West Haven Council on the Arts Presents “Westies”

This past Friday night, The West Haven Council on the Arts presented “Westies” to ten patrons of the arts who have been instrumental in moving arts in our community forward. The Westie is and award that WHCA designed to honor outstanding arts support and progression. From rallying support in government to showing up at art events, press conferences and City Council meetings, this first group of recipients honors the arts, the West Haven Council on the Arts and the people of West Haven through the creation of the West Haven Cultural Arts Center. Their support has been invaluable to the process of educating the community and growing the arts.

The event, Arts & All That Jazz, was held on November 6th, 2009, at the Savin Rock Conference Center from 7pm to 9pm.

The recipients were (in no particular order):

Bill Riccio, Editor, West Haven Voice
Thomas Reilly, Housing Specialist
Attorney Win Smith
Eileen Buckheit, Commissioner of Planning & Development
Councilperson Edward O’Brien
Councilperson Tracy Morrissey
Yale University
Governor Jodi Rell
Senator Gayle Slossberg
Mayor John Picard

The evening began with a cocktail hour and heavy hors d’oeuvres accompanied by Jazz music which was followed by a short award ceremony. Paul Scanlon, President of the WHCA, acted as Master of Ceremonies and spoke a little about each recipient’s contribution to the arts in West Haven. With the assistance of Vice-president Rosemary O’Brien, he then presented them or their representative with an engraved statuette. The event was relaxed and casual for everyone who attended. However, all were left in shock and awe when the final recipient of the evening, Mayor John Picard, made a presentation of his own, a check for $25,000. The donation was a gift from Bayer Pharmaceuticals that the mayor was saving as a surprise. And surprise, he did.

The West Haven Council on the Arts would like to thank all of its members who participated in making this evening a success. From our bartenders, Lucy Anne and Jeff Criscuolo, to our photographer, Caitlin Morrissey, to Barth McNeil, who designed the music selections - each member of the WHCA Events Committee that participated helped to make the evening a great time for everyone.

Photos will be posted to this blog as soon as possible. We simply wanted to take the time to thank everyone in a timely manner and to congratulate them on being presented with our first Westie Awards.

Arts and All That Jazz on November 6th

On November 6th, 2009, the West Haven Council on the Arts will award the first "Westies" to ten recipients who have been an integral part in supporting the arts in West Haven. Honorees are:

Governor Jodi Rell

Mayor John Picard

Senator Gayle Slossberg

Councilperson Tracy Morrissey

Councilperson Edward O'Brien

Eileen Buckheit

Thomas Reilly

Bill Riccio

Win Smith

Yale University

The event will be held at the Savin Rock Conference Center, 6 Rock Street, West Haven, CT. Tickets are $20 per person with cocktails and hors d'oevres to be served. For more information email the WHCA at artswh@aol.com or call 932-2102.

We hope you will join us for an evening of thanks and recognition.

Our meeting is now scheduled for Thursday Sept 10th City Hall 7:00pm Room B. Join us as we address the following items:

• election of new officers


• 501c3 status


• November event

Due to our participation in the Savin Rock Festival as well as Shakespeare on the Green, we were unable to hold our August meeting. We hope you had a wonderful summer and look forward to seeing everyone this Thursday.

Godspell Junior at Savin Rock Festival

The cast of Godspell Junior will be performing at the Savin Rock Festival this weekend. Come cheer on the kids as we take the stage at the following times:

Friday - 7:45pm, directly after West Haven Idol performance
Saturday - 7:45pm
Sunday - 12 noon

Our Friday and Saturday evening performances are 15 minutes long and will give you a taste of what we are doing. We are excited to appear right before the evening's main event. On Sunday afternoon, however, we are one of the main events, appearing for 30 minutes right before Infinity Project. In case you do not know, one of Infinity Project's founding members is Rob Granoth who plays Jesus in our production of Godspell Junior.

So come support the West Haven Summer Youth Theater at the Savin Rock Festival!

Godspell Junior
August 6th and 7th
7pm
Carrigan Middle School
20 Tetlow Street
West Haven, CT
Advance tickets $5 adults, $3 children 4-12 and seniors, 3 and under FREE
$7 & $5 at the door

Tickets available at the door, from any cast member, or by calling Paul Scanlon (932-2102) or Rosemary O'Brien (479-3522).

Amazing!

Let me begin this blog entry with a quote from one Buzz Lightyear: "To Infinity, and beyond!" That's how members of the West Haven Council on the Arts feel, right now.

Hot on the heels of learning that we received $194K in stimulus money, we were astonished and amazed at the subject of a press conference held in the parking lot of the currently empty, Masonic Temple building on Center St. On that rainy Tuesday of April, 21, 2009, the City was given a gift from Yale University of $500k in support of the Arts Center planned for the space. Mayor John Picard and Associate Vice-president of Yale, Michael Morand, presented the check to WHCA President, Paul Scanlon in front of a large gathering of city officials and arts supporters who braved the elements to witness the event.

Although the day was damp, the mood wasn't. Everyone present felt the warmth of a bright future with the realization that this project has support, not only locally, but regionally as well, from one of the greatest educational institutions in the world. Although previous ties to Yale have been mainly through sports and science, the university itself is a leader in arts education and promotion. Their gift and vote of confidence will surely help to change the face of West Haven, artistically, socially and economically. West Haven Cultural Arts Center will be the first arts related project for the city but , undoubtedly, not its last. To further envelope everyone with the feelings of warmth and hopefulness, Nicole Frechette performed an inspiring rendition of LeeAnn Womack's, “I Hope You Dance” for the appreciative crowd.

