June 10, 2020
Dear Friends,
It’s the middle of the year and we’ve already
accomplished much, thanks to your past support.
Last summer we held our first
Community Art Club in June and July.
The art center was open on Saturday afternoons after our local library
closed, for children to come experience and experiment with art using the
supplies we provided. We still do not
have a heat & air conditioning system in the building but we used a
generator to operate fans so we were able to maintain a comfortable temperature
in the building for the participants.
Everyone who came had a good time and created something to take
home. We are putting together
an arts
segment for the Kiwanis summer youth program this year, keeping in mind
the social distancing and other precautions we all need to follow to
stay safe and well.
We held free house concerts throughout
last year and through March of 2020, and were able to pay each musician a
stipend of $100 for performing. Between tips and the stipend, the musicians left
happy and the audience was entertained by some awesome and diverse singer/songwriters
and poets. Although we have had
to
cancel the remaining live concerts we had scheduled for 2020, we
continue to
promote the virtual shows put on by our alumni and hope to reschedule
live
concerts in 2021, including a Simon and Garfunkel Tribute show by the
group
called “Whitherward”. HOWEVER, a former resident of Watonga is coming
to town in late June to visit family and friends and we're hoping to get
him to read some of his writings (he calls it 'motorcycle poetry') and
play guitar. The show will be held at another friend's house, the Rook
Mansion. Information will be posted on Facebook pages when details are
lined up. Check the BLAINE COUNTY CALENDAR group page.
This year we awarded a $250
scholarship to an art student from Canton High School who is eager to
continue her photography. She won first
place in photography at the Woodward Student Arts show in 2019. During the school year she used a camera
provided by the Canton high school, and told us she’d like to have a camera of
her own. We hope to exhibit some of her work at the Watonga ArtWorks gallery
when we have it open on a full-time basis.
Our organization is especially excited
to have been named as Affiliate of the Year by the statewide
organization KEEP OKLAHOMA BEAUTIFUL at their annual Environmental
Excellence Ceremony at the end of 2019. Our
organization was selected from among cities, nonprofit organizations, and
volunteer groups from
across the state of Oklahoma. For more information, see their website at www.keepoklahomabeautiful.com.
This year we participated in the Great
American Cleanup and were able to round up local volunteers for two
projects – a “stay-at-home” cleanup and a day of walking the right-of-way of a
portion of the main highway that goes through town, Clarence Nash Blvd., to
pick up trash and recyclables. For both
projects, we observed the COVID19 safety guidelines, wore face masks provided
by Mercy Hospital and encouraged small groups and 6-ft distancing from one
another. For the home projects, we provided
individuals with trash bags, hand sanitizer, bottles of water provided by
Pioneer Telephone Cooperative, and gloves with instructions to pick up trash around
their neighborhood and take a photo of their trash haul for our report to Keep
Oklahoma Beautiful.
Last summer we established a “teaching garden”
with the help of a grant from Keep Oklahoma Beautiful, and had a few volunteers
come help set up the space and edibles including tomatoes, yellow squash, bell
peppers, and basil. We have already
planted this summer’s garden and are well on the way to gathering the fruits
and vegetables. Every resident of
Watonga and civic groups (4H, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts etc.) are invited and encouraged
to come out to the garden to volunteer and take home some of the harvest. The
majority of the fresh produce is donated
to persons in need. Don't know how much of a harvest we'll have since
the grasshoppers are already out in full force this year due to the dry
weather!
It is at this time of year that we ask
for your financial support of our organization to sustain the many programs and
projects we bring to our community to enhance the lives of those who live here
and visitors to our area. As you can
see, our organization is giving back to our community in many ways as we work with
other nonprofit groups, civic organizations, teachers, businesses, and
individuals. A
donation from you in any amount will allow us to continue bringing arts
education and experiences, environmental beautification, health and wellness,
and music programs to our area through 2020 and into 2021. Our primary
financial need this year is a solar energy system for the Watonga ArtWorks
building, which we are putting all of our 2020 donations toward.
Thanks to all of our friends and supporters for your consideration and love. Keep up on all of our activities and
events on our Facebook pages, PHOENIX CIRCLE FOUNDATION, OKLAHOMA
HOUSE CONCERTS, and WATONGA ARTWORKS; and the Facebook group
page, Blaine County Calendar.
If you have any
questions, please feel free to contact Linda Barrett, Program Director,
by phone or email.
Linda Barrett, Secretary/Program Director
Current Board
of Directors: Andrew J.
Barrett
Mary
Larson
Linda
Barrett
Stacy
Shirley
