Will YOU Join Us?

By Zandra Wolfgram

Looking for fun? You have arrived. As a member of Mattie Kelly Arts Foundation (MKAF), you are already aboard the “bus to fun town.”

Take it from the MKAF’s CEO of Fun, Demetrius Fuller.

“We really want to up our fun factor in all we do— including raising awareness and funding. Our tagline is Membership Keeps Arts FUN-ded,” Fuller explains.

To realize our vision to “enhance and inspire every life through arts and culture,” it takes community support. As Fuller explains, individual giving has always been the rock bed of MKAF.

“Mattie Kelly Arts Foundation was initially started from the Arts Guild Lunch attended by local art lovers and evolved into the huge support system of volunteers, patrons and sponsors we have today. Membership is the backbone of MKAF and a direct tie to the community. Taking part as an individual member helps to support the arts education and outreach that Mattie Kelly is known for,” Fuller says.

Melanie Moore is the Director of Art Education and couldn’t agree more. This year, she has plans to complete nearly 160 custom ArtsReach programs. From teaching artists, residencies, workshops, touring performances and summer camps, each offering is designed to uniquely benefit a range of diverse populations from the needs of K-12 students, children and adults with special needs to veteran and active-duty military service members.

“We’re connecting with and providing creative opportunities for populations that lack access to art,” Moore explains. “We tailor our programs to those who uniquely benefit from different ways of learning innovative and unique programming. We want to share the arts and a love of the arts with everyone we can and with the best programming we possibly can.”

And this is where you come in.

MKAF cannot deliver quality arts programming like the annual Festival of the Arts in the fall, the 10-week Concerts in the Village in the spring, not to mention its year-round ArtsReach community outreach initiatives without the community’s help. So please join us.

“Membership is affordable, and the benefits are fun,” assures Fuller. “Where else can you spend $150 and get access to 15 concerts, a Festival of the Arts pass, plus discounts on MKAF events? You just can’t.”

There are several new MKAF membership levels from just $75.

Art Nouveau (40 years old and under) Single $75 – For those 40 years of age and under. Member benefits include admission to all of the Spring Concerts in the Village and Festival of the Arts, plus preferred pricing to all MKAF events.

Pop Art – Single $150 or Double $250 – Member benefits include admission to all of the spring and fall Concerts in the Village and Festival of the Arts, plus preferred pricing to all MKAF events. This category is available as a single or reduced fee for couple who reside in the same residence.

Renaissance Single $250 – Includes all member benefits of the Pop Art category plus a VIP Table seat at all of the Concerts in the Village, table is assigned upon arrival. (This is a limited membership category and will be filled on a first come, first served basis.)

Impresario Single $500 – Includes all member benefits of the Pop Art category plus a preferred VIP Table seating at all of the Concerts in the Village, plus 10 general admission tickets to use at any Concerts in the Village or Festival of the Arts. (This is a limited membership category and will be filled on a first come, first served basis.)

Plus, pledging your support is easy to do. Simply go to the MKAF website and sign up on the home page.

Supporting MKAF means you are a champion of the arts. Since forming in 1995, MKAF has impacted 420,000 through our ArtsReach programs.

You will be helping to support this special MKAF memory shared by Melanie Moore of Hands On with Zig, an MKAF ArtsReach partner who presents interactive educational based music events with multicultural themes:

One of my favorite memories working with Zig was after visiting the ARC of Walton County. Zig begins each program by introducing himself and sharing some things about his life as a musician/composer/educator based in Nashville. After two hours of all of the clients learning to play percussion instruments of various genres (including country music) and making music as an ensemble, I saw that some of the participants were huddled in a group off to the side. It seems that they deduced that since Zig is from Nashville, and as a musician, that he must know Crystal Gale, and asked if he could bring her with him next time, as one of them was actually named after Crystal Gale. Zig explained that he did not know her personally, so it would most likely be him returning by himself in the future.

However, when Zig returned to Nashville, he did work his connections and reached out to her. Needless to say, Crystal Gale sent an autographed photo to the ARC and it now holds pride of place. Needless to say, her namesake was moved to tears. What many may not realize is that when Zig comes to visit, and everyone learns to play an instrument as part of “the band,” they become the stars of their own show, and feel like they are a part of something special.

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