The Clay County Arts League invites you to a spring performance of The Clay County Women’s Chorus.  The program will be presented at 7:00 on Thursday, May 13, 2010 at the First United Methodist Church of Ashland.  The Women’s Chorus will be singing a variety of music including spirituals, gospel, show tunes, and folk songs.

A full chorus of men and women, as well as a men’s barbershop/gospel quartet and a trio will also be singing.

The Chorus will perform under the direction of Linda Rochester. A reception will follow.  Please come out and enjoy a wonderful evening of music.

This brief history of programs of the Clay County Alabama Arts League has been provided by Linda Rochester, our Membership Vice President, in hopes that you will consider becoming a member this year.

VISUAL ARTS
Do you know some of these names:  Nina Faye Bonner, Alma Browning, Barbara Bryan, Carrie Lou Campbell, Mrs. L. D. Clark, Alice Cowan, Phil Cornelison, Robert Duke, Judith Hornsby Jordan, Mrs. Homer Hyche, Eleanor Mattox, Barbara Pace, Mrs. Avery Phillips, Mrs. Walton Phillips, and Bill Wilson.  These are some of the ground-breakers who brought the arts into Clay County in 1971 with an art gallery on the square of Ashland and plays in the county schools.  The foundation was laid to encourage and support our county’s artists.  Judith Jordan was the director of many of these early events.

“Through the Artist’s Eyes” has been showcasing local artists, for the past five years, as they exhibit their work at the Clay County Health and Wellness Center. Clay County has talent – painting, pottery, photography, wood working, glass sculpting!!  Exhibitors are: Dannielle Aldredge, Jennifer Alam, Frank Andrus, Dyla Carson Corinne Cox, Shirley Dawkins, Geneva Finley, Frank Foster, Jim Gasser, Toni Grossman, Jack Hadder, Danny Heard, Patsy Ingram, Pat Jenkins, Judith Jordan, Gordon Kendrick, Lori McCain, Tommy Moorehead, Jean Morgan, Ron Newsome, Dee Perkins, Nanette Perry, Kay Robertson, Sydney Saxon, Sarah Sparks, Carol Spivey, Launa Stan, the Robert Steele family, Bonnie Wheeles, and the 4-H school children from Ashland and Lineville. Dee Perkins is chairperson for this program.

DRAMA
Do you remember all of those plays and events put on over the past twenty years?  Here are a few:  A Christmas Carol, Purlie, The Wizard of Oz, The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe, Peter Pan, You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown, South Pacific, Grease, The Music Man, Wolf  Tales, Smoke on the Mountain, Covering Dish, Friends Forever, A Mid-Summer Night’s Dream, That’s Entertainment, Aladdin and His Wonderful Magic Lamp,  Off-Broadway, a Gala Celebration for the Arts, The Rosa Parks Story, Through the Years Follies, The Great Southern Satire, Caroling on the Square, Made in the U. S. A., and Rumpelstiltskin.  Ken Yates, Diane Giddens, Linda Rochester, Vicki Birdsall, Sheryl Bonner, Chris Carr, Kathy Murphy, and Lori Steele are some of the directors of these stage productions.

The Seasoned Performers, a senior adult theater group from Birmingham that has performed for the past two years at The Historic Ashland Theatre, will return in the spring. Elizabeth Moore has been the chairperson of this event.

MUSIC
Summer Sizzle has been entertaining Clay County with free outdoor concerts on Thursdays in July since 2004. The music ranges from gospel and big band swing to local mariachi and country! Even fireworks are provided after the program closest to the 4th of July. April Ice and Barbara Pollard have been chairpersons of this event.

The Arts League joined with the Clay County Chorus in 2008 in order to bring mixed choral music to the forefront of Clay County life.  Ken Yates directed the Clay County Chorus in a winter performance of Christmas music and a spring performance of Broadway tunes. In December of 2009, the Clay County Women’s Chorus, under the direction of Linda Rochester, presented a program of Christmas music. Plans are underway to combine the men and women again in the near future.

ARTS PROGRAMS FOR CHILDREN / TEENS
We have been educating our children in the arts through Arts Camp since 1995.  We specialize in training young minds to love, cherish, and participate in the arts.  Some of the classes that have been offered are in singing, drama, music, pottery, drawing, painting, and even cooking! Murals completed by local artists and the children have been created and left behind as gifts to local schools. Many children attend Arts Camp every year on scholarship. The number of scholarships available depends on grants and donations received from the community. Kim Crist is the current chairperson for the camp. Tommy Moorehead, April Ice, Jennifer Alam, and Linda Rochester have also been chairpersons of our Arts Camps.

The Arts League has partnered with the school system on several occasions to bring theatre and visual artists into the county’s schools.

Scholarships have given by the Arts League to high school graduates who exhibit artistic ability and are entering further education in visual or performing arts.

If you have been a participant in one or more of our events or if you have been a part of our audience, you already know that we are in a continuous attempt to reinvent ourselves.

We have four meetings a year; the first is in October. All meetings are open, and we welcome your involvement.  The location of all Board meetings is in the Arts League Office in the Ashland Water Department Building. As a member, you may bring suggestions and business before the Board by contacting President Barbara Pollard.  Please consider attending our events and supporting the Clay County Arts League with your membership.  Dues for this year are $15 for individuals and $25 for families and businesses.  Your membership is important, because every dollar we raise locally is a dollar that can be matched for grant funding purposes.

Please don‘t let this opportunity pass. Join today! Mail your donation to P.O. Box 696, Ashland, AL 36251. This is one organization that has worked hard to earn your support.

The Clay County Arts League needs you! Over the years the Arts League has played a vital part in the cultural enhancement of our community. We hope you will join us as a member.

We have four meetings a year. All of our meetings are open, and we welcome your involvement.  As a member, you may bring suggestions and business before the board by contacting Barbara Pollard at 256-396-6143.

Please support us with your membership. Dues for this year are $15 for individuals and $25 for families and businesses. Your membership is important, because every dollar we raise locally is a dollar that can be used for matching grants and funding purposes. We will continue to work hard to earn your support. We also welcome donations in any amount.

Visit our website – Click Here.

Barbara Pollard, President
Clay County Arts League