Cafe Huntington

Feeding The Creative Spirit

Category : Winning Grants

December 2011 Winner – Huntington Underground

December 14th 2011 Posted at November/December 2011, Winning Grants
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Last night, Dec 13, 2011 we had a great CAFE event featuring four awesome projects. The first presentation was by Tonya Beckett, a local artist who recently setup her own shop, studio, and mini-gallery at a local flea market. The second presenter was Kim Baker of River and Rail Bakery. Kim has been a long time supporter of the CAFE dinners by providing baked goods but this time she came looking to raise money to get a small refrigerated display cabinet. Up third was Sean Knisely and his parter with Huntington Underground. They have a website that helps keep the region connected to all the live local music going on. They recently created a sample CD that highlights some of the best bands in the area. They give the CD’s away for free and were looking for the money to help offset the cost of the sampler CD so that they could make more going into the future. Our final presenter was Norman Branch who was representing the Stars R Us Theater troupe. Norman and his troupe are a small acting company that have been putting on various performances since apx 2005. They are trying to raise money to get some audio equipment (small headset microphones) so that the audience is better able to hear the actors.

Once again it was a difficult decision and, as often happens, the final vote difference was 1. Huntington Underground won by the narrowest of margins and we both congratulate them as well as look forward to their return in three months to let us know how progress is going on the next sampler CD.

Thank you to everyone who attended the dinner. Your time and money both help expand the creative community within Huntington. Great things are happening around us everyday and you are each a part of making it happen. Thanks.

March 2011 Winner – Grace Gooding

April 7th 2011 Posted at March 2011, Winning Grants
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The March CAFE event was a great success especially considering the difficulty we had in dealing with some of the event logistics. For example, we didn’t even have a location nailed down until the week before the event! But, the volunteers and St Johns Episcopal Church came through in the end to save the day to make for a fantastic evening full of good food and some great ideas!

This month the food was handled a bit differently than in the past – we had a volunteer, Ari Peralta, who did a bunch of legwork, along with Dream Lester, to get a variety of restaurants to donate food. I believe they also worked with some other volunteers to create some great food that perfectly complimented the idea of an International Dinner. We had food from Nawab (Indian Cuisine), Taste of Asia (Eggrolls and maybe some Thai food), Chilli Willis (Tex-Mex), and some homemade Italian “rattlesnake” pasta. I hope I’m not forgetting anyone! Thank you to each of our donors and, of course to Ari and Dream, for bringing them all together to create a wonderful event.

We had three presenters – the third applied at the last minute so we didn’t get a web post up about her. The first presenter of the evening was Jerill Vance who is starting a new business that recycles felled trees and makes high quality pieces of furniture. His business is called WV ReLeaf and it sounds great. I’ll put his contact information up on here later – but if you have an old tree you need to have removed he can probably help you turn it into a fantastic piece of furniture that you can sell (sharing the proceeds with Jerill) or buy for yourself. It’s pretty amazing stuff.

The second presenter was Aaron-Michael Fox who is writing a novel based on the life of Diamond Teeth Mary – a legendary blues singer who hails from Huntington. Before Aaron-Michael presented I had only vaguely heard of her and I had no idea of her exploits. She sounds like an amazing woman and I hope Aaron is able to both finish and publish his novel. I think a lot of people would really enjoy hearing her story.

The final presenter, and eventual winner, was Grace Gooding. Grace is working with a committee at Huntington Middle School in the Southside Neighborhood to help stop bullying. The group has held a contest for the students to design anti-bullying tee-shirts. A winner has been chosen and they have manged to make about 60 shirts so far but they want to be able to make a shirt for every student so they needed some funds to buy the shirts and to potentially teach kids how to tie-dye them. Grace is actually volunteering the time to teach any student in the school that wants to learn to Tie-Dye as part of the project. It’s a pretty ambitious plan and we hope the $520 grant she won at the CAFE event will help her reach her goal.

We are currently planning our April dinner with a tentative date of Tuesday, April 26th. at 6pm. We hope to see you there.

February’s Results

March 1st 2011 Posted at February 2011, Winning Grants
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Monday, February 28th marked our first dinner held at the Renaissance Ballroom at the Renaissance Center on 8th St in Huntington. It also marked the first time we crossed the $650 prize mark when we awarded the Tri-State Youth Orchestra the grant of $690! That means we had 69 paying attendees who showed up for a wonderful soup dinner (featuring five different soups), chicken salad sandwiches, homemade breads, and personal cheesecakes.

