Their turn.

Summary: downtown Hagerstown is coming back, but not in the way that we were thinking. Read on.

One morning this week, various officials from the five counties of Western Maryland (Garrett, Allegany, Washington, Frederick, Carroll) convened in downtown Hagerstown. Tourism directors, arts council directors, and downtown development managers met up at the Washington County Arts Council Gallery on the Public Square. After a half hour of coffee from our new neighbors at Skyline Coffee, introductions, welcoming remarks and Krumpe's Do-Nuts (a family-owned Hagerstown business since the 1930s, and at $27 for five dozen, what could be better on a chilly January morning than some Krumpe's?) the 30-odd (well, not so odd, actually) colleagues marched up the street for some creative activity and conversation at the Potomac Bead Company. The day continued with a tasty lunch at Duffy's on Potomac, some fascinating facts and figures from Tom Riford of the Hagerstown Washington County Convention & Visitors Bureau about Washington County history and future, and a tour of other downtown developments such as the Gourmet Goat and the fabulous new loft apartment in the Goat's upper storeys, surely an example of how comfortably life can be lived in downtown Hagerstown.

Note: click on any photo to embiggen for the loveliness.

Okay, of course, it was an opportunity just ripe for showing-off how far our downtown has come in recent years. There was nothing half-rate about anything, from the art in the WCAC Gallery to the service at Duffy's. But something else occurred to me during our show-and-tell. A majority of these chic, enjoyable success stories in downtown Hagerstown are the result of hard work, creativity, and chutzpah on the part of some relatively young entrepeneurs who are ignoring chronic nay-sayers in our community. Here's a non-exhaustive catalog of that youthful cohort who (that? which? is? are? .... life is confusing in a fast-forward community) making our community bloom again:

Early on (okay, three or four years ago) two young women got Hagerstown Magazine not only off the ground, but went on to establish a thriving publishing company which recently launched a new business magazine, Smart Company (their names are Kate Rader and Andrea Rowland, and if they offer you an advertising contract, you may as well give in without struggle because they will win). And Kate and Andrea are only the start of an amazing network of young business people re-creating our downtown. There are excellent high-tech design and marketing firms and retailers all around the Public Square. Skyline Coffee, Duffy's, Potomac Bead Company, High Rock Interactive, Demcore Development, WCAC Gallery, Alter Ego Clothing, Bentley's Bagels, all run by business people who were in diapers during the Carter Administration (note: my first presidential vote helped Jimmy Carter get into the White House; it was 1976 and I was in college; do the math). As an arts administrator, it both makes me proud and gives me pause to realize that the Maryland Symphony Orchestra's very able executive director is younger than my driver's license.

Now add to that mix various recent arrivals, meaning persons not born in the U.S. Excellent meals to be had at Durango on Washington Street. And, seriously, there is no comfort food more effective than the kabobs at Leila's on East Franklin. Plus, just a couple weeks ago I noticed a new Mexi-mart at the corner of Antietam and Locust; can't wait to check that out!

Of course there are savvy downtown citizens and entrepeneurs who maybe have a decade or so head start on these uppity eager youngsters. We'd be lost without our stalwart never-say-die businesses: Tom Newcomer at R. Bruce Carson Fine Jewelry; Carol & Company; Hoffman Clothiers; Bickel's Ski Shop, DatAchieve, not to mention The Plum, Rhubarb House, and of course the Maryland Theatre. Go just a block in one direction or another, and find gems like Potomac Seafood on East Franklin Street (my Eastern Shore relatives swear it's the best, and they are Very Picky About Their Seafood). Or there's that swell flurry of women's clothing shops around the corner of Potomac and Franklin. But... there's something irrepressibly new happening in historic downtown Hagerstown. Finally, this time, I think, maybe this once, the race is to the swift, the battle to the strong. We are blessed with a good share of each. Downtown is ours for the making. Let's do it.

Pretty. Cool.

Katie stopped in today to show us a quilt she created. She makes a lot of cool things, such as the wierd eskimo dolls currently on display in our gallery storefront. But this quilt is just delightful, and reminds me what a great medium textiles can be. If this inspires you to stop by the fabric store and get creative, go with it. I especially like the rail crossing and the graffiti artist. Embiggen for impressive detail.

Pretty.

Just in time for the holidays, a new exhibit at the WCAC Gallery, "2x2" -- featuring dozens upon dozens of 2-inch-square works by several local artists. Here are a few of them. Embiggen for fabulousness!

Here's how it's done

Holiday performance traditions do not just occur naturally. Here's a drive-by scene that illustrates perfectly the glamourous back-breaking labor behind the scenes of some of the holiday's best. Honest, I wasn't trolling for material, I was just parking the truck on North Potomac Street and saw something interesting.

Here you have some of the volunteer board members I witnessed this morning on North Potomac Street, loading props and scenery into a rental truck, preparing for load-in at the Maryland Theatre for the Potomac Classical Youth Ballet's production of The Nutcracker. It was way below freezing, and the season's first snowfall was still on the ground from the night before. Chilly: very. Inspiring: VERY MUCH. These folks have done so much to run a quality program for young dancers over the past ten years that it is not possible to give them too much acknowledgement. The combination of young artists committed to their art, with adults who recognize passion and potential and and then answer with solid support is a wonderful thing to behold. Even when to the ordinary observer it's a bunch of middle-aged folks hauling assorted crap into a parking lot to a rental truck in the freezing snow.

