Cafe Huntington

Project Description:
Our project has already been established, but has limited funds.  We are a street and stage perfomance band that predominately performs in Huntington. We play to busy crowds, as well as no one at all sometimes. We place all of our earned money into a bank account that we have yet to touch, and it has very little in it, seeing that we make about one dollar per hour of performance.

Project Importance:
We have not moved from the city of Huntington for a few reasons, one of them being that we really like it here.  We feel that this town is just waiting for something within the arts to blow up.  We play street performances all of the city, for virtually nothing, just trying to spread the arts in the name of Huntington.  We were the sole founders for the street performance licenses for the city of Huntington.  This license allows us to combine many different art forms into one singular project and present it to the public.  We would like to found more things like this, and with the proper funding, we should have no problem.

How Money Will Be Used:
We would use a grant for:
Various equipment, (items such as mini belt amplifiers, signage, etc.).
For gas money to neighboring cities/states, as well as for food and resources when outside of town.
3 Month Goal:
Over the next three months, we would hope to expand out to other cities and states, as we already have a few dates booked.  We are waiting to take part in what is called, “gig swapping”.  This is when we bring an out of town band in, pay them gas and some extra, and we expose them to the wonders of Huntington. In exchange for this, they host us in their town, and pay us back the same amount of money, so everyone plays for free, but all expenses are paid, and we get to connect with other cities, and other cities to us.

Project Description:
I would like to start a ‘street newspaper’ in Huntington. I had not heard of this idea before working an internship over this past summer at one up in DC, but was able to see all aspects of its operation closely while there. Street newspapers traditionally, are alternative publciations that publish bi-weekly about  homelessness. They are sold through homeless vendors, who buy the papor for cheap, and sell it for a suggested donation of a dollar. It is thus and income-generation opportunity working towards self-empowerment for those who choose to become vendors. I would like to adapt this concept to Huntington. The content itself would be more community news based, as well as a resource guide to anyone struggling financially, be they homeless, unemployed, or simply part of the working poor.

Project Importance:
Homelessness is a very prevalent thing in Huntington. As is economic inequality in general. I would like this paper to be a common ground that anyone in the community would benefit from or at least be interested in. I want it to be a place to at least start conversations on how to improve Huntington, and through the way it is sold, it would start improving the lives of some, starting with those on the streets.

How Money Will Be Used:
After talking with members of the North American Street Paper Association, and one of the co founders of the paper I worked for in DC while still there, it seems that once the first issue is printed and sold successfully, the paper should mostly pay for itself as far as printing costs are concerned. Therefor my main focus of funds would go straight to printing the first issue of the paper, which would hopefully then fund the project on its own. I would be printing with Wayne County News, who would print up to 1000 copies for the minimum price of $500 dollars.

3 Month Goal:
All of the grant money would probably go towards printing costs, which are vital for launching the project in this coming month (looking to launch mid-October). If there were somehow funds left after printing costs, they still drastically help with start-up costs including marketing the paper, getting a laminator to make vendor badges with, etc.

Dear Committee Members,
My name is April Morrison and I participated in last month’s Cafe Huntington. I’m a graduate from Marshall University and I have worked in practically every conventional medium available to me and a few not so conventional ones. Oil painting is my passion and after my first proposal last month I became inspired. I admit I had become lax in my work as an artist but after talking about my artwork and working to come up with an adequate proposal for the committee I received the boost I needed to begin a new project.
However, this project will not be cheap. I would like to begin a series of paintings I’m starting with six and I will need paints, canvases, light and heavy mediums, Solvents and framing, along with a new palette and brush cleaning container (the last one sprung a leak). My project will focus on the simplicity of nature, I have for the first time in my life set out my own garden this year and it’s been an awe-inspiring in endeavor. I would run to the window every morning when I woke up and every evening when I would get home from work just to see the progress my garden had made while I was away. Not everything was successful but it has made me appreciate how delicate the balance is where nature is concerned. I have a series of sketches to show you my ideas I do not have them scanned at this time but I will try to forward them along before the next Cafe Huntington event.

