There's a new book in town!
Arts Council Board Members who met recently to preview the new Brick Streets Press 2008 Winners' Circle publication are: (front center) President George Ewing, (back from left) Toni Wall, Caroline Hoff, Hazel Gaines, David Dykes, Pam Stuart, Jackie Breland, Janie Fields, James Anderson, Barbara Selby, and Charline McCord.
The 2008 Winners' Circle is the third publication by Brick Streets Press, a division of the Arts Council of Clinton. The book, a 6" x 9" perfect bound paperback with a wrap-around, full-color cover featuring Pentimento Books and Red Door Antiques in Olde Towne, is a special commission designed by Clinton artist Wyatt Waters to commemorate the Arts Council's 25th Anniversary. Waters also created the Council's first Olde Towne artwork in 1984. The 2008 Winners' Circle, edited by Charline R. McCord with graphic design by Peggy Jones, includes a foreword by Mississippi writer and former Clintonian Barry Hannah, and a dedication to long-time arts activist Gloria W. Dudding. Featured in the book's 252 pages are fifteen stories from the April 2008 Short Story Contest — the top ten stories in the "College & Beyond" division, and the top five stories in the "High School Juniors/Seniors" division. Also included are: a special feature on the "Life on the Pearl River" Ecosystem Mural created at Clinton Junior High School; photos of the seven winning artworks in the "Paint the Town" art contest; first, second and third place winners in the Senior Arts Scholarships Competition; Reflections of Past Presidents of the Arts Council; a listing of past presidents; Seven Compelling Reasons to Support the Arts; A Continued Call for Arts Advocacy; Acknowledgments; and photos of Arts Council officers and Board of Directors members.
Copies of the 2008 Winners' Circle are available for purchase for $20.00 plus $2.00 per book for shipping/tax. For more information call 601-988-8455, e-mail artscouncilofclinton@yahoo.com, write to P.O. Box 572, Clinton, MS 39060, or stop by Pentimento Books in Olde Towne. (July 2008)
The 2008 "Paint the Town" Art Contest
High School Art Contest Reflects on the City of Clinton
The Arts Council of Clinton invited all local 9th-12th graders to participate in the 2008 "Paint the Town" art contest. The theme of this annual contest required entries to reflect on the Clinton area historical sites, city landmarks, nature areas, and other community venues. This was a great opportunity to facilitate participation in the arts for local students and to encourage them to take a closer look at the features of the city of Clinton.
Clinton artist Wyatt Waters selected the winning entries as the "Paint the Town judge." It was meaningful to the students to have such a well-recognized and successful artist viewing their own hard work. Prizes of $100 for First Place, $75 for Second Place, and $50 for Third Place were awarded to the winners.
Winning artists were awarded their prize money at the "Paint the Town "awards event held Saturday, April 5, 2008 at the Clinton Community Nature Center. Participating students and their families attended the event where the winning artwork was on display.
Front row (left to right):Jordan Langworthy, Mallory Shields, Emily Nations
Top row (left to right): Jason Glaze, Josh Hale, Carter Brown
Not pictured: Joanna Long
The winners are:
Mallory Shields, 11th Grade: First Place Painting, Acrylic
Emily Nations, 12th Grade: Second Place Painting, Acrylic
Joanna Long, 10th Grade: Third Place Painting, Acrylic
Carter Brown, 11th Grade: Honorable Mention, Pencil Drawing
Jason Glaze, 11th Grade: Honorable Mention, Watercolor Painting
Jordan Langworthy, 12th Grade: Honorable Mention, Pen and Ink/Pointillism
Josh Hale, 11th Grade: Honorable Mention, Pen and Colored Pencil Drawing
At the Barry Hannah Writers' Workshop, Clinton stretched bigger, taller, prouder when former Clintonian and renowned fiction writer Barry Hannah came to town to help announce the winners in the recent Brick Streets Press Short Story Contest and conduct the Arts Council of Clinton's annual Writers' Workshop held at the Clinton Visitor Center. Hannah served as judge for the contest that resulted in two stories tied for first place in the College & Beyond Division. "Barry called and said here's the situation: I've got a tie for first place and I can't break it. What are we going to do?" explained Charline McCord, contest chairman. "I said, well, if you feel strongly about it, we're going to have two first place winners. I wouldn't take that honor away from either one of them." Hannah, who runs the MFA program in Creative Writing at the University of Mississippi, and who has taught fiction writing in colleges and universities all over the South, commented that both first place stories were good enough to be published in the Atlantic Monthly, and that the other three stories in the top five only needed some minor revisions before they went to the Monthly as well.
