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Albert Pucciarelli and Margie Downs, trustees of the Ridgewood Arts Foundation, present Sophia Swanson and Jack Shigeta, of Ridgewood student-run arts organization, ARTBeat, with a grant of of $250.
Photo (left to right): Jack Shigeta and Sophia Swanson, ARTBeat Committee co-chairs; Margie Downs and Albert Pucciarelli, Arts Foundation Trustees
Ridgewood Baseball & Softball Association (RBSA) is excited to have the Ridgewood Arts Foundation as a team sponsor for their 2018 season. Members of the Ridgewood Arts Foundation look forward to supporting their team at games and to hosting the annual pizza party for their players. It's a great show of alliance between Ridgewood arts and Ridgewood sports!! For RBSA game schedule, click HERE.
Dear Albert, Linda, Margie,
We at the Library are so grateful for the salute from the Ridgewood Arts Foundation - and impressed with the entire event. The room set-up, food and ambiance were lovely.
Your selection of Tic Toc and Roberta's Reel Voices as cultural treasures in our community is an inspiration to reach even higher.
Ridgewood is fortunate to have all of you - and our honorees - working so hard to enrich our lives.
Thank you.
With all best wishes,
Nancy
Nancy Greene, Director
Ridgewood Public Library
RAF Advisory Board Member Kristen Plumley, and RAF scholarship winner, Maeve Montague. RAF trustee, Albert Pucciarelli, is in far right.
As seen in The Ridgewood News
Margie Downs, a trustee of the Ridgewood Arts Foundation, was pleased to represent our organization as well as the Ridgewood Arts Council on Sunday, March 12, at the TIC TOC Shakespeare Festival which took place at GW Middle School.
On Wednesday, April 5 at 7pm, The Ridgewood Guild will be hosting a 20th anniversary showing of the movie, Titanic, at Ridgewood's Bowtie cinema, 190 East Ridgewood Ave. In conjunction with this event, the Ridgewood Arts Foundation (RAF) is inviting guests to a special pre-movie wine and hors d'oeuvres reception at Tito's Burritos and wings (just a few doors from the theatre) at 6pm. RAF guests will have the opportunity to meet flutist, Lisa Plasse, before she takes the stage and plays the classic soundtrack from Titanic prior to the movie showing. Combination tickets to the Ridgewood Arts Foundation special guest reception and the Ridgewood Guild's screening of Titanic (including a wine and hors d'oeuvres at Tito's, pre-movie concert and RAF reserved theatre seating) are $28 and can be purchased at www.eventbrite.com, (type in Titanic Pre-Screen for event search). The Ridgewood Arts Foundation is a public charitable foundation holding 501c3 status.
Thank you to The Ridgewood News for wonderful coverage of the inaugural Ridgewood Arts Foundation Honors on Jan. 29 at Fish Restaurant. We also give wholehearted thanks to the art-loving public who attended and/or donated to our new foundation. We congratulate our 2017 honorees, Parlance Chamber Concerts and Art of Motion, two iconic Ridgewood performing arts organizations. Additionally, we recognize that our event would not have been the success it was without contribution from our participating sponsors: Hartshorn Portraiture; Ridgewood Press Printing and Copying; artist, Sasha Robinson, from Master Art Studio of Ridgewood; and Fish Restaurant. The mission of the Ridgewood Arts Foundation, a 501c3 organization, is to provide financial support to existing and new performing and fine arts initiatives in Ridgewood. Our hope is to create a substantial scholarship program for Ridgewood art students as well. To achieve our goals, we welcome donations to the Ridgewood Arts Foundation via our website (www.ridgewoodartsfoundation.org) or by mail to Ridgewood Arts Foundation, P.O. Box 183, Ridgewood, NJ 07451. Thank you, again, and cheers to the arts in Ridgewood!
Linda Bradley
Ridgewood
The writer is Trustee and VP of Communications for the Ridgewood Arts Foundation.
Aimee La Fountain, Correspondent, The Ridgewood News,
Ridgewood Arts Foundation honors Michael Parloff and Parlance Chamber Concerts, as well as Art of Motion for their contributions to the Arts of Ridgewood, at Fish Urban Dining on Jan. 29.
Gregory Farrell, Margie Downs, Albert Pucciarelli, Linda Bradley, Michael Parloff, Inmo Parloff and members of Parlance Board.
Parlance Chamber Concerts and Art of Motion were recognized for their artistic contributions to the village at the first annual Ridgewood Arts Foundation Honors night, which was held on Jan. 29.
The purpose of the foundation is to raise awareness of and provide financial assistance to artistic programs in the village.
