The Arts Scene in Bethlehem, is All About Family

Last Wednesday, I had a chance to sneak into the Ice House for a quick peek on a legendary event. I was only able to stay for one song (dang over-commitment habit), but I saw enough to be in awe of this community.

The event was a benefit concert for one of Bethlehem’s most amazing musicians and great human being; Dave Fry. Lots of folks from the arts community were there – almost just about everyone. I saw so many familiar faces, and a ton of folks I know were there because of their love of the man of the night. You see, Dave Fry needs help. He’s got some ridiculous medical bills and some of his closest friends decided it was time to help the guy who helps so many.

Dave has lots of friends. Lots of good friends. Here’s just a couple:

photo by Hub Wilson

<– From left to right, that’s Terry Mutchler, John Gorka, David Bromberg, and Dave Fry. Even getting Hub’s picture for this post is a sign of love and support for Dave. All I had to do was ask – Hub delivered. Same as getting into the balcony to take a quick shot of the crowd before the concert started. All I had to do was ask – and respectfully do what I said I would do – write this post.

photo by Silagh White

Here’s a couple [hundred, maybe 260, give or take if I’m talking to the Fire Marshall] more of Dave’s friends. —————- >

It was an incredible evening of love. The music was great. Dave’s stories were funny (even new). And we got to hear some amazing music from John Gorka, David Bromberg, Ansel Barnum and Dave.

As I was collecting thoughts for this post, just reading Dave’s Facebook Page is like a great big hug; not gushy, over the top narcissism. Dave works his butt off, plays his heart out, and never has a bad word to say about anyone. He gives his all no matter if he’s playing to a crowd of grown ups, or hundreds of kids in a school assembly.

If you’ve seen a school assembly, you know how hard it can be to keep 200+ grade schoolers engaged. You want to know tough audiences? Kids can be brutal. But never with Dave. Why? Because he loves them. He knows they love his music. The kids know he loves them, too. It’s pretty obvious just by watching them dance to his music.

I’m proud to say we have both of his kids’ CDs, “I Like Peanut Butter” (1998) and “Shake It” (2001). True story; for my kids’ 4th birthday, we hired Dave to play a little concert at the Lehigh University Child Care. I just couldn’t take another hour at Chuck E Cheese (Can you say Dante’s Inferno?). It was so cool to have the kids wiggling around, dancing, singing, being silly (*gratuitous historical image at the bottom of post). When it was over, we packed up and went to our favorite pizza parlor. Singing Dave’s songs all the way to our hot and cheesy pie.

Why do I burden the reader with a tale of family? Because Dave became part of ours at that birthday party. My kids now go to Holy Infancy School, just down the street from Godfrey Daniels. Dave goes to this school often. We might even hear some stuff from the school on his next album – which, BTW, was funded by Linney Fowler before she died. How cool is it that she saw enough community good in Dave’s work, that she helped him cover the studio recording and production costs. Putting together an album of music is a leap of faith. Linney had faith in Dave Fry. And I have faith that this community will come through for Dave, too.

Dave’s health is “doing fine,” (his words) but there’s still those nagging medical bills. If you have a little bit to give, here’s how you can help out the guy who is nothing but pure joy in this community. Here is how you can make a still make a donation.

Mail your check (payable to Dave Fry) to Godfrey’s address, 7 E Fourth St, Bethlehem 18015.
Or
If you have a PayPal account, send contributions directly to Dave’s PayPal account, via his email address DaveFryMusic@juno.com

If you need a little motivation to pull out your wallet, or check your bank account, enjoy this video of John Gorka’s song, composed just for the occasion:

Gratuitous Historical Image
March 21, 2007 – photo by S White

Self-Portrait Show Returns

In October of 2011, the Bethlehem Fine Arts commission asked thirty citizens from the Bethlehem community to create a self-portrait for a show in the City Hall Rotunda. Only half of the people invited to create a self-portrait were artists. The rest were politicians, educators, business and other community leaders.

The vision for the show began with Richard Redd, professor emeritus at Lehigh University and a highly active figure in area art circles. The show was such a success, the Bethlehem Fine Arts Commission decided to have another go at the concept.

