Pulling Down the Curtain on a Weekend of Art

May 4, 2009
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Artist Eric M. Davis stands beside his recently completed painting.

Artist Eric M. Davis stands beside his recently completed painting.

More than 1,500 people turned out for the Celebration of the Arts hosted by the Church of the Brethren, May 2-3. They celebrated the paintings, photographs, sculptures, woodworks, ceramics, weavings and musical performances by the local area’s talented artists.

 “I was thrilled by the turnout that came to see the wonderful art and performances exhibited over the weekend,” said Eric Davis, a displaying artist and one of the event’s organizers. “The combination of visual and performing arts is a natural one. Our community is blessed with an abundance of talent and creative spirit.

“We celebrated the arts!”

The free public event also provided free refreshments, including cold lemonade, chilled fresh fruit and the crowd-favorite, chocolate-covered strawberries, which were served at the artists’ reception.

The event was indeed a community-wide celebration, with performances on Saturday afternoon from Music in Motion, the Bonita Elementary Honor Choir (Heidi Bartley, Director) and the Academy of Music and Movement (Michelle Wheaton, Instructor) . On Saturday evening in the sanctuary, Shawn Kirchner and Ryan Harrison entertained the packed pews with their jazz standards and original compositions. Cellist Kyle Champion, accompanied by Christine Gendreau on the piano, performed a medley of short classical selections. The University of La Verne African Drum Circle (Steve Biondo, Director) followed with a pulsating and pump-it-up percussion performance. The Bonita Elementary Honor Choir, Music Express (Deb Waas, Director), closed the concert, singing several popular songs, including “Fame.”

On Sunday, the Bonita Jazz Band (Director, Jeff Bird) took center stage before giving way to the Adage Studio dancers (Alison Gladney, Owner).

When the curtain finally came down, art and the La Verne community had been served. Please enjoy the additional photos below. More photos will be up soon on the Celebration of the Arts web site www.arts-laverne.com

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