MACC sets ambitious agenda

The Meeker Arts and Cultural Council [MACC] met with Colorado Creative Industries peer assistance network counselor Nancy Kramer from Steamboat Springs to review the master plan created in 2011. The checklist of objectives created have been largely fulfilled in terms of organizational structure, electing officers and a board, obtaining nonprofit status, and identifying the mission and vision statements of the organization.
MACC president Gary Zellers challenged the new officers and the board of directors to seek growth through recruiting new individual memberships as well as businesses, corporations, governments and volunteer organizations in the community. All are welcome and encouraged to share their talents and time to bring performing and fine arts and other cultural experiences and opportunities to the community.
Some of the primary goals include creating the community performing arts group formerly known as “Curtain Call,” which existed in the 1950s through 1970s and presented a variety of plays and musicals with both youth and adult players throughout the year. A similar organization in Grand Junction is providing such opportunities for community theater participation. Community concerts is another MACC objective, bringing accomplished artists in a variety of specialties to perform in Meeker as was done decades ago and is still offered in surrounding communities. Other possibilities are the “Meeker’s Got Talent” musical and variety act shows that are very popular. An immediate goal is a dinner theater production sometime during the summer. Rio Blanco County Historical Society and the Rio Blanco County Pioneers Association (Old Timers) have joined with MACC to promote “Capturing our Culture” oral history interviews at future events such as Old Timers on June 2. This is a great way to share and record your family history and preserve it for future generations. Contact the White River Museum at 878-9982 for more information and appointments.
Another objective is the designation of Meeker as a creative district, a new designation under state law that gives community organizations, businesses, governments and more special status to promote creative industries in many aspects and thus become eligible for consideration of grants, donations and start-up funding for various arts and cultural opportunities. Vanessa Hanson Trout is coordinating this effort. A Colorado Creative Industries summit conference will be held in Breckenridge on April 12-14 where these topics will be presented in detail. Creative industries are the fifth largest source of economic development in Colorado and offer the possibility of creating jobs and thus employment and revenue for local citizens, business for merchants and vendors such as lodging and restaurants, and much more.
MACC also desires to pursue development of a performing arts center which could have a variety of performance venues such as a “theater-in-the-round” suitable for use as a concert hall, plays and musicals, dance presentations, dinner theater, music recording studios and rehearsal rooms, artist studios for painting, sculpture, classes and much more. Many grants and donations from various benefactors (e.g., private donors, corporations, governments, philanthropic foundations et al) are available and would require extensive grant writing efforts to secure such funding, but are well within the realm of possibility as other communities throughout Colorado have undertaken similar efforts with great success.
The ERBM Park and Recreation District has distributed a survey to local residents for future development of district venues and programs. Among the questions is one concerning support for development of a performing arts venue. MACC would like to encourage the residents of Meeker to respond to this survey and indicate their support for the district to pursue performing arts programs and venues. If you did not receive a mailed copy of the survey, contact ERBM at 878-3403 and request one, or access the survey online and submit it before April 12. Online surveys may be accessed at http://www.rrcinfo.com/erbm-parks http://www.rrcinfo.com/erbm-parks. Enter your support for a performing arts venue under the “future facilities, amenities and services” section.
MACC is developing a website and has a MACC email list serve. A similar list-serve is available for the Rio Blanco County Historical Society and for the Rio Blanco County Pioneers Association (Old Timers). To subscribe to any of these list-serves to receive activity information, contact Bob Amick at [email protected] or call 878-4832.
The next MACC meeting will be held on Monday, May 7, at 6:30 p.m. at the Meeker Methodist Church annex. For more information, contact MACC president Gary Zellers at 878-0554, or email [email protected].