Spring 2015 Newsletter

Who:
ArtsLink, Inc.
What:
Part of a national day of giving called
Give Local America
Where: Online at www.giveov.org
Why:
To raise money for ArtsLink’s activities
When: Tuesday, May 5, 12 a.m. to 11:59 p.m.
Join ArtsLink and the Community Foundation for the Ohio Valley, Inc. on Tuesday, May 5 and
be part of a national day of giving called Give Local America. The Amazing Raise Ohio Valley is a
one-day online fundraising event designed to raise as much money as possible for local nonprofit
organizations. In 2014, more than $357,000 was raised for 92 Ohio Valley nonprofits. ArtsLink donors
gave $1,035 to the arts council last year and in 2015, we hope to top that goal.
“Make a gift, share with your friends, and grow the spirit of giving,” said Donna Earley, program
coordinator for ArtsLink.
Hosted by the CFOV, this is the community’s second annual 24-hour event that will provide
area nonprofits with increased exposure to potential new donors and helps them launch beneficial
relationships. Any individual or business may donate to one or more of the participating nonprofits
during the 24-hour period, via www.giveov.org.Minimum donation is $10.00.
Sponsors for The Amazing Raise Ohio Valley will provide bonus funds and prize challenges
throughout the day. These incentives provide additional dollars for the participating nonprofits. The
larger the pool, the more money for all of the nonprofit participants. For sponsorship inquiries, please
contact Susie Nelson at director@cfov.org.
“Mark May 5 on your calendar so you can support ArtsLink,” said Earley. “Direct your friends to
www.giveov.org and encourage them to support our arts council. This type of charitable giving
inspires people to give generously to nonprofit organizations that are making our region stronger,
creating a vibrant community for all.”
All donors on May 5 will receive a tax receipt generated via email by the CFOV. All donations
will be fully tax deductible.
Spring 2015 Edition
www.artslinkwv.org
April performances at the Lincoln
Join The Poor Clares April 9 for an Irish fling with O’Flaherty
ArtsLink will bring The Poor Clares to the Lincoln Theater for a Thursday evening performance
on April 9. The Lewisburg, W.Va.-based group is led by singer Patrick O’Flaherty, a talented multiinstrumentalist who began playing the harmonica as a young boy in Connemara, Ireland.
The Poor Clares began performing in the spring of 1993, growing out of the traditional Irish
musicians working in The Ballad Room at the world-famous O’Flaherty’s Irish Channel Pub in the
New Orleans French Quarter. O’Flaherty’s unique concert-like setting was a natural environment to
cultivate top-quality Irish traditional musicians. The group made its official debut at the New Orleans’
Jazz Fest that year, and was immediately hailed as “a surprise hit of the Fest” by B97 Radio. The
Times-Picayune also cited them as one of the “Ten Best Bets” and Gambit Weekly has listed them as
one of the few ‘must see’ groups for the past three years.
O’Flaherty today is acknowledged as one of the truly fine practitioners of Irish mandolin and
harmonica. He is also a highly respected player of the button accordion and banjo. He is one of the
few composers today writing original songs in Gaelic. His professional music career has spanned
nearly three decades.
He now lives in Lewisburg where he performs locally at “The Irish Pub” when he’s not touring.
The Poor Clares’ 7:30 p.m. performance at the Lincoln Theater in downtown New Martinsville is
sponsored by Former Senator and Mrs. Larry Edgell. This program is presented with financial
assistance from the WV Division of Culture and History, and the National Endowment for the Arts,
with approval from the WV Commission on the Arts.
WVU African Music and Dance Ensemble to perform April 19
The West Virginia University African Music and Dance Ensemble, under the direction of
Michael Vercelli, will be at the Lincoln Theater in downtown New Martinsville Sunday, April 19 at 3
p.m.
The group is an experiential ensemble, focusing its repertoire on the traditional and
contemporary music of Africa and the diaspora. The music is taught primarily through oral tradition,
allowing the members to experience the learning process without written music. The ensemble is
comprised of both undergraduate and graduate students from many disciplines across the WVU
campus. Vercelli said that while the focus of the African Music and Dance Ensemble is musical, the
cultural contexts relevant to the music studied are inherently stressed, giving the participants a
deeper understanding of its meaning and personal enjoyment of the music performed.
“The goals of the African Music and Dance Ensemble include fostering a growing community
interested in the African Arts, while focusing on an expanding body of musical repertoire to encourage
the oral tradition process to take place between new and returning members,” said Vercelli.
“Members are encouraged to use personal experiences from past years and abroad, in shaping our
performance practice.”
This concert is sponsored by Phillips’ Pharmacy of Sistersville. This program is presented with
financial assistance from the WV Division of Culture and History, and the National Endowment for the
Arts, with approval from the WV Commission on the Arts.
Wayward Players’ Children’s Theater production of “Macbeth” set for August 7-9
Auditions for this year’s Children’s Theater production of “Macbeth” will begin at 10 a.m. June 27 at
the Lincoln Theater. Clare and Bart Cannizzaro from the Academy for Dance & Theatre Arts in New
Martinsville will direct this year’s play. Roles for students ages 10 to 18 will be available. There is no
advance preparation needed for the group audition. Parents are urged to research “Macbeth,” as this
production is not a comedy version of the play. The script has been abridged, but follows the plot and
keeps the original Shakespearean text. Hizer’s Turn Around Mini Storage is sponsor for this year’s
production. Show times will be 7 p.m. Aug. 7 and 8, and 3 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 9. For additional
information, contact ArtsLink Program Coordinator Donna Earley at 304 455-2278.
