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"The public-private partnership that helped us pay off our mortgage in less than 10 years is a testament to the vitality of our community," said Victor Thacker, chairman of the RCCAC board of directors. "Support for the arts has always been strong in our area, and our vibrant arts community is helping to attract more and more retirees to our region."
Over the years, the center has offered a wide range of art and music classes including pottery, painting, drawing, basket weaving, creative writing, guitar, dulcimer, blues music, music theory and Kindermusik, among others. Once a month, locals pack their lunch and make their way to the Arts Center to socialize during the Brown Bag concerts. Yearlong Concert Series provide evening entertainment with a wide range of national talents showcasing blues, jazz, country, Celtic and holiday music.
The RCCAC has twice hosted traveling exhibits from the Smithsonian Institution - "Produce for Victory" in 2006 and "New Harmonies: Celebrating American Roots Music" in 2009.Thacker said paying off the mortgage would help the center implement even more programming in the future.
"One immediate benefit of eliminating the mortgage is that the money we used to spend on the mortgage interest can now go to programming and operations," Thacker said. "Another benefit is, we have one less economic threat to worry about."
The RCCAC was incorporated in August 2000 with the express purpose of saving the historic St. Brendan Catholic Church in order to fulfill a need for arts education and artistic performances in Randolph and surrounding counties.A group of local residents including U.S. District Judge Robert E. Maxwell, Gary Schoonover, Margo Blevin Denton and Jim Wallace were among the founders who helped set the vision in motion.
None will smile brighter on Sunday than Denton, whose name was the only one on the $200,000 mortgage when the RCCAC purchased the building from the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston in February 2001.
At the time, Denton served as the first chairwoman on the board of directors. "I'm so surprised this happened so quickly," Denton told The Inter-Mountain Thursday afternoon. "It is certainly due in huge part to Vic Thacker, who raised so much money and orchestrated what was needed. When I got an e-mail from Vic saying, 'We've got the money, someone has very generously come up with what we were lacking and it is all done.' I said, 'Well we have to have a mortgage burning. We have to celebrate this monumental occasion.'"
Although Denton was the sole signer on the mortgage certificate, she never doubted the center would eventually be paid in full. She said the quick pay-off could be attributed to generous donations from the community and state grants.
"So many people came though with time and energy," Denton said. "I wasn't worried for one minute. Everyone that we dealt with at St. Brendan, everybody was so helpful and so nice and easy to work with. I knew if we weren't able to meet it, they would have waited. We signed an agreement that for the first couple of years we didn't have to pay anything but interest. That helped tremendously. Then we got some grants to pay off chunks of it."
Denton said the vision was to create a facility that was "open and fresh" where artists could gather to share their work and ideas with others.
She said lots of effort went into renovating the church into an arts center and many volunteers made it possible."We never dreamed it was going to be as big as it is, and it just keeps getting bigger," Denton said. "It's been a tremendous thing in my life. It has changed my life and it has changed a lot of other people's lives. It is a great asset to the community."
With the help of four capital improvement grants from the West Virginia Commission on the Arts, a Save America's Treasures grant from the National Park Service and several Community Participation grants, more than $487,000 has been spent on renovations and equipment to make the historic structure as functional and accessible as possible.
The former sanctuary now serves as the exhibit space and performance hall.Derrick Helzer, owner of Pig Pen Catering and Fabulous Fruits, is catering the event with barbecue pork, pasta salad, coleslaw, buns, sauce and side dishes. Desserts will be provided by various local businesses. Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for children 10 and younger and free for kids 3 and younger.
Call the RCCAC office at 304-637-2355 for information on its arts education classes, exhibits, concert series and children's concert series.
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