Arts

Hagerstown City Councilman Lewis Metzner attended a student art reception Dec. 15 for Romanian artist Elleny Pendefunda at Contemporary School of the Arts and Gallery Inc. in downtown Hagerstown.

Mary Singing, left, from Contemporary School of the Arts and Gallery Inc. in Hagerstown, taught an art class Dec. 2 for members of the Hagerstown YMCA Achievers.  For more information, call 301-791-6191, send an email to ronlytle3@netzero.net or go to www.csagi.org.

On July 14, Beatrice Moulin had her first solo art exhibit since graduating from the University of the District of Columbia in Washington, D.C. Moulin fell in love with anime, a style of animation, when she was young. She taught herself how to draw with guidance from her mom. In high school, she took technical drawing, which spawned her love of architecture. She recently graduated from the University of the District of Columbia with a Bachelor's of Science in architecture. She is the new after-school program director for Contemporary School of the Arts and Gallery Inc.

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of Music and Art in our Schools Month, Boonsboro Middle School will present the 2011 Celebration of the Arts on Thursday, March 3, from 6 to 7:30 p.m.   The public is invited to come see all the arts activities available for Boonsboro Middle students to experience. Activities and displays will include a student art and technology show, band, orchestra and chorus performances, and dance demonstrations.

SMITHSBURG — The Fourth Wall Film Festival, scheduled for 6 p.m. Saturday, March 26, at Hagerstown Community College, has been canceled. For more information, call Ashley Hutson, branch manager of Smithsburg Library, at 301-824-7722.

A few weeks ago, I wrote a column about the arts community being an engine for economic revitalization in downtown Hagerstown. Not only did the column identify the tremendous potential for the arts to create jobs, but it challenged the arts community to do a better job of coordinating its efforts, and to make creation of jobs at restaurants and stores a top priority. I received quite a bit of feedback from readers, mostly affirming my opinion. The arts are struggling for survival.

Auditions for 'Pure as the Driven Snow' CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. ? Chambersburg Community Theatre will hold open auditions for the melodrama "Pure as the Driven Snow. " Director Paul Keifman is looking for five men between the ages of late teens and 60, and eight women between the ages of mid-teens and 60. No previous stage experience or preparation is necessary; actors will be asked to read from the script. Auditions will be 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 6, and 7 to 9 p.m. Monday, Jan. 7, at The Capitol Theatre, 159 S. Main St. The show runs in March.

Three students from Barbara Ingram School for the Arts have been named regional winners in the 2012 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards program. The Alliance for Young Artists and Writers named Ty Fitchet a Gold Key winner for his photograph, “Broke Idea.” In the design category, Caitlin McPherson received a Silver Key for her design, “The Stroke of an Artist.” Receiving honorable mention was Esther Chin for her drawing, “Thoughts of...

Distinguished honor roll Grade nine - Jenna Becker, Belvine Foucha, Katherine Grahl, Kamryn Grosh, Olivia Gwise, Bailey Hovermale, Bryanna Luke, Mari Mullane, Kimberly Parr, Natalie Robinison, Paul Rochford, Fatma Sefik, Michael Snyder Grade 10 - Taylor Baer, Terra Cook, Taylor Cooley, Olivia Dorsey, Lucas Hanson, Corey Householder, Darina Kantsavenka, Angeline Mendez, Julia Muller, Giovanna Papa,...

Fifth marking period Distinguished honor roll Grade nine - Jenna Becker, Brynn Dao, Katherine Grahl, Kamryn Grosh,  Bailey Hovermale, Mari Mullane, Breanna Myers, Kimberly Parr, Alexis Williams Grade 10 - Joshua Andrews, Taylor Baer, Terra Cook, Ethan Goodmansen, Josh Hollin, Corey Householder, Darina Kantsavenka, Angeline Mendez, Giovanna Papa, Daria Ramos Izquierdo, Alexis Shank, Henry Silbert, Kaitlyn Snyder, James...

