Submitted by Tom McKeon
It was gratifying to read the Roanoke Times coverage about the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra’s Pops concert and the follow up letters to the editor about the great event held in Elmwood Park on August 24. As chair of the Roanoke Arts Commission I want to express our gratitude to the RSO and the Foundation for Roanoke Valley (FRV) for partnering with the city to make this event a part of the national award winning Parks and Arts series. Parks and Arts, in its second season, recently earned a Livability Award for the City from the US Conference of Mayors.
The Parks and Arts program purchased and distributed over 1,500 free lawn tickets for the RSO concert making the performance open to anyone who wanted to attend. The Fat Tuesdays Band kicked off the day with a performance prior to the RSO. Their unique brand of Dixie Land Jazz was a nice lead in to the Pops concert. Visual art activities were also available: adults and children created watercolors of the mountains with Polly Branch; made clay magnets with Charlene Graves; or had their face painted by Katherine Devine. The Roanoke Neighborhood Advocates were also on hand with information about city-wide neighborhood events.
Tom McKeon
Chairman, Roanoke Arts Commission
Executive Director, Roanoke Higher Education Center
