Wednesday, February 25, 2009

March updates!


Please scroll to bottom of this post and to previous post below to see the latest about arts funding!

Kids Club!
Sunday, March 8 at 10:30 AM, Chip Bryant will be performing his nationally known Vaudevillian Silent Clown act at the North Shore Heritage Center. A great family event, don't miss this juggling/mime/magic/puppetry/music show! Tix are $8 in advance, $10 at the door.

Cafe Fridays
Sister Act will be taking you on a musical journey on Friday, March 13 at 7:30 PM, saluting the female artists we know and love--from Streisand to Estefan! Come on down to this show and don't forget to "warm up" before you arrive...the Sisters love to include the audience in the fun!
Jazzing it up...
Like Ellington and Coltrane? The Michael Jazz Trio was inspired by these great musicians...now let them inspire you! Catch them Sunday, March 1 at 2 PM at the Jefferson Ferry Community Center. $10 in advance, $12 at the door!

Did you know?
The BAHC does outreach shows at various schools, libraries, offices and the like? March 1- March 31, 2009, the Sachem Library Member Show is available for your viewing pleasure...for FREE!
Brookhaven Arts funding buzz--
One of the main topics of our last board meetings was the financial crisis that is being faced by our organization. Part of our response to this crisis must be a big push towards fundraising. The first phase of this push is a phone campaign to reach all of our members and ask for their support. We will work together and try to encourage each other and hope to bring in some significant money to help offset some of our financial woes. We'll chip in and order pizza! (For those of you who are not aware, we are cutting hours and salaries as well as some program features to try to stay afloat.)

The next phase will be a fundraiser -planning in the works-hopefully at Clare Rose Theatre in Patchogue--on a Thursday evening in the late Spring.

Please understand that the situation that we are in is dire, and requires immediate and committed action on all of our parts. Please make every effort to join us on March 4th at Brookhaven Town Hall for the first step towards keeping this organization alive. If you have a friend that would be willing to help (from a committee or not), please bring him/her along! We need all the help we can get.
Follow the BAHC blog on Twitter under Brookhaven Arts! Coming soon...our very own Facebook page (don't forget to "friend" us!). Don't forget to bookmark this page, and check back often for updates!

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Arts funding being cut!


February 07, 2009
The following is an email that we received earlier today from Americans for the Arts. I feel is very important for any artist or supporter of the arts to be aware of this information.

Regards,
Jessica McAvoy
Corresponding SecretaryPatchogue Arts Council, Inc.

February 6, 2009
Breaking News


This afternoon the U.S. Senate, during their consideration of the economic recovery bill, approved an egregious amendment offered by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) that stated "None of the amounts appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be used for any casino or other gambling establishment, aquarium, zoo, golf course, swimming pool, stadium, community park, museum, theater, art center, and highway beautification project." Unfortunately, the amendment passed by a wide vote margin of 73-24, and surprisingly included support from many high profile Senators including Chuck Schumer of New York, Dianne Feinstein of California, Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, and several other Democratic and Republican Senators. If the Coburn amendment language is included in the final conference version of this legislation, many arts groups will be prevented from receiving economic recovery funds from any portion of this specific stimulus bill. It is clear that there is still much work to be done in the Senate and in the media about the role that nonprofit arts organizations and artists play in the nation's economy and workforce.


Plan of Action


1. Arts advocates need to quickly contact Senators who voted for the Coburn Amendment and express your extreme disappointment with their vote. We need these Senators to know that their vote would detrimentally impact nonprofit arts organizations and the jobs they support in their state. We have crafted a customized message for you to send to your Senators based on their vote on the Coburn Amendment. The correct letter, customized to each of your Senators will appear when you enter your zip code. If your Senator voted for this funding prohibition, you can send them a message expressing your disappointment and ask them to work to delete this language in the final conference bill with the House. If your Senator voted against the Coburn Amendment, you can thank them for their support of the arts.


2. We need as many news articles as possible this coming week to publish stories about the economic impact of the nonprofit arts industry and how the recession is negatively affecting arts groups across the country. Please click here to customize an opinion editorial to your local media. We have provided you with easy-to-use talking points.


3. Next week, Americans for the Arts will be sending you another action alert that targets the White House and the soon-to-be-named Senators and Representatives who will serve as conferees to the final economic recovery bill. Please be prepared to take action on this alert as well.


4. Americans for the Arts itself is submitting op-eds to several national newspapers and online blogs. We are enlisting high profile leaders to co-sign these letters as well.


5. Americans for the Arts is purchasing full-page ads titled "The Arts = Jobs" in Washington's top political newspapers in Roll Call, Politico and The Hill on Monday and Tuesday of next week. We encourage you to post the ad on your social network sites.Please help us continue this important work by becoming an official member of the Arts Action Fund. Play your part by joining the Arts Action Fund today -- it's free and simple.



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