New arts council to work with veterans and their families

Montgomery —The Orange County Arts Council wants to work with veterans and their families. The newly formed council, with the backing of the Orange County Executive and the Legislature, is offering a wide range of ongoing arts-related activities for military families in Orange County. “Arts for Vets” reaches beyond the stereotype of what art is, and reaches the artist in everyone. The project starts this summer, with the kickoff event held at the Orange County Veterans Picnic on Saturday, June 2. The picnic is an annual event sponsored by the coalition of the 27 veterans groups in the county. It is held at Thomas Bull Park on Route 416, in Montgomery, at the Day Camp Pavilions from noon to 4 p.m. Blacksmith Norm Paulson of Florida is bringing his portable forge to demonstrate various metalworking techniques. The Mid-Hudson Wood Carvers will demonstrate techniques of carving wood. The Wallkill River School will offer an introductory lesson in painting. Everyone is invited to help make a mural or poster which will be sent to Orange County service people on active duty. “Arts for Vets” continues after the picnic and the council is looking for veterans and their families to get involved in the project activities. Orange County artists are scheduled throughout the summer to present workshops and demonstrations on a wide range of topics, from stone, metal and woodworking to the more traditional studio arts of painting, pottery, photography and carving. There is no charge for workshops for veterans and families. One of the first workshops is the rebuilding of the stone wall at the Veteran’s Cemetery in Goshen. Mason and stone artist Bob Hilfiger is teaching this workshop entitled: ”The Art and Craft of the Stone Wall”. Heading the program is Megan Cooke. Hired by the council for the project, Cooke is a graduate of Vassar College and was the Music and Theatre Director for the U.S. Army’s National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif. In Fort Irwin, Cooke created arts programming for military service members and their families. She is the spouse of an Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran and has a vision to see younger Iraq veterans and their families also connect with the project. Cooke said, “We are also talking about one night a week where vets and their families can drop in to make some music and there’s some interest in starting a writing project where vets and families can record their deployment experience. We want to include the entire deployment experience from as many different angles as possible; from preparing to go overseas through the deployment to life after coming home. A book like this was just published and we’re looking at an Orange County version.” The council was formed just a few months ago after several years of planning and as the result of a county-wide cultural needs assessment. Dawn Ansbro is the president of the council. Its mission is to strengthen the arts in Orange County by providing educational, promotional, and information services. It accomplishes this by coordinating and facilitating relationships among the arts, schools, businesses, government, and the public For more specific information on the workshops or to volunteer to work on this project, contact Cooke at 469-8111 or artsforvets@hotmail.com.