Welcome. Back in 1994 a few folks with interest in the arts started talking to one another and decided there seemed to be quite a bit of talent and interest, and so was launched the Hampshire County Arts Council, which has, in the past decade, developed a solid record of efforts to nurture those talents.
The Executive Committee is pleased to report the Arts Council is on sound financial footing as we celebrate our tenth year. Each endeavor is undertaken with the aim of making it self-supporting, yet HCAC has made many performances and opportunities available in the community at little or no charge. We’ve been able to do this in part through grants. In 2003 we tapped into three grant programs— the WV Commission on the Arts, the Pennsylvania Performance on Tour Program, and the Challenge America Grant. Each one required matching funds, and we’re very appreciative of our sponsors who assisted with providing them.
In addition to our hard working member volunteers, a lot of people in the community
pitch in to help make the activities of the Arts Council possible. We’d
like to thank them as we recap the past year’s accomplishments.
March 2003:
• The Potomac Center for hosting last year’s Annual Meeting at the
last minute, as well as use of their library for our monthly board meetings
and for so graciously hosting our Summer Concerts on the Lawn, AND for helping
us save the Herb & Arts Gathering/Mountain Thyme concert when faced with
the unusually wet spring.
• Hampshire County Public Library—for hosting monthly displays and
sketch group and meetings of the Spring Festival Committee.
• Loudoun Thompson for use of the storage space for Arts Council equipment
April 2003:
• Deb Hartsock & Title I/Hampshire County Schools for support in bringing
Kate Long who worked with students at Capon Bridge Elementary School and Capon
Bridge Middle School while Robin Kessinger taught students in the Hampshire
High guitar class, before joining with our Ice Mountain Writers for their annual
evening of words and music.
• WV High School for the Blind—for hosting that evening and our
fall Concert.
• The Romney Moose for providing matching funds for the Challenge America
grant that took four professional artists to Hampshire High and Capon Bridge
Middle School for a week of classes and performance.
• Terri Saville at Capon Bridge Middle School and David Fritsch at Hampshire
High School for their assistance and support of those visits.
May 2003
• The many hands who worked on the gorgeous quilt you could win tonight.
• The Loy Foundation for use of The Bottling Works for our coffeehouses,
including the May event with Jesse Palidofsky.
• Anderson’s Corner for providing gourmet coffee for our coffeehouses
• The Fort Mill Ridge Foundation for allowing us to store our sound system
and tables there.
Summer 2003
• The Bank of Romney for sponsorship of our Summer Concerts series and
for allowing us use of the Community Center for Ice Mountain Writers’
monthly meetings and for the Annual Art Show during Heritage Days. Our 2003
Summer Concerts presented Shenanigans in June, the memorable City
Meets Country/Old-time Meets the Blues concert with Mike Baytop, Jay Summerour,
Bonni McKeown and The Millbrook Boys. Then we ended the summer with the steel
drum group, Pangea.
• WV School for the Deaf for hosting our summer youth art camp (J.D. Corbin)
• McDonalds for providing drinks for our campers
• The Hampshire County CEOS’s for sponsoring art camp
• Jan Dodgins and Herb Adrian for instructing at Art Camp
• Kelly Hicks for assisting with the Art Camp breakfast and lunch program
September 2003
• Avalon for sponsorship of the Best Figurative Work Award
• Edwards Insurance & Financial Services for sponsorship of an art
Award.
• The Hampshire Review for sponsorship of the best Photograph
Award, not to mention for all the excellent coverage they provide our events
throughout the year.
• Sheila Melzac for the Vincent Melzac Best Non-representational Work
Award
• The Pancake Family for the Mary Rose Hicks Watercolor Award
• Friends of the Hampshire County Public Library for their purchase award,
which hangs in the library.
• Dillon’s Furniture for sponsoring an Award of Merit
• Farm Credit for sponsoring an Award of Merit
• Mayhew Chevrolet for sponsoring an Award of Merit
• Hampshire House for sponsoring an Award of Merit
• Romney Florist and IronWorks for sponsoring an Award of Merit
• First National Bank of Romney for sponsorship of our Fall Concert featuring
Simple Gifts, and our 2004 Cabin Fever Concert featuring Critton
Hollow String Band.
November 2003
• Century 21/Mountain Heritage Realty for sponsorship of the fall coffeehouse
featuring the Joanne Juskus Trio.
February 2004
• WV School for the Deaf for hosting our Cabin Fever Concert.
•And finally, our thanks to Sarah Plowright for her assistance in the
continuing development of the HampshireArts.Org website.
During the past year we’ve been working with The Loy Foundation on developing
the potential of The Bottling Works for performances and exhibitions.
One result of that collaboration is already evident (the improvements in the
acoustics), although not yet complete.
We have also participated with the Hampshire County Convention and Visitors
Bureau and the Hampshire 250 Committee, for which we contributed to articles
on The Arts and Music in their history of Hampshire County
book, and assisted with their music-recording project.
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· 2003
Annual Report