Area Students to be Featured at Runnymede March 6, Arts Festival Early Bird Rate Ends March 14

ALVA, Okla. – Middle school and high school student artwork will be featured at the Runnymede in downtown Alva on Friday, March 6, from 6-8 p.m., as part of the First Friday Artwalk sponsored by the Nescatunga Arts and Humanities Council.

Nescatunga vice president Kristy San Soucie will have several of her students from South Barber Public Schools in Kiowa, Kansas, showing their work, as well as a student from Aline-Cleo schools.

Students should deliver their artwork to the Runnymede for setup between 3 and 5 p.m. Other students who have not pre-registered are welcome to bring their work at this time to set up as well.

Refreshments will be served.

Other items Council members are currently working toward include the 55^th Nescatunga Arts Festival that will take place at the Alva Recreational Center on Friday, June 5, from 5-8 p.m. and Saturday, June 6, from 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

Anyone interested in helping with various festival tasks is welcome.

Registration for the festival is open, and the form is available online at www.nescatunga.org.

The early bird rate for booth space is $40 for one 10x10 area for the two-day event. Each additional space requested is $25. These prices will be good until March 14, and payment must be postmarked by this date to remain with the early bird price. The fees after this date are $60 for the first space and $40 for each additional space. The last day to register for booth space is May 29.

All fine artists registering who would like to be judged, students included, must group their art entries in their booth space by category with visible signage, along with the names of each art piece. Handmade item crafters and authors are encouraged to register for booth space as well.

Full details and rules on registration and categories are available on the website.

The Council is also looking for various food trucks that would like to attend this year’s festival, along with local talent who would like to perform on stage during the two-day event.

One-year memberships to the organization are $25, with four $5 discounts a year to workshops and events sponsored by the Council, plus $5 off a Nescatunga Arts Festival booth space. Upon payment, a membership card containing four numbers to be checked off when attending a Nescatunga workshop, and one spot to check off for a festival booth space, will be issued, ultimately returning the $25 membership fee if all five spaces are used.

Membership is open to anyone who would like to support the arts. The $25 investment helps to fund the annual Nescatunga Arts Festival, First Friday Artwalk events, student scholarships, and more.

Members of all kinds are welcome, whether they are silent supporters who want to provide funds to support the organization each year or those who are creative and would like to provide workshops, exhibit artwork and help where needed. Members can also volunteer to provide refreshments at First Friday Artwalk events, or be the people who are willing to provide their help in whatever is needed for any of the Council’s activities.

Membership fees and donations to the Council are also tax-deductible. The Council is open to monetary sponsorships to help defray the costs of the arts festival. Anyone who would like to be a sponsor of anything from a Best of Show prize to helping to provide advertising for the festival is welcome. Names of sponsors will prominently be displayed at the festival and through other public means.

Checks may be mailed to P.O. Box 152, Alva, OK 73717, or payments may be made via Nescatunga’s PayPal account at https://paypal.me/NescatungaArts or by searching for the email NescatungaArts@yahoo.com within the service. Memberships may also be purchased at any workshop or event that the Council sponsors.

Any questions may be directed to Heather Penner, Nescatunga president, at (580) 748-1905 or at hlpenner91@gmail.com.

More information about the Nescatunga Arts and Humanities Council can be found at www.nescatunga.org.

The next meeting is Monday, March 30, at 6:30 p.m. at the Runnymede, where members will continue to make plans for the arts festival and the April First Friday Artwalk event, which will showcase the winners from the Northwestern Oklahoma State University Art Society Art Show happening March 13-30 in the J.W. Martin Library. The workshop for the April event will cover various ways to decorate Easter eggs. Supplies will be provided, but those attending are welcome to bring their own hard-boiled eggs and items with which to decorate them. The workshop fee will be $10 per person, and people should register via email at NescatungaArts@yahoo.com.

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