[RP TownTalk] ArtsFest2011 article

[Jeffrey Yorke]

Kandese Allen,

Here is a draft for the April 2011 Town Crier as promised by the Riverdale
Park Arts Council. We have a meeting tonight at 8 to workout some more
details so we ask to make some last minute changes to copy by midday
Wednesday, if possible.

Thanks,

Jeffrey Yorke for Emily Fanning. 301-502-1243



*RPAC-TCarticle2011  (756 words)*

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*<subhed>ArtsFest2011*

*Arts, Music, Food & Fun at Town Center, May 1*

*** 2nd Conspiracy, **La Tracicion Grupo, Brulee, Archie Edwards Blues To
Perform***



By Emily Fanning



Like blossoming forsythia in late March, the annual arts in Riverdale Park
on the first Sunday in May has become a true harbinger of spring. The fourth
annual event, ArtsFest2011, is set for May 1 at Town Center and will feature
dozens of artists and craftsmen, along with a slew of musical acts appealing
to the town’s multi-ethnic diversity.

                        Among the top artists expected to participate in the
free, day-long show produced by the Riverdale Park Arts Council are Town
residents Gerald King, Tina Van Pelt and Robert Kraft.

                        The festival, which runs 11 am to 6 p.m., also
features more than five hours of all-local, free music beginning at noon.
Wayne Brown & 2nd Conspiracy, a popular Good Times Rock ‘n’ Roll band, makes
its debut in Riverdale Park, where Brown has lived for more than two
decades. Also in the line up are Brûlée, a Jazz-Infused, Americana-Marinated
Alt-Pop four-piece group includes upright bass player Andrew Brown who also
resides in Riverdale Park. Another town favorite set to push the program
into full tilt is La Tracicion Grupo. The a six-member troop has built a
legion of followers enthralled by the band’s authentic and upbeat regional
Mexican rhythm. Members of the Archie Edwards Blues Heritage Foundation will
be there to keep Piedmont Blues and down-home musical story-telling alive
with performances and workshops

                        King, a life-long artist who spent 30 years as a
professor at Prince George’s Community College and who, as a self-described
image maker, King has spent a day or two a week over the past two decades in
the National Gallery of Art capturing each detail of paintings by the
realists including Edouard Monet and Edgar Degas, of France, and Americans
Thomas Eakins and Winslow Homer. Over a span of six-to- 18-months, King
skillfully copies the famous works, and, in doing so, says King, “I’ve
gained an appreciation for every aspect of that art.” The realists, adds
King, had “a mystical skill” that allowed them to produce incredible works
before modern photography set a tone with images.

            King’s skills have won him international accolades. In October
2009, he was the guest of Her Royal Highness Princess Areej Ghazi of
Jordan.” American-educated Princess Areej Ghazi had opened a school near
Amman and sought to “introduce Western renaissance and culture into the
curriculum.” King gave art seminars to the faculty and students.

<subhed>A King’s Brush

            Closer to home, King’s brush is better known for his adaptations
of the Riversdale mansion that he’s placed along the quaint banks of the
Northeast Branch of the Anacostia River, the charming Town Center and its
popular clock, and serene southern views of the river looking toward
Edmonston. Each portrait has a calming affect that transports the viewer’s
imagination back in time when America was very young.

            Van Pelt’s line of fused glass jewelry appeals to many tastes
and has won wide acclaim locally. Using a variety of Italian Murano glass,
American "Bullseye" glass, and beautiful iridescent dichroic glass, she has
fashioned a unique offering of pendants, earrings, pins, and other glass
pieces at very affordable prices. Her appearance, along with dozen of
artists who will be offering their work for sale, comes at a perfect time
for buying gifts for Mother’s Day, which comes the Sunday after the
festival.

            Kraft is an expert woodcarver, renowned for his detail in
carving waterfowl. His handcrafted wooden decoys have been show-stoppers all
along the eastern seaboard, particularly in capital of Duckdom -- Easton,
Md. -- where his works are much-sought after, prized material. Kraft’s work
captured a top-prize in the International Wildfowl Carvers Association’s
2003 California Open competition.

            Riverdale Park’s very own Elephant Art Gallery, which supports
the Thai Elephant Conservation Center will be open to visitors while Delvin
Fanning, Ph.D., Emeritus Professor of the University of Maryland’s Soil
Science Department and better known as “the Dean of Dirt,” will present his
popular soil exhibition and talk – it always generates a crowd of young and
old excited to learn what’s beneath their feet. Local gardener Marita
Novicky hopes to again present the children’s “Green Scene,” where
youngsters paint potted plants, turning them into cherished Mother’s Day
gifts, presented the following Sunday.  for the following Their works, along
with the products of dozens of other artists and artisans, food vendors
including Maryland’s Elk Run Winery, and selected local musicians’
recordings will be available for sale during ArtsFest 2011. Tickets for a
raffle to benefit the Riverdale Arts Council will go on sale April 14 when
the Farmer’s Market season opens at Town Center.



*Emily Fanning is president of the Riverdale Park Arts Council, producer of
ArtsFest2011, set for May 1. She can be reached at
**301-864-5561<file://localhost/tel/301-864-5561>or
OurDollMom at aol.com*

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*CAN WE PUT THE FOLLOWING IN A NEARBY BOX?*

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*Call For Artists and Food Vendors*

*There are still select booth spaces available to artists, and a few food
vending opportunities open for Riverdale Park’s May1 ArtsFest2011 at Town
Center. For details, contact
**301-864-5561<file://localhost/tel/301-864-5561>or
OurDollMom at aol.com*
-- 
Jeffrey Yorke
Yorke Property Management, Inc.
Yorke Partners
Jeffrey at YorkeRents.com
301-502-1243
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