News

The following community organizations will be at the 2011 Dighton Arts Festival.

Berkley Historical Society

Bristol County Agricultural High School

Dighton Historical Society

Dighton Parent Teacher Organization

Dighton Tri-Centennial Committee

Dighton Public Library

Taunton Women's Club

The Dighton Lions Club is pleased to announce its 2012 Dighton Arts Festival music schedule. The schedule will feature many talented young people from the area in keeping with the Dighton Lions Club commitment to encouraging an appreciation for the arts among local youth. The festival program (available at the festival) will include the schedule of performances.

Outside on the Lawn

10:30 Dighton-Rehoboth Marching Band
11:20 Star Spangled Banner- colors presented by Sea Cadets Honor Guard
11:30 Dighton Elementary School Chorus

Inside on the Stage in Greenhouse #5

12:00 Dighton Middle School Flute Ensemble
12:15 Alyssa Rego
12:30 Drumline
12:45 Rebekah Philip
1:00 Warren Pettey
1:15 Julie Araujo
1:30 The Foss Family
2:00 The Strangers

Musical Program ends at 4pm.

2012 List of Exhibitors Coming Soon!

Here is a list of exhibitors at the 2011 Dighton Arts Festival

Almeida, Matthew | MJA Designs | Nashua
Hand-bound leather journals, sculpted leather masquerade masks, and other leatehr accessories

Anuszczyk, Donna | New England Nature | Dighton
Local nature photography, greeting cards, Blessing Boxes, photo poetry plaques

Bilodeau, Dennis | Bilodeau's Furniture | North Dighton
Furniture

Birmingham, Gail | Katama Jewels | Somerset
Handmade modern jewelry inspired by the sea; necklaces, bracelets, earrings for everyday occasions and weddings

Brynildsen, Ken
Photography

Cabral, Joseph | J&M Photos | Fall River
Matted photos of still life and nature from different parts of the country

Cifala, Betty | Jewelry by B | North Dighton
Custom one-of-a-kind sterling silver and semi-precious stones

Conti-Stebenne, Rosalie | Odd + Ends | Taunton
Photography

Costa, Laura | Designs by Laura | Fall River
Handmade jewelry, keyring charms, and beaded snowflake ornaments

DeSilva, M Diane | D'Teals Designs | Berkley
Custom painted glassware, hand-knitted apparel, silk ribbon pins

Doyle, Sue | Forever Yours | Somerset
One of a kind beaded jewelry; sterling and fine silver

Eaton, Jill | Designs by Jill | North Dighton
Jewelry, pocket books and crafts

Elizardo, Liz | EB Designs | North Dighton
Handcrafted jewelry - sterling silver, swarovski crystals, semi-precious stones; hand-painted wooden signs; crocheted scarfs and hats

Enos, Kimberly | KTD Design | North Dighton
Casual to dressy natural genstone and pearl jewelry (necklaces, bracelets, pendants, and earrings) made by using wire-wrapping and leather

Epstein, Lindsey | Lindsey Epstein Pottery | Dighton
Functional pottery, ceramic animal sculptures

Fazio, Rhonda | Dyer Maker | Dighton
Natural dyed silk wraps, thread, ink & pen sets.

Fernandes, Penny | Jewels and Gems by Penny | Raynham
Handmade jewelry using glass beads, natural stones, and semi-precious stones

Field, Susan | The Field Collection | Berkley
Sterling silver chainmaille necklaces, bracelets and earrings

Fletcher, Lisa | Lacharmour | North Dighton
Felted animals, polymer clay creatures, knitted fingerless gloves

Furtado, Dawn | The Beekeeper’s Daughter | East Taunton
Pure local honey

Kearns, Nancy | Haydens Boutique | North Attleboro
Children's clothes and accessories; hats, headbands, etc.

Klein, Linda | Berkley
Fall centerpieces and wreaths; Christmas centerpieces and wreaths

Lafleur, Sally | Leap of Faith | Westport
Sterling and beaded jewelry; beaded ornaments

Lavasseur, Brenda | North Dartmouth
Handmade soap, shaving soap, salves, balms, lip & cuticle, dog shampoo, salt & sugar scrubs

LeBlanc, Gwen | Veruka Dolls | Taunton
Hand-sewn dolls made from vintage and reclaimed fabrics - embellished with vintage trinkets

Lemieux, Carolyn | Jenny Lyn’s Jewelry | Dighton
Handmade sterling silver and gold-plated jewelry

Letourneau, Julie | JL Ribbon Gear | Riverside
Handmade ribbon accesssories, hair bows, key fobs, lamp shades, etc.

