Artslinkwv's Blog

Amazing Raise Today!

Have you had a chance to participate in the Amazing Raise today?

Hosted by the Community Foundation for the Ohio Valley, the Amazing Raise is a part of the national Give Local America day. Beginning at midnight on May 2, donors may give to ArtsLink by going to GiveOV.org. The minimum amount to give is $10.While ArtsLink heartily appreciates your donation made at any time during the day, we’re hoping to focus our donations during the 10pm and 11:59pm hours to win the Final Leg Award (the most individual donations during that time – different e-mail address/card number combination). For those of you who are unable or unwilling to do this on line, we’ve got a Donation Station at The Supply Closet at 301 Main Street in New Martinsville, open until 5pm.

The purpose of this community giving challenge is to increase public awareness of the impact local nonprofits make in addressing our community’s social challenges, bring nonprofits and donors together, expand the idea of online giving, connect people to the causes that move them the most and, of course, make giving FUN.

Please help ArtsLink at www.giveov.org. Together we can make a difference!  #GiveOV17  #AmazingRaiseOV.

We’ll be using these funds to supplement grant funding for concert expenses.

If you’ve already given today, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!

FREE Concert Tonight!

Our 2016-17 Concert Series comes to a close tonight (Tuesday, March 21) at Tyler Consolidated High School with a concert by pianist Clipper Erickson. He’s very talented and comes highly recommended by our friend, Bruce Ensinger. Before I forget, it’s at 7:30 in the TCHS auditorium. This concert is presented for FREE thanks to a grant from the Stealey Community Fund. I’m excited to see him perform on the beautiful grand piano at TCHS. It should be very cool. For those of you who feel that you don’t get anything if you don’t pay anything, our fish will be hanging around with the refreshments and he’s really hungry right now! He prefers $20 bills, but he’ll eat anything. Also, Clipper will be selling and autographing his CDs.

Hope to see you all tonight!

Valentine’s Concert NEWS!!

Well, you’re hearing it here first, folks – The Roger Humphries Jazz Trio, our 2/18 Valentine’s Concert will be a quintet!! That’s right, instead of 3 fabulous musicians, there will be FIVE!! In addition to Roger on the drums, there will be fellas playing the piano, sax, bass, and trumpet.

If you’ve not heard, our Annual Valentine’s Concert and Dessert Smorgasbord will be at the Gold Derrick Gallery on Wells Street in Sistersville (next to the Gaslight Theater). Roger will be chatting informally with the audience at 6:30 and the concert starts at 7:30. And, there’ll be goodies!! We’ve got treats coming from The Fort and the IGA Supermarket in Sistersville and Marv’s Place in Sardis. I imagine we’ll have some special treats baked by our members, as well.

Tickets, available at the door are: for ArtsLink members, $10 Individual & $20 Family; for non-members $15 Individual and $25 Family. A Family is 2 adults and kids under 18. While reservations are not required, they are requested – call 304-455-2278 or e-mail artslink@artslinkwv.org.

Memberships for 2017 are available, by the way. The annual dues are $10 for an Individual membership and $15 for a Family (same definition as above). These dues have NEVER been raised; they’re the same as they were when the organization was founded in 2001! You’re welcome to join at the concert and take advantage of the member price! If you attend two Concert Series events in the year, you’ve saved the amount of your dues!

If you have any questions about this or any of ArtsLink’s activities, please don’t hesitate to give me a buzz at the office (304-455-2278). I’m usually in until around 11am every day. Or you can shoot me an 3-mail at artslink@artslinkwv.org.

Amazing Raise 2015 – May 5 for 24 Hours!!

ArtsLink is participating in The Amazing Raise Ohio Valley, an exciting, online giving event that will empower the people of the Ohio Valley to come together and raise as much money as possible for local nonprofits in just 24 hours. Communities across America will be participating in this day of giving.