Winners in the High School Junior/Senior Division of the Brick Streets Press Short Story Contest include (from left) Abigail Hardin of Clinton, honorable mention; Clara Martin of Jackson, first place; Elaine Ragland of Madison, third place. Not pictured are Margaret Elizabeth Sullivan of Jackson, second place; and Susannah Barkley of Madison, honorable mention.
First place winners were invited to read their stories to the workshop audience. Winners in the High School Junior/Senior division were as follows: Clara Martin of Jackson, first place and $100 for "The Summer Between Eugenia and Jefferson"; Margaret Elizabeth Sullivan of Jackson, second place and $75 for "The Daddy Syndrome"; Elaine Ragland of Madison, third place and $50 for "Coffee for One"; Abigail Hardin of Clinton, honorable mention certificate for "Press"; and Susannah Barkley of Madison, honorable mention certificate for "Elevator Doors."
Winners in the College & Beyond Division of the Brick Streets Press Short Story Contest include (from left) Richelle Putnam of Meridian, third place; Judy Tucker of Jackson, second place; Dorothy Shawhan of Cleveland, First Place Tie; and Michael F. Smith of Columbus, First Place Tie. Not pictured is David McLendon of Robbins, NC, honorable mention.
Winners in the College & Beyond Division were as follows: Michael F. Smith of Columbus, first place tie and $250 for "Chasing Rabbits"; Dorothy Shawhan of Cleveland, first place tie and $250 for "One of the Things I Hold Against Jesus"; Judy H. Tucker of Jackson, second place and $125 for "June 21"; Richelle Putnam of Meridian, third place and $75 for "You Can't Go Back"; David McLendon of Robbins, NC, honorable mention certificate for "A Small Burning Abundance."
Hannah addressed a full house of about eighty people at the event, telling them a short story writer has to be a poet at heart and a lover of music who understands the flow of words and the need to make every word count toward achieving forward movement in the story. McCord said the winning stories, as well as some of the finalists, will be published in the Arts Council's upcoming Brick Streets Press Winners' Circle book coming in June. Books can be preordered for $16 plus $2 shipping by visiting www.artscouncilofclinton.org or calling 601-988-8455. (March 8, 2008)
The 2007 "Taste of the Arts" was a flavorful success! On November 3, 2007 the Arts Council of Clinton held it's 25th Anniversary "Taste of the Arts" Membership Drive at the Clinton Visitor Center. Wyatt Waters and Robert St. John signed copies of their Southern Seasons Cookbook. New members, old members and guests enjoyed culinary delights prepared from recipes in the 25th Anniversary cookbook, 2007 Taste of the Arts, produced by the Arts Council and published by Brick Streets Press, a division of the Arts Council of Clinton. Pictured L to R: Janie Fields, George Ewing, Libby Aydelott, Peggy Jones, Charline McCord, and Charlotte Carlton.
(November 3, 2007)
See more more photos of the Taste of the Arts.
On October 6, 2007, the Arts Council of Clinton was Flippin' for the Arts with a pancake breakfast sponsored by Applebee's of Clinton. We would like to give special thanks to Lynn Nettles, Deanna Mays and their incredible staff at Applebee's for making this event possible with their devotion to and support of the arts.
(October 6, 2007)
See more more photos of Flippin' for the Arts.