Lowther, Anna | Still Life in Oils | Sandwich
Woodburnings on drifftwood and photography

MacDonald, Glorimar | Little Folks Theater | Dighton
Community theater

Macomber, Ben | Attleboro
Traditional watercolor paintings; landscapes, seascapes, florals, etc.

McGuirk, Doreen | Tatum Lee | North Dighton
Jewelry - bracelets created from rocks, minerals, shells, and crystals

McKeon, Collette | Dighton Tri-Centennial Committee | Dighton
2012 historical calendars, tri-centennial ornaments, tri-centennial t-shirts

Medeiros, Al & Trish | Classic Creations | South Dartmouth
Handcrafted and handpainted earrings & pins; magnet frames and bookmarks

Morgado, Rosa | Taunton
Jewelry, scarfs, flowers, arrangements, etc.

Mullen, Peg | Peg's Place | Dighton
Cloth Books, quilt items, bags/totes and more

Mullen, Cynthia | Somerset
Hand knitted children's sweaters and puppet mittens

Mullin, Kyla | KM Designs | Swansea
Handmade beaded jewelry

Nolan, Yvonne | Swansea
Watercolor painting; hair feathers by Haircuttery of Somerset

O'Connor, Ron and Joe Coehlo | Mill Town Memories | North Dighton
Early 20th century photographs of Mount Hope Finishing Company/North Dighton from glass plate negatives

O'Connor, Ron | 20/20 Vision: Cameras abd Film | North Dighton
Exhibit of photographs taken with twenty film cameras and twenty brands/kinds of film

Orsini, Marianne | Kreeters.com | Assonet
Kreeter mechandise: shirts, greeting cards, jewelry, and nick-nacks; also non-Kreeter jewelry (handmade, sterling silver)

Pacheco, Melissa | Fall River
Hand-made one of a kind jewelry

Paradis, Debi | Deb's Designs | Rehoboth
Fleece hats, fleece quilits

Pearson, Robert | Chairs by Bob | Taunton
Chairs with new cane and finish

Prescott, Frank | Annie's Artifax | Somerset
Jewelry and gift items made of polymer clay

Schmidt, Robin | Dragonfly Handmade Soap | Acushnet
Handmade soaps, lotions, sugar scrubs and gift baskets containing these items

Shafer, Roberta | Dough-Belles | Taunton
Personalized Salt-dough ornaments - family, individual, sport, pet, and baby ornaments

Sousa, Jean | MJ Design Ventures | North Attleboro
Children's board book author

Venturini, Denise | Shack in the Back Antiques | Dighton
Early Christmas ornaments, vintage pottery, books, boxes, pictures, flax wheel, celluloid rattles, quilts, depression glass

White, Shirley | Taunton
Outdoor flags: decorative, seasonal; sport, and custom various sizes,

Wilusz, Mary | Claus Creations | Dighton
Hand-painted Old World Santas

Woodcock, Denise | Woodcockmade.com | North Dighton
Soap. shampoo, lip gloss, balm, body spray, lotion

DIGHTON - For the third year, people came from all over to take in a little art, music and wine. The annual event, held at Araujos Garden Center on Sunday, was sponsored by the Dighton Lions Club and the Dighton Art Association. Martha and Rose Sibin, of Tiverton, R.I., took one of the school buses, courtesy of Bloom Bus Services, which shuttled people from the Auto Auction to Araujos. They have been involved with the arts for years. “We heard about this through a friend,” Martha said.
“We travel around the area to different arts festivals,” she said. “It’s a great way to support local artisans,” Rose explained. “Plus, having the wine and children’s area gives it so much more. It’s a great exposure to everyone.” This event is the dream of Lions member Carl Stonstrom with help from Ron O’Connor, Dighton Art Association President.

“This dream began 10 years ago,” Stonstrom said. “I went to an art festival in Arizona and fell in love with what I saw and I knew I wanted it to happen in my town.”
In previous years, the event was held at the Lions’ Pavilion, behind the Dighton Town Hall, but due to increasing popularity, it was moved this year to Araujos.
Of course both O’Connor and Stonstrom have great volunteers within the Lions and the Art Association to help pull the event together. O’Connor said it’s the people’s commitment to the arts and community that makes planning the event so easy. The art association even has a waiting list now for artisans who want to participate.
The people that are involved really care,” Stonstrom said. “Our camaraderie and determination is evident.”

