Lynn's Top 10

I just celebrated my 10-year work anniversary at VSA Texas, and it's brought to mind some of my fondest and funniest memories with this wonderful organization. Here are my top 10 moments at VSA Texas:

1. Getting hired at VSA Texas, thought it was the coolest place and still do.

2. Attending the VSA International celebration in Washington, DC with the rest of the staff, all courtesy of Celia Hughes, our Executive Director. The last morning, before we left, we toured several of the monuments, courtesy of a cab we commandeered in the hotel driveway. The driver was a true gentleman.

3. Plunking April on her head with my pencil. I think that was the first month I was here. Now I use water guns, blasters and soakers.

4. April yelling at me to chase down the AT&T telephone guy, “He’s making a run for it!” We had been without a phone system for a week, and he was trying to escape from the labyrinth of the AGE building and its hundreds of feet of extraneous phone wires in the ceiling. And then there was the flood from the frozen sprinkler system. But that didn’t involved the AT&T guy.

5. My first Art in the Park in Austin was cold and rainy. It also sleeted. But we managed to get all the art booths moved inside McBeth Recreation Center and made it work.

6. VSA Texas's first Disability From Real to Reel Film Festival where I got to meet Roger Ross Williams who produced and directed “Music by Prudence.” He won an Academy Award for the best documentary short that year.

Roger Ross Williams, Keith Maitland, and Patrick Floyd who co-made the movie “Eyes of Me” with Keith

7. Representing VSA Texas and our newly launched Distinguished Artist Veterans program at a SXSW event hosted by Kevin Bacon. Each invited guest was given 5 minutes to speak privately with Kevin about our program. I bought a new outfit for the occasion. You know I did.

Posing with Kevin Bacon

8. Helping out at the "Sight. Sound. Soul." event with piano man Henry Butler at the Palm Door. I was Madame Caphelon, fortune teller extraordinaire, who foretold many people donating hard earned dollars to VSA Texas.

9. The Bat’s Ahoy fundraiser – that was a hoot! Our boat lost power, and we drifted with all of our folks, with and without disabilities, down Townlake and eventually ran into a column beneath Townlake bridge. Our Board President called the police, but they couldn't get to us for at least an hour or so. The boat company had another small flatboat craft they used to guide us back to the pier where everybody piled off. Meanwhile, we enjoyed food, booze, and entertainment with Purly Gates singing the Gilligan’s Island theme to the kids!

Boarding the Lone Star cruise boat prior to our fateful voyage on Townlake!

10. Receiving a plaque for 10 years of service to VSA Texas. What a surprise!

Posing with Celia Hughes and Pádraig Naughton, Chair of the VSA Affiliate Council, at this year's VSA Intersections Conference in Austin

I look forward to continuing this wild ride with VSA Texas!

5 Things You Didn't Know About Art in the Park

Lynn here and I was asked to share five things you might not have known about Art in the Park, the annual hands-on multi-art festival for Austin’s school children with and without disabilities, which is coming up this Friday, March 24th, 2017. For anyone needing a refresher, you can read the complete history of Art in the Park here.

1. This is the first year Art in the Park will be held at the beautiful grounds of Fiesta Gardens, located right off the waters of Lady Bird Lake (formerly known as Town Lake). The two prior locations were McBeth Recreation Center and the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center (MACC), where we moved in 2010, but we just kept growing and Rainey Street kept developing, so we eventually ran out of room for all those school buses!

Outdoors at Fiesta Gardens. A beautiful hacienda-style building and outdoor plaza with lush trees and a circular fountain filled with plants.

2. We recruit more than 100 volunteers to help with Art in the Park. Just imagine: you have around 1,000 attendees, 30 art activity booths, 5 group performances, ... you must be asking, "who’s going to run this thing?" Well, it takes over 100 volunteers to direct buses, check everyone in, provide art-making activities, and bring music, dance, or other group performances. People from all around town volunteer their time. They come from businesses and other organizations including FreightPros, Access Dental, Mexic-Arte Museum, Umlauf Sculpture Garden, University of Texas Lion’s Club, Key Club, and Austin Community College – all to provide art activities, perform, provide assistance and information, and generally promote a good time.

Two volunteers creating paper handbags at the 2008 Art in the Park outdoors at McBeth Recreation Center.

3. Money made through Art in the Park concession stand sales goes to support Friends of McBeth Recreation Center. This wonderful group of folks sells inexpensive snacks and drinks to raise money for McBeth Recreation Center. The Danny G. McBeth Recreation Center and Annex, located in Zilker Park, provides social opportunities through quality programs that challenge, support, and teach leisure skills to citizens of Austin with differing abilities.

Two volunteers with Friends of McBeth Recreation Center laughing and serving food at the 2009 Art in the Park.

4. Art in the Park has been around for 24 years, according to my secret historian, and VSA Texas became a co-sponsor of the festival with McBeth Recreation Center in 1999. We will celebrate our 18th year as a co-sponsor this Friday!

5. Art in the Park has never been cancelled. Come rain or shine, the festival has always gone on. My first Art in the Park as a new VSA Texas staff member was cold. It rained and sleeted, but the performers kept performing, and we moved the art booths inside the building. Sure it was crowded, but that didn't stop the art from being made. Despite the nasty weather that day, a good time was still had by all.

So I am bringing a rain poncho, jacket, sunscreen, plenty of water, comfy shoes, and I am ready for ART IN THE PARK 2017! COME RAIN OR SHINE!

