May-June 2019

What makes a truly great community? Convenient healthcare, groceries, shopping and recreation, meaningful volunteer opportunities and friendly people immediately come to my mind. Wouldn't you also agree that having an active arts community is very important? Without the arts, life would be much less fun and fulfilling. And that's where SMAC comes in.

SMAC has offered the SML community and surrounding areas arts programs for 30 years. People who live in this area know what a great community it is, and we want others to know it as well. Strengthening SMAC can help attract more

artists, lovers of the arts, visitors and residents to the area while we continue to develop as an active arts community.

Ultimately, we would like the arts to be celebrated and supported throughout the community.

The 24th Annual John Faber Memorial Photo Show took place April 12-14 at Bethlehem United Methodist Church. The Harmeneers' High Cotton Barbershop Quartet provided impressive harmonies at the Friday night reception. Over the

course of the three-day show, hundreds of people enjoyed the photos and cast their votes for their favorite photo for the People's Choice Award. The photography was so stunning that Photo Show Judge Elizabeth Heil, Associate Professor of

Fine Arts at Roanoke College, had a tough time selecting Best-In-Show. Thank you to the sponsors and volunteers who made this another remarkable show. The artistic talent in this area is truly amazing! The list of winners is included on pg 7.

On April 19, SMAC presented a terrific Coffeehouse featuring the music of the all-female bluegrass band "Canned Biskits." For our out-of-town friend from Phoenix, this was his first introduction to bluegrass. Boy, was he impressed! During

intermission, three of the young musicians from SMAC's JAMs program entertained us with a few tunes. The audience showed their appreciation with a standing ovation!

Coming up next: look for SMAC at the SML Business Expo at the Lakewatch YMCA on Friday, May 3, Noon-5:00 p.m. Several of the JAMs students will play at our booth after school is dismissed for the day. That evening, Panini Bros. team

up with Sue Halloran and Ken Hitchcock for a two-night gig (May 3 & 4) at our second 2019 Coffeehouse in downtown Moneta. May 3 is already sold out, but tickets are still available for May 4. Don't miss it!

For a complete listing of upcoming SMAC events, please see page 3. Join the fun!

Barb Nocera

Want to volunteer for SMAC committees? Call Kathy Orth at 297-4819.

The Smith Mountain Arts Council (SMAC), established in 1989, is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization and serves a large geographic area surrounding Smith Mountain Lake.

SMAC is partially funded by the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.