DANCE - FINE ARTS - MUSIC - THEATER - WRITING

ARTBITS by Richard B. Harper


VOLUME 8 * * All Arts News On the Web * * October 7, 2004

STUFF YOU SHOULDN'T MISS

      ArtBits always features a calendar of the goings on of Franklin County artists. Check out these events around Franklin County. Each issue includes the entire text of our weekly newspaper column.


      Stop in for live music and more at the Fairfax Music Sessions at the Foothills Bakery in Fairfax most Saturday afternoons at 1 p.m., at ChowBella in St Albans 8-10 p.m. most Wednesday evenings, at the Kept Writer in St Albans mostly once each month, at the Bayside in St Albans Town most Sunday afternoons, and the Cambridge CoffeeHouses at 7 p.m. on the first and third Wednesday of every month.
     These gatherings bring new opportunities, gossip, "show-and-tell" and occasional workshops. The booked performances and acoustic Open Mike Nights feature music, readings, and more from the best new artists in Vermont.


CREATIVE ECONOMY

      Manufacturing ideas rather than widgets could drive Franklin County's economic future according to Advancing Vermont's Creative Economy, a report released Monday by the Vermont Council on Rural Development.
      "Vermont's economy today is driven by businesses that are inherently creative," said Paul Costello, VCRD executive director and primary author of the report. The report found that It is no longer news that culture is big business. The New England Council (NEC), one of the nation's oldest business associations, recently documented that New England's "creative cluster" employs nearly a quarter of a million people, with an annual payroll of $4.3 billion.
      Between 1994 and 2003, Vermont Meals Tax revenues increased 38%. Rockingham's rose 120%. The Sales and Use Tax rose 28% statewide but 36% in Rockingham. The difference? Robert McBride founded the Rockingham Arts and Museum Project (RAMP) and brought the arts to town. That means the arts could well be the "anchor store" of any downtown project.
      The report has a statewide slant, but the recommendations have strong local connotations as well. They offer directions for St. Albans and all of Franklin County to cash in on businesses that rely on creativity, ingenuity, and intelligence.
      "There is a fair amount of momentum building" as agencies and businesses begin implementing this report, Mr. Costello said, "and there will be resources for centers in different parts of the state. St. Albans is one that everyone recognizes as a place with great activity and great potential."
      One of the primary ways to attract economic development based on creativity is to exploit the state's cultural and historical assets. Indeed, the report suggests that using a community's cultural assets is necessary for a creative economy to flourish. It is also necessary to attract and keep high quality employees in existing businesses.
      The report lays out four broad action areas for state business and political leaders to follow:
      Support the growth of creative enterprises through marketing, purchasing decisions and networks;
      • Promote and document the role that creativity, culture and innovation play in Vermont's economic future;
      • Invest in communities so they can build on their past while adapting for a vibrant future; and
      • Develop Vermont's creative economy through community-based planning and improved statewide collaboration.

      Those action areas have a special meaning here in Franklin County. Five key recommendations in the report give us ways to support creative enterprises through special events, marketing and Vermont brand enhancements, technical assistance, education, and by changing our strategic priorities.
      • Highlight the Creative and Cultural Life through local special events.
      The AAC will join other organizations to participate in the new Arts and Artisans Weekend that will coincide with the Vermont Open Studio Weekend. Museums can participate in the new Vermont History and Heritage Month. This column spotlights festivals and events around the County every week.
      • Develop a "Vermont Artists and Artisans" identity and marketing campaign.
      The AAC, FCIDC, the Franklin County Regional Chamber of Commerce, Vermont Handcrafters, and independent artists must join the effort for a Vermont Artists and Artisans identity similar to the new Vermont Forest Products logo and its marketing campaign. Salable, original creations by Franklin County artists or artisans will receive significant in-state and out-of-state marketing support.
      • Provide technical support to culturally-based businesses and artists alike.
      Groups including St. Albans for the Future and the AAC now provide local technical support to artists, presenters, and to culturally-based businesses. The report recommends increasing the annual appropriation to the Vermont Small Business Development Center to train technical assistance providers to work with artists and other culturally based businesses.
      • Reinforce Arts and Heritage Education.
      Area schools, existing employers, groups such as St. Albans for the Future, and the AAC must augment local community-based arts and heritage education. Implementation of the existing Vermont Framework of Standards and Learning Opportunities for arts and humanities is spotty; it should provide a "Vermont Content" curriculum for K-12 students in history, geography, arts, humanities, and culture. We can create partnerships between the area schools, town libraries, businesses, museums, service groups, and other cultural organizations.
      • Make Culture and Heritage local strategic priorities for Community Development.
      We need to keep Culture and Heritage on the "front burner." Resources for Towns include tapping the VTrans Enhancement Program for aesthetic improvements and downtown projects that highlight the work of local architects, artists, craftspeople, designers, and materials. Franklin County municipalities already have public murals and other accessible art, but every new project brings new opportunities. At the same time, a Leadership Education Aptitude Development (LEAD) project team is beginning the first community needs and arts resources survey since 1995.
      Community development is a springboard for economic development. Next week, we will look at some of the community development projects.
      Advancing Vermont's Creative Economy, VCCI's Final Report and Recommendations is available online. Click here for a copy. It is a one megabyte .PDF file; you will need the (free) Adobe Reader. For a printed copy, e-mail your name and snail mail address to Creative Economy Report.


