FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 7, 2017
Press Release and Photo Caption

TICKETS ON SALE FOR HOPEWELL VALLEY ARTS COUNCIL MARCH GALA

SALON REDUX PROMISES TO BE A UNIQUE, FUN AND CREATIVE EVENING

 

Upcycled Cyborg Woman by Sandy Bonasera

PHOTO CAPTION

The Hopewell Valley Arts Council invites everyone to their 2017 gala, Salon Redux, to be held Saturday, March 25 at Princeton University’s Prospect House. The unique and creative evening will feature live performances, distinctive food, local spirits and upcycled art, such as “Cyborg Woman,” by Hopewell Valley artist and resident Sandy Bonasera. Proceeds will help fund the many community art activities of the Arts Council, including four annual scholarships to Hopewell Valley Central High School graduating seniors. Tickets and sponsorships may be purchased online at www.hvartscouncil.org, or call 609-281-5887.

PRESS RELEASE

PENNINGTON, NJ – Tickets are on sale for the Hopewell Valley Arts Council’s 2017 gala, SALON REDUX, to be held March 25 at Prospect House, on the campus of Princeton University. The celebration will pick up on the Arts Council’s multi-year focus on upcycling, blend it with the European salons of yesteryear, and dish up a night of creative experiences tucked throughout the elegant mansion that served as home to past Princeton University presidents. In addition to reveling in live performances, distinctive food, local spirits and upcycled art, attendees will be able to bid on items made by local artists and artisans, participate in a community art project and get first dibs on signing up for exclusive events to be hosted by friends of the Arts Council in coming months. Tickets and sponsorships are on sale at www.hvartscouncil.org or call the Arts Council at 609-281-5887.

During the gala evening, the Arts Council will also honor Liza and Sky Morehouse, Jon and Robin McConaughy and Mitchel Skolnick for their ‘upcycling’ of the Off-Broadstreet Theatre into the new Hopewell Theatre and its contribution to art opportunities in the valley.

Salon Redux will be the Hopewell Valley Arts Council’s primary fundraiser and social event of the year. According to Randee Tengi, Arts Council co-president, the organization needs the support of the community to continue its expanding programs. “In 2016, we participated in or hosted more than 20 different events and, for a second year, awarded scholarships to four Hopewell Valley Central High School graduating seniors. We also held community focus groups to help guide our activities. We hope this fun, unique gala will give the community an opportunity to support us and help fund our future.”

Gala chairpersons Carol Lipson, Liz Bell and Heidi Kahme are working hard to give the event the warmth and creative flair that distinguish the Hopewell Valley community and Arts Council. Lipson explains, “We enlisted volunteers to handcraft the gala invitations and decorations—whimsical giant masks— from discarded materials.” Bell adds, “Community groups, including children through senior citizens, are creating a huge, fantasy tree to welcome party-goers into Prospect House. Plus, our salon artists and boutique contributors all hail from the local area. The Arts Council believes that art helps build a healthy community and that art-making and art appreciation contribute to the well-being of individuals. So it was very important to us that this event actually be a community creation.”

Kahme points to the organization’s last gala as an example of what attendees at Salon Redux can look forward to,“The community is still buzzing about our 2015 Year of the Ox gala celebration. We know how to bring the creativity and the fun, and we love to throw a great party!”

The Hopewell Valley Arts Council is a nonprofit organization dedicated to celebrating “art in the everyday” throughout the Hopewell Valley region of New Jersey, including Hopewell Township, Titusville, Hopewell Borough and Pennington Borough. The Arts Council has blossomed as an art-focused partner for many community institutions and events, and, through its efforts to cultivate art appreciation and participation, aims to nurture a vibrant and engaged community. The organization grew out of the 2014 Hopewell Stampede, a project initiated by a group of art-loving residents who enlisted local artists to decorate 70 life-sized, fiberglass oxen, many of which are still on display throughout the community.

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