Ninepipe Arts Group gears up for ‘event of the season’
Daniel Martynowicz
Caroline Myhre holds a piece of artwork donated by local artist Olivia Olsen. This and many other pieces will be auctioned at the party.
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CHARLO — For a mere $10 per person, the 12th-annual Ninepipe Arts Group Valentine’s Day Party promises good food, music and companionship cleverly disguised as a fundraiser to benefit arts and culture in the area.
According to event organizer and president of the Ninepipe Arts Group, Caroline Myhre, NAG is a collaboration of local amateur and professional artists who volunteer their time to bring music, art, theater and cultural events to the Charlo area. Past efforts include the Dixon Fine Arts camp NAG puts on every year, Shakespeare in the Park, donations to the Missoula Children’s Theatre and scholarships to local students pursuing the arts.
The Valentine’s Day party will be held at Leon Hall in Charlo Feb. 9 at 6:30 p.m. All proceeds will help the art group continue to put on its free summer art camp.
“I think (NAG) does a service to the community that most of the community isn’t even aware of,” said member Juanita Small Salmon. “The main purpose that we work toward every year is to do a four-day art camp that’s free for the children.”
Small Salmon said the camp routinely sees 70 or 80 children each year, and much of the funding goes to pay professional art teachers.
“I mean, the kids love it,” Small Salmon said. “(The professional art teachers) give these kids a creative experience that they may never actually get again, and they learn as individuals and they learn as a collective ... it’s wonderful.”
Small Salmon said she and the volunteers work hard every year to transform Leon Hall and the party into the “social event of the year.”
“We decorate it all up and it looks like a dinner club when you go in,” she said. “We create an atmosphere; we have music; people can dance; we have these beautiful big round tables covered with tablecloths and decorations ... the group itself works so well together and we’re so committed to trying to give an experience; it’s wonderful.”
Artists from around the valley and Missoula donated artwork for a silent auction. NAG members also paired up and worked on different baskets for raffles, including Myhre and Small Salmon’s basket, titled, “The Cabin-fever Cure,” containing, among other things, a bottle of Bailey’s, a pair of Yak-Trax shoe chains, a book on tape and much more.
Matt and Heather Holmes of Holmes Fine Art in Polson donated several pieces to be auctioned during the fundraiser. The Holmes were named 2012’s “Montana Treasured Artists” by Secretary of State Linda McCulloch.
Heather was involved in last year’s art camp and feels that NAG is a worthy cause.
“At the end, they brought all the kids and the artwork together and had a showing at the school. They did a final showing of everything that was created in that week, and you don’t often see that,” she remembered.
The end-of-camp show is something Small Salmon looks forward to every year.
“We keep it going because when you see those little kids’ faces when they’ve made something at art camp, and then mom and dad and grandma and grandpa and everybody comes to see, and they’re so proud.” Small Salmon said. “And we sit there and say, ‘Yea, that’s why we do what we do; that’s why we work so hard all year.’ It’s an honor for me to participate.”