This year’s exhibition is being curated by Vince Gentilcore, an associate of Richard Redd.  Local artists providing a self-portrait are Tom Burke, Will Christine, Jim DePietro, Peggy Whitney Hobbs, Ryan Hulvat, Sook Kim, Jessica Lee, Nancy Plass, Priscilla Rosenberger, Olga Shaffer, Bob Schantz, Tom Shillea, Karen Steen, Jason Travers, Ricardo Viera, Willem Ystma, and Doug Zucco.  Other notable citizens, not known primarily as visual artists, include Earl Bethel, State Senator Lisa Boscola, Lee Butz, Charles Cantalupo, U.S. Congressman Charlie Dent, Tim Fox, Dave Fry, Dr. Alice Gast, Esther Lee, George Miller/Kate Scuffle, Rev. Anthony Pompa, Linda Robertson, Dave Roper, Dr. Joseph Roy, and Jim Whildin.  The self-portraits are widely varied in media and range from humorous to handsome, as well as traditional to computer interactive. (Lehigh University administrators, faculty and staff are in bold)

Self-Portrait by Earl Bethel

The portraits will be on display from June 30 through August 26 at the Rotunda Gallery at City Hall in Bethlehem, PA.  The exhibition is entitled “Reflections: A Self-Portrait Show” and it will present a unique insight into the participants’ sense of self through portrait art.

Hours for the show are Monday – Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm.  A reception with the participants will be held on Sunday, June 30, from 2 – 4 pm at the Rotunda.

For more information about the Bethlehem Fine Arts Commission, click here.

Lehigh University – Marcellus Shale Blog

Another project worth investigating is a  blog created by students in Lehigh University’s Environmental Initiative. If you happened to see the Monday screening of either Gasland 2 or Fracknation, you know that fracking is a hot topic. The student blog, “Marcellus Shale” is an outcome of the work completed in “Environment, the Public and the Mass Media,” (Jour/ES 125) writing intensive course taught by Prof. Sharon M. Friedman, director of Lehigh’s Science and Environmental Writing Program in the Department of Journalism and Communication.

This is a screen capture of the blog front page

The work of this course is communicated in a compelling way on this blog. Kudos to the students and to the faculty and staff who supported the effort. This is a great example of not only leading in research, but also making learning relevant to a greater community.

 

New Posting Board – Thomas McMurtrie

A senior thesis project is coming to fruition this week on Asa Packer Campus, in between Chandler Ullman and Linderman Library. It’s a new posting board, designed by Thomas McMurtrie (Class of 2012, Architecture). Supported by a Dale S. Strohl ’58 Senior Thesis Grant, Tom tells us a little bit about his designs, his creative process, and what he learned through the project. Since we believe in letting the student work speak for itself, Tom was generous enough to give us a bit of time this week.

This video was produced by Silagh White – on an iPhone4.

Ten Years

So much can happen in ten years. While one can turn philosophical about the passing of a decade, in the life of an arts organization, sustaining a mission for ten years is more than significant. For some, it can be somewhat of a miracle. Take the Southside Film Institute as an example. For the last ten years, with no paid staff, we have enjoyed watching independent films from local, national and international filmmakers.

Our imagination and awareness of the world has been widened through thousands of films. The stories have delighted, inspired, motivated, entertained and even shocked us. Our community has been strengthened by watching these films together.

I’ll never forget the opening night of 2010, when a packed Lewis Auditorium screened Tucker and Dale vs. Evil. It was one of the best “town-gown” stories I’ve ever heard; completely turning a horror film formula on its head. It was also some of the hardest laughs I’ve had in a while. Laughter shared is always that much better. Don’t take my word for it, read this post from a life-long Bethlehem resident, and former Lehigh student Andrew Daniels. He was there, too.

Arts@Lehigh has been supporting the work of the SouthSide Film Institute because of their dedication to supporting independent filmmakers. One of the reasons why we now have access to more films beyond the blockbusters at other venues is because of this organization. Sure, we could watch movies at home on various downloads or DVDs… but this organization showed us the value of watching films together; talking directly with the filmmaker, and having post film discussions with friends and strangers.

In all art forms, there is a cycle of life. Artists toil with the production of a new work. Whether it’s a novel, a symphony, a joke, or a film, the act of creation is not fully realized until it is presented to an audience. Simply making art doesn’t create an audience. An audience must be nurtured and grown over time. This organization is a major reason why there is an audience that supports independent film making.

The Southside Film Institute is a small band of intensely dedicated citizens. Some of them also run businesses, or work for local companies or universities or local nonprofits, or even attend school themselves. For ten years, they have given their time, talent, heart, energy and their own creative assets to allow us to see independent films together.

If you’ve not yet been to the Film Festival, there are a few others who offer great words of advise for your first outing. Here’s a great one from Laura K on YELP, and also another former Lehigh student post, Lindsey.

I echo their advise – stop by Deja Brew soon to pick up a copy of the festival schedule. Or scan the festival schedule online. Special note to families with little ones – the Children’s series returns this year. Each film has been screened for parental and child approval!

I hope to see old friends at the opening night next Tuesday. More than that, I hope to see new folks giving the festival a try for the first time. If you’ve been to the festival before, make sure you support the organization in whatever way you can. And tell your friends about it. Films are always better when shared.