ON STAGE LIVE

WESTFORD--The Fairfax Community Theater Company presents the Fall Show I Remember Mama starting tonight and continuing Friday and Saturday at 8pm at the Brick Meeting House on Route 128 in Westford Village.
      Written by John Van Druten and directed by Peter Harrington this play tells the story of a family of Norwegian immigrants in 1910 San Francisco. Will Mama's love and wisdom wins the day? Come for the heartfelt drama but you will walk away laughing.
      Tickets are available at the door. Partial proceeds will benefit the restoration effort at the Westford Brick Meeting House.


SHELDON--Grace Church presents organist Eva Hagberg Friday evening at 7 p.m. Ms. Hagberg will play works by J. S. Bach, Pachelbel, Walther, Frescobaldi, Telemann, Franck, and Agrell on the 1833 Henry Erben pipe organ.
      Ms Hagberg has performed in concerts in Europe and the U.S. with James Galway, the Drottninghom Baroque Ensemble, Capriccio Basel, and Musica Dolce. She studied the figured bass and keyboard instruments at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Basel, Switzerland, and organ, cantor, music and recorder teacher at The Royal Music Academy in Stockholm. She was born in Stockholm and works as a musician, organist, choir leader, and music teacher in Luzern, Switzerland.
      The Erben is a G-compass instrument of one manual and nine ranks, including a Trumpet and Cornet, as well as a "covered" Pedal clavier of 12 notes. The organ came to Grace Church in 1869 from St. Paul's Church in Burlington; composer and organist John Henry Hopkins, Jr. he wrote the words and music of the hymn, We Three Kings using the Erben at St. Paul's. At Grace Church, the organ was hand-pumped. It was restored in 2001.
      Admission is $12 for adults; $8 for seniors and children. There will be a reception with refreshments following the concert. Grace Church is located at 215 Pleasant Street in Sheldon Creek. Call 326-4603, e-mail or Click here.


      FAIRFAX--The Fairfax Library presents the Nicaragua Folkloric Ensemble on Sunday at 7 p.m. at BFA-Fairfax.
      "I know all the women and I've seen them dance," Elizabeth Griffin said, "and the dances are quite beautiful." The costumes are all hand made and decorated.
      The Ensemble is touring New England. They have also appeared at Marlboro College and Bennington. Admission is free.


CLICK HERE: ART SITE OF THE WEEK

      The American Literature Anthology Writers' Index at Sam Houston State University is a searchable index of 16th - 20th Century writers from Abigail Adams to Alan Ginsberg to Edgar Allan Poe to Elinor Wylie. Sorry, Zachary Zelazny didn't make the list.


FRANKLIN COUNTY BOOKSHELF

      ArtBits features a quick weekly peek at the bookshelf or night stand of the folks you know in and around Franklin County. That popular feature has a page of its own at the Franklin County Bookshelf here on the AAC site.


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      This article was originally published in the St Albans Messenger and other traditional print media. It is Copyright © 2004 by Richard B. Harper. All rights reserved. Archival material is provided as-is. Links are not necessarily maintained (if a link in this article fails, try Google.com or your favorite search engine).
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