The event begins at midnight on May 5 and ends at 11:59 p.m. During these hours, all dollars raised through the Community Foundation’s giving website, GiveOV – ArtsLink will be amplified through matching funds from a pool of local and national funds. “Our goal for The Amazing Raise Ohio Valley is to reach new donors and show them how important it is to give to local causes. We want to use this opportunity to build a new generation of philanthropists for our community,” said Susie Nelson, CFOV Executive Director. I hope word of the event will spread through social media and people across the country will be moved to donate to ArtsLink, the arts council of Wetzel and Tyler counties.

A Donation Station with internet access will also be available at The Supply Closet at 301 N. Main Street in downtown New Martinsville.

To learn more, please visit the foundation online at www.cfov.org.

If you have any questions or need additional information, please don’t hesitate to call me at 304-455-2278. If you’re uneasy about donating on-line with a credit card, call me for other options. Mark your calendar for May 5!!

2014-15 Concert Series Kicks Off!

It’s that time already – our 2014-15 Concert Series kicks off Thursday night! We’ve got a performance by The Montclaire String Quartet on Thursday, September 11 at 7:30 pm. The concert will be held at St. Ann’s Episcopal Church at 453 Maple Avenue in New Martinsville. The group is the Quartet-in-Residence of the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra. In addition to performing its own four-concert series in Charleston and recitals around the state, each of the Quartet members serves as the principal of the Symphony’s string sections. Tickets range in price from $5 to $25 and are available at the door. This event is sponsored by Libby Dean, in honor of Pat Block.
Funding for this ArtsLink program is made possible with financial assistance from West Virginia Northern Community College, WETZ/WYMJ/WNRJ Radio, Ohio Valley Online, and the Wells Inn. Grant funding from the West Virginia Division of Culture and History and the National Endowment for the Arts, with approval from the WV Commission on the Arts. ArtsLink is committed to providing universal accessibility wherever possible. Persons with special needs may contact us at 304-455-2278 to request assistance.
It should be a great concert – the program consists of works by Giacomo Puccini, Frank Bridge, and Robert Schumann (a personal favorite!).
For more information, give ma a buzz at 304-455-2278, or e-mail at artslink@artslinkwv.org.
See you Thursday!

ArtsLink and The Amazing Raise Ohio Valley

ArtsLink is participating in The Amazing Raise Ohio Valley, an exciting, online giving event that will empower the people of the Ohio Valley to come together and raise as much money as possible for local nonprofits in just 24 hours. The event is in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the community foundation movement and communities across America will be participating in this day of giving. Our local community foundation is the Community Foundation for the Ohio Valley (CFOV), located in Wheeling.

The event begins at midnight on May 6 and ends at 11:59 p.m. During these hours, all dollars raised through the Community Foundation’s giving website, http://www.giveov.org, will be amplified through matching funds from a national pool. The Community Foundation has committed $20,000 for a pool of incentive dollars and hopes to raise more through community partnerships by May 6. “Our goal for The Amazing Raise Ohio Valley is to reach new donors and show them how important it is to give to local causes. We want to use this opportunity to build a new generation of philanthropists for our community,” said Susie Nelson, CFOV Executive Director. I hope word of the event will spread through social media and people across the country will be moved to donate to ArtsLink, the arts council of Wetzel and Tyler counties.

To learn more about the Community Foundation for the Ohio Valley, please visit their website at www.cfov.org.

There’s a video contest associated with this activity, as well. You can check out and vote for our video at www.facebook.com/communityfoundationohiovalley and click on the Amazing Raise Video Contest link, or www.woobox.com/fssbw6 (for your smartphone!). Our video is the one with Larry Tackett’s friendly face – a distinguished white-haired man. You can vote as many times as you have IP addresses. For example, I can vote at home using my phone as I don’t have wi-fi – it’s a different address than my Suddenlink internet. And, I can vote here at the office and at the radio station. Don’t forget to vote every day!

If you have any questions or need additional information, please don’t hesitate to call me at 304-455-2278. If you’re uneasy about donating on-line with a credit card, call me for other options.

Mark your calendar for May 6!!

The Seldom Scene is coming!

