On Thursday, June 3^rd, The Pierce County Arts Commission will celebrate its 25^th Anniversary.  Though it may all but be defunded (currently facing a proposed budget for 2011 that will comprise a mere 10% of the funds it received in the year 2000, effectively ending Artist-in-Residence programs in Pierce County Schools and annual community grants to deserving Pierce County non-profits) the commissioners have nevertheless decided to celebrate yet one more year of public funding for the arts – at least in theory, if nothing else.

Therefore, Commission President Bonnie Egbert is organizing an awards ceremony – using funds from the commissioners’ personal bank accounts, to honor some of the individuals and organization that over the past 25 years played a crucial role in the rise of Pierce County’s cultural economy.  Dubbed, The President’s Awards, the recipients include: Pierce County Councilwoman Barbara Gelman (A Founding Member of PCAC), Elida Kirk Lathrop (PCAC’s first president), Arts Downtown (Puyallup’s Outdoor Gallery) and more.

Artists and Arts Advocates who have already RSVPed include: Tacoma Sculptor Larry Anderson (whose works can be seen at places like Slovonia Hall, Fireman’s Park and Union Station), Melanie Kirk Stauffer (Vice Chair Dance Theatre Northwest), Judy White (President of Arts Downtown) and Becky Condra (Chair of Valley Arts United).

The Ceremony will be held at 3602 Pacific Avenue, Suite 200 in Tacoma at 5:30.  We would like to invite any and all interested members of the media to attend this very special occasion.

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 27th, 2010 at 8:00 am and is filed under Arts & Entertainment, Culture, Local News, Ripe!, Tacoma. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.