Project Description:
Arts & Science Enrichment at Southside Elementary School

Project Importance:
The children seem to have a limited amount of time to do creative and/or messy things at school.  The crochet and the science projects are offered to any student who wishes to participate, providing they are not a behavior problem for me.  The children are always engaged and enjoy these projects and that is such a great way to expand their horizons, help them realize how science works, let them know that they CAN do creative things, encourage them to investigate new areas, expose them to subjects that are not taught in the regular curriculum…So many reasons!

Last year I had at least 20 kids learn to crochet with me and 32 lunch presentations (from 10-25 children in attendance at each)!  I purchased the science supplies myself and while I encouraged the children to bring crochet supplies from home, I provided them for students who could not.

How Money Will Be Used:
For the last several years I have spearheaded a number of enrichment projects at Southside Elementary School (where my children attended).  With the help of a few other friends/parents, we have had an after school book club which became an after school science & book club and that evolved into a Brown Bag Enrichment Lunch where I had guest speakers come talk to the elementary children at lunchtime.  In the course of doing the BBE lunches I developed a “following” of children who asked me to teach them to crochet, and we ended up also having a once-a-week recess-time crochet club.

If I win the grant, I will use the money to purchase more crochet hooks, knitting needles, yarn and likely other supplies for doing “backyard” and “kitchen” science projects to continue these at-school enrichments and possibly expand to include students at Huntington Middle School  (my older son is now there).

(I am “qualified” to do this, by the way, I have a master’s degree in biology/zoology/entomology and have taught 2 years of Ashland College’s summer college camp “Grossology”, which was very well received.  I have been knitting and crocheting and spinning yarn for several years and am a member of the River Cities Fiber Clan guild.)

(Furthermore, I am a Trained Cub Scout leader, Sunday school teacher and parent)

3 Month Goal:
It will defray the costs of supplies and make it more feasible for me to invite any child, regardless of their ability to bring, for example, their own yarn and needles to learn to knit.  I will likely purchase some instruction books to have available for the kids to reference.

Project Description:
I’m am currently in the pre-promotion phase of Huntington’s first Music & Arts Festival due to take place on Oct 2 at the Ritter Park Amphitheatre. I have a great lineup of 10 independent bands, all from WV, as well as a group of artists to present and sell their works. The purpose of this event is to bring something new and exciting to Huntington for people of all ages, and getting our bands and artists supported. I am also attempting to organize this as much around local businesses as possible. After promoting a local music venue for the past two years I have an increased faith in the true talent of the artists and musicians from our state and am hoping to expose them to a wider range of people. This is something that I hope is the first stepping stone in what could be a great annual event. HMAF will be an all day event and will cover many different types of music and art.

Project Importance:
I believe this project is important on different levels. For our musicians and artists it lets them know that there are people in Huntington getting behind them and supporting the arts. These people work very hard in their creations, and usually with little return. It gives them a reason to get excited about what they do, and to ensure that the arts will never die in our city. And for Huntington I believe that it will provide an event that both a family, or a group of Marshall students could attend and expose themselves to some things they might not have known about. There are no real public outlets for these types of things, so at least we’ll be able to provide one for a day.

How Money Will Be Used:
If we win the grant we will use the money towards one of the many expenses that goes into producing a successful festival. Things such as rent, insurance, police officers, advertising and of course providing funds for the bands among other things. We still have a large amount of the budget to cover so this would be very helpful in chipping away at our goal.

3 Month Goal:
If we receive the grant money it will again assist in the many expenses that go into a festival of this size. Currently we are less than 3 months away, so our deadlines are coming in quickly and with this money we will be able to put it towards getting the word out about the festival to have the best turnout possible. I believe the life of this festival depends on peoples initial knowledge of the event, so over the next three months we will be diligently trying to spread the word across West Virginia and abroad as much as possible.