April 4, 2008                                                                                                                       

For Immediate Release

Contact:  Judy Rigmont, 271-0794, judy.rigmont@dcr.nh.gov  

 

Concord, NH-- On April 24, hundreds of arts supporters from around the state will be gathering at the Colonial Theatre in Keene for a special event, produced by the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts, that will honor the recipients of the 2007 Governors Arts Awards and filmmaker Ken Burns, who will be receiving a special Creative Enterprise Award recognizing Walpole’s Florentine Films.

This year, the State Arts Council is expanding the celebration to include an afternoon of arts open houses to showcase Keene's vibrant creative economy.  The public is invited to visit 10 arts related businesses and nonprofit organizations from 4 - 6 p.m., leaving time for a meal at a local restaurant before the 7 p.m. Governor’s Arts Award celebration at the Colonial Theatre.  The open house hosts are:  MoCo Arts (2 sites), Hannah Grimes Marketplace, Creative Encounters, NE Art Exchange, The Historical Society of Cheshire County, Monadnock Fine Art Gallery, Thorne Sagendorph Art Gallery, Toadstool Bookshop, Murphyarts, and the Keene Art Association.

Most of the sites are in or within walking distance of downtown Keene and are on or near the city's 132 foot wide Main Street. A restaurant listing and map highlighting participating open house venues will be available at the sites and the Colonial Theatre, as well as on the State Arts Council’s website, www.nh.gov/nharts/. Tickets to the Governors Arts Awards can be purchased at the Colonial Theatre box office, by phoning 603/352-2033, or online at www.thecolonial.org.

The State Arts Council is a division of the Department of Cultural Resources.  Its mission is to promote the arts to protect and enrich New Hampshire's unique quality of life.  It is funded by state appropriations and a partnership grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.