OGLEBAY INSTITUTE ANNOUNCES 80th ANNIVERSARY
“IMAGINATION CELEBRATION”

WHEELING, W.Va. (February 5, 2010) - -Turning 80 is certainly reason to celebrate. Wheeling’s Oglebay Institute – recognized as the oldest arts council in the nation- is planning to celebrate its 80th birthday this spring in a big way with a four-day, citywide celebration of the arts.

“As we celebrate this significant milestone, we want Wheeling’s creative community to join with us to raise awareness about the importance of the arts and shine a spotlight on the vibrant cultural life that exists in our city,” Oglebay Institute president Kathleen McDermott said.

Titled the “Imagination Celebration,” the 80-hour creativity marathon takes place April 15-18 and includes four days of art, nature, history, dance, theater and music programs for all ages in venues throughout Wheeling. Almost all of the special programs are absolutely free.

“The schedule of events is impressive and includes everything from early morning nature walks to a live music marathon that will rock into the late night hours,” Oglebay Institute director of marketing Misty Klug said.

She added that art demonstrations and workshops, historic tours, book and poetry readings, art exhibits, kids crafts and games, lectures, theatrical performances, concerts, dancing, luncheons, receptions and plenty of birthday cake are all included in the “Imagination Celebration” line-up.

“This celebration provides a glimpse of Wheeling’s artistic community in one jam-packed weekend,” Klug said. “These types of events happen year-round in our city, but condensing them into one grand celebration really highlights the breadth of arts and entertainment opportunities that are available locally.”

In planning for the “Imagination Celebration,” McDermott said organizers reached out to area arts organizations, schools, businesses and individuals.

“The response has been tremendous,” she said. “We were overwhelmed by the enthusiasm shown toward this endeavor.”

Area colleges such as West Liberty University and West Virginia Northern Community College are part of the celebration along with the Wheeling Arts Commission and organizations such as Artworks Around Town, Wheeling National Heritage Area Corporation, the Independent Theatre Collective, AmeriCorps and the Wheeling Symphony. 

“In addition to support from organizations, dozens of individual artists, musicians, actors, writers, educators and dancers have volunteered their time and talents to make this free community celebration possible,” McDermott said.

McDermott said she is delighted but not at all surprised by the positive response.

“There is a lot of momentum in the arts community right now especially with the forming of the Wheeling Arts Commission, which has been a big step in uniting the creative community to support big picture goals such as city beautification projects and economic development opportunities.”

In fact, McDermott said, the “Imagination Celebration” is being used as a pilot program for an annual citywide arts festival.

“The Arts Commission is very interested in creating an annual arts festival in Wheeling, and Oglebay Institute is eager to lead the charge with our 80th anniversary celebration.”

Recognized as the oldest arts council in the nation, Oglebay Institute was formed in 1930 when a group of like-minded citizens, armed with the vision and the philanthropy of the Oglebay family, came together to create cultural, education and recreational programming in the city’s newly acquire Oglebay Park.

Since that time the Institute has grown to include six facilities throughout Wheeling and offers hundreds of community and school programs in the city, county, region and state. These institute-sponsored programs annually give entertainment and instruction to more than 120,000 people of all ages.