Visitors walked from greenhouse to greenhouse, five in all, and enjoyed just about every form of art as well as a greenhouse for children’s art work. Students from all the Dighton and Rehoboth schools created drawings, paintings and sculptures and students from grades one to seven from the Palmer School had paintings on display. There were various vocal performances by young local artists such as 16-year-old Maria Ventura, 17-year-old Matt Borrello, 16-year-old Sarah Borrello, 14-year-old Kara Fortier and 14-year-old Mia Boostrom. Both the Dighton Elementary School Chorus and the Dighton-Rehoboth Regional High School Jazz Band performed and singers, Gary Duquette and Johnny Botelho performed on the main stage.

Almost 40 exhibitors came from all over the Bristol County area, some as far away as West Warwick, Rhode Island to showcase their pieces, most, one-of-a-kind.
For the first time this year, the event offered wine tasting. Rui Campos, Lions member, shared his expectations. “I’d like to start off slow with about five or six tables, and grow the wine portion as time goes by,” Campos explained. “We’re trying to bring some culture in,” he said. “Some of our wines are local, while others are from Portugal. We also have Port wine and Maderia wine.”

Mary Ann Martin and Martha MacNaught were at this particular festival for the first time selling handcrafted jewelry. Both former educators, they decided to take some jewelry making lessons five years ago. “We never intended to start a business,” Mary Ann explained, “but we had so much stuff, that we decided to do a craft show. We actually sold some stuff, so we figured we might have something here.”

Ester Entin and Steve Davis came from Swansea to take in the great atmosphere.
“This is our first time,” Entin said. “Our friends live down the street. They told us about it.”
“It’s a nice mix of arts and crafts and the fact that it’s local artisans,” Davis said. “Mixing in stuff for the kids makes it nicer as well.”
“I also like that the artists are local,” Entin added. “I found one who has a pottery studio that I’m interested in working in.”
This was the second year for Charles and Brenda Winters, of Somerset.
“There’s a great mix of items and we’re interested in seeing what the wine tasting has to offer,” Charles said.

Mother and daughter team Lisa Hodgson and Ellie Campion, of Crooked Moon Studio, are mosaic artists from Taunton. They had their pieces on display for the first time. Hodson learned of the festival through the Dighton Art Association, where she is a member. Given it was her first time, she had a slight touch of nerves, but her beautiful mosaic pieces could speak for themselves. One of the more unique items she had was a mosaic acoustic guitar.

“I’ve been doing mosaics for three years now,” Hodgson said. “I offer classes as well.”
Painter Theodore Lippold from Berkley has been selling his work at the festival since it began. He specializes in restoration of heirloom photos and nature photography. Lippold has been painting in watercolor since 1965 and working with digital photography since the 1980s.

“This is a great festival because it gives the community the chance to see all local artists and crafts people,” Lippold explained. “The setting is desirable because you’ve got the wine-tasting and great vendors. All these things combine to make a great event.” He noted how the natural light from a greenhouse also adds to the atmosphere and brings out the best in all the art pieces.

Visitors could take a break and grab some quick eats from the Lions Club, who were serving burgers and hotdogs, chicken wings, chili fries and curly fries, coffee, hot cider and hot chocolate and a few other favorites. According to Stonstrom, this was the perfect place to learn about wine and art and have fun doing it. “I want people to come and experience culture,” he said.

Reprinted with permission, courtesy of the Taunton Gazette

Volunteers of America - Massachusetts has recently moved its Family Center for Counseling and Education to One Taunton Green. They are in need of some artwork for their reception areas, offices, and conference rooms. They are a non-profit on a limited budget and are hoping to "borrow" some art work and maybe help with an artist's exposure. They have contacted the Arts Collaborative of Taunton and the Taunton Art Association as well.

If interested, please contact

George B. Mathieson, Director of Development
Volunteers of America Massachusetts
441 Centre St., Jamaica Plain, MA 02130
phone: 617.522.8086, ext. 118
fax: 617-524-8537
[email protected]

www.voamass.org

Posted May 25, 2007