But the story doesn't end there...

On Friday evening, May 1st, West Haven Council on the Arts held a fundraising dance at Westwoods Ballroom, (the old IA Club on Chase Lane). The event had the dual purpose of raising awareness of the NEW Arts Center and money to support the performances, exhibitions and programs that will call this location "Home."

The theme of the dance was "Family Arts Night," because the Arts Center is being created for every family in West Haven and it garnered much support from The Democratic Town Committee, The Downtown Merchants Association, local businesses and private citizens who gave WHCA advertising space in their storefronts, gift baskets for raffle prizes and their presence at the event. The night was quite successful with nearly 200 adults and children in attendance. Congratulations to the WHCA Events Committee and committee Chairperson, Cathy Granoth.

We would like to thank local entertainers Michael Rea and Steve Miller for their contributions as MC and magician/ juggler, respectively and Ken Cox for his moderation of the craft area that was created for the young and the young-at-heart. They kept the "kids" engaged and very entertained. Our two bands, Infinity Project and Stars of Gold had everyone grooving all night long. Stars of Gold's appearance was a gift from the Savin Rock Festival Committee. (Thank you Ed O'Brien, Tracy Morissey and the entire SRF committee.) Thank you to Mickey and the entire staff at Westwoods Ballroom. (Mickey, We're sorry that you couldn't attend. We hope that your procedure went well.) Thank you to all of our Prize Basket donors; each district of the Democratic Town Committee, Nancy Rossi, Marianne Callahan, Rosemary O'Brien & Alan Alfonso, Infinity Project, The Granoth Family, The Murillo Family, Kevin & Michelle Davignon, Yale School of Music and The Shubert Theatre for your generous donations. A special note of thanks must go to Ms. Callahan for making sure the raffle prizes were as beautiful and enticing as they could possibly be. Thank you to Paul Scanlon, Cathy Granoth, Rosemary O'Brien and the entire Murillo family whose tireless efforts made sure that word of this event got out to the entire city. We are fortunate to be backed by friends and town leadership who truly recognize the important part The Arts play in growing a community.

West Haven Council on the Arts is dedicated to providing to the talented artists of West Haven, a forum in which to display those talents. Even though $700k is but a fraction of the total amount needed to complete the building project, it is a fantastic sum of money and is, in the words of Paul Scanlon, "Amazing!"

As always, we invite you to be a part of this journey. Become a member of West Haven Council on the Arts at any time by writing to us at artswh@aol.com or come see us at Rita's Italian Ice at 25 Ocean Avenue in West Haven (the Baybrook area) on June 17th. We will be there scooping ices ad ice cream between 3PM - 6PM and Rita's will be donating 15% of all sales between the hours of 12PM - 10PM to WHCA.

West Haven receives $194G in stimulus aid for arts center

The city has received $194,409 in federal stimulus funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for downtown revitalization efforts.

Mayor John M. Picard said the city plans to use the Community Development Block Grant funds, part of the government’s $10.1 billion Recovery Act program, to rehabilitate the exterior of the old Masonic Temple on Center Street for the future West Haven Cultural Arts Center.

The money will pay for various improvements to preserve the architectural integrity of the nearly century-old building, including a new roof and windows, the removal of an underground oil tank, as well as the re-pointing of the building’s chimney and other brickwork, said Ralph A. Paolillo, manager of the Community Development Administration, which oversees the city’s allotment of CDBG funds.

“This project will create construction jobs, will improve a key structure in our downtown, will support our long-range plan to develop the building as an arts center, and will foster economic development within the central business district,” Picard said.

The city also will use the money to restore the building’s columns and doors and to install security fencing and lighting.

According to HUD guidelines, the city, which received the grant award March 6, will have 120 days to bid the project and do the work.

Planning and Development Commissioner Eileen Buckheit, who supervises CDA, said she expects the project to start immediately.

The Masons of Annawon Lodge 115 sold the downtown building to the city in 2007 for $650,000, mostly financed with a $550,000 state grant. The 15,022-square-foot building was turned over to the city free of asbestos after abatement work that virtually gutted the building.

The exterior front portico of the two-story temple resembles the Greek period with ionic ornament capital columns with architrave and pediment details that continue as a cornice and fascia for the building.

Courtesy West Haven City Notes (March 16, 2009)

Bill #5918 Requests $1.2 million For Arts Center Restoration

State Representative Paul Davis (117th district) introduced a bill which will go in front of the State Commerce Committee this Thursday, Feb. 5th at 11 a.m. The bill, House Bill 5918, seeks 1.2 million dollars for the restoration of the Cultural Arts Center on Center street.

Paul attended Kevin's presentation in front of City Council in January and I see this action as a direct result of that meeting. Congratulations and well done!

Rosemary and Barth will represent us and speak in favor of bill 5918 at the public session in Hartford this Thursday. They will share the experience at our meeting Thursday evening, February 5th at 7 p.m. in the basement of City Hall. There will also be city officials speaking in favor of the bill.

I urge all reading this to contact your local representatives and ask them to submit testimony in favor of House Bill 5918. Mention the public hearing this Thursday. More information and local Reps contact information can be found at the following site: cga.ct.gov