One Word Poetry Festival returning to Rock Hill this month
Rock Hill Poet Laureate Angelo Geter, in conjunction with the Rock Hill Poet Laureate Committee, Arts Council of York County, and Comporium, is pleased to announce the second annual One Word Poetry Festival, which will take place from March 30-April 2, 2022.
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Angelo Geter. Provided photo.[/caption]
The first festival in 2021 attracted a crowd of approximately 500 people. Many of the events were free and open to the public.
Events taking place during this year’s five-day festival will include:
- a creative writing showcase by Winthrop University students;
- a Youth Open Mic;
- Adult Open Mic featuring music by Rock Hill Hall of Fame band, “Mellogroove,” where there will be a food truck and beverages for sale from the Rock Hill Bottle Shop;
- and various workshops will be offered for free Saturday morning and afternoon for children 12 and under, middle and high school students, and adults.
Contact Rock Hill Poet Laureate Angelo Geter with questions: onewordpoetryfestival@gmail.com or 757.870.2497.
The districts recertified are: the Congaree Vista (Columbia), Lancaster, Rock Hill and Spartanburg Downtown, all designated in 2015. Their recertification is effective July 1, 2022 and will be run through FY2027.
SCAC Executive Director David Platts approved recertification at the recommendation of reviewer Jason Rapp, the 
Recent, strong economic growth in upstate South Carolina presents an exciting opportunity to support the region’s growing cultural sector. Through a dedicated space to celebrate the arts and arts education, ACFP will serve as the region’s premier cultural destination and a catalyst for economic vitality, community engagement, and creative vibrancy.
Situated in Old Town Rock Hill, ACFP joins a bustling area with restaurants, businesses, shopping, schools and universities, and new housing. Old Town is home to some of the most popular annual events and festivals in the region which bring thousands of people into the downtown area. Now, a thriving Arts Center will contribute even more to the economic success, inclusive community, and cultural vitality with year-round performances and events for diverse and eager audiences.
This region is a dynamic, welcoming community and an integral part of the Charlotte market, one of the hottest in the country. Population growth is twice the national average and business expansion is seen in existing companies and newcomers. With a combination of rural, small town and suburban living options, the region has great schools from kindergarten through university options, and abundant recreational offerings that include the scenic and accessible Catawba River, easy access to the coast and the mountains, greenways, and parks.
Lori Robishaw[/caption]
Robishaw will come to Rock Hill after five years as executive director of La Grua Center in Stonington, Connecticut, a small cultural venue that presents concerts, art exhibitions, and speakers on a wide range of topics. She was responsible for increasing both earned and contributed revenues there, as well as leading the organization through a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion training that then informed the organization’s new strategic plan. Prior to that position she was the executive director of the Ashtabula Arts Center in her Ohio hometown and an arts management consultant who helped launch the Southeastern Connecticut Cultural Coalition in 2013.
ACYC Board of Director President Priscilla Nealy said Robishaw's "wide breadth of experience and connections to the greater arts community makes her perfectly suited to propel the ACYC into our next chapter.”
Her career has also included a five-year stint in Washington, where she headed the communications office for Americans for the Arts, the nation’s leading organization for advancing the arts and arts education. She continued with the organization as a consultant for 15 years, which included writing the book commemorating the organization’s 50th Anniversary and the program journal and event script for its annual National Arts Awards in New York City.
“I am delighted to be joining the Arts Council of York County and excited to move to this growing region,” Robishaw said. “It is a tough time for the arts and culture world as we continue to move through this pandemic, but surely the last year and a half has shown us how critical the arts are to our health and well-being, not to mention the economy of our communities.”
“I feel like I am returning to my roots, working with what I call the arts infrastructure of our country. I started out with a state arts agency in Ohio, worked at the national level in Washington, and now have the chance to run an arts council at the local level. These umbrella organizations are so important for communities to be able to look at the big picture as they foster partnerships among cultural assets to strengthen a sense of place, while at the same time, play a role in attracting and retaining businesses, residents, and visitors,” said Robishaw.
“The board and staff have done a stellar job this past year following Debra Heintz’s long and distinguished tenure, and I am eager to contribute what I can to moving the organization forward.”
