By Evelyn Cairns
A wine and hors d’oeuvres reception and awards program at 6 p.m. Thursday will kick off the annual Fall Festival of the Arts at a new location, the James R. DeSana Center for Arts & Culture, the former Wyandotte Center for the Arts, at 81 Chestnut.
The four-day festival, a cooperative effort of the Downriver Arts & Crafts Guild, Acanthus Art Society and Art Ambience, combines a juried fine art show and a non-juried holiday boutique overflowing with original art work and handcrafted items.
The Downriver Council for the Arts, whose headquarters are in the center, will host the event, which will include an address by Wyandotte Councilman and former Mayor James DeSana, in whose honor the building was recently renamed.
In the juried division, prizes of $300, first; $200 second; and $100, third, will be awarded. In addition, a $100 Artists’ Choice Award will be presented, as well as six honorable mention prizes.
Marjorie Chellstorp, who has been an assistant professor of art and humanities at Madonna College and an instructor at the Belian Art Center, was the juror. Her works include a mural at Comerica Bank in Detroit and art that has been shown at the Detroit In-stitute of Arts and the Scarab Club.
The festival will continue from noon to 6 p.m. Friday through Sunday with art demonstrations.
Participating artists are:
Friday — Roberta Harris, Vivian Longfellow and Rita Gazdag.
Saturday — Gloria Dunn, David Matt, Mary Lou Riechard, Elroy Grandy, Donna Hinson, Cathy Wake, David Grose, Mark Jackson, Alice Smallwood, Maureen Keast and Charlene Quiel.
Sunday — Betty Trombetta, David Matt, Charlene Quiel, David Grose, Donna Hinson, Mary Lou Riechard, Mark Jackson, Alice Smallwood and Maureen Keast.
Children’s make-and-take workshops are planned for Friday and Saturday.
The exhibit and boutique items will remain on display and for sale at the center throughout the month of October. For a demonstration schedule and additional information, call Keast at 734-777-6109 or email [email protected].
Benefit set for Southgate man
A spaghetti dinner titled “Carb Up for Joey’s Cancer” has been scheduled for 5 to 8 p.m. Friday at the Allen Park Knights of Columbus Hall, 17113 Champaign, to raise funds for leukemia patient Joe Ksiazek of Southgate.
Tickets are $10, adults, and $5, children under 4. Funds are earmarked to cover 20 percent of the cost for surgery that Ksiazek’s insurance doesn’t cover while he is in Boston for treatment, and for travel and other expenses, a spokeswoman for the fundraiser said.
Although in a wheelchair, Ksiazek said he will be a participant in the Downriver/Dearborn Light the Night Walk of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Oct. 12 at Bishop Park in Wyandotte.
For more information, call Nicole Ksiazek, 734-341-5147, or email [email protected].
Coming up . . .
Oct. 6 — Downriver Walk ’n’ Roll for ALS at Lake Erie Metropark in Brownstown Township; registration begins at 10 a.m., and a three-mile walk at 11 a.m.; to register, or for more information, call 800-882-5764.
Oct. 6, 7 — Fall Flavor Weekend at Greenfield Village featuring “A Taste of History,” with Executive Chef Michael Trombley of The Henry Ford and his daughter, Avery, 5, in a cooking demonstration on Oct. 6, and other demonstrations, activities and exhibits on Oct. 6 and 7; for more information, go to www.thehenryford.org.
Oct. 6, 7 — Historic Fort Wayne’s 30th annual flea market; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 6325 W. Jefferson; no admission charge; tours of the fort are $3; secured parking is $5; for more information, call 313-882-6107.
Oct. 12 — Downriver/Dearborn Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Light the Night Walk; at Bishop Park, Wyandotte; festivities are set for 6 p.m.; ceremony is at 7 p.m. and walk, recognizing Parker Shanton, 5, of Allen Park as Honored Hero, at 7:30 p.m.; for more information, call Stephanie Holland at 1-800-456-5413 or go to www.lightthenight.org/mi.