2004 Year in Review

Paint the Town cancelled

These two girls will have to wait until 2005 to paint on the street.

Everyone around town is talking about no Paint the Town this year. The annual downtown painting event has been canceled this September because the CAPA board lost too many members to put the event on. Five of their ten members left because of work or personal commitments. Most of the board members also chair the committees during Paint the Town. “They are a working board,” explained Barb Bees former president and creator of the event.

In 2003 they celebrated their 10th anniversary with the biggest celebration yet and it was also their most successful. But many of the same people have been putting on the event for several years. Bees, president since 1997, has decided to step down as president because besides being president she also chaired Paint the Town. Sarah Thorndike has taken over as president and Bees will continue to work as a board member.

“I was utterly exhausted after last years celebration,” remembered Bees. “We know it’s an important event. Everyone from the area, including the Quad Cities, knows Morrison by Paint the Town. In postponing the event, we would rather do it right than do it incorrectly. Even if we did a bare bones event, there would still be a lot of work to do.”

“A lot of angst and discussion went into the decision to cancel the event but in the end it was a unanimous decision by the board,” Bees explained.

The group has promised to bring the event back for Morrison’s Sesquicentennial in 2005. It will give them time to rebuild the board and do their normal activities. Many people have called and are already interested in volunteering for the future event.

March 25 CAPA will have an open meeting at Odell Community Room for anyone interested in helping with the 2005 Paint the Town. Jobs are available from chairing a committee to helping the day of the event. The meeting starts at 7:00 pm.

CAPA is planning a Spring Art Show for students at the Odell Community Room and they will soon choose their CAPA Scholarship recipient. Next year they would like to honor former art teacher Betty Hall by having an art show featuring her students.

Unfortunately, it’s the kids and local artists that will lose out this year but we can all look forward and pitch in for the 2005 Paint the Town.

by Barb Benson, theCity1.com
March 16, 2004