The Charbonneau Villager Newspaper 2020_May issue_Villager newspaper

18 THE CHARBONNEAU VILLAGER May 2020 Charbonneau Arts Association By ERIC HOEM COVID-19 response: Arts Association is getting creative As I write this article, Oregon continues to practice “shelter in place” and has not yet reached the peak of its HOEM COVID-19 conta- gion. Like all or- ganizations, the Charbonneau Arts Association was feeling depressed by the outlook for its 2020 Festival of the Arts. Would our sponsors have the money to continue their support? Would we be able to hold our festival in October? And most importantly, would we be able to raise funds to support local public art education, which is the overriding pur- pose of our nonprofit organization? Evaluating the COVID-19 situation, we knew that we did need to plan as if things would fall in place, but the pros- pects seemed dim at best. Then, one of our members brought us a creative idea that lifted our spirits and regener- ated enthusiasm for festival planning. Charbonneau resident Benjamin Mefford is a sculptor who has assisted with the Charbonneau Festival of the Arts for several years, including on our Organizing Committee. This year Ben is also serving as Director of the The logo for the two festivals that will be collaborating this year. COURTESY PHOTOS Charbonneau resident Benjamin Mefford directs the Wilsonville Festival of the Arts and will be collaborating with the Charbonneau Festival of the Arts this year. Wilsonville Festival of the Arts, our city’s annual celebration over Memo- rial Day weekend. Because of the CO- VID-19 crisis, the Wilsonville festival had to be canceled this year. And that’s when things got much more interesting for Charbonneau and its art festival. Ben approached us about collaborating with the Wilsonville festi- val by bringing some of the activities planned for his canceled program to our festival in October. Discussing the pros- pect quickly turned into a new level of enthusiasm for our own planning: some- thing new and creative to work on that offered a higher chance of success with this collaboration. What are the prospects that got us excited? Ben had already arranged for several participatory components for the now canceled Wilsonville affair: paper making, soap stone carving and calligraphy. We have dreamed of hav- ing active components in our festival, so this opportunity fit like a golf glove. The new pavilion at our country club will be ready for use in October, and it will be the perfect venue for the partici- patory activities that Ben and his WFA planning will bring to our Charbonneau festival. One of the sponsors that Ben works with provides a large tent for their summer event. And there is a very good possibility that the tent will be erected here and further enlarge the footprint of our festival, which will in turn expand possibilities for attractive features. The bottom line for the Charbon- neau Arts Association is that our col- laboration this year with the Wilson- ville Festival of the Arts gives us much more confidence that we can showcase the arts here in Charbonneau and be able to reach our fundraising goals. By the time you read this, I hope that the COVID-19 crisis is subsiding and that we are all looking forward to soon return to our normal activities. It will be a “new normal,” as they say, and many of the details are unclear at this point. For the Charbonneau Arts Association, I can say that we are looking ahead to this year’s Charbon- neau Festival of the Arts, Oct. 23, 24, and 25 with renewed enthusiasm. It will be worth putting the event on your calendar. Profi le of a Charbonneau artist Charbonneau resident and sculpture artist, Benjamin Mefford grew up near Seattle, moved to Portland in 2008 and settled in Wilsonville in 2016. Ben holds a bachelor’s degree in studio art and a master’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies. He has served as a production assistant for professional artists, appren- ticed with two master sculptors and tak- en part in three artist residencies includ- ing a two-week intensive study in Japan. As a sculptor, Ben explains that he is interested in natural patterns, organic geometry, structure, and material ex- ploration. His artwork has appeared in private, commercial, and municipal col- lections, including two public art com- missions. In addition to his work for the Wilsonville Festival of the Arts, Ben currently serves as the editor of the regional arts journal Sculpture NorthWest, is vice president on the board of the Northwest Stone Sculp- tors Association and was recently named co-chair of the Public Art Com- mittee for the City of Lake Oswego. 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The Charbonneau Villager Newspaper 2020_May issue_Villager newspaper | Page 18