Dining Out to Support the Arts
Every April for the past three years, members and friends of Delaware Valley Arts Alliance (DVAA) have hosted dozens of house parties around Sullivan County and the Upper Delaware River Valley to raise funds for DVAA’s programs and services. This year, their event is scheduled for April 21 and has been expanded to include participating restaurants. Arts Alive Fundraising House Parties and Savor the Arts - Restaurant Style involve people coming together for a common goal that will focus support for regional arts - and the DVAA. It’s a day to dine out for the arts. Those familiar with the DVAA might invite friends to their home for dinner and extol the virtues of having DVAA in our community, thereby expanding the network of support. There are 16 house parties currently scheduled on April 21 around the region, with numbers growing. (Technically, house parties may take place anytime, but most events focus on April 21.) If you think this is a fun way to support your local arts organization and creative community, just call the DVAA office at 845-252-7576 and say you would like to host your own event. Support materials are available. Fundraising parties may be as simple as
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Delaware & Hudson CANVAS
Delaware Valley Arts Alliance (DVAA) Communications Director,Tina Spangler, Executive Director, Elaine Giguere and Gallery Director, Rocky Pinciotti
barbequed beans and beer or as lavish as a champagne and caviar event at your home, place of business, or public space. It is up to you. Be creative, have fun, and introduce DVAA’s outstanding record of over 35 years of service to your friends and neighbors. For those not attending a house party, Savor the Arts - Restaurant Style has a wide variety of venues to choose from in which you can support the arts. From a dinner, a movie, and dessert to a distillery tour and tasting, several regional restaurants are partnering with DVAA to host their special event. For information, call 845-252-7576.
April 2012
Saakumu Dance Troupe in Monticello The Monticello Performing Arts Booster Club is presenting Master Drummer Bernard Woma and the Saakumu Dance Troupe The award winning Troupe is one of the leading traditional/contemporary dance and music groups in Ghana. Their music and dance range from spiritual, ceremonial, recreational genres to contemporary African dance forms. Their music and dance is joyful, expressive and highly participatory. Bernard Woma has shared the performance stage with renowned artists such as Maya Angelou, Yo Yo Ma, and Glen Velez. He has performed for international dignitaries and presidents such as U.S. president Bill Clinton, Nelson Mandela and Queen Elizabeth II. He was recently honored as the cultural resource person for President Barack Obama’s family when they visited Ghana. He is a cultural treasure from Ghana who has toured the world as xylophonist and lead drummer of the National Dance Company of Ghana. Bernard is an extremely dynamic artist and deeply experienced educator. His recent appearances in the US include a performance with New York Philharmonic at Lincoln Center, South Dakota Symphony Orchestra and Minnesota Orchestra, residency with the Ethos Percussion group, performances and teaching at New York’s African Xylophone
Bernard Woma Ensemble at Lincoln Ctr.
Festival, and various universities and colleges. The performance of his composition “Gyil Nyog Me Na” in the spring of 2006 at Carnegie Hall is a testimony of his musicianship. Woma is the Artistic Director of Saakumu Dance Troupe and the founder and director of the Dagara Music and Arts Center in Accra, Ghana. The event takes place on April 20 at 7:30pm, in Eugene D. Nesin Theatre for the Performing Arts, 22 St. John Street, Monticello, just off Broadway and Route 42. For more information call 845-794-6013. Dancers Opportunity Bernard Woman will also be presenting a workshop at the Nesin Theatre on April 21 at 10:30am.