We were graced with five different presenters last night, and though we had some organizing issues involved with locating a projector, all five groups did a wonderful job of sharing their vision. The first presenter was the Tri-State Youth Orchestra which played a piece for us and then explained that the needed the money to purchase a nice orchestral chime – a percussion instrument that they are sorely lacking at the moment. They were followed by Aaron-Michael Fox who is writing a novel based on the life of legendary blues singer, and Huntington native, Diamond Teeth Mary. Aaron-Michael, through his research, has found a trove of Mary’s old friends who live in Florida and he is hoping to go down and interview them personally as there are few documents surviving that tell the tale of Mary.

The third presenters of the evening were Karen Scalf and Carla Seamonds who are amazing gardeners who not only shared their vision with us but also a nice pot of Carrot-Ginger soup. Karen and Carla are organic urban gardeners who utilize the square foot method of gardening within their raised beds. They want to expand their gardens and their outreach throughout the community to help others get the green thumb, or at least, fresh local produce all year long thanks to hoop house gardening and by increasing their yield to the point where they can start selling their produce. Karen and Carla were followed up by Eve Marcum Adkinson who has been inspired by a song and by the efforts of many people in our community to improve the quality of life here. Eve wants to make a video that will help inspire others to become involved in volunteerism and to help the idea of volunteerism become viral. She has already gotten permission from the composer who made the inspiring music so now she is trying to get a decent Hi-Def video camera and the software to make her video a reality.

Our final presenters of the evening were Jason and Nichole Webb – a young couple who, along with four other families, started a community garden on the Webb’s 9-acre farm called “Community Garden at Webbstock” The Webb’s want to increase the scope of their community garden, include a free-range chicken coop, and to turn their garden into an educational resource by partnering with local schools or children’s groups.

As you might imagine the decision making process for all attendees was as difficult as ever but, in the end, the Tri State Youth Orchestra were named the winners and collected the $690 prize. We here at Cafe want to thank all of the volunteers; cooks, setup and cleanup folks, and the different presenting groups for making our 8th event a success. We also offer special thanks to the Renaissance Center for allowing us the use of their ballroom. Thanks also go out to Unlimited Future who provide classes to the winning projects.

First Presenter: Michael Valentine (Brainwrap Productions)

December 3rd 2010 Posted at December 2010, December 2010 Proposals, General, Winning Grants
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Project Description:
Seth Martin and Friends is an Internet video series produced in Huntington, West Virginia. It has been in the planning stages since January of 2009. We have been writing, designing, and organizing our first series. Recently, we released a run of shorts to test our production techniques viewable at http://www.youtube.com/sethmartinfriends. Our desire is to move into full-scale production of an entire season of 12 original half-hour episodes.  Seth Martin and Friends is an absurd sitcom wherein Seth Martin (played, coincidentally, by local actor Seth Martin) is a lovable loser unable to scrape together the resources to move out of his parent’s home. He spends most of his time in the basement trying to figure out what to do with his life with the help of a cadre of puppet pals. The cast of characters includes Trace Cherokee (a struggling Country and Western singer-songwriter), Norman (Seth’s irascible next door neighbor), Super Ultra Man (a superhero), Arthur (a cardinal always looking for a way to make a quick buck), Chappy (a Chapstick), and the ghost of cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin.  Premises for planned episodes include Seth learning to become a professional wrestler, Seth and the puppets start a band, a supervillain replaces Trace Cherokee with a robot, Seth travels back in time to when dinosaurs ruled the Earth, Seth has a run in with some pontoon boat pirates, Seth’s more successful twin brother drops in for a visit, Seth discovers a genie and is granted three wishes, Seth and the puppets try not to interrupt when Seth’s dad’s boss comes over for dinner, Seth goes on a date, Arthur directs a play telling the story of his life, Seth becomes embroiled in vicious mudslinging when he runs against Chappy for mayor of the basement, and Seth and the puppets investigate a haunted house.

Project Importance:
This project represents a unique comic voice. We have worked hard to create a tone and style that is our own. As a group, we have been working on original comedy since 2005. Seth Martin and Friends represents the ultimate expression of our comedic point of view.