ArtsLink Board welcomes three new members
The ArtsLink Board of Directors welcomed three new members during the annual meeting held Jan. 12
at the Francis Creative Center. Scarlet Hood, Brian Rogers and Jane Knight will serve three year terms,
through 2017, on the 18-member board.
Hood, of New Martinsville, is active in the Home Schooling program in Wetzel County. She also is
involved in ArtsLink’s children’s theater activities. She will serve the board as a member of projects committee.
Rogers is a 1999 graduate of Fairmont State College where he earned degrees in Business
Management and Economics. He owns and operates The Supply Closet and The Arcane, an office supply
store and gaming and hobby shop, respectively, along with his wife, Miranda. Brian actively participates in the
community through his involvement with the New Martinsville Rotary Club and the Wetzel County Chamber of
Commerce, where he also serves as a board member. He will be chairman of the membership and nominating
committee, and will serve on the technology subcommittee and audit committee.
Knight retired in 2012 after working 45 years. She now works part-time at the Sistersville City Building.
She is an award winning photographer and plays guitar in a church band. She also will serve on the projects
committee.
During the annual meeting, ArtsLink board members reviewed the council’s many successes during the
past 13 years, starting with the $100,000 renovation to the Francis Creative Arts Center, named for the late
Jack Francis, who donated the building to West Virginia Northern Community College. An annual Concert
Series, Holiday Magic Series, art exhibits, classes and other arts activities have delighted audiences annually,
as have children’s theater productions. A mini-grant program gives financial support to local artists and arts
organizations. Major partners include West Virginia Northern Community College and the New Martinsville
Parks and Recreation Commission. Additional support for ArtsLink’s activities is provided by
WETZ/WYMJ/WNRJ Radio, the Wells Inn, Ohio Valley Online, and the Stealey Community Fund.
Much of the success of the organization can be attributed to its nearly 300 members and generous
donors, including the Bayer Corporation, Williams, EQT Foundation, Chesapeake Energy, Enterprise Holding
Foundation, and John J. Mensore, whose major donation was honored with the naming of the downstairs
gallery the “John C. and Catherine Mensore Gallery.” Event sponsorships are matched with grants from the
West Virginia Commission on the Arts.
Funding for ArtsLink programs is made possible with financial assistance from the City of New
Martinsville Parks & Recreation Commission, West Virginia Northern Community College,
WETZ/WYMJ/WNRJ Radio, Ohio Valley Online, and the Wells Inn.
Thank you to our members!
Shelia Aberegg • Academy for Dance & Theatre Arts •Charlotte Adams • All Valley School of Dance • Nonnie Anderson • Axiall •
Mary Ann Baker • Dr/M Michael Barnes • Elizabeth Barone • M/M William Barth • Janet Berger • Lucille Blum • M/M Duane Bohrer
• Bonnie Dwain Bed & Breakfast • Richard D. Bonyak • Neal Boston • Cork Bowen • M/M Earl Bowser Jr. • Miriam Brake • Rose
Bridgeman •Alice Bungard • M/M Harry Caldwell • Elizabeth Chandler • Jessie Coleman • Marilyn A. Collett • M/M Tom Daly •
Elizabeth Dean • M/M Robert DeFrancis •Donna Earley • M/M John Elson • Bruce Ensinger • M/M Lane Evans • Jo Fauber • M/M
Mark Fawcett • Paula Finck • M/M Richard Fonner • Jane Forbes • Dr/M Thomas Gilligan • M/M Stephen Glover • M/M Edward
Glover • M/M Fred Goddard • M/M Mark Goldstein • M/M Warren Grace • M/Rev Joseph Griffith • Grisell Funeral Home • M/M
Nelson Hachem • M/M David Harman • M/M Carman Harman • Gail Haught • M/M Pat Henderson • Ann Hendley • Kristin Hinrichs
• M/M Tim Hizer • Chris Hoke • M/M David Hood • M/M Bill Hughes • Jarvis-Williams Funeral Home • Mary Lou Jones • Ellen Kanz •
Sandra Keeton •M/M Lemoine Klug • Ms Jane Knight • M/M John Knoop • M/M Alan Krueger • Linda Kuenzinger • M/M LeRoy
Leach • M/M Clifton Lough •M/M Donald Macnaughtan • Mary Mahurin • M/M Don Mason • Carla McBee • Elise McIntire • M/M
John J. Mensore • M/M Doug Miller • Patricia Miller • M/M Rob Morris • Barbara M. Morris • M/M Brendan Negie • M/M Bryce
Negie • New Martinsville Lions Club • Lorraine Owens • M/M Erwain Peck •M/M David Pethtel • Joel A. Potts III • M/M Jim Price •
Ronald Redman • M/M Raymond Renaud • M/M Greg Richmond • M/M Don Riggenbach • M/M Brian Rogers • Bethany Rohrig •
M/M Dean Rohrig • Herbert Rothlisberger • S & S Diamonds and Fine Jewelry •Joe Semple • Sistersville Community Service
Organization • Barbara Slider • Donna Smittle • M/M George A. Stickler • M/M Ralph Strippel • Dr/Dr Ricaredo Suyao • Larry
Tackett • M/M Bill Talkington • ThistleDew Farm/Mountain Crafts • M/M Robert Thomas • M/M Rich Thomaselli • M/M Frank
VanSchaik •Eric Vincent • Barbara Vincent • WesBanco • Wetzel County Chamber of Commerce • Mary Beth Whalen • Joberta
White • M/M Frederick Wilcox • Judi Williams • M/M Daniel Witschey • M/M Bill Witschey • W.Va. Oil & Gas Festival • Tina Neil &
Terry Zuber
ArtsLink, Inc.
c/o WVNCC
141 Main Street
New Martinsville, WV
Non-Profit Org.
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
Wheeling, WV
26003
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