<strong>Whittier Community Center</strong>
In honor of National Arts & Humanities Month, we are featuring a Cache Valley arts organization a day.The Whittier Community Center was built in 1908 and sold to Logan City for $20,000. Originally built as a schoolhouse it contained the first library in a public school in Utah. The Whittier School housed the first teacher training program in the valley, as well as the precursor program to the Center for Persons with Disabilities. It was closed as a school in 1968 and began housing arts instruction and performances in 1974. The Alliance for the Varied Arts, Valley Dance Ensemble, Cache Valley Civic Ballet and Unicorn Theatre all got their start in the Whittier Center, which now hosts contra dancing, ballet, middle eastern dance, Irish dance, martial arts, folk music, exercise classes, a renaissance fair and many other community functions. The building is now part of the national register for historic places. The center recently added an accessible playground designed by kids and built by volunteers. www.whittiercenter.org.
<strong>American Festival Chorus</strong>
In its second year under the baton of Dr. Craig Jessop, the all-volunteer American Festival Chorus numbers over 300 singers from Cache Valley and beyond. This symphonic chorus joins with the American Festival Orchestra for several concerts this season beginning with An Evening of John Rutter Choral Music Nov. 7, followed by a Veterans Day Salute, Yuletide Concerts, Music is for Lovers in February and Joseph Haydn’s “The Creation” in March. American Festival Chorus was recently invited to perform at the gubernatorial inauguration for Governor Herbert. www.americanfestivalchorus.org
<strong>Summerfest</strong>
Every Fathers’ Day weekend for the past 26 years Summerfest Art Faire has offered fine art, food, live entertainment, and a children’s art yard. In its long and varied history the event has been put on by organizations as diverse as the Cache Chamber of Commerce, Logan Regional Hospital, the Logan Downtown Alliance and the City of Logan. Now an independent nonprofit, Summerfest is stronger than ever with over 130 exhibiting artists, selected by a committee for their quality and variety. The faire opens with an outdoor (or plein air) painting competition, where artists have two days to create an original work of art somewhere in Cache Valley. More information at www.logansummerfest.com.
<strong>Alliance for the Varied Arts</strong>
The Alliance for the Varied Arts has offered events and instruction in the visual and performing arts for nearly forty years. The specific classes offered vary with community interest, but currently include dance, drama, music, visual arts, ceramics, and photography. The AVA is currently partnering with The Art Center to provide visual arts courses taught by professional artists. The AVA runs a gift shop and fine art gallery in the Thatcher-Young Mansion at 35 W 100 S in Logan, with a full season of rotating exhibits, and they spearhead the popular downtown Gallery Walks. In the summer the AVA introduces children to several arts disciplines through a Children’s Art Camp. More information at www.avaarts.org.This arts organization profile was brought to you by the Cache Valley Arts Summit.