Begalka: Art center creating own legacy
When the Crystal Lake City Council distributed $290,000 in hotel/motel tax funds last month, the Lakeside Legacy Foundation was noticeably absent from the list.
With no Crystal Lake Gala this year to sponsor the parade, the money for this year’s fireworks display and parade has to come from somewhere. Still, I could not help but notice the council allotted $150,000 to The Raue Center for the Arts, $3,600 to McHenry County Music Center and $10,000 to the Northwest Area Arts Council.
Terry Legare, who took over as executive director of the Foundation in January, said all the right things. The $15,000 used last year to produce the guide for the Gala and Lakeside festivals will come this year from local sponsors instead.
“We have a good partnership [with the Crystal Lake City Council]. I think they chose to fund other projects this year,” Legare said of the city. “With the Gala gone and the Lakeside Festival being moved to the July 4th weekend – July 2-5 – we feel there will be greater attendance.”
The Foundation, which runs the nonprofit Lakeside Legacy Arts Park and Dole Mansion, operates on a budget of about $900,000 a year. Proceeds from the Lakeside Festival represent the largest portion of the organization’s revenue.
Oil paintings to see
A golden anniversary celebration evolved into oil painters’ dream exhibition at Lakeside Legacy Arts Park, 401 Country Club Road in Crystal Lake.
Board members from the Oil Painters of America will join one of their own, Betty Schmidt of Crystal Lake, for a one-of-a-kind exhibit and reception 5 to 7 p.m. April 3, in the Sage Gallery. Schmidt, past president of the organization, will display several of her paintings alongside the work of her photographer husband, Tom. Other exhibitors include Bill Schneider of Lakewood; her mentor, Thomas Trausch of Woodstock and Suzanne Poursine Massion of Hampshire.
Schmidt set out to reserve the gallery for a private party, but at the time there, was no art on the walls.
“I wanted this to be really elegant. So I asked, ‘Can I reserve the room for artwork?’” Schmidt said. “I asked a few of our board members, but I never expected them all to do it.”
Schmidt, 74, is secretary/treasurer of the OPA, based in Crystal Lake since 2002. She rededicated herself to painting after retiring in 1994 as finance director of Park Ridge.
Predominantly a landscape and floral painter, she and her husband frequently work as a team in nature. Schmidt now is learning to paint portraits.
“That is what keeps me young,” she said. “I’m constantly learning.”
First Friday Gallery Night
Lakeside Legacy Arts Park has tinkered with its monthly First Friday Gallery Night, which now runs 5 to 7 p.m. Twenty artists will participate March 6. Cooking demonstrations, music, a variety of appetizers and wine also compliment the evening – and all for the price of a donation.
“During these times people are looking for inexpensive ways to have fun,” events coordinator, Liz Tevyaw said. “We need a place like this.”
• Kurt Begalka can be reached at kbegalka@nwnewsgroup.com.