This project also represents an opportunity spot light local actors, musicians, and personalities as guest stars. There will be ample opportunities  for local film makers to become involved in all aspects of the production. Seth Martin and Friends will function as a beehive of creativity that is published on the Internet, via local cable access, local film festivals, and whatever other venues will have us.

How Money Will Be Used:
If awarded, we will use the money from CAFE Huntington to purchase a studio light kit. We have been constructing a studio in a piece of rental property so that we can produce our show. Purchasing a light kit will increase our production value incredibly and make our show capable of looking its best. We will purchase the cans and fixtures as well as expendables like color gels, bulbs, diffusion, and scrims to construct a lighting rig to meet our needs.

3 Month Goal:
Receiving this money will help our project immediately. We are prepared to purchase the lighting kit as soon as we can scrape the money together. Having access to the kit will greatly accelerate our pre-production, and make it easier for us to begin filming sequences for our first episode.

We have constructed the walls that house the main set of our studio. It is painted and decorated. Our puppets are complete and our scripts are written. All that’s left are a few technical details and we’ll be ready to shoot. Having the money to purchase this lighting hardware will be a big step.

Over the course of the next three months, with lights we will be able to likely film, edit, and release our first two complete thirty minute episodes and make serious gains towards more quickly producing the remaining ten.

Owning these lights will help us during these months and future months over the course of years as we work on different film productions.

October’s Results

November 1st 2010 Posted at Events, General, October 2010, Winning Grants
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Last night’s CAFÉ was a great event! Thanks to all of the dinners that braved the terrible rain storms and threats of tornados. Unfortunately the dinner was sold out, and we did have to turn people away at the door. I strongly encourage people to buy their tickets in advance! If you can’t buy them online please call to make arrangements for payment and delivery.   

CAFÉ had some big news it’s self to announce last night. We have finally received a cooperate sponsor! At the dinner all present got to witness a beautiful collaboration between create business and support for the arts. The Founders for the Vandalia Research, Inc. have sponsored our fee at the Cabell County Library in Downtown Huntington for the next 12 months. This was a big burden that has been lifted. Thus guaranteeing the success of this event for the next year!We had several amazing proposals once again. The street band Qiet, presented on their project of gig swaping and street music. To learn more about this local musical group check out their facebook page. April Morrison presented on a new series of paintings she needed assistance to produce. A collaborative called Brainwrap Productions, that has create Seth Martin and Friends which is an Internet video series produced right here in Huntington, West Virginia. You can check them out at http://www.youtube.com/sethmartinfriends. Huntington Pulse was back soliciting fund for their street newspaper. The first addition is out now! To learn more about this project check out their facebook page.

Our Winners who walked away with $625.00 from ticket sales were Shelly Keeney and Dominique Wong from the Yellow Goat Farm. Shelly and Dominique are using the CAFE money to take a class on how to turn their goats into a working dairy goat farm. They hope to start selling locally produced milk, cheese, and yogurts at our local markets here in West Virginia soon. If you’d like to learn more about them check out their web page at www.yellowgoatfarm.com . This class is the first step in many to make that dream come true!

Ian Thornton, last month’s winner, stopped by to give an update about how the CAFÉ funds contributed to the first annual Huntington Art and Music Festival.

All and all a great night! Thanks to our sponsor for helping us help creative project in Huntington for the next year to come!

September’s Results

September 21st 2010 Posted at General, Winning Grants
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We had an interesting night at the Cabell County Library Downtown. This was our first walk-in event where we also sold tickets at the door. We generated $410.00 for the project pot that evening.

The food was glorious! Dream & Jim Lester along with Grace & Andrew Gooding cooked and served the food. We had delicious homemade fettuccini alfredo, salad, and  cheesecake. Not to mention 3 different types of homemade bread.

We had one of the most competitive panels of projects yet. April Morrison, a returning CAFE presenter, is interested in painting a new series of oil paintings. These paintings are based on her sketching of nature near Huntington. We also heard from Eric Falquero, a Marshall Senior, who is interested in developing a “street” paper. The concept of a street paper was new to most of the members of the dinner. Basically it is a community paper that addresses the issues of homelessness and poverty.   In a bizarre chain of events, the last presenter Chris Harrison actually petitioned that anyone considering voting for his project vote for one of the other panelists. Chris, a member of the street band Qiet, has already re-submitted his proposal for next month’s dinner.

