Happy holidays from NPAC, Foundation

On behalf of the Van Wert Area Performing Arts Foundation and our parent foundation, The Van Wert County Foundation, I am happy to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!  It is because of so many of you local readers of this column, the Fountain Park Summer Music Series and especially the patrons of the Niswonger concerts, that the performing arts are thriving in Van Wert.  We couldn’t do this without you.

We have just about reached our halfway point in the Niswonger season, and now look forward to an exciting second half.  So many outstanding entertainers and musical artists are in our second half.  And don’t forget about the very interesting Polar Expressions by Paul Nicklen, one of National Geographic’s most celebrated, daring, and exciting photographers of our time.

We also have some exciting news we will be sharing with everyone very soon regarding one of our concerts. We have had to cancel one of our concerts, but we have some very exciting news to share about its replacement. Details to come as this develops. We will also be announcing a free concert coming in March for everyone to enjoy. Once again, details to come.

Thank you to all who attended this year’s performance of Handel’s Messiah.  A lot of work on our local level went into this professional performance and somehow makes it even more rewarding.  If you didn’t catch the performance, you may want to tune into our local public access TV Channel 6 on Time Warner Cable. They will be showing the performance throughout Christmas Eve and Christmas day.  It will be interspersed with some of the school Christmas concerts presented this past month.

It’s during special times like Christmas that we think of those who we work with and help make everything we do successful. There are so many volunteers who provide services in such a loyal way to the Niswonger. We can’t begin to thank all of them for their contributions. I would put their volunteerism up against any in the world.  We are truly blessed.

I have such an effective and quality staff that does all its work in a friendly and professional way, I once again feel blessed. These concerts don’t get picked, planned, promoted, sold and presented without this wonderful staff I have.

My Van Wert Area Performing Arts Foundation board is supportive, very caring, and dutiful in their service. I thank them and look forward to taking the activities at the Niswonger to an even higher level in the future with their support.

And all the activities fall under the umbrella of The Van Wert County Foundation. The board of directors, secretarial staff and our new executive secretary, Seth Baker, are committed to supporting our efforts of bringing the arts to the high level we in Van Wert, and throughout the region, have come to expect.

With this level of commitment and zest for the arts, we continue to flourish and look anxiously to the future for even better things to come.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night. And a happy 2015!

FINÉ.