Rotary Club to Sponsor Three betterArts Workshops

 

The Watertown Evening Rotary Club last night voted unanimously to fund three betterArts workshops for children this summer in the areas of art and music.

The club, which boasts more than 1 million members and 34,000 clubs worldwide, has a local chapter that meets at 5:30 p.m. Thursdays at the Paddock Club in Watertown. The Watertown Evening Rotary has a specific interest in children's issues, and regularly gives to organizations providing health, wellness, and education to youths. Its members volunteer in fundraising efforts and at events to propel these causes.

betterArts is in the process of fundraising for a summer workshop series that will be offered for free to the public. Free instruction is made possible through the procurement of funds that allows betterArts to pay fair wages to local instructors and purchase art materials, and through partnerships with area music stores that offer free instrument rentals. A series of workshops specifically for children will be offered in the following areas (more classes will be added in the coming weeks):

• African Drumming 
• Violin 
• Voice 
• Painting 
• Pennywhistle & Recorder 
• General Arts & Crafts 
• Making Art and Sculpture with Recycled Items 
• Mosaics 
• Dance

For every $120 raised, betterArts is able to offer one three-hour workshop to the general public for free. The money buys arts and crafts materials, pays the instructor fee, and covers publicity. Class size will vary (a violin class can accommodate fewer students than, say, general arts & crafts), with pre-registration required. The full schedule will be posted by mid-May.

The Watertown Evening Rotary will underwrite three of these workshops and act as an official betterArts sponsor. I will be speaking at the May 22 rotary meeting to fully explain the specific workshops Watertown Evening Rotary will be supporting, and to outline betterArts' full mission. Our most sincere thanks to this organization for making these workshops possible!

betterArts is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit based out of Better Farm dedicated to increasing access to the arts throughout the North Country. The group's purpose is to offer art and music education and exposure through the provision of workshops, residencies, gallery openings, concerts, performances, and low-cost or free art instruction and studio space. For more information, visit www.betterarts.org.