30 March, 2008

Looking for Artists & Musicians

The opening night reception for the Grand Opening Member show was a great success! Good food - Thanks to Chipolte and Diamond City Bread. Good music- Thanks to Manny and Deb and The White Elks Jazz Group. The food and music are gone, but the ART is still there for you to see. Much of it is for sale. The Gallery space is open from 12 to 6PM Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

The Heart of the Arts Gala is fast approaching on April 24th at the Wellstead of Rogers. This is a great time to mingle, be entertained, check out lots of cool silent and live auction items and support the Arts Alliance. This is our major fundraiser for the year and helps us to continue offering quality Arts Experiences close to home and at affordable prices. Also, if you are an artist and would like to display your art for sale at the Gala, you must bring it or pictures of it to 716 Main Street by March 31st to be juried.

Rockwoods Grill in Otsego is starting an open mic night and is looking for musicians interested in performing there. Give them a call if you are interested!

Have you ever wanted to teach a class or are you currently offering classes. We are starting a list of Arts Alliance members who are interested in teaching classes - whether you are a visual artist, a musician, a singer, a poet, a playwright or a novelist we want you! Please call 763-441-4725 or send an email to elkriverart@sherbtel.net

03 March, 2008

Join us for the fun March 8th!

A huge evening to celebrate the arts is being planned for March 8, beginning from 5 to 7 PM. This event will be the debut of our new storefront facility at 716 Main St, downtown Elk River and we are very excited about our new, roomy location! We intend to liven up the "art scene" in Elk River and we need your
participation.

Arts Alliance members will be having a show of their original art on March 8 which will be a feast for the eyes. In addition, on the menu will be burritos from Chipotle, delicious breads from Diamond City, and coffees from Caribou among other treats. Visitors can also enter drawings for prizes and will also be treated to live music by Manny & Debbie as well as ER High School student, Tyler Babneau and his small jazz/alternative group.

Come and meet your local artists and view our new location; we will be an active participant in the downtown excitement and YOU need to see firsthand what's going on here! We want you to know all about us; we want to meet you and hope you will plan on visiting often to be aware of what's new at 716 Main: rotating art displays, artists' gatherings and talks, musical ensembles, workshops, writers' groups...what would YOU like to see and hear? Give us your requests; your participation and suggestions are a very important part of this happening! We thrive with our memberships and volunteers so YOUR in put is very valuable.

After the visual arts festivities, we hope that you'll join us for the sensational Japanese Drumming Ensemble, MU DAIKO, at the 780 seat Zabee Theater, Elk River High School at 7:30 PM. This will be a fabulous evening for the arts and it's only the beginning! Come and help make it a success!

Finally, the Arts Alliance wishes everyone to know that we are greatly indebted to our community partners and, in particular, to the City of Elk River for their outstanding support of these efforts. Without all of you, none of this would be possible, and art experiences are more important now than ever in these months of cloudy national forecasts and the never-ending cold of the Minnesota winter!