face visit us as we try to give you, the public, the kind of entertainment you want to see. If you want to become one of our many volunteer’s, stop by The Ritz, or call us at 870-762-1744 and we will make sure that we have your information so we can contact you. As a reminder, we have “Support Live Music” coming up on March 8 at 7:00pm. Now is the time if you, or someone you know, to can get a band together and contact us with the interest of playing on a stage with other local bands for a great concert. Wait did I say local? At the last “Support Live Music”, we even had a band from Mountain Home, AR, play. How’s that for getting the word across? Mark your calendar’s for this fundraising event at The Ritz. See you in the lobby… Ken
February Arts Council Events – February 3, Sunday at 3:00 PM –- “The Taffetas: A Musical Journey Through The Fabulous Fifties” will take you back in time as you experience the innocence and fun of another era. February 7, Thursday at 5:30 PM – The Ritz will be the location for a Town Hall Meeting hosted by Mayor Barrett Harrison and The Delta Gateway Museum Commission. February 15, Friday, Time to Be Determined – Judging for entries for “Arts In The Air” statewide student art contest sponsored by The Rockefeller Foundation. February 21, Thursday at 6:00 PM—Regular monthly Board Meeting for The Arts Council of Mississippi County. Visitors always welcome.
February Rentals— February 23, Saturday from 6:00-10:00 PM—“Women Bringing It To The Table” host a Fashion Show.
Our Affiliate, ACT2! – ACT 2!, under the guidance of Director’s Danna Darty and Becky Brothers, The Legend of Sleeping Beauty at The Ritz was a successful production with a cast of over 50 children and adults! Through a lot of hard work, we have over 600 people come to watch the play and left here with smiles on their faces. Tonya Harris will be directing the next ACT 2! production Our Leading Lady by Charles Busch. This comedy/drama is under way with auditions going on now with a production date scheduled for this coming May at The Ritz. Break a leg! ACT 2! will hold their next regular monthly meeting on March 9th at 4:00pm in the boardroom of The Ritz. Everyone is welcomed to attend and become a part of bringing live stage plays to the community and its neighbors. If you have any questions, please call The Ritz at 870-762-1744.
Special Thanks to 2007-2008 Sponsors— As you visit or see the following 52 businesses or individuals, be sure to thank them for their support for our programming for the Series year: (listed in order received) Glenda’s Hallmark Shop--Eileen O’Neal—Proweld Custom Welding and Fabrication—Snyder Wholesale, Inc.—Bugmobile of Arkansas, Inc.—NIBCO—Entergy—Nucor Yamato Steel—Mr. & Mrs. Billy Holifield—Charlotte Wagner—Hays Store, Inc.—Thomas, Speight & Noble, CPA’s—Tenaris Hickman—Nucor Steel Arkansas—Arkham Comics—Lee Wilson & Co.—Russell’s Rents and Sales, LLC—Dave Simmons, CPA, PA—Dr. & Mrs. James A. Hess—The General Insurance Agency—American Greetings Corporation—The Depot—Pollard-Geeslin Insurance—First National Bank—ACT2! Community Theater—Dr. & Mrs. Van O. Parker—Dr. Michael Williams, DDS—Farmers Bank and Trust—Bistro Eleven 21—Scott Johnson Vision Care, PA—Kiwanis Club of Blytheville—Terry Abstract Company—Gene and Barbara Cox—That Bookstore In Blytheville—Crosskno Farms—Westminster Village—An Anonymous Donor—RE/MAX—L.H. Smith—Holiday Inn—Wal-Mart—Temps Plus—Jeri-Lin Donuts—Lowe’s—FASCO—Fondren’s Hardware—Ridout—Sherman-Williams—Hood’s—Kroger—Schlosser Photography and Frame—Osceola Progressive Club. Remember, our goal for Corporate Sponsors for the 2007-2008 Series was fifty (50). We have surpassed that by two! We do not have to stop there. If you do not see your company or organization listed above, we would be glad to provide them with information on how to become a sponsor.
2007-2008 Patrons— Our goal for this year was to have 30 Patrons. We are currently at 41! Thanks to these Patrons for their support: JD and Tonya Harris, LaGene and Harrell Hampton, Sarah Jackson, Charles Moody, Joe and Rebecca Caldwell, Ramona Clower, Bill and Clorita Hardy, Jack and Nancy Goodman, Jill and Tibor Mazar, Douglas and Shelly Bush, Ann M. Moore, Dr. Donald and Kathryn Musholt, Bob and Eleanor Royer, A Friend, Kenneth and Louise Gipson, Paul and Veda Jenkins, Dr. Mark Wilson, DDS, R.J. Odle, Liz Cato, Shirley Overman, Sallye Russell, Frances Jackson, Donna Mosley, Chuck Ryan, Jerry and Linda Musser, Danna Darty, Melanie Vaughn and Allen and Ann Bush. Back |
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