by — Jennifer Alexander Ruple
Sylvania Arts will celebrate the arts in Sylvania and welcome Ken and Penny Haas of Reverend Guitars to its artist hall of fame at The Party on Thursday, Oct. 7 from 6 to 9 pm at Chandler Café, 5648 Main St.
“The Party is a celebration of the central role that the arts play in greater Sylvania and a recognition of all the people and organizations who make our programming possible and successful each year,” said Kelly McGilvery, executive director of Sylvania Arts.
The Party, Sylvania Arts’ annual fundraiser, will include grazing, a cash bar, silent auction and a special presentation honoring Ken and Penny Haas. “We have long known that Sylvania is a great place to live and work for creative people. Ken and Penny Haas epitomize that – they’ve built a world-class business designing and making artisan guitars for internationally acclaimed musicians,” explained McGilvery. “Folks in the area who aren’t involved in the music community may not be aware of the significance and reach of Reverend Guitars. We want to call attention to their success and recognize the contributions they make here and around the world,” she added.
A handful of Reverend artists include Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys, Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins, Jermaine and Tito Jackson, Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits, Meshell Ndegeocello, Mitski, Thao Nguyen and Jackson Smith.
Past honorees in the Sylvania Arts hall of fame include Walter Chapman; David Waniewski, wildlife artist; Harold Roe, artist and art teacher; Don Townsend, gallerist; Toni Andrews of the American Gallery; and Sister Jane Mary Sorosiask, OSF.
Tickets are $45 per person or $80 per couple and are available at eventbrite.com. Only 100 tickets will be sold for the event. “All our programs benefit from the proceeds of the event: our youth theatre company, with their workshops and productions; Sylvania Community Orchestra; the public art program; Maple and Main; Tree City Film Festival and Shorties U, the youth film workshop series; and other arts education endeavors like field trips to Toledo Museum of Art and visiting performances from Toledo Opera’s Opera on Wheels,” McGilvery mentioned.