The Thornapple Arts Council partnered with the YMCA of Barry County to provide art lessons during the annual Playground Program. The program ran in Hastings, Nashville and Freeport, providing children in each community a weekly art lesson.
TAC partnered with the City of Hastings to produce the First Ward Art Park, a free four-week program for sixth through twelfth grade students at the First Ward Park in Hastings. The program hosted professional artists and different educational themes each week, as well as hands-on projects for the participants.
The ArtPrize bus tour was a great success again in 2012, with three full buses making the trip to Grand Rapids. Participants had the opportunity to get out and look at the ArtPrize art, as well as view many of the outdoor pieces from the comfort of their bus seats. As an added bonus to TAC members, they were able to reserve seats before they went on sale to the general public.
Arts and Eats celebrated its second year with even more artist participation, almost doubling in the number of artists and artisans during the 2012 self-guided driving tour. The 2013 event will be Oct. 19 and 20, and will again feature West Michigan artists and rural communities.
The 18th Annual Auction for the Arts took place Saturday, Nov. 10 in the Barry Community Enrichment Center. The event featured wines by Glass Creek Winery and catering by the County Seat. The evening included silent and live auctions, as well as a raffle prize. Experience for a Cause supported TAC programs, as well as put art experiences in Barry County classrooms. Art for a Cause, featuring a Steve White photograph, benefited the Thornapple Arts Council and the new Barry Community Enrichment Center.
The Delton Christmas Art Hop, held in conjunction with the Delton HomeTown Christmas, was a great success. The Dec. 4 event featured 11 Barry County area artists in eight Delton businesses.
The Thornapple Arts Council helped judge the Nashville Tree Lighting Contest, helping the community celebrate the holidays in style.
The Thornapple Arts Council again partnered with members of the Hastings community to bring ice sculptures to downtown Hastings during the New Year Celebration. Thanks to ice sculpture sponsors, there were seven sculpture stone joy throughout downtown.
