CONTACT: BRIAN BEAULIEU 512-431-2603
BODDY ARTS FESTIVAL OCTOBER 16TH AT THE BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS-SALIDA
THE ANNUAL BODDY FEST HAS BEEN TRANSFORMED TO PROVIDE ARTS OPPORTUNITIES TO SALIDA YOUTH
In July, the Salida Council for the Arts passed the baton for the William Boddy Passion to Learn Scholarship Program to the Boys and Girls Club of Chaffee County. The funds currently earmarked for this program will help seed a permanent classroom space dedicated to art, music, theater and other creative endeavors at the Boys & Girls Club of Chaffee County at 709 Palmer Street in Salida.
As part of this new development Boys & Girls Clubs of Chaffee County, & the Salida Arts Council, with the help of Kent Davidson and Barbara Ewing, will host the William E Boddy Arts Festival to celebrate the naming of the Boddy Creative Arts Center. There will be live music, arts demonstrations as well as food trucks to include Tacos el Tapatio, and Blue Truck Ice Cream. Beverages and fruit will also be provided by the Club.
William Boddy was a beloved member of the Salida arts community. To celebrate his contributions to the arts, music and teaching, a scholarship was created in his name in 2015. Funds were raised through individual donations, business sponsorships and a silent auction at the annual Boddy Jam concert. The money was used to fund art classes that were available for free to members of the community. The scholarship was administered by the Salida Council for the Arts.
Barbara Ewing, founder of the William Boddy Scholarship, said, “We’re thrilled to be able to take the Passion to Learn program to a new level with the help of the Boys & Girls Club. It’s an exciting new chapter for us to create something permanent and available to our youth.”
Ken Brandon, President of the Salida Council for the Arts, said, “We’re so pleased to be able to honor our friend William with a lasting legacy of a community classroom dedicated to art and music. We think William would have liked it too.”
Brian Beaulieu stated, “ William once told me that being a Club kid (in California) was one of his fondest childhood memories. The Club staff ‘believed in me as an artist’ he said. I am thrilled to have an arts program named after William. He inspired so many of us and will now inspire thousands of our young artists!”