In the Spirit of this Season . . . Asking for your support for Artful. And for the Haven.
My dearest readers and subscribers,
Artful is free to read and there are no plans to change that.
There are costs, however, in producing it. So for the first time in Artful’s 6 year history, I am asking for your support with a one-time contribution.
The plan is this. From now until the end of the year 2025, I will be accepting contributions of support for Artful. None are too small. This year, Artful is participating in Haven Giving Days (formerly known as 19 Days of the Valley—see below), which means I will be donating to the Upper Valley Haven one-half of all contributions to Artful during this time. Your support will help me to cover expenses, and help the Haven to provide food and shelter for our community.
The best news is that the Jack and Dorothy Byrne Foundation has pledged to match all donations to the Haven during Haven Giving Days, up to a total of $200,000.
(There is no obligation. If you can’t or don’t want to send a financial contribution, that is perfectly okay. You can still support Artful by reading, hitting the Like button, and occasionally sharing a post with someone else who may find it interesting.)
Since this is new, I am starting out simple and a little old-school. (As in, no Venmo.) If you care to contribute, please send a check, for a modest and affordable amount, made payable to me: Susan Apel, at P.O. Box 155, Wilder, VT 05088. If you would, note “Artful” on the check’s memo line. (Note: Artful is not a 501(c)(3) organization.)
A few fun facts about Artful:
Artful’s first post was on December 13, 2019. It was about the annual Woodstock Wassail celebration. 901 of you read it.
Today, each post on Artful gets between 3000 and 4000 views, and sometimes more.
In 2019, we started with 76 subscribers; we now have over 3,200.
Six years of Artful has produced 615 posts.
Artful regularly makes it way to local theater productions, often on opening nights or at previews, at Northern Stage, Shaker Bridge, We the People, Parish Players, and other stages, and reports back. I haunt the Hood and the Hopkins Center, regularly roll through AVA Gallery, Artistree and the Hall Art Foundation, preview performances at the Briggs and Lebanon Opera Houses, read and report on local Upper Valley authors and photographers. Sometimes I go to the movies, and occasionally to artsy places in Boston.
There have been posts about the quirky and fascinating: the archeological dig on Baker Library lawn, the Museum of Everyday Life in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom, local gems like the Rauner and Etna Libraries. Area businesses including bookstores, clothing stores and coffee places.
And of course, as I often say, looking at art and investigating the neighborhood can make a girl (and her husband) hungry, so Artful never shrinks from sampling new and established eateries in the UV, and publishing a review.
It has been, and remains, a privilege to share my thoughts and experiences on the arts and culture in the Upper Valley. Warm wishes, and my gratitude, to all of you.
Haven Giving Days continues the 19 Days of the Valley tradition started 12 years ago by Dan Fraser of Dan & Whit’s in Norwich, VT. Each December, local businesses contribute a portion of sales, host food and toiletry drives, and inspire acts of generosity throughout the Upper Valley. Every dollar and every pound of food collected helps the Haven provide food, shelter, and support to thousands of people each year.
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Thank you! You’re reading Artful, a blog about arts and culture in the Upper Valley, and I hope you’ll subscribe (still free) and then share this post with your friends and on your social media. We now have over 3200 subscribers.
And in case you are wondering . . . Susan B. Apel shuttered a lifelong career as a law professor to continue an interest (since kindergarten) in writing. Her freelance business, The Next Word, includes literary and feature writing; her work has appeared in a variety of lit mags and other publications including Art New England, The Woven Tale Press, The Arts Fuse, Next Avenue, and Persimmon Tree. She connects with her neighbors through Artful, her blog about arts and culture in the Upper Valley. She’s in love with the written word.