Arts Council to present ‘un-gala’

The Madera County Arts Council will stream a live fundraising event on May 9, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Hosted by Central Valley radio and television personality Matt Otstot, the show will present live interviews, art exhibitions, video performances and comments from members of the community.

Arts Council Interim Executive Director Jim Kocher, in the leadership position since mid-January, sees this as an alternative to a standard fundraising gala event.

“We recognize that our friends, members, artists and patrons are being impacted by these unprecedented events,” said Kocher, “and the Un-Gala provides a different way to showcase the Arts Council in a new and entertaining way.”

The “Un-Gala for the Arts” will offer both information and entertainment, all while allowing the public to maintain recently mandated ‘social distancing’ and ‘stay at home’ orders.

The non-profit Arts Council relies on both public and private donations for their arts programming throughout the year.

Activities such as art classes for area youth, a public art gallery and gift shop to support local artists and partnerships with other arts organizations throughout Madera County, help the Madera County Arts Council ‘support and promote all arts in Madera County.’

The ‘Un-Gala’ is free to watch and will be streamed on Facebook and YouTube. Additional information about how to log-in will be available on the Madera County Arts Council website.

The Madera County Arts Council is a private, non-profit organization working to support and promote all arts in Madera County.

The Madera County Arts Council is at 424 N. Gateway Drive in Madera. To contact the council, call 661-7005.