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First Posted: 10/7/2014
An evening of art work. A day of stories. And another evening of awards. These are the things that are coming up for the 50th anniversary of the F. Lammot belon Awards Celebration on Friday, Oct. 10 and Saturday, Oct. 11.
The F. Lamott Belin Scholarship gives financial support to artists and graduate students of the fine or performing arts and elevates that person to the next level of his/her career.
The 50th anniversary celebration will begin on Oct. 10 with a visual arts exhibit and cocktail reception at the Skylake Gallery in Fleetville. Paintings, sculptures, drawings, printmakings, and lithographs created by previous award winners will fill the walls of the gallery.
The following artists, whose works have been held in prestigious private and public international collections, will be featured: Steven Alexander, William Chickillo, Vincent Cianni, Robert Griffith, Pamela Joesph, Earl Lehman, Karl Neuroth, Pamela Parsons, Robert Stark, William Tersteeg, Sally Tosti and Jason Urban.
The exhibit will run through Nov. 7. Local catering company Accentuate will provide foods and cocktails at the gallery.
The celebration will continue with a storytelling festival called “Stories,” which will be from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Oct. 11. Children can go to various venues to listen to a story or be part of a story. There will be Harry Potter readings at the Abington Community Library. The Devine School of Dance will get children to dance to the story of Cinderella in a program called Fairytales: A Story through Dance. The Everhart Museum will have a story program called Voodoo, which will have stories based on the museum’s current exhibition, Sacred Symbols in Sequins.
“Stories” also includes book art workshops including Book Making. Master bookbinder Hedi Kyle will teach children to make pockets for photos or calling cards.
“The Book Art Workshop will be exceptional, and will be an unique opportunity to learn this craft,” stated Maria Wilson, executive director of the Waverly Community House.
The celebration will conclude with a reception and concert at the auditorium of the Comm at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 11. It will begin with performances by vocalist Thomas Fallon, dancer Judine Somerville, poet Craig Czury and pianist Ernest Ragogini. The evening will continue with a premier of a short film called “The F. Lamott Belin Arts Scholarship Tribute,” produced by Greg Matosky, creative director for documentary films at WVIA. It is in collaboration with the Waverly Community House.
Next will be a special memorial tribute to Karen Blomain, who was a local author and poet, who passed away a few years ago. The memorial will be presented by friends and family members, including her son Brett, her brother Tom Blomain, Margot Douaihy and poet Craig Czury. One of her novels, “A Trick of Light,” will be donated to audience members as a gift from her family.
The evening will conclude with the awards reception. Mark Woodyatt will receive an award for artistic excellence in violin and piano, Margot Douaihy will receive the Karen Blomain Memorial Award for writing and Chala Janpraphasakul will receive an emerging artist award for photography. The 2014 scholarship recipient will be presented to Jason Blomain for printmaking. Blomain is a professor at the University of Texas, located in Austin.
Harry Belin, grandson of F. Lamott Belin, and his wife Susan are the honorary chairs, who opened the visual arts exhibit as a gift from the F. Lamott Belin Arts Trust.
“It has been an honor to carry the legacy of my father and grandfather,” said Harry.
Harry’s father, Captain Peter Belin, established the art scholarship to his father F. Lamott Belin, whose mother Margaretta E. Belin created the Waverly Community House.
“It is an important part of the Comm’s mission to offer educational, recreational, and cultural opportunities to individuals and families in the region, and it has significant impact over the years,” said Wilson. “It is a privilege to be part of administering this wonderful gift to deserving artists and to watch them flourish.”