December 05, 2003

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Publication Date: Friday, December 05, 2003

Donations help arts thrive

Pleasanton Cultural Arts Council has depended on donations since it was incorporated in 1974, but the contribution of two racehorses in the mid-'80s was a surprise.

"We gave them to the Chamber of Commerce for an auction they were holding," recalled PCAC founding president Charlotte Severin, "and in exchange we got a permanent membership in the Chamber. We meet there the first Wednesday of the month."

To Severin, the history of PCAC is people and their accomplishments, with a lot of funny twists and turns. "Our PCAC is a hybrid," explained Severin, with representatives from all the arts plus patrons eager to support them. "We have people who understand that it takes teamwork to make things happen."

"One time, in 1983, we had an Indian powwow. We held it at the Amador Valley football field," she remembered. It turned out that PCAC and the chiefs had different expectations.

"We were looking at a cultural event, and it turned out it was a 'coming out' for young men," Severin said. "They kept giving these blankets out, and it went on and on - and on. Toward 10 at night they were still beating the drums and the police came because the neighbors had called them."

PCAC was founded to encourage all forms of art and to provide facilities for them in Pleasanton. Contributions go straight to the arts, since it is an all-volunteer, nonprofit organization. It is fulfilling its mandate so well that Mayor Tom Pico presented it with the 2003 Mayor's Award.

"Arts wake people up, emotionally, intellectually, spiritually," said David Wright, current president of PCAC, and a retired professor of literary arts and poetry at Las Positas College. "I think everybody needs that."

"Pleasanton Playhouse joined us early on and asked for a grant to get started as a playhouse company," said Severin. "We loaned them $500 and boy, what a great investment that was."

PCAC started the city's art in public places, which evolved into the Civic Arts Commission, when Mayor Bernard T. Gerton (1958-59 and 1968-69) wanted a mural on the side of the Cheese Factory facing his parking lot. PCAC held a contest for the best historical scene, then artists came on the weekends to paint it. "The Cheese Factory provided cheese and bread, and Mayor Gerton provided soft drinks," recalled Severin.

In 1975 PCAC realized another goal when it opened the Cultural Arts Center with its pottery studio on Black Avenue, next to the Aquatic Center, after it raised the money for easels and a gas kiln.

PCAC also began almost at once to raise money for a performing arts center, said Severin, holding a Holiday Reflections ball at Stoneridge Shopping Center. "There was country western at one end and ballroom dancing at the other end, with food in between," said Severin.

The school district meanwhile had a dilapidated auditorium at Amador Valley High that it couldn't afford to repair. "It was awful inside," said Severin. "Wooden veneer seats would snap your clothes." The renovations included air conditioning and new heating, refinishing the floors, adding new seating and carpet strips, installing a lobby with adequate restroom facilities, plus improving acoustics.

The city ended up paying $1.2 million for the final phases, and PCAC raised $850,000. "It took tremendous cooperation of the city, school district, business community and the nonprofit Cultural Arts Council," said Severin.

"From there we went on to look at programs and it became obvious that because of Proposition 13 we needed arts in the schools," said Severin.

"That first year we had a musician from the Livermore-Amador Symphony, showing how wind instruments work," recalled Severin. Actors from the Pleasanton Playhouse presented drama, showing how with a different hat and a different voice, one could become a different person. "We made one requirement: that the programs were not entertainment, they had to be educational."

Pianist Mark Anderson played his first benefit concert in 1989 to help purchase a Yamaha concert grand piano for the Amador Theater. "Once we got the piano, we dedicated the proceeds to Arts in the Schools," said Severin. Anderson's wife Tamriko Siprashvili joined him in 1994. Their annual four-hands concerts are now sell-outs and have raised more than $40,000.

More recently, PCAC worked with Pleasanton Schools Education Enrichment Foundation, the city and the school district to get the Strings program back into the elementary school orchestras.

Arts enthusiasts hope for a full-scale performing arts facility on the Bernal property. Meanwhile PCAC is raising funds to renovate the downtown fire station on Railroad Avenue into the Old Firehouse Theater & Gallery after the firefighters move to new quarters on Bernal. It will house the city's first public art gallery, to display both local and visiting artists. A state-of-the-art black box theater will hold small productions and workshops, plus there will be rooms for instruction in painting, sculpture and other visual arts.

Severin and Rudy Johnson are co-chairing the fundraising efforts, and she said the committee is meeting with architects this week to discuss master plans. For more information, visit pleasantonarts.org, call 846-6084 or e-mail rj12562@aol.com.

Many people have worked hard to foster the arts in Pleasanton, noted Severin, and the old-timers are pleased that more people are joining their efforts.

"You hear that it takes a village. It takes a team," said Severin. "Teamwork makes it happen - and makes it fun." -Dolores Fox Ciardelli

PCAC programs

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