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TOWN OF LEXINGTON 5
<br />300th Anniversary i it'd confinuod from previous page
<br />Many Lexington Field and Garden Club members helped
<br />with our official events: arranging flowers for multiple
<br />events, and assisting at the Race Through Time, and help-
<br />ing with the official Trading Cards. In addition, this group
<br />also sponsored a "Coordinating Event" by creating and
<br />maintaining the 300th flower berm outside the Town Of-
<br />fice Building. (This project and other 300th "Coordinating
<br />Events" are discussed later in this report.)
<br />Entire music groups volunteered to perform, including the
<br />Master Singers of Lexington, the LHS Wind Ensemble,
<br />LHS Jazz Band, the Singalong Chorus, the Colonial Sing-
<br />ers, Mixed Nuts, the Lexington Pops Chorus and the Lex-
<br />ington Symphony Orchestra. Dance groups gave their time
<br />as well, notably Thelma Goldberg's Dance Inn, Valerie Mar -
<br />cantonio's Studio Ten Tap, and the many groups who vol-
<br />unteered at Dance Around the World to showcase Indian,
<br />Chinese, Scottish, Latino, Israeli and Korean dances. In addi-
<br />tion, dance instructor Thelma Goldberg offered her expertise
<br />to help volunteers (from the Town Manager to the Hastings
<br />principal) prepare for the 300th Musical Fashion Review.
<br />Summer 2012 — Preparatory Work for Opening Events
<br />Stepping back in time to summer 2012, 300th volunteers
<br />worked through summer 2012 to prepare for the major
<br />kick -off "Opening Day." One team that worked very hard
<br />was the Quilt, Fiber Arts &Textile Committee. This group
<br />had begun work in October 2011 with several goals: to help
<br />collect or create costumes for the 300th Musical; to create
<br />unique souvenirs that might help with a 300th Anniversary
<br />fundraiser; to find unique ways to merge the arts with the
<br />Tercentennial. The team worked through the summer; knit-
<br />ting, quilting, needle - pointing, embroidering and sewing.
<br />Their creations infused fall event with creative masterpieces.
<br />Opening Day Events:
<br />Opening Ceremony, 300th Parade, All -Town Photograph
<br />and Picnic, All -Town Country Fair, Dance Revolution 300
<br />The Opening Ceremony was held at Cary Memorial Build-
<br />ing and Lexington High School. Tanya Morrisett served as
<br />Director at Cary and Jessie Steigerwald served as Direc-
<br />tor at LHS. Their team prepared for more than a year and
<br />involved more than 400 volunteers in the civic ceremony.
<br />Presentations included a Minuet, an Indian dance, and a
<br />Tap Dance. The audience sang along with the Singalong
<br />Chorus and the LexFun! 300th Festival Chorus. Speakers
<br />were selected to represent Lexington across 300 years and
<br />also to help describe the upcoming 300th events.
<br />Fay Backert chaired the Country Fair. In addition to pro-
<br />viding food and presentations, the Fair offered activities,
<br />pumpkin decorating and games which stretched all the way
<br />to Hayden Recreation Centre's lower field. The Fair also
<br />served as an umbrella for many sub - events, each with their
<br />own chairs: Race Through Time (Risa Lavelle and Karin
<br />Gehring), 300th Scavenger Hunt (Lauren Kennedy), Blue
<br />Ribbon Contest (Cristina Burwell, Carolyn Goldstein and
<br />Becky Sue Epstein), Community Stage (Diane Daily),
<br />and the Quilt, Fiber Arts & Textile Committee's 300th
<br />Fundraiser (Bebe Fallick, Mary Rommel, Jan Shaw, Rita
<br />Toivonen, Martha Wood, Kim Coburn, Corinne Steiger -
<br />wald, Jessie Steigerwald).
<br />Dance Revolution 300 was co- chaired by Kamal Soparkar and
<br />Kathleen Lenihan. An estimated 800 participants were able
<br />to try colonial dances, swing dance, and contemporary dances.
<br />Life, Liberty & The Pursuit of Fashion
<br />A Collaboration with Lexington Arts & Crafts Society,
<br />this event was added to the formal Committee - offerings
<br />when Molly Nye and Jean Hart from the Lexington Arts &
<br />Crafts Society approached Corinne Steigerwald, the 300th
<br />Anniversary Artist Outreach Liaison, to see whether she
<br />had need of a gallery to show special items. In fact, Steiger -
<br />wald had a growing collection of 300th Cigar Box Purses
<br />which were suitable for a show. She also curated a collection
<br />of precious vintage outfits on loan to the town from resi-
<br />dents who wanted to help provide costumes for the upcom-
<br />ing Fashion Revue. Several items were too delicate to be
<br />worn in the song and dance show —but perfect for a gallery
<br />display. Steigerwald and Nye installed the show with help
<br />from Shirley Lane, Marie Hill, Leslie Masson, and Jessie
<br />Steigerwald. More than 40 artists contributed work to the
<br />show and 40 residents contributed more than 100 items to
<br />illustrate our textile history. These included: colonial stays,
<br />old- fashioned swim attire, a collection of historic wedding
<br />dresses representing several cultures.
<br />300th Anniversary Cigar Box Purse Project
<br />Artists across Lexington (and some from other states)
<br />joined in the creation of Cigar Box Purses to help cele-
<br />brate the 300th and to help raise funds to underwrite the
<br />cost of free community events. This project was overseen by
<br />Corinne Steigerwald, Artist Outreach Coordinator. Each
<br />purse depicted images that the artist connected with Lex-
<br />ington's celebration or history. Subjects were varied and
<br />included the Hastings Park Gazebo, Munroe Tavern, No
<br />Place For Hate, local architecture and images from the Ed-
<br />win Worthen Collection at Cary Library.
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