“We seek to support the most outstanding artistic endeavors in the Village of Ridgewood, including those that may not be widely known,” said Albert Pucciarelli, president of the Ridgewood Arts Foundation.
All of the current trustees have served on the Ridgewood Arts Council.
“We feel that just as there are foundations for sports, the library and education, artistic endeavors are also worthy of support,” Pucciarelli said. “In Ridgewood, we have so much interest in the quality of life. Our view is that art is one of the great pillars of a rewarding life.”
Host Albert Puccciarelli, president of the Ridgewood Arts Foundation, introduced the trustees to the audience . Left to right Albert Pucciarelli, Linda Bradley, Margie Downs and Gregory Farrell (not shown)
Pucciarelli hosted the event, which drew around 50 guests. He opened the evening by acknowledging those in attendance, including members of the Board of Education, council members and former mayor Paul Aronsohn.
“The notion of a suburban wasteland is put to rest when you realize how much really great art is available in our community,” Pucciarelli said. “Art adds a dimension to life that’s so enhancing and uplifting.”
The crowd listens to the speeches and presentations.
Art of Motion, Inc. is a non-profit professional studio school and home to the Art of Motion Dance Theatre. “Our philosophy focuses on developing range of movement and the expressiveness of each student,” said Lynn Needle, founder/artistic director. “We always believe we have a class to offer anyone who may walk through the door.”
Needle spoke of the studio’s history in Ridgewood and said, “We deliberately didn’t want to name the studio after ourselves. By naming it Art of Motion, we wanted to have lasting fortuity. Our goal is for it to last after we’re gone, as long as Ridgewood embraces it. It’s a gift to the Ridgewood community.”
Lynn Needle, Founder/Artistic Director of Art of Motion Dance Theatre, or Art of Motion, Inc. a conservatory and home to the AOMDT, makes a presentation.
Art of Motion’s other founder/artistic director, Olivia Galgano, mentioned the meaningfulness of the event falling on her birthday. “We’ve been here for 14 years, so it’s very nice to be recognized. We’re very touched,” she said. “We try very hard to bring the arts to Ridgewood.”
Needle gave a presentation that highlighted some of the venues where Art of Motion’s dancers have performed, including Lincoln Center, the Library of Congress and Bergen Community College.
Explaining why Art of Motion was chosen as an honoree, Pucciarelli said, “Art of Motion is a widely recognized dance studio school in Ridgewood exploring the body and mind as a creative instrument.”
“Students always come back because it’s been a home for them," Galgano said. "It’s not a competitive environment, it’s for the love of having students grow their appreciation of dance. People remember our studio with such good feelings.”
The ceremony coincided with the Parlance Chamber Concerts' 10th year in existence.
“It’s certainly an honor to be featured in the Ridgewood Arts Foundation’s inaugural event,” said Michael Parloff, artistic director for Parlance Chamber Concerts. “This event corresponds well with the history of our organization as it takes place during our celebratory 10th anniversary season.”
Parloff is a flutist who played with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra for 30 years. The concept of the Parlance Chamber Concerts stemmed from gatherings that he and his wife Inmo Parloff hosted at their home.
“My idea was to do what I could to break down the perceived barriers that so many people feel stand between them and the full enjoyment of classical music,” he said. “We thought it’d be worthwhile to expand the experience of informality and intimacy to a community-wide setting.”
The concerts, which primarily feature classical and jazz music, are held at the West Side Presbyterian Church. Previous performers have included soprano Susanna Phillips, flutist Sir James Galway and the Emerson String Quartet.
Parlance Chamber Concerts place a priority on ensuring that the concerts are accessible to everyone.
“Attending the performance is convenient, parking is free and tickets are reasonable,” Pucciarelli said. “You can sit within 20 feet of these performers, which you wouldn’t be able to do at the Met. This is world class art within our midst.”
The name Parlance Chamber Concerts is a reference to Parloff and his role as host. “During our concerts, I introduce the performers and tell the audience members a bit about the composers and how they came to write the music that’ll be heard,” he said.
Parloff addressed the importance of arts funding.
“The Ridgewood Arts Foundation’s mission is vitally important,” he said. “We live in a time when people who love the arts and believe in arts education often find themselves in the position of having to justify their passions. It’s gratifying to have a grassroots arts foundation here in Ridgewood that’s focusing directly on these issues.”
Each honoree received an engraved glass vase. A local artist, Sasha Robinson, contributed a painting of East Ridgewood Avenue to the foundation’s silent auction.
To learn more about these organizations, visit their websites: ridgewoodartsfoundation.org; parlancechamberconcerts.org; and artofmotion.org.
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Contact us at information@ridgewoodartsfoundation.org