Patronizing the arts creates bustling downtown life

A band of jazz musicians plays in front of a church and a theater group belts out Broadway tunes, with a colorful backdrop of paintings, sculpture, and metalwork. It's "Artwalk," a monthly event that brings art lovers to Main Street in downtown Stroudsburg.

From 1993 until last year, Artwalk

"The galleries took over the event," explains executive director Laura Goss. "That's what an arts council is supposed to be about - developing programs that, in the long run, are better handled by another group."

Originally a yearly event coinciding with the annual members' show Artwalk has turned into a monthly happening known as "First Saturday."

Coordinated by the Foxglove Gallery and the Jacob Stroud Corp., local painters, photographers, sculptors, actors, poets, and more display their art downtown from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Foxglove Gallery owner Terry Farda said, "The idea is to wander through and meet the artists."

MCAC, while no longer involved in planning First Saturday, participates just like other area galleries, opening its own MCAC Artspace to the public.

Founded in 1975 by a resolution of the Monroe County Commissioners, MCAC serves Monroe, Pike, Wayne, Carbon and the Slate Belt region (northern tier) of Northampton. Goss considers MCAC "a chamber of commerce for the arts."

In the Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts Regrant Program, for example, the MCAC has distributed $132,000 in state grant money over the last four years to a variety of arts programs.

A panel of 11 evaluators who live in the community and represent the counties reviews grant applications for everything from the "Over the Edge Productions" theater group who will perform at the public library to "Art in the Park" at Chestnuthill Park.

MCAC also runs public galleries, found at local offices and restaurants: JR's Green Scene in East Stroudsburg, Skytop Lodge, East Stroudsburg Savings Association in Brodheadsville, the Abeloff Community Health Center, and others.

Art - for sale - is displayed for two months, with new exhibits taking over on a regular basis. For example, monoprint artist Karen deBalbian Vester has exhibited at Mama Bella's at the Fernwood Resort and the Monroe County Bar Association. Member artists also exhibit at the artist-run cooperative gallery, Artspace.

Arts in Education, another MCAC program, provides grants for artists in residencies at schools, senior centers, and other organizations.

Member artists, who must be able to teach, first apply to be rostered (a panel determines whether their art qualifies).

Schools and other participating institutions can then select the artist and apply to MCAC for a grant. Artists; are paid for their residencies, which generally last 10 days. Content is typically coordinated with the teacher.

Sculptor Jamie Perkins, assigned a placement this past spring in the East Stroudsburg Area School District, helped students create works of art out of recyclable materials from home. The previous year, dancer Barbara Pearson worked with a fifth grade science class to interpret the weather through dance,

The arts, MCAC says, enhance quality of life. Hence. MCAC has had input into Monroe 2020's planning to bring more of the arts into the region and to create gathering places where the arts are involved "especially to address teenager needs."