Tempus fugit. I learned that terms years ago on a show by that name on the grand old Radio WETZ, The Valley Station! Anybody else remember that? It means ‘time flees’. I’ve been kept busy with grant business and fundraising for our upcoming Seldom Scene concert. We’ve got lots of local businesses on board, and more are welcome! The concert is on Saturday, June 15 at 7:30 at the Lincoln Theater. The concert is in honor of Norbert Ebert and the Ebert Brothers Show. These country variety shows just finished their FORTY-FIFTH year!! Wow, that’s pretty amazing. The shows were started to support the continuing existance of the Lincoln Theater; that, in itself, is noteworthy. But, that they’ve been encouraging and supporting local talent for this many years is just phenomenal. Speaking of phenomenal, our group, the Seldom Scene, is a very well-known bluegrass group. Their latest CD, Scenechronized, was nominated for a Grammy award and they’ve played at the White House in Washington. As most of you know, I’m a big fan of Gino Vannelli, and even I have listened to this CD, and, yes, enjoyed it! Also performing will be local groups the Battle Weary Band and the Tharp Brothers. Carman Harman will be our emcee and Patches the Clown may be stopping by to join in the fun. I mentioned grants earlier. This is our first time to participate in an American Masterpieces tour and I’m excited to tell you that:

The Seldom Scene is funded through the American Masterpieces program of the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation with support from the National Endowment for the Arts and the West Virginia Division of Culture and History. ArtsLink is committed to providing universal accessibility wherever possible. Persons with special needs may contact us at 304-455-2278 to request assistance. Grant contracts require this kinda stuff…..

Tickets are $13 in advance and are available right now at Witschey’s in New Martinsville. They’ll be $15 at the door. So, I hope to see you all there – call me with questions!

Where have I been?!

Geez-o-Pete, where have I been? Needless to say, ArtsLink has been VERY busy! We’ve got our 12-13 Concert Series under our belts and the major grants are out of the way.
We’ve got a VERY exciting concert coming up on Saturday, June 15 at the Lincoln Theater at 7:30. It’s The Seldom Scene, a really famous Grammy-nominated bluegrass band. They’ve played at the White House numerous times. Not the old restaurant on Route 2, the big house on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington. Also on stage will be The Battle Weary Band and the Tharp Brothers. This concert is in honor of Norbert Ebert and the Ebert Brothers Show. We’ve just go to celebrate their FORTY-FIVE YEARS of providing us with local and regional country and western acts. Keep your eye on the media and (hopefully!) this space for ticket information.
Exhibits chair Miranda Stokes is hard at work organizing our First Sunday exhibit for May. We’ll keep you posted!
As always, if you have questions about ArtsLink or our activities, please give me a buzz at the office at 304-455-2278. I’m usually there in the morning until about 11.

Go Green with ArtsLink!

Go Green with ArtsLink’s 10^thAnniversary by donating a little green to us. Be a part of our Annual Donation Drive!!

While we have not raised our admission or membership prices since our inception in 2001, artist fees continue to rise. In the upcoming 2012-13 concert series season, they range from $2,200 to $6,000. In addition, we’re planning a major fundraising concert featuring a renowned bluegrass band. We have applied for grant funding, but that will only cover 50% of the artist’s fee.

 Any amount you can donate would be greatly appreciated. We will certainly acknowledge your contribution in a mutually benficial way. Please send your check to ArtsLink at 141 Main Street, New Martinsville, WV  26155.

Speaking of our concert series, the 11-12 season is in the books. We had a great slate of performers and some fabulous shows. If you missed ’em, well, you missed A LOT! The line-up for 12-13 is even more amazing and we’ll be announcing that soon. Some of you may not realize that there’s an educational component to our concert events. Most of them take place in local schools. There’s no charge for the students to participate in workshops or master classes and a nominal fee of $1 for school performances. The money you pay for admissions (never been raised since 2001!) helps to pay the artists for these activities.

Please don’t hesitate to call me at 304-455-2278 if you have any questions at all!!