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Spotlight ACA

​Join us for Spotlight ACA! 

Saturday, April 27 @ 7-10PM

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​Arlington Center for the Arts is excited to announce the return of our spring gala: Spotlight ACA! This annual fundraising event is designed to give our guests and community members an interactive experience and a little taste of all our signature programs, with live music, hands-on activities, delicious food and drinks, and new this year -- a LIVE auction! This year's event will take place at the Arlington Community Center at 27 Maple Street (ACA's home)!

 

Special thanks to our Premier Sponsor Aikenhead Real Estate for their support of this year's event!

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We are also excited to be honoring Arlington Chamber of Commerce Executive Director and community member Beth Locke with the 2024 Alan McClennen Community Arts Award!

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​Proceeds of the event will support ACA's efforts to produce high quality, engaging community programs for Arlington and beyond!

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Event Info

Ticket Info

Spotlight Supporter Ticket | $125

Spotlight Supporter Ticket includes:

  • Exclusive handmade brooch created by fiber artist and ACA instructor + exhibiting artist Chelsea Brown 

  • 2 Drink Tickets for the Spotlight ACA event

  • Admission to Spotlight ACA 2024 + all benefits included in our Individual Ticket level

Individual Ticket | $75

Spotlight ACA 2024 Individual Ticket includes:​

  • Admission to Spotlight ACA 2024

  • Delicious bites​ from local eateries (cash bar available)

  • Spotlight Activities that include artist demos, interactive art-making, and live entertainment (more information below)

  • Opportunity to bid on fabulous prizes during our NEW Live Auction

  • Spotlight ACA Digital Swag Bag

ACA Member Ticket | $65

This ticket option is available to all current ACA members and includes:

  • Admission to Spotlight ACA 2024 + all benefits included in our Individual Ticket level

Entertainment

We are thrilled to be spotlighting artists who participate in our programs and events including ACA Camps + ClassesArlington Porchfest, Arlington Open Studios and Great Northeast Jug Band Festival throughout the evening's festivities.

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Music + Dancing

Be sure to wear your dancing shoes and enjoy the musical stylings of Lori Z Jazz Trio and Amy Kucharik and Friends with Benefits throughout the evening!

 

Amy Kucharik and Friends with Benefits | Sponsored by JMR Real Estate Group

Amy Kucharik and Friends with Benefits fuse early blues and jazz-infused folky original music with a funky edge, an upbeat female-powered message, and infectious danceability. The band mingles ukulele, upright bass, trombone, washboard percussion and more into a sound both nostalgic and contemporary. At the helm is songwriter Kucharik, whose music has been likened to Maria Muldaur, Lake Street Dive, and Anais Mitchell. Amy was a winner of the prestigious Kerrville New Folk songwriting competition and a formal showcase artist at SWRFA in 2015, a NERFA DJ showcase artist in 2016, and a Falcon Ridge Folk Festival Emerging Artist for 2018. Her second full-length album of original music, "Until the Words Are Gone," was released in 2018.

Lori Zuroff has been singing with various rock, blues, R&B, and jazz bands for over 20 years in the Boston area. She has performed with both small and large bands in venues all over Boston including Chick Singer Night at Johnny D's and the Burren in Somerville, The Mad Monkfish in Cambridge, and other venues from Boston to Worcester to Cape Cod and beyond. Lori leads a jazz trio and a quintet and also has her own 5 piece rock band, The Lola Sweet Band. Bill McCormack grew up in Ireland and started playing trumpet and bass at an early age. Before moving to the United States he played with many of Irelands` top musicians including singers Honor Heffernan and Christine Tobin, Stocktons Wing, and was a member of renowned jazz guitarist Louis Stewarts’ regular quartet. He continues to hold down the groove on a diverse Boston music scene playing both upright and electric bass with many of the areas best musicians. Molly Flannery is a pianist, composer, arranger and band leader, and a major player in the highly competitive Boston jazz scene. Molly began her performing career in Kyoto, Japan in 1981 where she appeared frequently at local clubs, playing rock and jazz. In 1983 she left Japan and eventually settled in Boston where she studied jazz with Ran Blake, Charlie Banacos, Kenny Werner, Harvey Diamond, and Doug Johnson. Soon after, she became the keyboard player for Cosmos Factor, the popular world beat dance band led by Jacques Pardo that was nominated for Best World Beat Band at the Boston Music Awards during that time. Then she moved on and formed the Molly Flannery Quintet which played such popular Boston jazz venues as The Willow, The Western Front, The 1359 Club, and Ryles. The Quintet’s music began popping up quite often on jazz radio programs such as WGBH’s Eric in the Evening, where they did a live show, and Harvard Radio’s Jazz Spectrum.

Spotlighting ACA Artists

Enjoy a variety of artist demos and hands-on activities from three ACA artists who participate in programs like Arlington Open Studios and gallery exhibitions, as well as teach in our classes and Vacation Arts Camp programs!

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Chelsea Brown

Fiber Art + Wet Felting Demo

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Pai Lin

Interactive Fabric Painting Activity

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Janice Hayes Cha

Mixed Media Collage Display

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2024 McClennen Award Recipient

Beth Locke

Arlington Center for the Arts is proud to present the 2024 Alan McClennen Community Arts Award to Beth Locke in recognition of her strong dedication, on behalf of the Arlington Chamber of Commerce, to promote the cultural vitality of Arlington. Through Beth's close work with our community, as well as Chamber members, local business owners, Arlington town officials, and local commissions and committees, she consistently highlights the contributions of local cultural organizations and champions work by local artists and young creatives, and promotes Arlington as a destination for culture and enrichment.

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The award is named for former Arlington Town Planner Alan McClennen who was a driving force behind the creation of ACA in 1988. It celebrates local citizens like Beth who embody our organization’s mission to transform lives and build community through the arts.

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About Our 2024 Honoree

Beth Locke has served as the Executive Director of the Arlington Chamber of Commerce since 2015. Prior to her role at the Chamber, she worked in advertising sales for several special interest publications in the boating and gardening sectors and managed her own boutique agency where she provided marketing and promotional assistance to local businesses and organizations. Beth has a passion for promoting Arlington, her hometown, and for bolstering small businesses. Among her achievements at the Chamber is the development and growth of the VisitArlingtonMA brand, which encompasses a vibrant tourism website and a glossy annual magazine. When she isn’t working, Beth can be found navigating the waters of Boston Harbor, exploring thrift shops, and working on her golf game. A graduate of Colby College with a Bachelor's degree in Economics, Beth lives in Winchester with her husband Tim and their two sons.

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Special thanks to Cambridge Savings Bank, our 2024 McClennen Award Sponsor

Spotlight ACA 2024 Sponsors

Our sincerest thanks to all of the generous sponsors of Spotlight ACA 2024!

Premier Sponsor

Aikenhead Real Estate

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McClennen Award Sponsor

Cambridge Savings Bank

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Music Sponsors

JMR Real Estate Group | Amy Kucharik + Friends with Benefits

Interested in sponsoring Spotlight ACA 2024? Review our Spotlight ACA Sponsorship Form for benefit information and please reach out to ACA Executive Director, Tom Formicola at tom@acarts.org

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Special thanks to our Spotlight Planning Committee

Many thanks to the members of our planning committee for all their hard work in making this event happen!

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Sarah Buyer

Jimmy Fox

Ari Herbstman

Margaret Moody

John Oliver

Alexandra Pool

Julia Propp

Molly Scannell

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