(L to R) Jason Woodcock, Clinton Junior High School Science teacher, Charline McCord of the Arts Council, Anthony Goins, principal of CJHS, and artist Robin Whitfield make plans for the Pearl River Ecosystem Mural to be created on October 19-21 at CJHS by art and science students under the guidance of Robin Whitfield. Sponsors of the mural are the Mississippi Arts Commission, the National Endowment for the Arts, Entergy, the Roland Wall family, the Pearl River Basin Coalition, the Mississippi Wildlife Federation, Neil King/State Farm, Dairy Queen of Clinton, Carpet Designs, and McAlister's Gourmet Deli. (September 29, 2007)
See photos of the mural during various stages of completion.
The "Fall for Clinton" weekend began about 7:30 p.m. on Friday, September 28 with the Arts Council of Clinton's Flicks on the Bricks' showing of Gulliver's Travels.
Special thanks to Wyatt Waters for the creative use of his motor home!
(September 28, 2007)
See more more photos of Flicks on the Bricks.
Members of the Arts Council of Clinton, Inc., recently attended the Legislative Budget Committee Hearing at the Woolfolk State Office Building to lend their support for additional funding for the arts across Mississippi. Council members are (l to r): Peggy Jones, Janie Fields, George Ewing, III, Libby Aydelott, and Charline McCord. (September 25, 2007)
"Flicks on the Bricks" featured Elvis Presley in Blue Hawaii on Friday, August 24, 7:30 p.m.
The Arts Council of Clinton, in collaboration with Crossroads Films and Merchants and Planters Bank, commemorated the 30th Anniversary of Elvis Presley's death by sponsoring the outdoor movie BLUE HAWAII at "Flicks on the Bricks" on Friday, August 24. The movie started at approximately 7:30-8:00 p.m. on Jefferson Street in Olde Towne, in front of Wyatt Waters' Gallery. Admission was free, with donations accepted by the Arts Council for promotion of the arts. Concessions were available for purchase. The event was complete with an Elvis sighting at this open-air event on the historic brick streets. (photo courtesy of Clinton News)
Changing of the Guard
Incoming President Barbara Selby (left) presents
plaque to outgoing President Charline McCord (right) at the Arts Council's recent
Annual Membership meeting held on June 25, 2007.
24th Annual Brick Streets FINE ARTS Festival
Fifty fine artisans set up shop on the Brick Streets of Olde Towne and enjoyed an excellent turnout of festival goers. The weather was perfect and the sounds of mellow music by our own Ralph Miller filled the air. Lynn Nettles and his crew from Applebee's fed the crowd with fine food and fruit smoothies in our French Market style outdoor cafe.
See more more photos of the festival.
See photos of Kid's Street 2007.
Polly Marshall of Raymond wins the original watercolor painting by Bob Dunaway comissioned by the Council for this year's festival design. Arts Council President Charline McCord presents the painting to Polly at the close of the festival.
(May 5, 2007)
"Flicks on the Bricks" Kicks off Festival! On Friday, May 4, 2007, the Arts Council kicked off it's 24th Annual Brick Streets FINE ARTS Festival with the outdoor movie Tea with Mussolini on the historic brick streets of Olde Towne Clinton. Admission was free, and concessions were plentiful, as movie goers relaxed in their lawn chairs and enjoyed the movie under the cool night breezes. (May 4, 2007)
Arts Council Board members gathered recently to examine the first shipment
of their new Brick Streets Press publication, "Mississippi's Got Talent!"—
The 2007 Winners' Circle. Members from left are front row: Toni Wall,
Charline McCord, Peggy Jones, Freda Hartness, Hazel Gaines, La'Verne Edney;
back row: Ralph Miller, Flo Merritt, Jackie Breland, George Ewing, Wyatt
Waters, Libby Aydelott, Barbara Selby, Jenae Heep, and Janie Fields.