The completed works of art will be displayed first at Coroplast Tape Corporation’s U.S. headquarters in Rock Hill. Select pieces will then be moved to the Arts Council of York County’s Center for the Arts where they will be on display from Nov. 20-24, 2019. A public reception and the COROART Awards presentation will be held at the Center for the Arts on Friday, Nov. 22, 2019 from 5-7:30 p.m.
The students are contending for the COROART Award presented by the Coroplast Tape Corporation. These awards are accompanied by cash prizes funded by Coroplast, and include 1st Prize ($1,000), 2nd Prize ($500), and 3rd Prize ($250). The 2019 COROART Awards jury includes a panel of three judges: Ashley Beard (Arts Council of York County Board member, art teacher), Harriet Goode (artist, owner: Gallery 5), and Tom Stanley (artist, Winthrop University [retired]).
For more information about Coroplast’s commitment to the arts and COROART, visit 
This is the Art Endowment’s second major grant announcement of fiscal year 2019, and these awards continue the Arts Endowment’s commitment as the only arts funder reaching the entire country. Awards from this round of funding come from four categories: Art Works II, Our Town, state and regional partnerships and Research: Art Works, plus a renewal in NEA Research Labs.
“Reflecting the diverse artistic richness of our nation, these Arts Endowment-funded projects are varied in their size, scope, and artistic discipline,” said Arts Endowment Acting Chairman Mary Anne Carter. “The projects also illustrate the unique geographic reach of Arts Endowment funding, serving Americans in places large and small in all corners of the country.”
Grants recommended in this round are listed in two ways:
Ken May, S.C. Arts Commission executive director:
“At the Arts Commission, our grant will be put to use serving communities throughout the state. It will fund community arts development initiatives that seek to foster the creativity and unity needed to address the unique issues facing rural South Carolina communities. It will further our goals to provide every South Carolina child with access to an arts-inclusive education. It will also let us help our artists develop their skills to grow businesses that contribute to the state’s $9.7 billion creative economy.”
The world-famous Hub Calls for Art Megaphone.[/caption]
In collaboration with the city of Rock Hill, WAI 
It is the last recording on the organ before renovations to Byrnes Auditorium that will temporarily prevent its use began. Enthusiasts of the historic organ can still revel in its signature sound captured in the Raven Label recording until the organ is once again available for performances.
Winthrop commissioned the organ’s construction in 1952 by the Aeolian-Skinner company. It is named for the Winthrop founder and first president. The large four-manual instrument with 3,788 pipes, the last instrument of famed tonal designer G. Donald Harrison, makes the organ to this day one of the largest in the Carolinas. During its 50th anniversary in 2005, the treasured instrument underwent extensive restoration efforts thanks to generous supporters and Winthrop alumni.
Given the Byrnes makeover, admirers said now it is even more critical to preserve both the sound of the instrument and the building, equally highlighted on Ramsay’s recording of Chadwick’s music.
“It’s a uniquely American artifact, and this recoding preserves that signature sound … it’s a national treasure in so many ways,” said Murray Somerville, who helped establish the Friends of the D.B. Johnson Memorial Organ Performance Fund along with his wife, Hazel, a Winthrop alumna from the class of 1969. Hazel served on the faculty of Vanderbilt University as artistic director of the children's choruses at the Blair School of Music.
Somerville, artistic director emeritus of Nashville's Music City Baroque period instrument ensemble, and former Harvard University organist and choirmaster, performed a recital on the classic organ in 2016 and was instrumental in coordinating the production of Ramsay’s CD.
Music lovers can purchase the CD in the Winthrop Bookstore during the Nov. 16-17 Homecoming & Reunion Weekend or buy directly from Raven.
The recording – featured recently on Michael Barone’s "Pipedreams" radio program – is a debut for Ramsay, a young musician already regarded for his accomplishments and blossoming career on three instruments: organ, harp and harpsichord. The CD features Ramsay on organ playing compositions of George Whitefield Chadwick, who was president of the New England Conservatory in the early 1900's and a noted composer of symphonies and orchestral tone poems. Some of the pieces on this CD are first recordings, enhanced by Byrnes’ acclaimed acoustics.
“We have this wonderful memento of [the organ] … and its acoustic setting, in all its tonal splendor,” Somerville said.
Other world-famous musicians have visited Byrnes solely to perform on the famous organ, including:
It is the hub of a region that has