By all accounts those in attendance at the first fundraiser for ArtsAltoona had a fantastic time! The food was great, the music by Tommy Wareham and the Intrigues drew a crowd to the dance floor, the specialty cocktails were delicious, painting on the mural was fun even for us non-artists, the floral centerpieces were gorgeous and the weather was just right!
Approximately 200 people attended and over $17,000 was raised to begin the work of renovating the former Kress Building in downtown Altoona into a Studio Arts Center!
All of this would not have been possible without an amazing committee of volunteers headed up by Dana Sky! Thanks to Kit Benzel, Jackie Clouser, Korin Coppeta, Lee Anne Ehredt, Jessica Fulchiero, Chelsea Kerr, Cindy Newman, Michelle Passarello, Robin Patel, Tiffany Stuckey, Dana Thompson, Sarah Vogel and Angie Yasulitis from Dana’s Chair Committee! This group did so much to make the event one that will be long remembered! They are amazing party planners, very generous with their resources and tenacious in getting things done! I must note also that many of their husbands or boyfriends also assisted, especially the day of the event. Thanks to all!
Joining the committee in the work was our own ArtsAltoona Leadership Team. Thanks to George Sackandy, Ken Decker, Pam Snyder-Etters, Kim Aboud, Shasta Langenbacher, and Mike Holzer for all of their hard work as always. We had a college intern for the summer who was terrific in many ways and she was a great volunteer coordinator for ART JIVE ONE.
Coordinating all of this and so much more was our ArtsAltoona Program Director Gwen Fisher! She creates task lists for our events with such attention to the details and complexity it just boggles my mind! We are very grateful to have her on our team!
We had wonderful assistance from Candy Holliday and especially Madalyn McCaulley from the Altoona Mirror before during and after the event. The City Police presence was appreciated. We had a back up plan to move over to the Railroaders Memorial Museum Roundhouse in the case of rain and Maria Strohm was a great help in the planning.
Thanks to our formal sponsors Keystone Dermatology, Blue Knob Auto, Saleme Insurance, and Andrea and Michael Cohen. Thanks also to Amy Seltzer for giving her winnings from one of the games as a contribution.
Food selections by Taste Buds Gourmet Food Truck, Bill Sell’s Bold, the 1402 and 1/2 Bakery and Lunchroom, and the First Frontier Kitchen were all unique and delicious!
Beverages from Furrer Beverage and Railroad City Brewing Company were flowing all evening. Thanks also to Budget Beverage for their contributions also. The drinks at the bar were creative and delicious. The special ART JIVE ONE silicone glasses were very unique! Thanks to Dana Thompson for her amazing work and contributions.
The floral centerpieces by Chelsea Kerr from Kerr Kreations were gorgeous! The student artwork placed on the tables created by the youth at Evolution Expressions reminded everyone that our efforts are for the future artists of the area!
Our own Pam Snyder-Etters created another mural for us. This one is on three large canvases. People had a great time painting pieces of it and are excited to know that this will be the first work of art hanging in the ArtsAltoona Studio Arts Center!
LaVonne Falbo of LaVintage Decor donated the use of two selfie stations for fun backgrounds! Blair Candy donated old fashioned candy and we had some very impressive young people (Candy Kids) giving it out – thanks Mandy Sky, Madi Fulchiero, Sidney Glass and Tyrin Morris. Thanks to Jessica Fulchiero for their face painting and decorating! Amazing! Thanks also to Greg Fulchiero for selecting, pouring and educating about the wines all evening!
Paula Binus donated linens; Ashley Mignogna created the Cocktails sign; Ken Decker donated tents and other items; several people let us use their strings of lights; Kevin Bechtel from the City Department of Public Works was a big help; Altoona Police Chief Janice Freehling had two officers there all evening; LS Fiore and Fiore True Value were generous with their resources; Benzel’s Bretzel Bakery provided pretzels; Burgmeier’s hauled trash and recyclables; Little Caesar’s Pizza fed volunteers; the Yazo Group created the invitations; Shasta Langenbacher and Mike Holzer handled registration and newsletter sign-ups; George Sackandy handled many logistics and errands; Kim Aboud handled marketing and communications; Pyramid Healthcare Halfway House men helped with clean up and Penn State Altoona students helped with setup as part of their Voluntoona experience!
Thanks also to all who attended and shared in the experience! I am sure I have probably forgotten some contributions and I apologize. It was a HUGE effort and a great success because of everyone who played a part. I can’t begin to thank you all enough on behalf of ArtsAltoona and the future Studio Arts Center! Can’t wait to see what ART JIVE TWO will be like!
Thanks again!
Donna