Icicle Creek Center for the Arts Announces Their 'Season of Firsts'

By: Feb. 02, 2012
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Icicle Creek Center for the Arts, Leavenworth's haven for the fine and lively arts, has announced the launch of several new arts and education programs, facility expansion plans, and support and recognition by one of the nation's premiere foundations.

The announcement reflects the changes that have been underway at Icicle Creek since 2010 starting with a commitment to serve as a stronger, more generous, and vibrant cultural resource in North Central Washington. In that short time, the organization has made a major transformation from a primarily classical-music focused organization into an organization that advances classical music as part of celebrating the widest spectrum of arts and education, from music, theater and dance to film, visual arts and literary arts.

FIRST MAJOR GRANT
In a national announcement made this week, Icicle Creek joins a roster of some of the most exciting Pacific Northwest non-profit organizations as a recipient of a coveTed Grant from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation. The capacity-building grant for $80,000 over a two-year period provides resources and market studies to develop audiences both regionally in the greater Wenatchee Valley and in Seattle. The Allen Family Foundation grant allows the organization to thoughtfully cultivate new potential audiences for its growing programmatic roster. "With research and outreach, we expect to identify the most strategic ways in which Icicle Creek can be a fantastic cultural and educational beacon in North Central Washington. Not only do we want to open our doors to the very best of the world to this region, we want to showcase the best of this region to the world."

BREAKING GROUND AT LEAVENWORTH'S FIRST COUNTRY MOUNTAIN THEATRE
The organization is also thrilled to announce that groundbreaking has been set for April 2012 for a new country mountain theater on its campus, a barn-inspired design created by Studio Meng Strazzara, with principal architect Dennis Erwood, and built under the supervision of General Contractor WG Clark. The 240-seat theater will be able to beautifully present a wide range of world-class arts and cultural offerings, and is also expected to fill a community need for showcasing and presenting everything from speaker series, films, local Theater Productions, school showcases and special events. The theater is being funded privately, and will replace Icicle Creek's use of the Sleeping Lady Chapel Theater.

Reflecting Icicle Creek's new mission of broadened service to the arts, the non-profit is pleased to announce several outstanding new programs, all firsts in their categories.

Vox Docs, a Film Festival of award-winning American documentaries on a variety of compelling and topical subjects, from the power of art in transforming the lives of at-risk kids to personal stories of survival and triumph of the human spirit, premieres March 23 -24 at Sleeping Lady Mountain Resort's Chapel Theater. The extraordinary selection of award-winners from the Cannes, Sundance, Toronto, and Venice Film Festivals includes Miss Representation; Louder than a Bomb; Buck; Wasteland; and This Way of Life. Vox Docs benefits six extraordinary regional non-profit organizations: Rebuilding Together, Upper Valley MEND (Meeting Each Need with Dignity), IRIS – A Rural Innovation and Stewardship; The Icicle Creek Youth Symphony and Theater Conservatory, and YWCA of Wenatchee. More information on the film festival can be found at icicle.org

The organization has also begun its first ever Creative Residency Program, a unique model where outstanding artists are offered subsidized housing, recital hall access and studio space at Icicle Creek in order to provide focused time and support to create or finish new work. The program is open to individual musicians, vocalists, playwrights, composers, authors and visual artists for Spring and Fall stays of one to six weeks. The organization's inaugural residency group includes outstanding artists working in their field: author Suzanne Bottelli; opera soprano Rachel DeShon; composer, arranger and pianist Norm Durkee; theater director Brandon Simmons; classical guitarist and composer Greg Ruby; and painter Molly Magai. Interested artists can download an application at www.icicle.org.

And the organization is stretching its wings with a new series of weekends that combine bird watching with the arts. The Art of Nature: Journaling at Four Seasonal Retreats, led by local artist and wildlife biologist, Heather Murphy, will take course over four weekends throughout the year. Art and nature lovers can escape the everyday and explore the natural world through birding, including sketching, journaling, and writing. The dates for the retreats have been set in 2012 for: April 27-29, June 17- 22, October 26- 28, and January 18 -21, 2013.

Icicle Creek expects to continue to expand its cultural and educational offerings as it looks for new and exciting ways to celebrate the lively arts and inspire generations of artists, audiences and students through exceptional educational experiences, live performance and special events – all in the breathtaking mountain meadows of the Cascades. The programs and projects at Icicle Creek are made possible through generous support from Icicle Fund, Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, Community Foundation of North Central Washington, Sleeping Lady Foundation, and Sleeping Lady Mountain Resort, as well as countless sponsors, local businesses, donors and volunteers.

About Icicle Creek Center for the Arts - A Destination for Extraordinary Performances & Inspired Learning Experiences

Our Mission - Dedicated to celebrating excellence in the lively arts and inspiring generations of artists and audiences through exceptional experiences, live performances, and special events - all in the breathtaking, natural setting of the mountain meadows.

For more information on Icicle Creek, please visit www.icicle.org



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