The Arts Council of Clinton announces the creation of a new division, Brick
Streets Press, and the publication of the Press' first book entitled
"Mississippi's Got Talent!"—The 2007 Winners' Circle. "Initially, we
wanted to publish the winners of our short story contest," said Arts Council
President Charline McCord, "so we needed a publishing arm to accomplish
that. Then we decided to expand our first volume and include the winners of
all four contests we conducted this year—writing, art, talent, and
scholarship. We're proud of these winners and we wanted to spotlight them
and record their achievements in a permanent way. So we've created a
publication that we can repeat annually to showcase our contest winners."
The book is a 140-page, 6" x 9" perfect bound paperback that features Bob
Dunaway's 2007 Brick Streets FINE ARTS Festival design in full-color on the
front cover, and the top three winning artworks by Mallory Shields, Jessica
Miller and Christi Positan in the "Paint the Town" art contest on the back
cover. The book is dedicated to long-time Arts Council board member and
treasurer Barbara S. Neal, and features a foreword by Mississippi writer
Carolyn Haines, who led a Clinton writers' workshop in March and also judged
the Arts Council's 2007 short story contest. All nine winning short stories
are included in the publication, as well as photos of eight winning
artworks, the four talent winners, and the three scholarship recipients.
Copies of the book are available now for $15.00 plus $1.50 per book for shipping. For more
information call 601-988-8455 or write to P.O. Box 572, Clinton, MS 39060. (May 2007)
The Arts Council's scholarship winners for 2007 are a diverse group – shown from left to right, Lynn Denton, third place for her talent playing the bassoon; Joy Jones, first place for dance performance; and Christi Positan, second
place for visual art. We congratulate each of these artists and wish them the best of luck as they go on to
greater challenges in the pursuit of higher education and their respective
arts. (May 2007)
Elvis Presley and B.B. King, Eudora Welty and William Faulkner, Morgan
Freeman and Sela Ward, Walter Anderson and Kathy Thibodeaux—we've always
known Mississippians were leading the talent pack, and we proved it yet
again when we put out a call for entries in the Arts Council's
"Mississippi's Got Talent!" Contest. On Saturday, March 31, contestants
filed into the old Clinton Junior High School auditorium, street clothes
gave way to costumes, and dancers, singers, drummers and guitar players took
to the stage and thrilled both the audience and the judges with such
renditions as "The Greatest Love of All," "You Raised Me Up," "Diva's
Lament," and "Good Morning Baltimore." Excitement mounted as the Arts
Council's "Price Waterhouse" team of Jenae Heep and La'Verne Edney tallied
the judges' score sheets and announced the top three competitors. After a
second round of performances by the top 3 finalists, the audience stepped
into the judges' shoes, casting their votes to determine the ranking for
first, second, and third place winners. It was a big night full of big
voices, big entertainment, and big applause. At the end of the evening,
Cherita Brent, who sang "The Greastest Love of All" and accompanied herself
on the drums, took home the top prize of $500 along with a plaque
commemorating her outstanding success. Trey Finch sang his way to the second
place honor of $250 with "You Raised Me Up," and the fancy footwork of
cloggers Angie Miller and Karah Purvis netted them a third place check for
$100. It was an inspiring and fun-filled evening, watching Mississippians
from 13 to 33 do what they do best—prove that they've got talent!
See more photos from this event. (March 31, 2007)
On Tuesday, March 20, 2007, Arts Council Board members Libby Aydelott, Wyatt
Waters, and Charline McCord participated in the Mississippi Arts
Commission's
"Day at the Capitol," a gathering to demonstrate to state
lawmakers how much support there is for the arts in Mississippi, and to
advocate for the approval of Mississippi Arts Commission Director Malcolm
White's request for an increase of $850,000 for the arts for the coming
budget year.
(March 20, 2007)
Carolyn Haines signs copies of her books before the Carolyn Haines Writers' Workshop & Awards Reception begins. A full house turned out to hear Carolyn, author of such outstanding works as: Fever Moon, Penumbra, Bones to Pick, Touched, Summer of the Redeemers, My Mother's Witness, and many more.
