Founder of rural arts center to speak in Winsted
November 2, 2009 by Linda Scherer
Filed under News, Winsted
WINSTED, MN – The Winsted Arts Task Force has scheduled an open meeting Saturday, Nov. 14 at 1 p.m. in the City Hall Vollmer Room, where the founder of the New York Mills Regional Cultural Center, John Davis, will share his experiences about starting a cultural center in New York Mills, MN. Davis’ New York Mills regional cultural center has been recognized as a national model for rural communities.
The City of New York Mills contributed $35,000 in 1991, to convert a downtown mercantile building into a multi-use arts and cultural facility. Since that time, the center has become a focal point for the community, according to the New York Mills web site.
The task force is also hoping that Davis will be able to provide the necessary details needed to assure the group it is on the right track.
“He (Davis) has done it, so we are having the benefit of having someone who has seen the vision from start to finish, task force member Julie Guggemos said. “We can learn from him.”
Refreshments will follow the meeting.
Another community in which I resided established a concert association, to find and book musicians of a wide variety of genres to play concerts in town. I served with them for one year as the program coordinator–I researched acts, booked venues, and helped with travel arrangements. Now that we have access to the auditorium at the new high school, I would love to see the Winsted Arts Task Force consider such a series of concerts, and would be willing to help in any way I can.
We could start with one concert, to see how well it is received. If that one proves successful, we could move on to bi-annual events. The eventual goal would be to move up to quarterly concerts, or more if attendance is good and they community feedback is positive.