Month: January 2016

2016 Membership Drive

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Greetings To All Members

The New Year is upon us and that means it is time to renew your membership for 2016 in the Marlborough Arts Center.

Your dues and support during 2015 have helped make it a truly memorable year. We reached out to you in February to share the Vision of an ART PARK, of buying the adjoining land at 225 North Main Street, preserving it in its natural treed state, and creating opportunities for a future sculpture garden, walking paths for en plein air artists, and even a labyrinth. This Vision could not have been realized without you, our members, along with other friends and lovers of the arts throughout the community and even beyond Connecticut, who gave generously to raise the $80,000 needed.

The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving agreed with the Vision as a progressive and worthwhile project, and awarded us a grant of $40,000 if we could raise the matching funds. And, in three months time all of us working together did just that: the land was purchased and this major goal achieved. What a life-altering change this is for MAC and for the future growth of the arts in our region.

Even with all the fund raising and focus on the future, we continued with a dynamic year of:

– various art classes                                                   – monthly “4th Friday @ the Arts Cafe”

– Judged Members’ Artist Exhibition                       – Members’ art exhibited at Town Hall

– Annual Students Art Show                                   – Dance Academy of Colchester Recitals

– Spring and Christmas Elementary School Concerts

– Arts Weekend and Sale

– month-long multi-cultural celebrations/activities Day of the Dead

Beyond our own members’ art, the examples of outreach and collaboration with organizations in the communities are a vital part of us being a regional center for the arts. And, increasingly, the Arts Center is becoming known as a wonderful setting as people rent our beautiful facility for special events. We hope that many more members will consider renting out the Arts Center when you have occasions to celebrate. We are indeed a home for the arts and “a place to be.”

None of this would be possible without the loyalty of our members. Your dues support these arts and activities. Any time you volunteer makes it easier to continue the work(s) of the Arts Center. As a volunteer non-profit organization we appreciate the time and skills of our members, so let us know if and when you’d like to be more involved by checking the appropriate boxes on the membership form. Then please renew your membership at the level you choose, mail the form with a check for your dues to: Marlborough Arts Center, 231 North Main Street, Marlborough, CT 06447.

Thank you for sustaining MAC’s present and its future. We hope to see you often throughout the year at annual events, Art Shows, “4th Friday @ the Arts Cafe” musical evenings, and many other activities now in the planning stages for 2016. You will find all the latest news in your monthly MAC Memo emails, in local news media, and by checking our website www.marlborougharts.org or calling (860) 295-9389.

Fran Terase

President, Board of Directors

 

 
MAC 2016 Membership App & Brochure

MAC MEMO TO MEMBERS, January 2016

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Happy New Year to all. The cold is coming and so are two events you’ll enjoy at the Arts Center. Our first 4th Friday @ the Arts Cafe of the year features Dan Stevens, internationally-known acoustical blues guitarist on January 22 at 7:30 p.m. in the beautiful Charles W. Hall Art Gallery. He has just won the Connecticut Blues Challenge and will represent our state at the International Blues Challenge on Beale Street in Memphis just after playing at MAC. He’s known as a story teller and will be playing some rare primitive guitars during this fascinating evening. Full details are on our website (www.marlborougharts.org) and in various news media.

Second big event is a TAG SALE fund raiser on January 30, from 9-1 p.m. Two years ago we held our first TAG SALE that was so successful we are having another. There will be gently used household items, except for clothes and electronics. Drop off times at the lower level of MAC are on Tuesdays and Saturdays during the month: Tuesdays: 1/12, 1/19, & 1/26 from 6-7:30 p.m. and Saturdays: 1/16, 1/23 from 10-12 a..m. Bring your items to donate to the sale and then return to find bargains for yourself. Items not sold are offered to the Food Bank and the Scouts, so your contributions help MAC and the greater community too.

REMINDER: Membership letters have been sent out and we hope you renew soon for the 2016 year. Just fill out the membership form & send it and a check for your dues to 231 North Main Street, Marlborough, CT 06447. A lot has been happening at MAC, and will continue to be happening , thanks to your wonderful support.

Dan Stevens at 4th Friday @ the Arts Cafe on January 22nd

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The Marlborough Arts Center, 231 North Main Street, Marlborough, CT starts the New Year off with its January 22, 2016 4th Friday @ the Arts Cafe musical evening featuring Dan Stevens, internationally known acoustical blues singer and guitar player, at 7:30 p.m.

Dan Stevens has been playing guitar since he was 16, and studied with Dave von Ronk who was known as the “mayor of McDougal Street” in Greenwich Village during the 1960’s folk music scene when Peter, Paul, and Mary were just one of the great groups we remember from that time and place. He has played throughout the United States, Germany, UK, Canada, and the US Virgin Islands, but now focuses on the northeast and mid-Atlantic states, travelling from his home in Old Lyme, CT. He also plays regularly in the New York City Subway system in locations such as Times Square and Gran Central Terminal. Just recently his career was highlighted in the Coen Brothers’ movie, “Inside Llewyn Davis” set in the Greenwich Village scene of the sixties.

He has just won the Connecticut State Blues Society Challenge and will represent our state at the International State Competition in Memphis on Beale Street at the end of the month, actually leaving the day after playing in Marlborough. Dan Stevens is also a collector and player of unique primitive guitars that include a 3-string “Cigar Box Guitar”, a 1-string ” Diddly Bow” guitar, and also a “Resophonic” blues instrument decorated with a 1953 Rambler hubcap. His performance promises to bring all of these unique instruments and their sounds together for a very interesting musical experience. He is known as a raconteur and lauded for the authenticity of his approach.

Admission at the door is $10/person. Doors open at 7:00 p.m. BYOWine with other refreshments available. The Marlborough Arts Center is a non-profit organization with website www.marlborougharts.org and telephone (860) 295-9389. It is housed in an historic building that is fully accessible and has ample parking.

FUND RAISER TAG SALE at Marlborough Arts Center

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A major fund raiser TAG SALE will be held on Saturday, January 30 at the Marlborough Arts Center, 231 North Main Street, Marlborough, CT from 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. This is the time and place to find bargains on gently used goods, everything except for clothes and electrical equipment. All donations will be utilized. Any goods not sold will be offered to the Food Bank and the Scouts for their community works.

TAG SALE items will be collected at the lower level of the Arts Center throughout the month of January on Tuesdays and Saturdays as follows: Tuesdays 1/12, 1/19, 1/26 from 6-7:30 p.m. and Saturdays 1/16, 1/23 from 10-12 a.m.

Bring your items at any of these times, then return on January 30 to buy “just the thing you always wanted” while helping the Arts Center and the community.

For any questions about the TAG SALE, contact Fran Terase at (860) 295-9619.

The Marlborough Arts Center is a non-profit regional center for the arts with website www.marlborougharts.org and telephone (860) 295-9389.