The Arts Council of Blue Ridge and Jefferson Center will celebrate “Rising Stars: Women in the Arts” during a free reception on Friday, March 5 at 7 p.m. The reception will be held at the Jefferson Center and is open to the public. Artists and organizations participating in Rising Stars will present information about their upcoming events and activities. The reception is followed by Jefferson Center’s presentation of Toni Blackman: Travels of a Lyrical Ambassador at 8 p.m. Tickets for Toni Blackman’s performance are .
Rising Stars: Women in the Arts is part of the statewide initiative MINDS WIDE OPEN: Virginia Celebrates Women in the Arts March 1 – June 30, 2010 (www.vamindswideopen.org/). Both programs celebrate and honor women and their contributions to the arts.
Rising Stars highlights include: Anna Devere Smith lecture “Engaging the World: The Role of the Artist in Society” at the Taubman Museum of Art – April 8; Southwest Virginia Ballet’s production of “Coppelia” – March 27 & 28; Lynchburg Symphony Orchestra’s “Cherish the Ladies” – May 6; a photography exhibition by Susan V. Lockwood at the O Winston Link Museum – May 6; Opera Roanoke’s production of “Lucia Di Lammermoor” – April 30 & May 2; and Jacksonville Center’s “All This I Am” exhibition featuring the arts and fine crafts created by women in the region – May 7 – June 30.
Hampton Inn-Salem is also offering Rising Stars Get-Away Packages where guests will be treated like “stars” throughout their stay. More than 70 events and activities featuring female artists, composers, performers, and themed programs about women will take place during the four month celebration.
For a complete listing, visit
www.risingstarsinthearts.com or contact Meagan Smith at 342-5790 ext. 4 or [email protected]. For tickets to Toni Blackman call 345-2250 or www.jeffcenter.org. Rising Stars is funded, in part, by a grant from the Virginia Commission for the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts and Virginia Tourism Corporation.
