Crooked Creek Art League’s Sail Into Chapin project gets A++ from community and town leaders alike
Chapin, SC (Paul Kirby) Recently, a project of the Chapin area’s Crooked Creek Art League (CCAL) has won rave reviews from both the citizens of the area and community leaders of Chapin alike. Once you’ve seen the first pieces associated with the project, it’s easy to quickly understand why the Sail Into Chapin has been such a roaring success.
First, the Crooked Creek Art League is a non-profit organization consisting of over 100 artists from Chapin and the its neighboring lake communities. Donations to the league are tax deductible, and their website at www.crookedcreekart.org clearly states the reason for their existence. Members have joined together to encourage and support new and established artists. They also help educate and encourage each other’s work and grow the visual art in the community. They do this by offering artists avenues to improve skills, display and sell art, and to socialize and network with art supporters.
This summer, they partnered with the Town of Chapin to launch a community wide art project that will culminate on Labor Day 2019. Labor Day is a key date for Chapin because each year, their Labor Day Festival draws more than 20,000 guests to the area. The concept for “The Arts Sail Into Chapin” is representative of the town and its surrounding community as a whole.
Already, many of the pieces have been installed around the community. Eventually, there will be 13 total. Each consists of a free-standing aluminum sailboat creatively painted or embellished by local artists. Each reflects the artist’s personality and what he thinks of when he closes his eyes and sees Lake Murray and its surrounding areas through his own experiences and memories. Each sailboat sits atop an attractive wooden, rectangular base and is marked with individual plates that include the artist name, the information that designates who or what organization sponsored that particular piece, and a simple logo and information that can direct you to the CCAL if you want to know more.
To bring this project from concept to art, the CCAL received a philanthropic endowment that partially funded the project. They also received a grant from the South Carolina Arts Commission. Together, the members of the league, their benefactor, and the SCAC have made the community of Chapin a much more beautiful and exciting place to be. The league’s website reflects how excited they are to partner with the local business community to fully bring this project to life.
There are a host of events planned to coincide with the art. First, the sailboats began being displayed on August 1st and the project will be completed by September 31st. The anticipation of seeing the next pieces is electric.
You may compete in the scavenger hunt. Complete the Scavenger Hunt Brochure by correctly identifying and marking which hidden visual element belongs to each boat and location at the Sail into Chapin Booth during the Labor Day Festival on Monday September 2 to be entered to win prizes.
Finally, you can vote for the People’s Choice Award. Just visit the Sail into Chapin Booth during the Labor Day Festival on Monday September 2 to vote for your favorite sailboat. If you didn’t get to see them all in person, they’ll have poster sized images of each sailboat in the booth for you to view.
Finally, you can win a sailboat of your very own! Just participate in a silent auction to bid on any or all the sailboats on display. You don’t have to be present for a live auction. Bidding will be done electronically using the Accelevent app so you can do it directly from your phone. If apps aren’t your thing, go by the booth at the festival and members of the CCAL can help you submit your bid. You’ll be contacted right after the auction closes. Winners will have their sailboats delivered to the local location of their choice at the end of September.
To learn more about the CCAL, or to make a tax deductible donation to their cause, visit their website at www.crookedcreekart.org.
