The Friends of the Visual &Performing Arts are pleased to offer a hand building

clay class thisfall.

This class is for the beginnerto the more skilled clay artist. Learn the hand building

techniques of pinch,coil and slab to create unique and personalized pottery or

sculptures of yourchoice. You will finish your pieces with glazes, paints or

marbleizing techniques to enhance each individual project. The number of finished

pieces is entirely up to your interest and ambition. So wear old clothes and join your

fellow clayartists to learn new skills or hone you existing skills to create clay

creations as unique and imaginative as you are.

Artist Instructor: Suzanna Van Schoonhoven Hunter

Location: St Cecelia’s Church Hall

               26 Broadway Fonda, New York

Mondays evenings: September 27, October 18 and 25, November1, 8, and 15.

Time: 7:00pm-8:30pm

Registration:

                 Download PDF 

                 Online Registration Form

Registration fee:

$55 plus $30 studio fee. (Includes all clay,glazes, paints etc.) Total $85

Registrationdeadline September 22^nd.  

Fovapa reserves the right to cancel for insufficientregistration numbers.

The Friend’s of the Visual and Performing Arts’ 15^th annual Summer Music and Art Festival, held on Sunday August 1st, was a huge success!  Family members as well as many folks from the community came out to enjoy the “final product” of weeks of rehearsals and classes, and our participants didn’t disappoint. 

Our emcees, Sundial Express, got us off to a great start!  The Summer Jazz Band started the onstage performances with some great tunes, and then the audience was treated to some soothing sounds by Jim Traglia’s Caribbean Steel Drum Sounds.  The Jazz Band then returned to the stage for their second set. Mr. Greg Kowalczyk, Middle School Band Director at FFCS, directed this group.  He did a wonderful job working with a group comprised of a great bunch of musicians. Tunes performed included “Coconut Champagne”, “Groovin’ Hard”, “Minnie the Moocher”, and “Little Brown Jug”.

Several hands on art workshops took place throughout the day, including “Mono Printing” with Joel Chapin, “Collage” with Diane Wheeler, “Hand Made Instruments” with Mary Lou Baldwin, and many others.  There were also some open activities that many attendees took advantage of participating in including origami, face painting, dish gardens, and making mini kaleidoscopes.

On display throughout the day was art work created by our “Mosaic Creations” participants. Susan Ruscitto did a great job teaching students the three basic mosaic methods, as well as all the basics they needed to create some beautiful pieces of art.  Also on display were public art projects sponsored by businesses and organizations throughout the area. This year’s project was birdhouses, and our wonderful decorators were extremely creative.  Themes this year included “Tuscany”, “Dentistry”, “Americana”, and many others.

For the second half of our day, the Summerfest Concert Band took to the stage, directed by Mrs. Jessica Gould from Schoharie Central School.  Mrs. Gould did an excellent job this year as Concert Band Director. Participants in the Concert Band ranged in age from 6^th grade through adults.  You can imagine the difficulties that could arise with having such a diverse group, all with different experience and ability levels.  These participants worked very hard, and gave quite a performance.  For their first set they started us out with “Star Spangled Banner”. Other pieces included “Into the Storm”, “Party Rock”, and “Instant Swing Concert”.

Following the Concert Band was our first ever Summer Children’s Choir.  Directed by Mrs. Kathryn Cole from Middleburgh Central School, this group was comprised of students in the 3^rd through 6^th grades.  They prepared a wonderful selection of tunes that included “Dust in the Wind”, “The Frim Fram Sauce”, and “!Cantar!”.

Our audience was then treated to a spectacular performance by the Ernie Williams Band.  Ernie and his band played some great classic jazz tunes and were a wonderful addition to the festival.  It was then time for the Concert Band to end our program with selections including “Utah Beach”, and a song that has become a tradition for our festival, “Dixieland Parade”.

We’d like to give a big “thank you” to all of the parents and volunteers who helped make this festival possible. Also, thank you to the program and workshop directors & instructors.

Thank you to Caribbean Steel Drum Sounds and The Ernie Williams Band for their wonderful performances,  and to Sundial Express for their acoustic folk music and fun humor.

Thank you to the following businesses/organizations for grants and donations: Target, Montgomery County Youth Bureau, Stewart’s Holiday Match, WGY, Children’s Aid Association, C.T.W. Foundation, Golub Foundation, NBT Bank, Arkell Foundation, and the Fonda Fair. This event was made possible in part with public funds from the Decentralization Program of the New York State Council on the Arts, administered through the Tri-County Arts Council.

 The Friends of the Visual and Performing Arts are always looking for new members and volunteers. Please visit our website at www.fovapa.org  for membership information, program updates, meeting dates, and photos from our programs and events. We look forward to seeing you at next year’s festival, Sunday August 7^st 2011!!