Marion Art Center Events

The Summer Members Art Show will open at the Marion Art Center on Friday, July 18 with an opening reception honoring the artists from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. All artist members in good standing of the Marion Art Center are invited to submit two pieces for this non-juried exhibition. Artists should drop off their work on Tuesday, July 15 from 1:00 to 5:00 pm. The exhibition will run until August 16.

The Marion Art Center is located at the corner of Main Street and Pleasant Street in Marion. Gallery Hours: Tuesday through Friday from 1:00 to 5:00 pm and Saturdays from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. The Gallery is open to the public and admission is free.

The Dixie Swim Club: When the Marion Art Center produced five performances of The Dixie Swim Club in March of 2014, three of the five shows completely sold out and the other two were very nearly sell outs. So when plans for a summer musical fell through, the Theater Committee and director Rex McGraw knew that they already had a hit on their hands and decided to offer it again to the summer community. It is the perfect entertainment for a hot summer’s evening! If you missed this production in March, don’t hesitate to make your reservations now!

Performing four shows only, the Marion Art Center’s production of The Dixie Swim Club, a comedy by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten will open on Friday, July 25 and will run on Saturday, July 26, Friday, August 1 and Saturday, August 2. All shows start at 7:30 pm. The all-female production in two acts is directed by Rex McGraw and features Marion Art Center Players Suzie Kokkins, Suzy Taylor, Michele Letourneau, Kim Teves and Linda Landry.

Enduring friendships are among the most important aspects of human existence. They sustain us when all else fails — marriages, children, careers, investments. The Dixie Swim Club, in many ways a companion piece to Steel Magnolias, celebrates the best of women’s relationships and the best aspects of Southern culture. And if you loved the quick repartee and situational comedy of TV’s “The Golden Girls,” you will love this show as writers Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten all worked on that show.

The five Southern women, whose friendships began many years ago on their college swim team, set aside a long weekend every August to recharge those relationships. Free from husbands, kids and jobs, they meet at the same beach cottage on North Carolina’s Outer Banks to catch up, laugh and meddle in each other’s lives. In the case of The Dixie Swim Club, their worlds revolve around those weekends at their cottage, and they’re at their happiest when they’re with one another, a cocktail in one hand and a biscuit in the other.

The Dixie Swim Club focuses on four of those weekends and spans a period of thirty-three years. Sheree (played by Kim Teves), the spunky team captain, who has married their swim coach’s son, desperately tries to maintain her organized and “perfect” life, and continues to be the group’s leader. Dinah (played by Linda Landry), the wisecracking overachiever, is a lawyer dynamo. But her victories in the courtroom are in stark contrast to the frustrations of her personal life. Lexie (played by Suzie Kokkins), pampered and outspoken, is determined to hold on to her looks and youth as long as possible. She enjoys being married – over and over and over again. The self-deprecating and acerbic Vernadette (played by Michele Letourneau), acutely aware of the dark cloud that hovers over her life, has decided to just give in and embrace the chaos. And sweet, eager-to-please Jeri Neal (played by Suzy Taylor) experiences a late entry into motherhood that takes them all by surprise. As their lives unfold and the years pass, these women increasingly rely on one another, through advice and raucous repartee, to get through the challenges – men, sex, marriage, parenting, divorce, aging – that life flings at them. And when fate throws a wrench into one of their lives in the second act, these friends, proving the enduring power of “teamwork,” rally ‘round their own with the strength and love that takes this comedy in a poignant and surprising direction.

By the time The Dixie Swim Club reaches its final act, the characters are in their late 70s, and we’ve seen 33 years unfold inside the small cottage. The story has heart. You can’t watch characters develop relationships and not get attached to them. Some of the developments are sad, some surprising, some satisfying. But the story’s serious side isn’t half as good as the humor.

To make a reservation, please call 508-748-1266. Guests are invited to bring their own refreshments. Cabaret tables are available for reserved parties of four. Reservations are highly recommended as this is sure to be a sellout! Tickets are $12.50 for MAC members and $15 for the general public. The Marion Art Center is located at 80 Pleasant Street in Marion, MA 02738.

Arts in the Park: On Saturday, July 12, from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, the Marion Art Center will host its 8th Annual Arts In The Park, at Bicentennial Park in Marion, MA 02738. Bicentennial Park is located at the corner of Main Street and Spring Streets, where there is plenty of free parking. Admission is free.

A wide variety of fine art and artisanal crafts will be displayed in tents throughout the Park. Arts in the Park is a juried show and sale featuring local artists and artisans who will be offering jewelry, glass, paintings and prints, baskets, ceramics, textiles, collage, photography, turned, carved and painted wood, garden sculpture and garden furniture. Over forty-five artists and artisans will be exhibiting their work. There will be live entertainment by the Showstoppers of Mattapoisett, and the New Bedford Museum of Art’s ArtMobile will be on hand to provide art projects for kids from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm. Food and beverages will be offered by Harriett’s catering.

There will be a raffle of art work which has been donated by the artist exhibitors. Raffle tickets will be $1 and can be purchased throughout the day. The proceeds of the raffle will benefit the Marion Art Center.

This year’s exhibitors will include ceramic artists Kim Barry, Chrissy Feiteira, Karen Zaharee, Tessa Morgan, and Pat Warwick. Fiber creations will be offered by Liz Howland (hand dyed silk scarves and shawls), Cindy Walsh, Sue Handman, Heather Kidson, and Mary Monteiro. There will be Nantucket Baskets by William Judd. Fine jewelry will be offered by Emily Condon, Lynn Hahn, Trish Kozub, Karen Silvia, Donna Andrews-Maness, Julie Kohaya, Lisa Cutler, Marcia Livada, and Harmony Winters. Paintings, prints, photographs and collage will be offered by Mary Ross, Sarah Brown, Kim Weineck, Alice Shire, Jae Shaughnessy, Donna Secour, Carol Way Wood, Barry Cronin and Mark Mueller. Hand-crafted bags and accessories will be offered by Chikako Mukai (bags) and Greta Fox (shell accessories). Barbara Harrold will be selling her whimsical puppets. Painted objects and furniture will include Sarah Brown’s hand-painted chairs and tables, garden sculptures by Stephen Koleshis, and miniature replica lighthouses by Steven Wright. James Gallagher will offer his delightful folk-art fish, Mike McCarthy will feature his hand-carved shore birds, and Paula and Joe Pellerin will show their wood-stained whales, mermaids and fish. Also offered will be turned wood and hand-crafted furniture by Brian Weir, Richard Piper, Charles Cann, and John Nadeau. Glass creations will be offered by Jackie Pinheiro, Neal Drobnis, Angela Reizian and Liza Abelson and hand-crafted soaps by Jennifer Marie Hofman will round out the show.

Marion Art Center’s galleries will be open during the event. Visitors are invited to come inside and see the current exhibition of art in the Galleries as well as check out a “Remainder Sale” of art, books, and more!

For more information, please visit www.marionartcenter.org and click on the “Arts In The Park” tab, or call 508-748-1266.

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