Carousel Fine Craft Show & Brass Ring Gala Reception

Carousel Fine Craft Show & Brass Ring Gala Reception

March 22, 23, 24, 2013

There will NOT be a ribbon cutting ceremony today (March 22, 2013).‚ The decision was made to wait for that until the carousel building starts. We will keep you updated.

The City of Kingsport Office of Cultural Arts is pleased to announce the Carousel Fine Craft Show and Brass Ring Gala Reception.‚ In celebration of the amazing community project known as the Kingsport Carousel Project we present Kingsports new premier juried, high quality, fine arts and crafts show. This juried show will feature fine artists, artisans, craftspeople and photographers. The show has been juried by Kingsport Artisan Walt Turpening and will take place at the Kingsport Farmers Market at the corner of Center Street & Clinchfield Street in Kingsport, Tennessee. The show will feature only original hand-made works of fine craft/art. NO commercial items for resale, kits, imported or consigned goods will be accepted.‚ Many show booths will have live demonstrations of their craft.

Carousel animal carvings and rounding board paintings (some still in progress) will be prominently displayed.‚ The public is encouraged to visit the show to see the progress of the Carousel Project and to interact with the carvers, painters and other volunteers as they perform live demonstrations, as well as taking part in the Fine Craft Show.

The future site of the Kingsport Carousel will be in the vicinity of the Kingsport Farmers Market. Special opportunities to sponsor animals and paintings will be made available to the public.

The show will be opened up with the Brass Ring Gala Reception on Friday March 22 from 6-9 pm sponsored by Engage Kingsport.‚ This will be a special fundraiser for the Carousel Project.‚ This reception will be a true celebration with all the carousel animal carvings and paintings together under one roof along with all our incredible carvers, painters and other volunteers on hand to interact with. The gala will feature‚ My New Favorites, a local Tri-Cities band. My New Favorites is the union of four musicians that play a fusion of old time, bluegrass, rock, gospel, jazz and classical.

This will be a festive time with music, bard, drinks and a cash bar with wine and beer as well as exclusive access to the Carousel Fine Craft Show, Kingsports premier juried show, featuring some of the best regional artisans and their hand-made works of fine craft and art.‚ All Gala attendees will get a 2 day pass to the show.

Please join us as we celebrate the Kingsport Carousel Project and launch it to the next level.‚ This project would never have taken place without the support of the people of Kingsport and the region.‚ We encourage you to pass this information on to your family and friends.

Dates/Times: March 22-24, 2013

Gala Event: Friday March 22‚ 6 pm-9 pm

Show hours: Saturday‚ March 23 – 10 am – 5 pm

Sunday March 24 ‚ 10 am – 5 pm

Tickets available now at www.EngageKingsport.com or use this QR code:

• Gala Event is $35.00

Includes entry pass to show for all days. Gala Event will include bard /drinks & beer/wine for sale, with exclusive access to the Fine Craft Show as well as Carousel Project volunteers along with the carousel ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ animals, paintings & carving demonstrations.

• Tickets to Fine Craft Show are
$5.00 for 1 day
$7.00 for 2 day pass

Featured Carousel Fine Craft Show artists:

Kipp Brixey	Functional Pottery
Joy Ann Darling	Nantucket & Appalachian Baskets
Susan Lane & John Plutchak	Quilting
Sandy Moore	Dichroic Glass Art & Jewelry
Tim Roberts	Porcelain & Stoneware Pottery
Rob Scaffe	Furniture
Joyce Bolton Smith	Nantucket & Shaker Baskets
Jeffrey Stoner	Photography
Ellen Turpening	Weaving
Walt Turpening	Furniture/Weaving
Lyle Wheeler	Furniture/Woodworking
Blair White	Sterling Silver & Gold Jewelry
Tom Wilkins	Woodwork

The Carousel Project:

It started as one man’s dream to have a carousel for the Kingsport community. He talked a few fellow Kiwanis members into investigating the idea and the Four Horsemen took charge. Now Kingsport has a carousel carving studio at the Lynn View Community Center where the carvers can be found working on their animals.‚ It is open to the public M-F from 10 am ‚¬ 5 pm. Volunteer painters are also hard at work painting the hand-carved animals. Another set of volunteer painters are painting Kingsport scenes on Rounding Boards for the Carousel.

Mechanics, merchants, fund raisers and enthusiasts are urged to get involved in this legacy project for Kingsport. The work continues until the 1956 vintage Herschel frame is in its own round house connected to the Farmers’ Market and all animals have a place on the carousel with children of all ages riding. Completion date is set for spring 2014 so there is a lot of work to be done and a great way to get to know great people!

About the City of Kingsport Office of Cultural Arts & Engage Kingsport:

The City of Kingsport Office of Cultural Arts, part of the City of Kingsport, connects, coordinates and engages the public with a creative community.‚ It operates a public art program, concert and theatrical events, the Carousel Project and a broad range of support to the areas arts organizations.‚ They work in tandem with Engage Kingsport, a private 501(c)3 non-profit organization, in order to facilitate their goals.

The Carousel Projects dream of having a hand-carved menagerie style carousel is getting closer all the time.‚ Built by a group of nearly 100 volunteers, the Carousel will become a treasure for families of the region for many years to come.

In addition to the Carousel Project, Engage Kingsports goals are to collaborate with a variety of arts organizations as well as non-arts organizations, with the aim of increasing opportunities and outlets for artists of all types. As Kingsport becomes a destination for artists, new markets emerge for the creations of these artists.

Become a financial supporter of the Carousel Project‚¬ supporters at all levels are needed to make the project a success. Tax-deductible donations should be made payable to Engage Kingsport, 1200 E. Center St. Kingsport, TN 37660. Engage Kingsport is a 501(c)3 Non-Profit organization.

Donations can be made through PayPal on www.EngageKingsport.com

Donations of any amount welcomed.