2007-08 Legend Portraits at St. Elmo's Coffee Pub

 Photos by Nina Tisara/Living Legends of Alexandria

We installed (Steven Halperson did the hanging while I watched) the twelve 2007-08 Legend portraits at St. Elmo's Coffee Pub, 2300 Mt. Vernon Avenue, this afternoon. Pictured are William B. Hurd, Carolyn Griffin, Debra Roepke, Stephen Rideout, Vola Lawson, Patsy Ticer, Joe Youcha, David Cleary, Gladys Seisler, David B. Martin, Ferdinand Day and Marian Van Landingham.

Our sincere appreciation to owner Nora Partlow for making the space available to us. The exhibit will be on view through September.

Stop by to see the photos and while you're there, have a cup of coffee and a treat, and thank Nora and her manager, Will Nichols for opening the space to the Arts in Alexandria.

Collaboration

Great News! This will soon be posted on the Alexandria Legacies website.  Alexandria Legacies is the City of Alexandria's Oral History program.
 

'Alexandria Legacies & Living Legends 'Collaboration"

Living Legends is a A 501(c)(3) nonprofit established in 2007 that identifies, honors and chronicles the living legends of Alexandria, Virginia.  Honorees have included several Historic Alexandria volunteers and staff, along with other prominent members of the community.  Alexandria Legacies and Living Legends have joined forces in a collaborative effort to record oral histories of Living Legends nominees. Additionally, Family Legends of Alexandria is an outgrowth of Living Legends and a new initiative where (for example) kids interview their grandparents to capture their history. The goals are to foster artistic creativity in children and to help them develop an appreciation of and skill in photojournalism and storytelling. With these efforts, the reach of Historic Alexandria's oral history program will be expanded to children and families.

Family Legends Achieves Lift-Off

Family Legends has achieved lift-off!

Thanks to Ramsay Recreation Center Director Harold Little, Family Legends will offer the workshop, “Tell Your Story, Make Your Book” led by Sushmita Mazumdar. The 4-session workshop will be offered to 12 children per class, ages 7-12 in October, January and March.

Little was enthusiastic about offering the program at Ramsay saying he knows first-hand that art can change lives. His love of music is attributed to an early mentor. “Art is in one's soul...it can be a stepping stone to anything,” he said.

Friend of Living Legends John McEnearney has pledged support for two of the workshops.

The Family Legends workshop is part of the Living Legends of Alexandria Project. In this workshop, children will research and record the story of a legendary family member. The participants will learn how to interview people and how to write the stories. Then they will learn to turn the stories into a handmade storybook complete with illustrations, photos and maps.

Completed Family Legend Storybooks will be exhibited for the community to read and enjoy and published in Living Legends of Alexandria News.

Sushmita Mazumdar is an Arlington-based writer, book artist, and educator. She teaches art education programs for children and adults encouraging storytelling and the sharing of cultural heritage. She has conducted workshops at museums, schools, and arts institutions in the Washington DC area. She participated in the Smithsonian Folklife Festival 2010 Asian Pacific American Program: Local Lives Global Ties. 

Living Legends of Alexandria is an ongoing, not-for-profit project to identify, honor and chronicle people making current history in Alexandria.

For workshop information, see www.HandmadeStorybooks.com. For information about Living Legends of Alexandria, see www.AlexandriaLegends.com

Douglas Thurman Alley

The Living Legends Board of Directors has unanimously and enthusiastically endorsed the request of the Old Town Civic Association to name the alley behind his home in honor of the late Douglas Thurman.

Doug was a founding Board member and an ardent supporter of the project. He gave not only financial support, he gave us ideas to increase our visibility, for example participating in the Scottish Walk and the St. Pat's Parade. He arranged for an information table at last year's Irish Festival and for an Alexandria City Band piper at the opening reception of the Living Legends photo exhibition at the Del Ray Artisans. He gave all this generously despite his failing health.

Legends at Lee Center

The 2010 Living Legends of Alexandria portraits will be exhibited at the Lee Center, 1108 Jefferson Street, beginning August 9 through October 2011.  The 2010 Legends are Chet Avery, Rosalind Bovey, V. Rodger Digilio, Nelson A. Greene, Sr., T. Michael Miller, the team of Linda Odell and Alice Merrill, John Porter, Joan and John Renner, David G. Speck, Pat Troy, Lois Walker and Betty Wright. Read their stories in the 2010 Living Legends Catalog.

John Porter Acts For Alexandria

2010 Living Legend of Alexandria John Porter

 

2010 Living Legend of Alexandria John Porter is completing his second year as executive director of ACT for Alexandria. In its seventh year, ACT has been instrumental in raising the level and effectiveness of giving and engagement in our community. From its first initiative, the Giving Circle, in 2004 to the recent launch of ACTion Alexandria, a Web 2.0 platform designed to mobilize community giving and provide problem-solving support, ACT has proven to be a driving force for change in Alexandria.

During Spring for Alexandria 2011, ACT initiated Spring2ACTion, an innovative three-day online, community-wide, grassroots fundraising effort which raised over $100,000 for Alexandria nonprofits. More is planned as ACTion Alexandria seeks new and innovative ways to help others in our community.

For more information, go to www.actforalexandria.org or call John at 703-739-7778. Remember ACT when you absolutely want to improve Alexandria.