The winning proposal was presented by Ian Thorton. Ian and his brother are trying to put together the first annual Huntington Music and Art Festival.  Ian has already succeed in getting a wide variety of  bands.  Ian’s main goal for the festival, besides being a downtown Huntington attraction, is to keep it affordable so everyone in the area can appreciate the music. Ian plans on using the money to help defray some of the cost of this $7,000.00 venture. He envisions most of the money from CAFE  going to advertising and, of course, providing funds for the bands who will play.  Ian has already agreed to come back to next month’s dinner and report on how things went and how the money was spent.

Information on the Huntington Music and Art Festival can be found at http://hmafestival.com The Festival is Saturday, October 2 · 12:00pm – 8:00pm. Tickets are being sold in advance at $10.00 per ticket. They can be purchased at Shamrock’s located on 2050 3rd Ave, Huntington, WV. Tickets can also be purchased at the gate for $12.00.

July Event Results

July 23rd 2010 Posted at July 2010, Winning Grants
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Last night was another successful dinner! Twenty-eight of us dined at the Huntington Dance Theater allowing the artist fund to build to $280.00 once again.

The food at the dinner was amazing! Amanda Kolling prepared a wonderful Mediterranean spread. Shelly Keeney and Dominique Wong graciously donated a variety of cheeses and homemade bread for the affair. Shelly and Dominique run the local Yellow Goat Farm where all of the cheese they provided was made.

We had 4 amazing artist presentations covering a variety of ideas and arts. Thomas McChesney is a local community leader that would like to develop a series of small park concerts with varying musicians and musical styles. Charlie Del Papas has an innovative rehabilitation and beautification plan for the flood wall near Harris River Front Park. Plus, Doug Brooks presented his project of having an Art and Spoken Word expo. He also hopes to add a theatrical production during the expo as well. All in all, amazing projects all well deserving of the funding. The winner of the $280.00 Artist Fund was Laura Finlay. Laura was there petitioning on behalf of Huntington Dance Theater’s upcoming summer intensive to help reduce the cost of bringing in Master Dancers from other areas. Some people are unaware of the fact that the Huntington Dance Theater is run by a volunteer staff, including their teachers.

As the votes were being tallied, the Huntington Dance Theater put on several delightful performances ranging from tap, classical arrangements, and even an original piece of choreography.

We were honored to have Dave Lavendar from the Herald Dispatch come and partipate in the dinner. CAFE would like to thank Dave for the article in Sunday July 25th paper.

A special thanks to Toril Lavender for supplying the photos from the events. Check out more of her beautiful work at http://www.lavenderphotography.com/

It was a great dinner and fun was had by all.

June Event Results

June 8th 2010 Posted at June 2010, Winning Grants
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Dr George Palton and his TubaLast night, at McClellan Park along Riverview Ave in Huntington we hosted the first ever CAFE Huntington Dinner and, even more importantly, we awarded our first micro-grant.  Total attendance topped out at 28 which was 3 more than we had initially planned fortunately, our chef for the month, Simone, had made extra food and everyone had plenty to eat.

Three artists were scheduled to present their topics however only two were able to make it so they competed head-to-head for the $280 grant award.  The first presenter for the evening was Dr. George Palton a Tuba Player.  He is planning on attending the 2010 women’s brass conference in Toronto Ontario.  He spoke a bit about his career as a teacher and mentor to young musicians and then played two songs.  It was fantastic hearing the park alive with music and the evening was truly enhanced by Dr. Palton’s participation.

The second presenter was a young visual artist named Joe Cox.  Joe is involved in a few different artistic endeavors around town but he was gunning for the micro-grant to help pay for his first ever solo show.  He currently has a couple of different venues he is considering though he is leaning toward Gallery 842.  Joe talked a little bit about his work and his unusual creative angle while also discussing some of his artistic community involvement.

Joe Cox receiving the Prize Money from Simone KompanekAfter the two presented the votes were tallied and Joe Cox was named this months winner.  All of the participants of the dinner are anxious to see Joe’s solo exhibit as well as to hear about Dr. Palton’s trip to Toronto.    Joe should be coming back to a future CAFE Huntington dinner in the next four months to report on the progress of his solo show.

The dinner was all cooked by Simone Kompanek (who also organized the entire event) and consisted of two types of chicken as well as two types of vietnamese vegetarian Banh Mi Sandwiches.  She also provided both sweet tea and an unsweetened Spiced Apple Iced Tea.  Everything was delicious!

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