If you ask Eric Forrester, he will say barbecue is an art form. And Forrester, owner of Mason-Dixon BBQ Services near Greencastle, Pa., promised there will be plenty of art at the Memorial Day Pignic on Saturday, May 25, and Sunday, May 26, at Fort Ritchie. The inaugural two-day event will feature its own arts festival, a music festival, and three barbecue competitions. “Barbecue is very American. That's why people enjoy it so much. There are very few American forms of culinary art,” Forrester said.

Lots of folks love to quote the Constitution. The Constitution is the supreme law of the land. The document outlines the structure of our central government and frames the principle of federalism. Federalism is simply a political system that binds a group of states into a larger superior state while allowing them (the states) to maintain their own political identities. Federalism speaks to a common nationality and direct lines of communication between the citizens and all of the governments that serve them.

The south end of Hagerstown's City Park was full of the sounds of love and heartbreak Sunday afternoon as the Hub Opera Ensemble performed excerpts from an upcoming performance of “Don Giovanni.” The performance was the first in a new series of events, to be held at 1 p.m. in the park every other Sunday through September, called “Arts in the Park.” The events are being produced by a partnership between Historic City Park Neighborhoods 1st...

The choral performance of “This Could be the Start of Something Big” on Friday night by Barbara Ingram School for the Arts students kicked off “A Celebration of Firsts” presented by the school's foundation at Hager Hall in Hagerstown. The fundraising event featured performances by the school's seniors and recognized the work of retiring principal Michael T. Thorsen. Through ticket sales and sponsors, the performance-packed event raised about $30,000 for the school and the artist-in-residence program, said foundation executive director Mimi Dickinson.

It was a feast for the eyes, ears and appetite Thursday night as the spotlight shone on City Center's offerings of cuisine, art and music. Taste of the Arts, the third event of its kind in Hagerstown's Arts and Entertainment District, offered a dozen locations, with restaurants, caterers and organizations each presenting eats as well as entertainment, including the instrumental and vocal stylings of Barbara Ingram School for the Arts students....

Fill up on good food and fine art and music when downtown Hagerstown restaurants and art galleries host Taste of the Arts on Thursday, May 16. The annual moveable feast features samples of food from 12 restaurants, music performed by students with Barbara Ingram School for the Arts and art on display at Just Lookin' Gallery and Contemporary School for the Arts & Gallery. Karen Giffin, community affairs manager with the City of Hagerstown, said the organizers want to draw people downtown to have a good time.

My mother made me a journalist. And a musician, an artist, a poet and a playwright. I realized this recently while taking in an exhibition at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. - “The Pre-Raphaelites: Victorian Art and Design, 1848 to 1900.” My mother, Rosemary Bacon, grew up in a small town in Michigan, the youngest child of four by eight years and hugely creative. She studied piano and played the organ at her church. She drew. She sang. After high school, she went to Taylor University in Indiana and took art and music classes.

Michael “Mike” Gouker of Hagerstown has known since his early years that art would be a part of his life. “Art was the thing growing up that I could do the best. It was my interest. I told my sixth-grade teacher I wanted to teach art,” Gouker said. The retired art teacher and professional artist has been honing his craft since childhood and keeps looking for new venues for exposure. About three years ago, Gouker submitted a drawing of a sunburst to CBS “Sunday Morning” hosted by Charles Osgood.

I was never a “Kennedyphile” - lifelong southern conservative Republicans usually are not. Sure, I was a starry-eyed 15-year-old who understood “Camelot,” liked the pictures of bikini clad Jackie-O (as she was later to be called), and can recall to this day where I was at 2 p.m. EST on Friday, Nov. 22, 1963, when news of John F. Kennedy's assassination was broadcast over the public address system at Hinton (W.Va.) High School. I had just left fourth period and was heading to fifth period Solid Geometry (boy, I hated that class)