Offerings from EW Arts & Culture

This past year, our committee has continued their mission of bringing the community together by highlighting arts and culture. Here are some examples of what we’ve done since this time last year:

• Right before soccer season, and with the help of half a dozen EWHS soccer players, we painted the EWSC logo on the kickboard at Osborn field.

• In September, local artist Chris Gann completed an American Flag mural on the American Legion building

• In conjunction with the Planning and Zoning Commission, we held a photography contest for images of East Windsor to be used in the POCD and other town documents. We received 55 photos from 16 people.

• In October we painted the crosswalk between Town Hall and BBES with the help of around 40 community members.

• In November we hung our bottlecap mural on the front wall of Town Hall.

• Around that same time, the rock garden that we have been working on with BBES 4th graders for the past two years was planted around their free little library at the school’s entrance. We plan to continue that project this year, as well as the latest addition to the One School, One Book mural. We also plan to continue the project of providing blank pallet boards for graduating EWHS seniors to customize and display at graduation.

• In the late Fall we raised $1500, which was matched by Sustainable CT, towards two WHP library projects: the Spring community paint of the Able Table that we donated to the library last year, and the painting of a dinosaur and book-themed mural in the children’s section of the library, which started by Michelle Hawran on March 10.

• In January we established the first ever East Windsor Poet Laureate and Youth Poet Laureate. Both poets have already initiated programs of their own: the youth poet laureate is running a poetry competition for K-12 in the month of March, and the poet laureate started a monthly “Where in East Windsor?” scavenger hunt.

• This year we started a series of free to the community art classes in different disciplines. Our first one, an origami workshop, was held on February 15th. In May the author Tangular Irby will hold a talk at WHPL on the Gees Bend quilts, which have been called “among the most important African-American visual and cultural contributions to the history of art within the United States.” We will be providing participants with copies of Ms. Irby’s books, an opportunity to see and touch actual Gee’s Bend quilts and will have a community quilting project attached to the presentation. In the spring we are planning to hold a drum circle class.

• Again this year we are holding an Open Mic night at the CT Trolley Museum on April 26th, and our Arts and Culture Day in East Windsor Park on May 17th.

• We are currently supporting a local girl scout in achieving her Silver Award by helping her paint a math table on the blacktop at BBES.

• Lastly, we are hoping to commission a sculpture to be placed in Volunteer Park.