Carol Davidson with Kenji shows off her haiku at Eye Look Lexington Center (photo credit Cecily Miller)

NEIGHBORHOOD HAIKU COMES TO LEXINGTON

On Tuesday, July 12, 6-8 PM, Lexington  will celebrate its haiku winners  with live music by Betty's Bounce, a jazz trio performing American and Gypsy Jazz, folks reading their haiku poems and tours of the storefront haiku.

This spring Lexington Council for the Arts sponsored a large-scale public art project, which brings original haiku poetry to storefront windows up and down Massachusetts Ave. Known as the Neighborhood Haiku Project, it links Lexington Center and East Lexington. The dynamic  installation will be on view through September.

Haiku is a short, three-line poem – 17 syllables max - offering a fun and challenging form to capture a moment or memory. These poems are hand-painted on storefront windows here in Lexington. 

Community members and others submitted over 200 haiku poems. The jurors who specialized in haiku poetry selected 35 poems. Children wrote six of the winners. The 35 haiku poems are hand-painted on storefront windows here in Lexington. 

Cary Library, Lexington Historical Society, Munroe Center for the Arts, and Lexington Community Education provided interactive, participatory, and fun workshops on how to write haiku in May. 
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Master sign painter Kenji Nakayama instructed the 17-artist volunteer team window in painting techniques. He demonstrated, guided, and helped them practice their techniques on windows at MA - France in East Lexington and Conte’s Bike Shop in Lexington Center, “Laurie Bogdan, the Neighborhood Haiku project manager, said, “I received great support from local businesses for this project. Folks appreciated the Lexington Arts Council bringing art to their doorsteps.” Wicked Bagel in East Lexington even fed the volunteer!

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Two free live music sunset concerts.

Lexington Community Farm (LexFarm) will offer two free live music sunset concerts to area residents outside in our beautiful learning garden.  Thanks to the generosity of Lexington Council for the Arts which subsidized the cost of our performing artists, LexFarm will again bring performers of diverse backgrounds and musical experiences to the fields.  Concerts are planned for June and July, 2022, with the details about the performers to be announced soon.  

Dance, racial justice, and food with Roseman

LexFarm will also welcome back Jessica Roseman as Artist in Residence.  In NOURISH, local dance artist Jessica Roseman explored creative connections between dance, racial justice, and growing food as our first Artist in Residence.  Jessica will be on site on Saturday during the summer to engage farm visitors in gentle, creative dance movements for all to enjoy.

Hip Hop Dance Chair Exercise Class.

On April 28 and  June 23, elders at Care One will have  a complete chair, dance, warm-up and hip hop class that begins and ends in the chairs. They travel through time on the "Soul Train" and chair dance to clean-cut hip hop and R&B songs. Creative props such as smiley faces and African
maracas  help make the soul train journey come to life.
Senior participants will leave feeling more limber

Do fairies exist?

We all know fairies exist, but did you know there’s a worldwide interest in creating homes and gardens for them?

Fairy houses are small, whimsical outdoor dwellings for fairies to live in, ranging from simple houses made from natural materials to elaborate mansions made of metal or resin.

​The Council is proposing that Fairy Homes and Gardens: Lexington occur May 23-29, 2022; the cochair will be Cristina Burwell of the Munroe Center for the Arts.

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Show tunes coming to Lexington.

On June 6, 2 PM at the Community Center,  singing guitarist Howie Newman will play classic songs of yesteryear, including Sinatra, Dean Martin, old rock ’n’ roll (Elvis, Beatles, Drifters, etc.), some show tunes, Neil Diamond and a bunch of popular tunes and standards from the ’60s and earlier. He comes to Lexington through a Lexington Council for the Arts grant.
 
It’s a sing-along, toe-tapping musical journey from the early 1900s up through the 1960s. Howie also adds trivia, background stories about the songs and a little G-rated humor here and there.

A Musical Journey Through The Years

Thanks to the Lexington Council for the Arts grant,  Tommy Rull will be performing "A Musical Journey Through The Years" for the Lexington Seniors on May 2, 2022 from 2:00- 3:00 PM at the Community Center. It will be a “walk down memory lane” for an hour of music, laughter and a really good time with Tommy Rull, singer/entertainer.
Enjoy the music of Neil Diamond, Sinatra, Kenny Rogers, Paul Anka, Elvis, Engelbert, Roy Orbison, Perry Como, Louis Armstrong, Barry Manilow and many others. Sing along to your favorite song' if "the spirit moves you," get up and dance. For a short video of song clips visit http://www.tommyrull.com

Paint a Utility Box this Spring/Summer!

Markus Lewis

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Have you seen the beautiful utility box painted by Laurel Smith on Mass Ave Across from the East Lexington Fire Station near Locust Ave? There will be two more in the next months.

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LCA Gives Grants to the Arts

The Lexington Council for the Arts (LCA), a Town of Lexington Committee, is pleased to announce that it has determined the recipients of its 2021-2022 grant cycle. The grants are open to individuals, agencies, schools, nonprofits, and other organizations  who may apply for grants that enhance the cultural vitality of the Lexington community.  The program must be completed between February 1 and December 31 of 2022.

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Go out doors!

Our partnership with the Lexington Historical Society during this auction was a major success. The painted doors from the Go Out Doors – Lexington show that were installed along the Bikeway and at Lexington High School this summer were available for purchase at the Lexington Historical Society online auction site.

AND almost all the doors found a new home! That benefits the artists, the town, and the buyers of these doors that promote our connectedness to nature and enhance our enjoyment of the outdoors.
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Lexington Council for the Arts administers State Funds by soliciting and evaluating applications for funding from eligible recipients, distributing the funds, and ensuring that they are properly used. The Council also undertakes projects intended to further the appreciation and support of the arts in Lexington.

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Lexington Symphony Takeout Concert

Turbocharge your music + art.

Bring your creations to life. Get support and grants for projects that enhance the Lexington community.

Apply for a grant

Surprises on the bike path.​

Art and Nature getting Lexingtonians Out Doors.
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