A group of participants waving their hands and smiling on a sunny day at the 2016 Art in the Park at the Mexican American Cultural Center.

Celebrating 100 Blogs in 100 Words and Pictures

As OMOD project coordinator and self-appointed blog manager, I cannot be happier to compose our 100th blog entry! When I first took the reins of our VSA Texas blog in July 2015, we hadn’t published a blog entry in five months and our monthly page views had plummeted; now, just shy of two years later, we publish entries on a weekly basis – barring the weeks when my own perfectionism gets the best of me – and our page views regularly extend into the thousands. Of course, this has little to do with me and everything to do with our dedicated team of bloggers made up of our amazing staff and guest contributors!

In managing our blog, I am constantly reminded that our blog has never been about the statistics or the number of readers we gain. It has always been about telling the story of our organization and hearing from the everyday people behind the incredible work we do. And the 100 photos I culled from these first 100 entries (and spent an embarrassing number of hours editing into ten tiny collages) will illustrate that far more effectively than my words:

The wonderful world of Body Shift, featuring stunning photos by Camille Wheeler and others!

Adventures in OMOD

Remembering the tremendous work of Actual Lives Austin!

Launching youth into the world of media through our Side-by-Side internships and New Media Arts classes

Bringing art and entertainment to children with disabilities through our annual Art in the Park and Art in the Gardens festivals

Expanding our services to Texas Veterans with creative writing classes, public readings, and art exhibits around the state

Providing opportunities for Texas artists with disabilities to share and sell their art. Not only visual art, but CDs, books, greeting cards, even handmade apparel, too!

Our blog has also offered a forum to engage in critical discussions about disability representation in media.

Our Unsung Hero of the Week series has allowed us to acknowledge our dear friends and collaborators who make our work possible and honor those who are no longer with us.

Last but most important, our blog gave the dedicated staff who work in our offices the opportunity to tell their own stories and articulate how their own lives have been impacted by this work. They are the heart of VSA Texas.

Okay, so I know that was more than 100 words, but I just couldn't cut it down any further! I hope you will forgive me, and more importantly, I hope you will continue to read our blog as we add new voices and new stories to the mix!

A Very Special Arts Festival (now Art in the Park)

Hey, Lynn here and it’s blog time again. I have been tasked with researching the elusive history of our annual Art in the Park festival, and it goes like this:

...In the beginning…

The City of Austin was selected as the site for the first Very Special Arts Festival, to be held in Texas, September 9, 1978 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Montopolis Recreation Center under joint sponsorship of the Parks and Recreation Department and the National Committee, Arts for the Handicapped. Carol Keeton McClellan, then Mayor of the City of Austin proclaimed this day as “VERY SPECIAL ARTS FESTIVAL DAY.” And so it began the birth of Art in the Park!

A VSA arts of Texas banner hangs on a fence
outside Art in the Park Festival at McBeth Recreation Center.

“Each of us as a unique individual has the need for self-expression…to explore, to experience, to say who we are. The creative arts provide channels for exploration of expressing one’s uniqueness for the handicapped, as well as the non-handicapped.” Michal Anne Lord, Supervisor of Adaptive Programs, Festival Coordinator, City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department

For a few years during the 80’s the City didn't host this event, but Steve Hamman, then Principal of Rosedale School, worked with the VSA State Director to create a VSA Council and to help with some basic funds for the event. The Rosedale VSA Council worked with McBeth Recreation Center to produce the first VSA festival. The Rosedale VSA Council then transitioned the event to Celia Hughes, (current Executive Director of VSA Texas) when she came on as State Director in 1999.

A guitar player performs at Art in the Park.

“My students had an awesome time. I've been taking students to this event for many years, and it's always educational and fun for the students. I hope you're able to continue providing this valuable service to our deserving Life Skills students here in Austin for many years to come.” Garcia M.S. Life Skills Program

In 1999, Art in the Park had a little less than 400 attendees from 25 schools and about 15 booths, mostly provided by VSA Texas. We now have over 80 schools from across Central Texas, over 1000 attendees, and 35 booths. Many of the same schools have returned throughout the years and consider this their most exciting event. We have had loyal support from many booth providers and performers such as Umlauf Sculpture Gardens, Mexic-Arte, Wings, Bruce Davis Band, Zippy the Clown, and others.

“We had such a great time. It was a wonderful event. I heard nothing but positive things from teachers and students. Thank you!” AISD GO Project, St. David's Episcopal Church

A student holds a maraca at Art in the Park.

In 2007, as a new staffer with VSA arts of Texas (as it was then called), I participated in my first Art in the Park at McBeth Recreation Center. I didn’t know what to expect, and it sleeted, rained and was cold. We hustled around and moved most of the activities inside, and then the rain stopped, kids played, performers performed, and the indoors magically housed what seemed to be a million people. It was a great day!

A group of students in tie-dye shirts pose for a photo
during Art in the Park at the MACC.

“The event was perfect! Getting in and out of the event went smoothly. We loved the art activities. Many of the activities we plan to recreate for our program. Thank you for your time and dedication in organizing this event. Our students' lives are enriched because of your work.” 18+ Program, Liberty Hill High School

So as the participation grew, in 2010, the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center (MACC) became our new location for this event, providing more parking, more art activities, and more room for those “million+” participants.

Tomorrow will be another great Festival day!

A student wears a green balloon alien
on his head.