02/22/2007
Category: News Article
RiverCulture looking ahead
Recorder 2/22/07
February 22, 2007
RiverCulture looking ahead
From the Recorder
KAREN CHYNOWETH, Recorder Staff
TURNERS FALLS - A village song, a concert series and a theater brochure are just a few things the River Culture project has in store for downtown this year.
Lisa Davol, cultural coordinator for River Culture, said the project has raised all but $1,200 of the $35,000 match it needed to receive the renewed John and Abigail Adams Arts Program grant. But, she said it still needs to come up with about $20,000 to do all the projects they have in mind.
Last year, the project created a walking tour pamphlet, commissioned four pieces of functional temporary art, which serve as information posts, and organized several art walks and musical performances.
This year, Davol said the project intends to make use of the new band shell and the recently renovated Peskeomskut Park. She said they are planning summer concerts with a double bill of shows on the third Friday of each month.
"We are looking to have some new music, interesting music not readily found around here," she said. "There is a lot of folk music and brass bands around. We are trying to look for something a little more offbeat."
The River Culture project is also commissioning a Turners Falls song. Davol said the song will be performed by the Montague Community Band, but will also be available for the local schools to learn and for any event that might call for a Turners Falls song.
A sculpture garden at the corner of Third and Canal streets has also been suggested. The space once housed a dilapidated garage, but the property was handed over to the town in lieu of back taxes and it was cleaned up with a federal brownfields grant. The garden would hold temporary sculpture installations to last two or three years only because the grant does not allow for permanent work to be done.
Artists involved in the sculpture garden project are considering hosting a workshop with local children so they can create a found-art sculpture to be included in the garden.
Also proposed are audio walking tours of quirky locations in Turners Falls. Davol said people will be able to make tour guides of their favorite hidden gems in downtown and put them at the River Culture Web site for people to download.
A creative economy conference has also been scheduled for April 10 and will provide economists from the state to come and see an example of a community using the arts to improve its local economy.
Davol said she is also working with Greenfield Community College's Fostering the Arts and Culture Partnership, which is helping set up spaces in empty storefronts for art exhibits in Greenfield and Turners Falls.
A brochure of upcoming shows at the Shea Theater will also be designed.
Anyone interested in sponsoring a River Culture event or helping in other was can call Davol at (413) 230-9910.
For more information about River Culture, go online to: www.turnersfallsriverculture.org.
RiverCulture looking ahead
From the Recorder
KAREN CHYNOWETH, Recorder Staff
TURNERS FALLS - A village song, a concert series and a theater brochure are just a few things the River Culture project has in store for downtown this year.
Lisa Davol, cultural coordinator for River Culture, said the project has raised all but $1,200 of the $35,000 match it needed to receive the renewed John and Abigail Adams Arts Program grant. But, she said it still needs to come up with about $20,000 to do all the projects they have in mind.
Last year, the project created a walking tour pamphlet, commissioned four pieces of functional temporary art, which serve as information posts, and organized several art walks and musical performances.
This year, Davol said the project intends to make use of the new band shell and the recently renovated Peskeomskut Park. She said they are planning summer concerts with a double bill of shows on the third Friday of each month.
"We are looking to have some new music, interesting music not readily found around here," she said. "There is a lot of folk music and brass bands around. We are trying to look for something a little more offbeat."
The River Culture project is also commissioning a Turners Falls song. Davol said the song will be performed by the Montague Community Band, but will also be available for the local schools to learn and for any event that might call for a Turners Falls song.
A sculpture garden at the corner of Third and Canal streets has also been suggested. The space once housed a dilapidated garage, but the property was handed over to the town in lieu of back taxes and it was cleaned up with a federal brownfields grant. The garden would hold temporary sculpture installations to last two or three years only because the grant does not allow for permanent work to be done.
Artists involved in the sculpture garden project are considering hosting a workshop with local children so they can create a found-art sculpture to be included in the garden.
Also proposed are audio walking tours of quirky locations in Turners Falls. Davol said people will be able to make tour guides of their favorite hidden gems in downtown and put them at the River Culture Web site for people to download.
A creative economy conference has also been scheduled for April 10 and will provide economists from the state to come and see an example of a community using the arts to improve its local economy.
Davol said she is also working with Greenfield Community College's Fostering the Arts and Culture Partnership, which is helping set up spaces in empty storefronts for art exhibits in Greenfield and Turners Falls.
A brochure of upcoming shows at the Shea Theater will also be designed.
Anyone interested in sponsoring a River Culture event or helping in other was can call Davol at (413) 230-9910.
For more information about River Culture, go online to: www.turnersfallsriverculture.org.
In celebration of the "Love Month" of February and in honor of Valentine's Day, Nina's Nook presents inspiring artwork by over a dozen artists. There will be sculpture, paintings, drawings, and ceramics that range from mild to wild on the "SSS" scale.
Local singer-songwriter duo, Chris Elliott and Lisa Austin have been performing together in a musical partnership across the northeast from Vermont to New Jersey since 2003. They tap into traditional folk with a modern outsider's sensibility. Elliott's songs reach for both scathing irony and genuine beauty, and along with Austin's blended harmonies, they are "two voices telling tales of love gone wrong and death done right". Elliott performs guitar and vocals while Austin adds energetic vocal harmony, guitar, 6-string banjo, bass, and percussion.
Robert Louis Stevenson's classic tale adapted for the stage by Ken Ludwig and performed by New Renaissance Players. The story follows Jim Hawkins on his unforgettable journey that starts with his encounter with the pirate Billy Bones at the Admiral Benbow Inn, and takes him on the adventure of a lifetime. This high energy show is filled with humor, action, and spectacle. The play features some of Stevenson's most celebrated characters, including the clever and charismatic Long John Silver. Like all other NRP shows 100% of the profit will go back to the operating budget of the Shea.
For this assignment, Hallmark students study the history of art, and attempt to photographically reproduce an original work of art. To create their image, students must study lighting, color, gesture and propping to analyze their roles in the original piece. Meticulous attention must be paid to the small details; the curve of a hand, the tilt of a head, the drape of a fabric. Finding specific props and understanding their importance in the overall image leads to a journey of discovery and growth. 
RiverCulture Director, Lisa Davol, participated in a cultural exchange to Hamburg, Germany as part of the 
The Strathmore Mill Redevelopment Project will result in the restoration of a picturesque brick mill complex and adjacent grounds to its place as a cornerstone of the community and downtown economy in the historic village of Turners Falls, Massachusetts. The Town of Montague seeks an innovative partner to serve as master developer for this unique redevelopment opportunity in a location that boasts both natural beauty and the conveniences of an urban area. 
RiverCulture is the proud recipient of the 2011/2012 
