Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1207650
WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM 22 UCW FEBRUARY 5-11, 2020 Hope Mills News & Views Meetings For details about all meet ings and act iv it ies, including locat ion where not listed, call Tow n Clerk Jane Starling at 910-426-4113. Most meet ings take place at Tow n Hall or t he Hope Mills Parks and Recre- at ion Center. • Board of Commissioners, Monday, Feb. 17, 7 p.m.-9 p.m., Lut her Board Meet ing Room. • Appearance Commission, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 6:30 p.m., Parks and Recreat ion Center. • Board of Commissioners, Monday, March 2, 7 p.m.-9 p.m., Lut her Board Meet ing Room. • Board of Commissioners, Friday, March 6, 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m., Rock f ish Camp and Ret reat Center, Budget Ret reat. Events • 55+ Valentine's Luncheon, Friday, Feb. 14, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Parks and Recreat ion Center, Communit y Room. Pre-reg ist rat ion required. Tickets are $8. Reg ister at recept ion desk at Parks and Recreat ion Cen- ter during normal business hours. • Citizens Academy Program, Feb. 11-April 2, 6-8 p.m. each eve- ning, at various locat ions. Learn how tow n administ rat ion, various tow n depar t ments and government works. Limited to 15 par t icipants. Fill out reg ist rat ion form at w w w.tow nof hopemills.com and email to jstarling@tow nof hopemills.com. Call Jane Starling at 910-424-4902 w it h quest ions. Promote yourself : Email hopemills@upandcomingweekly.com. CALENDAR Hope Mills Creative Arts Council to host meet and greet event by EARL VAUGHAN JR. NEWS The Hope Mills Creative Arts Council will hold a meet and greet on Saturday, Feb. 8, from noon until 2 p.m., at Marci's Cakes and Bakes at 5474 Trade Street in downtown Hope Mills. Elizabeth Blevins, executive director of the council, said the purpose of the meeting is to try and grow the organization's membership and to reach out to artists of every genre pos- sible to involve them in the council's projects. The goal of the event is also to connect with possible volunteers and contributors who can help the council jump start its efforts to share art throughout the Hope Mills community. The group will soon be holding a pho- tography workshop, scheduled to run from February through May, for teenagers. The goal is to hold other teaching workshops in different fields of art. Blevins said the council has created a dozen different committees dealing with an assort- ment of planned projects but needs more people on board to make them happen. "We are trying to increase the visibility of Hope Mills as a destination,'' Blevins said, "not only by incorporating art into the landscape as often as possible, but by providing opportuni- ties for the community and visitors to partici- pate in art in some form or another: concert perfor- mances, theater, art workshops, art shows.'' Blevins said art is somewhat of a foreign ground for Hope Mills and the council is testing the waters to see what really resonates with the local population and what types of art they'd like to see more of. She said the group would like to explore things like poetry slams, dance, basic writing workshops, anything and everything they could possibly cre- ate and introduce art to the community. "That's another reason for the meet and greet,'' she said. "You don't have to be an artist or inter- ested in volunteering. If you want to come in and talk to us, I would really love to see this happen in the Hope Mills community.'' One topic the council has been discussing is the creation of a Hope Mills choir. "We'd like to have our own group of musicians that would come and perform at various events,'' Blevins said. "Maybe just as background music, ambience.'' Blevins said one reason the group needs more volunteers is it wants the council to establish a vis- ible presence in town parades. "We'll need volunteers to be in the parade as part of the float, create the float and the cos- tumes,'' she said. "We are hoping to connect with art lovers, art enthusiasts, volunteers. Anyone that has an idea is welcome to talk to us. We want to share with them the ideas we have put on the table and the goals we've set for this year, hope- fully get them excited about it and be a part of it.'' Blevins said the group has had a pretty good response from local artists so far, but added the ones they have connected with to this point are all non-Hope Mills residents. "That is something we are hoping to change,'' she said. While the group is open to all artists from Cumberland County, they especially want to promote those with a direct Hope Mills connection. "If you're an artist from any genre, we want to talk with you,'' Blevins said. "We would be very interested in doing artist show- cases where we secure a venue for artists and put their work on display.'' Blevins stressed the council is not limited to promoting any one genre of art. "We're always open to artists, musicians, actors, anyone from any area in Cumberland County,'' she said. The council has discussed big projects like murals in public areas around town, but for now those are a bit too expensive to pursue. "Because we are working on nonprofit status and are a start- up, we don't have that kind of money right now,'' Blevins said. They are applying for grant money, and if that comes through, they will hopefully be able to get aggressive on installing the town's first mural sometime in the near future. If anyone has questions about the council's goals or the meet and greet, the email address is hopemillscac@gmail.com. EARL VAUGHAN JR., Senior Staff Writer. COMMENTS? EarlUCWS- ports@gmail.com. 910-364-6638.