‘ARTS OF GREAT FALLS’ GEARING UP FOR SPRING SOIRÉE: The Arts of Great Falls on March 9 will sponsor “An Evening at Monet’s Garden,” a spring fund-raiser to promote and support fine arts through teaching and exhibiting in the community.
The Arts of Great Falls held fund-raisers before COVID, but the March 9 event will be the second annual gala post-pandemic, said Meralee Fredenburgh, the group’s executive director.
This year’s gala will focus on expanding youth programs. An exhibit at the gala will feature artwork by The Arts of Great Falls’ young artists and lead youth-art instructor Michela Mansuino, who will give a live demonstration alongside two of her long-term students.
The event also will feature a performance by soprano Melissa Mino and the Great Falls Philharmonic will present classic French music.
The gala at River Bend Club will include dinner and dancing and both live and silent auctions featuring artwork, beauty treatments, interior-design consultations and much more.
Tickets are $225 per person and tables for 10 can be reserved for $2,000. To learn more about the gala and buying tickets, visit artsofgreatfallsgala.cbo.io.
The Arts of Great Falls is a non-profit organization founded in 2012 to encourage, support and promote fine arts in Great Falls and its surrounding communities. Proceeds from the gala will support expansion of the organization’s youth-art programs.
For more information, see the Website at www.artsofgreatfalls.org.
WATERCOLORIST FEATURED AT ART-SOCIETY MEETING: The McLean Art Society will present watercolorist Tony Neville giving a step-by-step demonstration of how he proceeds in creating a painting on Friday, Feb. 23 at 11 a.m. at the McLean Community Center.
Neville works in watercolor, charcoal and acrylic, exploring the Impressionist spirit. He’s been juried into numerous art shows and regularly teaches watercolor classes and plein-air workshops.
The community is invited.
AWARD-WINNING OIL PAINTER TO DELIVER HUMANITIES LECTURE: Henry Wingate, a local award-winning oil painter, will be the keynote speaker at the ninth annual O’Donovan Humanities Lecture at Oakcrest School on Saturday, March 2.
Wingate’s topic will be “Classically Trained Artists and Their Impact on Culture and Society.” The event will feature a reception at 6:30 p.m., followed by Wingate’s speech at 7 p.m. Oakcrest School is located at 1619 Crowell Road north of Vienna.
Wingate is trained in the Boston School tradition of painting, and his work primarily features portraits, landscapes and still lifes. To view his work, visit www.henrywingate.com.
In 2021, Oakcrest School dedicated an original 8-by-9-foot oil-on-canvas painting of the Nativity by Wingate, which is displayed on the wall behind the altar in the Oakcrest chapel. This commissioned work features several nods to the school’s mission and history.
Wingate also painted the portrait of longtime Oakcrest benefactor Debbie Duffy that hangs in the school’s lobby.
The lecture series is named after the first headmistress of Oakcrest, Pat O’Donovan, who opened Oakcrest in 1976 with 22 girls in Washington, D.C.
To learn more about the O’Donovan Humanities Lecture Series, go to Oakcrest.org. To register to attend Wingate’s upcoming lecture and reception on March 2, see the Website at www.oakcrest.org/academics/odonovan-humanities-lecture.
ARTWORK BY McLEAN YOUTH TO BE FEATURED: To mark Youth Art Month in March, McLean Project for the Arts will host its annual youth-art shows, featuring works from student-artists in the Langley and McLean high-school pyramids.
The show for the Langley High School pyramid will run Feb. 28 to March 11 with an opening reception on Thursday, Feb. 29 from 4:30 to 6 p.m. The show featuring works by the McLean High School pyramid will run from March 13 to 30 with an opening reception on March 14 from 4:30 to 6 p.m.
McLean Project for the Arts is located at the McLean Community Center. Gallery hours are Mondays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
For information, see the Website at www.mpaart.org.
‘POLAR DIP’ APPROACHES FUND-RAISING GOAL: The Kiwanis Club of Tysons is approaching completion of its $25,000 fund-raising goal following its Feb. 11 “polar dip” at Lake Anne Plaza in Reston.
Funds raised will support youth initiatives at the local to international levels.
Donations continue to be accepted. For information on the event, see the Website at www.kiwanispolardip.org.