Also, here's a sweet photo from last year's production to give you an indication of the colorful quality of this performance. It is charming, it is excellent, and it might be just the thing that reminds you of why we have a holiday season anyway. If we've ever needed a reminder, this is the year, and if we've ever been given a reminder, this is it.

At the Washington County Arts Council, we aim to encourage (and fund) artistic excellence, and this company of young people respond with a fabulous performance year after year. Speaking for the WCAC, we have good reason to be proud of this lovely program. May it continue for young dancers and appreciative audiences forever.

The Potomac Classical Youth Ballet performances of The Nutcracker are at the Maryland Theatre Saturday, December 8 at 7:30pm and Sunday, December 9 at 3pm. Give yourself a special gift and see this performance. It's been said that Christmas is for the young. Here's an instance where the young give Christmas to us. Do it. You can order tickets online from the Maryland Theatre, or call them to reserve at 301-790-3500.

My bologna has a first name.

Sometimes, art comes and finds you. Sometimes, the most intriguing visuals appear not only in our gallery space, but also on the streets of downtown Hagerstown. And a vision appeared in front of the arts council this morning and I couldn't resist dashing out to capture it in its rich wierdness. Or wierd richness. Truly an International Coffees moment to savour. The odd thing is that no one else noticed, or at least no one mentioned this icon of American pop culture pausing at a stoplight in the heart of the Hub City . Passers-by, drivers, no one seemed interested or tickled or even puzzled. Surely the load of kids on the schoolbus following the weiner should have been delirious, but nary a peep from the inmates. But is it so odd that no one seemed to notice? I'm thinking maybe not so much. Maybe corrective measures need to be taken. I feel some public art coming. No, not just murals. Something nuts and exuberant and unexpected. And excellent. As my college roommate used to say when he got a crazy but excellent idea about shaking things up, Let's Dance.

The last time I saw the weiner-mobile was in Illinois in 1963. It's gotten more swoopy and streamlined, but still a sight to behold.

Maybe I'll turn my snapshots into art for our December exhibition

But we got a lot more comin'

Happy birthday to us! we? us?

This evening the Washington County Arts Council celebrated-in a modest way-its 40th birthday. The proceedings involved handing out $19,950 in grants to local arts projects. Also there were a case or two of not-so-bad wine, several dozen representatives of organizations, public officials, artists, and general supporters; the local press. Also, since this is a birthday, an absolutely fabulous cake from Cones & Bones Bakery, our neighbors here on the Square in downtown Hagerstown.

Okay, first, the cake. Almond cake with cream cheese and apricot filling, encrusted with toasted almonds outlining the figure of the arts council's logo! Really the swellest thing anyone has done for us lately, and it certainly overshadowed our mediocre wine selections. Buy your pies and cakes from Bones & Cones... (I bought three pies last year for Thanksgiving, and they were so good that I didn't get any)

Great evening overall. It is great to support long-standing programs, but it is exciting to provide funding to brand-new programs. Good luck to our newbies. And God bless our oldies. This is such an advantaged community with arts opportunities. And there is SO MUCH on the horizon. Stay tuned.

Getting there.

Tuesday was a very important day for Washington County. Our Board of Education staged a key-turning ceremony for the Barbara Ingram School for the Arts in downtown Hagerstown. Oh, a key-turning ceremony is like a ground-breaking ceremony, except in this case the ground was broken sometime in the 19th century, and what we’re dealing with here is rehabilitating a hundred-year-old building into a modern educational facility.

Anyway, I went away with plenty to think about. The first thing is the support for this school from our business community was overwhelmingly evident, as was support from every civic and service organization as well as public officials. The breakfast reception (held at our Maryland Theatre, which neighbors the school) was packed. Bankers and lawyers cheek-by-jowl with nonprofit directors and county commissioners. One well-aimed grenade would have brought the city to its knees. Not that I’m recommending any such thing, I’m just saying it was a living, breathing Hagerstown Who’s-Who, with coffee and muffins on the side.

There was even a protestor, which I think always lends an air of legitimacy to any public event. The Board of Ed’s one-man chronic conscience stood at the curb, in the rain, with a large placard: Big Note$, Wrong Mu$ic. The sign looked to have been professionally produced. Which makes me wonder if the Board of Ed is dabbling in counter-intelligence these days. But still, it was effective. I learned years ago that the most useful opponent is one who comes across as a kook. Looks like the Barbara Ingram School is in luck!

Major props to schools superintendent Elizabeth Morgan. She’s guided this project from being an easily-dismissed pipe dream to an actual construction project that is being pushed along by enormous public and private support. The funding model—a blend of alternative financing and bond money and historic preservation tax credits and who knows what else—is the first of its kind in Maryland (which actually shouldn’t be a surprise, since Washington County had the first bookmobile in the country, the first arts council in the state, the first of a lot of stuff). Anyway, Dr. Morgan took a lot of hits along the path that brought us to this day, some of them pretty personal. I don’t know for sure what all Betty has in her protective arsenal, but at least two of them are made of brass. The ceremony concluded with an actual unlocking of a huge mock padlock on the building’s front doors.


Pay attention to what happens next. There’ll be the sound of hammers and saws for about year. The din will fade away to be replaced with harmony and rhythm, and if you listen real close, the gentle sounds of brush on canvas. A true symphony of young minds, eager to learn and to speak the special language of their hearts.