Subject: Community Grant To Support Dances
For Immediate Release Contact: Janet LaBella (443-607-8873)
West River Improvement Association Receives Community Grant from State Arts Council
(GALESVILLE, MD) October 16, 2009 -- The West River Improvement Association (WRIA) has received an Arts in Communities grant from the Maryland State Arts Council (MSAC) to sponsor a series of community dances in the Galesville Memorial Hall. Traditional American contra and square dances will be taught and prompted by a caller and performed to live music.
MSAC's Arts in Communities is a grant program for Maryland non-profit organizations that produce or present the arts. WRIA was one of ten organizations awarded grants this quarter.
The first dance, on Saturday, October 24, is open to the general public. No experience or partner is necessary, and all ages are welcome. Activities begin at 6:00 pm with a potluck dinner. Dancing starts at 7:00 pm, with an emphasis on simpler, family-oriented dances. Later in the evening, more challenging dances are offered. The October 24 dance will have a Halloween theme and a costume parade.
The dances taught are principally from the Appalachian and Northeastern U.S., and include square and circle dances, long-ways sets, and waltzes. Fiddler Leah Weiss and guitarist Gary Wright, of Annapolis, will be the series’ core musicians. Special musical guests will rotate during the course of the year, starting with David and Mary Winston of Natural Bridge, Virginia, on claw-hammer banjo and guitar, respectively.
WRIA is dedicated to the principle that, by working together, residents of Galesville and the surrounding area can protect and improve the quality of life in the community, including the West River watershed. “A key focus is the preservation of Galesville Memorial Hall as a community meeting place,” says WRIA President Janet LaBella. “This dance series provides a wonderful opportunity to gather, meet new people, and engage in Appalachian dance and music traditions. We are pleased to launch WRIA's arts activities by sponsoring a living arts event.”
The series continues through spring 2010, with dances scheduled on December 5, January 30, March 27, and May 1. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for ages 5-17. All dances are at the Galesville Memorial Hall, located at 952 Galesville Road.
For more information about the Arts in Communities grant, go to www.msac.org.
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April Newsletter from County Executive Leopold
Dear Communtiy Leaders and Residents,
Please share this monthly newsletter (click
here) with your fellow residents. Take advantage of the Community
Connections Day, April 25 from 1-4pm at the Community Center at the Village at
Waugh Chapel Shopping Center in Gambrills. All county departments will be
represented and available to talk with you.
Click here for Community Connections Day flyer.
If you have a community event you would like posted on the county website
calendar or on the county's 24/7 local public television channel 98, please let
me know. If there is room, we will post it on the newsletter as well. You can
catch the County Executive's Week in Review on line at
www.aacounty.org/video
which has local stories and news.
Think Spring, think clean-up time in our communities. Many thanks to all those
wonderful citizens who clean up the debris and trash others leave behind.
Thanks to many association presidents who invited me to attend their meetings
this first quarter of 2009. It is always helpful to meet people face to face and
hear about their concerns. I am already scheduling for the next three months, so
keep me in mind for your next community association meeting.
Bea Poulin
Community and Constituent Services
Office of the County Executive
Anne Arundel County
44 Calvert Street
Annapolis, Maryland 21401
410-222-1260/301-970-8250
Fax: 410-222-1244
www.aacounty.org
Public Forum on Living Shoreline restoration project at Galesville Park. See AA County Parks and Recreation site at http://www.aacounty.org/RecParks/public.cfm for more information
Galesville Memorial Hall Update
January 2008
In the two years since the Hall renovation the Improvement Association has sponsored holiday and ice cream socials, parties, celebrations and meetings in the renovated space. In addition, the Hall as accommodated community yoga, private parties, wedding receptions, graduation parties, club and other organization meetings. Beginning on January 12, the Improvement Association is hosting a monthly movie night in the Hall where folks can congregate to watch a film in a convenient and comfortable environment in the company of neighbors and friends. The Hall has truly become the community meeting place envisioned.
As with any historic structure however, the Hall continues to require upkeep and upgrades. The final punch list items from the major renovation were just completed. The kitchen roof needs major repair or replacement, the kitchen counters should be updated, the gas pipes feeding the hall need re-design, air conditioning units are essential for the Hall's comfortable use in the hot summer months, and shades should be installed to reduce utility costs. All of these items cost money -- money not in the Improvement Association's budget or bank account. Initial estimates for the necessary work exceed $17,000.
Consequently, we are asking you to help defray some of these costs. Your generosity in the past has helped restore and preseve this historic building that embodies Galesville's community spirit. We are asking that residents and association members contribute to the Hall's continued use. Please mail any donations to the West River Improvement Association, PO Box 104, Galesville, MD 20765. On behalf of the Association, we thank you for contributions to the Hall's maintenance.
President’s Report
April 2, 2007
This report covers the period from April 2006 to April 2007.
Activities and Accomplishments:
After several intense years of planning, fundraising, and labor to renew Galesville Memorial Hall, we have been intent on enjoying it, as this list of activities shows: Several members organized a music and talent night late last April in which many neighbors from Galesville and surrounding areas participated. The Parks and Grounds committee sponsored a May Basket celebration and a tea afterwards at the Hall where there were photos of all of the baskets. There was the annual winter holiday social followed by a New Year’s Eve Party with music provided for free by local R & B band, Riverside Drive. We had an Ice Cream Social in the summer. We held a wine tasting in cooperation with Homeport and our annual fundraisers—a spaghetti dinner in the winter and the oyster and ham dinner and bake sale just two days ago.
The Parks and Grounds committee also purchased new trashcans for the park, and began planning for stabilization of the shoreline and other park improvements. They also headed road and waterfront cleanups throughout the year.
Project Oysters-West River is ongoing with gardeners getting spat each year and placing their year-old oysters on one of the two sanctuaries we’ve established in the River. There is also more monitoring of the conditions of the river by the project, private citizens, the Riverkeeper, the Department of Natural Resources and the Smithsonian.
A disaster planning committee was formed and has met once. They are concerned with putting plans in place plans for Galesville for any number of possible situations, from hurricanes to terrorist attacks. Mr. Terishinski continues to represent us at Police-Community relations meetings, and we had local police in this year to talk with the Board.
We held a Special Membership Meeting so all members could vote on whether or not to proceed with a defense to the appeal by Nick Bassford/Bill Woodfield, et al, of the ruling against a liquor license at the property. The community voted to drop the matter.
WRIA requested a traffic study on Main St. The findings were that the eastbound traffic speed averages 39 mph eastbound and 37 mph westbound. The speed limit is 30. Because there have been only two accidents in the last 5 years, the State Highway Administration will take no further action. They recommend that we urge more policing of the street.
You’ve seen the banners on Main St. and Riverside Drive. Joan Bell was the driving force behind those—she raised the funds, purchased the flags, and hung them, and changes them seasonally with the help of her husband Peter, Jim Day, and Brian Czarnowski.
A small committee reviewed the bylaws and recommends some changes. Copies were available at the post office, at tonight’s meeting, and by contacting me. The most notable change is to hold our general membership meeting in October, so that our officers, board, work and budget can all begin with the calendar year.
Respectfully submitted, Cel Petro
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