On the heels of a successful inaugural concert, the newly formed Oregon Arts

Singer, Matt Welch receives a kiss from Marge Brown, Oregon Mayor.

Council is looking for supporters of the arts who would like to help further the organization’s mission.

“Our goal is this – to provide wholesome entertainment for residents and visitors to Oregon, and to help out local charities,” said arts council organizer Jim Kwiatkowski.

On Nov. 21, the council hosted singer Matt Walch in the Fassett Middle School auditorium. A portion of ticket sales, plus collected donations of non-perishable food items and toys, are going to Oregon Health and Welfare’s Christmas Basket program, which helps local families during the holiday season.

Kwiatkowski said the idea for an arts council came after he and his wife Suzanne started going to Perrysburg and to the Toledo Museum of Art for outdoor summer concerts.

“Then I saw Mayor Marge Brown at a social function, and I asked her why we didn’t have any concerts in Oregon,” he said.

“She said they had one and only 15 people showed up,” he said. “I told her, ‘Then somebody did something wrong.”

Kwiatkowski began researching musicians and singers on the Internet, listening to online clips from artists in Toledo, Cleveland, Indiana and Detroit.

“I was impressed by some of those people and went back to the mayor and asked her to turn on her computer and listen to a couple of singers and a band.

“She just smiled and was very enthusiastic,” Kwiatkowski said. “She asked,

Monica Shireman of Curtice sang the National Anthem and My Funny Valentine as part of the Oregon Arts Council's inaugural concert Nov. 21. Photo by Dena Kraft, www.kraftphotocreations.com.

`What do you need to get started?’”

With some “seed money” from the mayor, Kwiatkowski, with the help of volunteer Kathy Burgess, set out to secure a venue and to book singer Matt Walch, from Grand Rapids, Mich.

“He was great – the audience loved him,” Kwiatkowski said.

“It was a success – I’m not going to say we filled the auditorium, but we made money,” he said. “We have nearly $800 in foodstuffs and cash to donate to the Christmas Basket Program, plus we raised a little extra for our next project.”

The council is working on concerts for the winter and into the spring. “We’re looking at professional-quality artists – the kind you’d see at the Valentine or the Fox Theater, and at different venues. We want to be able to continue on our own and support ourselves from show to show,” Kwiatkowski said.

Each activity will also have a charitable component that would collect donations of cash or food items for charitable organizations, like the Eastern YMCA Scholarship Program, which helps send kids to camp, or the New Harvest Food Pantry.

“We already have a growing list of supporters and partners, which includes about half of the area churches along with the Eastern Community YMCA, St. Charles Mercy Hospital, Dunn Chevrolet Buick, Mathews Ford, 3rd Base Drive Thru, Heartland Rehabilitation Services and more,” Kwiatkowski said. “The new mayor has also expressed his support.”

Kwiatkowski is also doing his homework and talking with the folks at the Perrysburg Arts Council to learn more about their organization. “(Director) Robin Ballmer helped me out tremendously – if it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t know where to begin,” he said.

“The goal is to put together some people in the arts to share their ideas,” he said. “Eventually, we’d like to offer workshops in painting, voice, cooking and other arts-related topics.”

To learn more or to volunteer with the Oregon Arts Council, call 419-754-4702.

Monica Shireman, of Curtice, sang “The National Anthem,” and “My Funny Valentine,” as part of the Oregon Arts Council’s inaugural concert Nov. 21. (Photo by Dena Kraft, www.kraftphotocreations.com)

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