Mosaic’s Four Seasons
Gala a success!

Mosaic was formed to celebrate the arts in Newark, and the three organizations involved – the Newark Arts Alliance, Mid-Atlantic Ballet, and the Newark Symphony Orchestra – are celebrating the success of their first collaborative effort. The Four Seasons Gala, held Sat., Nov. 4, at the University of Delaware’s Trabant Center, brought people together for an evening of dance, music, artwork, and gourmet cuisine. Let the statistics tell the story!

  • $21,000 raised
    (Split evenly among the three arts groups)
  • 250 guests
  • 2 honorary Chairs
    (Newark Mayor Vance Funk & W.L. Gore & Associates President and CEO Terri Kelly)
  • 1 celebrity auctioneer
    (Newark City Councilman Paul Pomeroy)
  • 2 performances
    (Mid-Atlantic Ballet and the Newark Symphony Orchestra)
  • 1 Gold Sponsor
    (Schlosser & Associates Mechanical Contractors)
  • 37 Silver, Copper, Diva, Artisan, and Chorus sponsors
  • 32 merchant baskets
  • 9 live auction artworks
    (Limited edition print, watercolor, porcelain bowl, photograph, oil painting, handmade quilt, financial plan, and an anonymous donation of a Chinese screen with soapstone carvings)
  • 60 silent auction artworks
    (Paintings, drawings, ceramics, a series of holiday ornaments, silkscreens, stained glass, embellished book, wall shelf, evening bag, silk scarves, shawl, jewelry, photographs, photography lessons)
  • 1 raffle for two tickets to anywhere in the continental U.S. on Southwest Airlines
    (Won by Karen Gray)
  • 8 restaurants
    (Serving Oysters Rockefeller, butternut squash risotto, crab fondue, voodoo shrimp, Greek appetizers, Australian sausage rolls, pastries – and much more!)
  • 6 Gala Committee members
    (Carol Boncelet, Nancy Breslin, Dawn Calzada, Terry Foreman, Stan Hajec, Maura Perkins

Four Seasons Gala
celebrates Newark arts

The Four Seasons Gala celebrates the diverse and vibrant role the arts play in the Newark community with symphonic music, classical dance, gourmet treats, and one-of-a-kind artwork ­­– which the successful bidders will carry away with them.

The gala, set for Sat., Nov. 4, from 7-10 p.m. at the University of Delaware’s Trabant Center, is presented by Mosaic, a collaboration of three Newark arts organizations – Mid-Atlantic Ballet, the Newark Symphony Orchestra, and the Newark Arts Alliance. Proceeds support the groups as they continue to provide quality arts programming and performance throughout the city.

Mid-Atlantic Ballet will perform a piece that highlights the winter season – “The Land of Snow,” an excerpt from The Nutcracker. The dancers include Kelsey Levering as the Snow Queen; Elise Ritzel and Abby Debold as the Snow Princesses; and Katie Branca, Emily Kauffman, Kristen McAllister, Cori Rudisaile, Erin Schieffer, Lisa Strouss, Morgan Sweede, and Alanna Williamson as the Snowflakes.

Mid-Atlantic Ballet was founded in 1997 by Artistic Director Sara Taylor and is dedicated to providing quality ballet training, dance education, and performances.

Members of the Newark Symphony Orchestra brass section will fill ballroom with horns – trumpets, trombones, and tubas – as they play several short Late Renaissance pieces composed by Giovanni Gabrielli. The music will answer back and forth as Maestro Roman Pawlowski conducts from the center with a brass choir on either side.

Pawlowski has been music director of the symphony since 1983. The orchestra’s members come from Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. A small group of NSO musicians will also play to open the event.

The Newark Arts Alliance, the third organization in the Mosaic group, sponsors the live and silent art auctions. Paul Pomeroy, a member of Newark City Council, will be the celebrity auctioneer.

Items donated for the auction by area artists and businesses include a handmade quilt featuring Newark’s Green Mansion, paintings, prints, ceramics, jewelry, a comprehensive financial plan, a home brew kit, and a variety of gift baskets. Several of the items can be viewed online at www.newarkartsalliance.org/mosaic.html.

The Gold Sponsor for the gala is Schlosser & Associates Mechanical Contractors. Major sponsors also include Vance Funk III, Esq., Attorney at Law, Wilmington Trust, ZZ House Design and Print Studio, W.L. Gore and Associates, The Newark Post, Landmark Engineering, and Verizon.

The evening also includes gourmet “finger foods” from Cucina di Napoli, Caffé Gelato, Matilda’s, Blue Crab Grill, Home Grown Café, Iron Hill Brewery, Brewed Awakenings, and the University; a complimentary cocktail; and a cash bar.

Tickets are $75, or $65 each for two or more. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.newarkartsalliance.org/mosaic.html or call the NAA at 302-266-7266.

NAA Annual Meeting 2006

The NAA Board of Directors for 2006-07 was approved at the annual meeting on Oct. 4. Elected as officers were: Ray Magnani, President; Paul Schlosser, Treasurer; and Barbara French, Secretary/Advocate. Also serving on the Board are Michele McCann, Carol Boncelet, Melissa Cox, Laura Way, Gordon Hetherston, and NAA staff members Susan Logan, Administrative Director, and Terry Foreman, Program Director.

Logan presented a summary of events and achievements for the past year, including community events, projects, Exhibition Gallery, Gallery Shop, ongoing and special events, education programs, Camp Imagine, communications, outreach, the NAA Advisory Committee, classes and workshops, and the three internships.

Membership recruitment strategies were also discussed.

At the October Board meeting following the annual meeting, the Directors considered a proposal from the owner of the Grainery Shops, where the NAA is located.  He is having drawings created to construct a new building at the other end of the parking lot. The existing building would then be torn down. If the NAA is interested in being a tenant in the new structure, the Board would need to meet with him to discuss needs and costs.

Other business included:

  • proposals for three shows for the coming year – a juried show on the national level, an animal-themed show, and a themed show in connection with the 250th anniversary of the City of Newark, which begins in 2007;
  • three pending grant applications;
  • a volunteer appreciation event;
  • membership recruitment strategies, and
  • the budget.