Thanks for helping with the Community Arts Celebration

Arts for Kids would like to extend a warm and heartfelt thank you to everyone in the community who took part in the fifth annual Community Arts Celebration held on Feb. 7 at Thunder Mountain High School.

Thanks to the many artists who generously shared their time and expertise so that children could make their own take home art projects: Ravenstail Weavers Guild, Mary Lou King, Kay Parker and Peggy Weaver; Alaska State Museum, Lisa Golisek and Elizabeth Knecht; Juneau-Douglas City Museum, Alysia McLain and Melissa Gonzalez; Tlingit and Haida, Dayna Focht, Stacy Roberts and Chelcee Chalmers; the Canvas, MK McNaughton; ceramic artists, James and Matt Voelcklers, Hillary and Joe Buck, Shawna Else and Alexandra Crowder; UAS project table hosts, Ricky Tagaban, Kiley Montgomery, Lisa Scott, Spencer Miller and Arielle Parker; local artists, Beth Handley, Abby Focht and Carrie Talus.

Thank you to district art teachers who hosted project tables: Elementary Art Specialists, Mimi Walker and Nancy Lehnhart; Floyd Dryden Middle School art teacher, Linda Vallie; Dzantik'i Heeni Middle School art teacher, Miah Lager; Juneau-Douglas High School teachers, Jan Neimeyer and Tom Manning; Thunder Mountain High School teacher, Marianne Manning. A huge thank you to all the students who helped set up and take down the event and who worked with district teachers to host projects tables: Rosie Jones, Tom Parker, Taylor Lehnhart, Abby Query, Ashleigh Gagnon, Kirstian and Kassandra and Nichole Eyre, Destry Hansen, Maya Parish, Jessie Dugan, Anna Thompson, Stacy Arnold, Kelly Fernandez, Jordan Dustin, Kerry Barto, Tinaya Harris, Amanda Gardener, Marlena Sloss, Anna Gregovich, Kaila Buerger, Krista Thompson, Sheryce Marshall, Alex Boone, Nikki Nelson, Elliot Nankervis, Aven Handley-Merck. To any students we may have forgotten to thank, know that your assistance was invaluable to making this event a success.

Thank you to the following artists who shared their artistic talents with the community through demonstration: paper collage artist, Sherri McDonald; wood carver, Dan Branch; jewelry maker, Anji Gallanos; wire basket weaver, Jenna O'Fontenella; cubist character artist, Arnie Weimer.

Community members and district employees pitched in to help make the Celebration a success. Special thanks to TMHS principal, Patti Bippus, the maintenance folks at the school, and JDHS assistant principal, Dale Staley. Heartfelt thanks as well goes to Susan Sloss, Jan Carlile, Roger and Eager Healy, and Steve Parker for pitching in to help in all ways needed. We were grateful to Jeff Brown for sharing his button making machine yet again. Heritage Coffee kept us buzzing with their generous donation of endless hot coffee and we thank them for supporting so many events in this community.

Warm and heartfelt thanks to Rie and Juan Munoz for so generously gifting beautiful Munoz prints to folks who contributed to Arts for Kids. All of the money received from these prints will fund the Senior Scholarships that Arts for Kids will be awarding again this spring.

Finally, to all the children and adults who braved the inclement weather to join in the Celebration, thank you for sharing your enthusiasm and boundless creative energy.

Suzanne Malter

Arts for Kids

Juneau