HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-06-04-ARTS-min.pdf
Lexington Council for the Arts
Date: Wednesday, June 4, 2025
7:00 pm – 8:30 pm
Location: Parker Room, Town Hall
Members Present: Mamata Banerjee (remotely), Alix Fox, Lisa Hebert, Marie-Aude Hewes,
David Hoose, Shalini Kakar, Claudia Lach, Elizabeth Xu, Jennifer Zacharis
Members Absent: Eric Hellweg
Recording Secretary: David Hoose
• Call to Order. 7:07 pm (Claudia)
• Minutes. The minutes of the May 7, 2025, LCA meeting were approved.
• Treasurer’s Report. Marie presented the monthly report, summarizing the document
attached below as an addendum. The general view is that the LCA funds are in solid shape.
It was confirmed that the committee may use MCC funds for its own projects, and that we
may take 5% of our MCC funds annually for administrative expenses. We have elected not
to take the administrative allocation this year, as we have sufficient funds in our Local
Account if we choose to plan our own project, but the allocation was made in our account
nonetheless. We need to ask the Town accountant to correct this. Information: Any W9s
submitted for reimbursement must use the current version in order for them to be
accepted by the Town.
• Discovery Day 2025. Members reflected on the recent Discovery Day. Although the forecast
had been for “clear” weather, it did rain periodically and consequently kept attendance
down. One member asked whether the LCA should encourage the creation of a Discovery
Day “rain date.” Despite the weather, this year’s set-up and breakdown went smoothly;
regardless of the weather, the tent is essential. There will be a write-up on Discovery Day
2025 that can inform planning for the next one. There is a desire to identify more ways of
engaging with attendees, both to raise awareness of the role of the LCA and to inform
people of upcoming LCA-related events. Ideas that may increase citizens’ awareness of LCA
activities were briefly discussed, ranging from the creation of LCA refrigerator magnets (to
help keep LCA activities in people’s minds), to exploring the possibility of painting an
unusually large utility box (that would also identify the utility box painting as LCA-driven), to
exploring the possibility of having children decorate small utility boxes. Currently, the
painting of standard-sized utility boxes and Porch Fest are the most clearly LCA-identifiable
activities.
• Porchfest 2025 update.
o Eric sent a report on Porch Fest 2025. So far, there approximately thirty acts and twenty-
five houses signed up. Eric encourages the committee to create a calendar of promotional
activities, to begin promotion soon, and to accelerate it in August and early September.
Eric and Lisa are scheduling a meeting with Cathy Severance to go over logistics and to
address questions that include: Can a band perform in Emery Park, and may players (of the
singer-songwriter type) perform on the town center sidewalks, in the space between the
real estate office and bank, near Clay Oven, or on the Cary Library grounds?
o The same designer will be engaged for this coming Porchfest.
o Members asked whether the town would make available a light pole in town for Porch
Fest publicity. (There may be adequate LCA funds, if the town is unable, or unwilling, to
pay for this.)
o A member asked whether the Lexington Bicycle Coalition (in partnership with Porch Fest)
should be invited to have a booth at Emery Park on the day of the event. Some wondered
to whose benefit such a formal arrangement might be, but it was agreed that Porchfest
publicity could easily include text that encourages people to “Ride Your Bike to Porchfest!”
o Posters (in two sizes), stickers and other advertising materials will be created.
o Query: Are banners and sandwich boards permissible?
o Porch Fest information has been submitted for inclusion in the Lexington Observer
Community Calendar.
o Jennifer requested a schedule of upcoming Porchfest tasks. Lisa and Eric will create this
and distribute it to LCA members.
o Lisa will contact the local music schools, asking them to “get the word out.”
o The Porchfest finale will, after all, take place at the (Lyceum) Stone Building. There was a
query as to whether it would be desirable to draw attention to the restoration and
renovation of the Stone Building. Elisabeth, who is on Lyceum board, can explore this
question.
• Recruitment of New Council Members. The list of LCA tenures has been sent and received.
While LCA terms technically run from October 1 to September 30, they are not currently
coordinated, and there is some desire to synchronize council members’ terms. However,
the advantage of being able to bring new member onto the committee mid-term was also
expressed. There was some discussion of ways to recruit new and valuable members to the
council. Information: Anyone renewing his or her membership must repeat the application-
selection-approval process with the Select Board.
• Dimmock Award. Angela Carpenter (Lexington Public Schools) asks that an LCA council
member present this year’s Ella Lou Dimmock Music Award, given to a Lexington High
School rising senior identified as an “exceptional vocalist.” The award, which has been
endowed by the LCA, has been for $200, but will increase to $250. Currently, there is
approximately $11,000 in that endowment. Alix did present the award this year.
• Summer Schedule. There was discussion about the possibility, and challenge, of identifying
a date for one summer LCA meeting, which may be remote. Claudia will send out a poll to
identify a possible date. It was suggested that the grant subcommittee definitely should
meet.
• New (Other) Business. Thanks were given to Jennifer for redesigning the LCA website. She
will set up the site so that it sends our pertinent and relevant alerts notifying members of
upcoming events, both one week and one day in advance.
• Next Regular Meeting. The first post-summer meeting of LCA will be Wednesday,
September 3, 2025, at 7:00 pm.
• Adjournment. The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 pm.
• Treasurer’s Report addendum: https://docs.google.com/file/d/1_2ShwY4G7oUov1PQfM-
f4m9TNwqiB-Eo/edit?filetype=msexcel