Read more about Carolyn and her books at www.carolynhaines.com
Winners were announced and prizes awarded for the Arts Council's Short Story Writing Contest and "Paint the Town" Art Contest. See more photos from these events. (March 3, 2007)
The Arts Council of Clinton's "Bike Squad" braved the cold to sport their decorated bikes in the 2006 Christmas Parade sponsored by the Clinton Chamber of Commerce and the City of Clinton. Council Board Members Wyatt Waters, Peggy Jones, Richard Jones and Charlotte Carlton were accompanied by other bikers that turned out to celebrate in this festive event. (December 2, 2006)
The Arts Council of Clinton's first in a series of outdoor films in Olde
Towne, aptly titled "Flicks on the Bricks," was an outstanding success.
Jefferson Street became the "walking area" proposed by the recent Clinton
Charrette, as some 135 moviegoers—high school students, MC students,
parents with children, retired couples, and curious dogs and cats—strolled
in from all directions. They brought lawn chairs, stadium chairs, even a
couple of cots. They brought coffee, dinner, dessert, friends, heavy coats,
and blankets, and they lined up to buy cokes and popcorn scooped from a
spider-covered tub. Some wore nighttime apparrel—pajamas, robes, and
houseshoes, while the fearless appeared in shorts, t-shirts, and flip flops.
As a medley of songs related to birds played in the background, participants
staked out a spot and set up camp. The historic brick streets of Olde Towne
were quickly transformed into an open air theatre, as viewers of varying
sizes and generations settled in together for an evening of big screen fun
in the heart and living room of Clinton.
The weather was brisk fall, with a quarter moon dangling in the night sky,
birds chirping in the trees, and trains howling in the distance. Arts
Council Board member Wyatt Waters introduced the evening's fare, opening
with the cartoon "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown," followed by the
main attraction, Alfred Hitchcock's classic "The Birds." There was
laughter, spellbinding quiet, generous applause, and light snoring. In the
end, everything folded up and disappeared—a truly magical evening.
"Flicks" committee members who made this event possible were Wyatt and Vicki
Waters, Charlotte Carlton, Toni Wall, Jackie Breland, Freda and Claude
Hartness, Libby Aydelott, Richard Jones, Barbara Selby, Mark Vaughan, Peggy
Jones, and Charline McCord. Assistance was also provided by the City of
Clinton Public Works and Police Departments. If you would like to see
future films in Olde Towne or would like to suggest movie titles for future
community viewing, send your comments to the Arts Council of Clinton, P.O.
Box 572, Clinton, MS 39060, or call Charline McCord at 601-988-8455. See more photos from "Flicks on the Bricks." (October 28, 2006)
Things got lively at the Clinton Visitor Center on Sunday, October 15, when Jim Weatherly, strolled in, guitar in hand, fresh from Vicksburg ceremonies where he was inducted into the distinguished Mississippi Musicians' Hall of Fame. Weatherly pulled up a chair, tuned his guitar, and kicked off the Arts Council's first event of the season by doing what he does best—singing songs straight from the heart, songs that have made whole careers—both his and others—songs with titles like "Neither One of Us," "Midnight Train to Georgia," "If I Had Lived My Life Without You," "Someone Else's Star," "Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me," and the emotional "Misty Mississippi Morning."
As he crooned through a list of his ballads, Weatherly's voice was rich and mellow and the audience witnessed a man consumed by his craft and in love with music. Closing his eyes through song after song, Weatherly smiled, patted his foot, and confessed aloud: "I'm a complete romantic." Easy in his manner and generous with his time, Weatherly fielded questions from songwriters in the audience throughout his presentation, and spoke openly and humbly about the opportunities that have come his way as a result of his two loves, football and music. What he delivered in his songwriting workshop was genuine Jim Weatherly—in his description of the impact Elvis Presley had on him, in his attempt to describe what it feels like to write a song that truly penetrates the hearts of other people, in his performance, and in his goodwill to those who turned out on a beautiful Mississippi afternoon to see, hear, and honor Mississippi's singing quarterback turned hall of famer. See more photos from the Weatherly Workshop. (October 15, 2006)
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