October is National Arts and Humanities Month, and the Wood River Arts Alliance will join hundreds of arts organizations and communities across the nation to celebrate. The alliance will spread the message throughout the month to recognize artists, historians and cultural groups that make the arts and humanities a part of the Wood River Valley community's life.
Special events planned during National Arts and Humanities Month include a reception for art teachers hosted by the alliance and Sun Valley Center for the Arts, and The Center's lecture on Casta Painting, both on Thursday, Oct. 2.
The Center will have a free Family Day on Sunday, Oct. 5, and Company of Fools will present "Jack and the Beanstalk" on Wednesday, Oct. 8, through Sunday, Oct. 26.
The Sun Valley Gallery Association will host Gallery Walk on Friday, Oct. 10, in Ketchum, and in Hailey there will be an art walk on Friday, Oct. 10.
The Trailing of the Sheep Festival will take place Friday, Oct. 10, through Sunday, Oct. 12, and the Swing 'n' Dixie Jazz Jamboree will take place Wednesday, Oct. 15, through Sunday, Oct. 19.
<
In addition, The Center will host a lecture with Henry Louis Gates Jr. on Wednesday, Oct. 16, and the nexStage Theatre in Ketchum will present the play "Deathtrap" from Thursday, Oct. 30, through Sunday, Nov. 2.
During the month of October, many Wood River Arts Alliance members have ongoing classes and workshops. They include Boulder Mountain Clayworks, Footlight Dance, Nia of Sun Valley, nexStage Theatre, Sun Valley Ballet, Sun Valley Center for the Arts, Sun Valley Summer Symphony School of Music and the Wood River YMCA.
The Wood River Arts Alliance was founded in 1991. Its mission is dedicated to cultivating and promoting vibrancy in the arts and cultural life in the Wood River Valley through a network of arts advocates. The organization is chaired by Claudia McCain, with a membership comprised of 30 of the valley's arts organizations, individual artists and advocates collaborating to promote local arts.
National Arts and Humanities Month is coordinated by Americans for the Arts, a national organization working to empower communities with the resources and support necessary to provide access to all of the arts for all of the people.
This month-long celebration grew out of National Arts Week, which began in 1985 by the National Endowment for the Arts and Americans for the Arts. For details, visit AmericansForTheArts.org/nahm.
Koko Furlong enjoys the 2007 Wood River Arts Alliance Children’s Art Festival at the Community Campus in Hailey.
Photo by Kirsten Shultz
