Memories

 

During Phyllis Crabtree's tenure I was proud to be on the steering committee for the event that set the stage for the Art Alliance's reputation for bringing public art to Riverside. The Giant Orange ArtVenture still stands out as one of the premiere fundraising events in the city of Riverside.

- Beth Kollmyer

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I was Art Alliance President for two years. The first year, 2004–2005, our projects were Off the Wall, Plaid Tidings Brunch, and Art Alive. The second year our projects were Off the Wall, Plaid Tidings Brunch, Valentine’s Day Dinner, and the Giant Orange ARTventure.  Off the Wall came out of a brainstorming meeting we had at RAM that consisted of our fall project committee, RAM staff, and myself. The Art Alliance people I can remember being on our committee were Past Presidents Sue Simonin and Jackie Smith, and me, but there were others. Attending from RAM were Daniel Foster and I think Andie Campenone. Daniel suggested doing an event they had done at the San Diego Art Institute, where he previously worked. The event was called the C-Note Sale. Artists submitted 10 framed pieces of their original art that would be sold at the fundraising event for $100, $200, and $300, depending on their designation. Artists would take a certain percentage of the sale and the Art Institute would keep the balance. We decided to name the our event “Off the Wall.” Since the San Diego event was coming up soon after our meeting, it was decided that Jackie and Dale Smith, and Jim and I, would go down for the opening and check it out. We drove down, loved the event, and the rest is history. 

The Giant Orange ARTventure Project came out of another brainstorming meeting, this one at Kathy Allavie’s home. At the beginning of the meeting it wasn’t our intent to necessarily have a project that spanned two presidencies but after discussing various fundraisers and really liking the idea of doing a project similar to the NYC apples and the Chicago cows, we realized it wouldn’t be possible to do all the parts required by such a project by May of 2006. We discussed the possibility of doing various Riverside symbols such as the Raincross, various local animals, and I can’t remember what else, but unanimously agreed on the orange as being the perfect symbol. The project involved some very successful events. The rest is history. I believe the profit from this event ($134,000) has not been surpassed to date.

- Phyllis Crabtree