Tuesday, June 22, 2010


Things do not always go as planned. During an early Arts Festival at the museum we decided that more public participation was called for. We settled on the idea of a mural that would be created by visitors; a large white panel was erected and all were invited to wing a paint-filled balloon at the “canvas.” It seemed like a good idea at the time . . . At the opening ceremonies our chairman Dean Gross (former Dauphin County Library director) described the plan and invited a youngster from the audience to make the first pitch. Mounting the stage, the child (I don’t remember whether it was boy or girl) selected a balloon and we all prepared to applaud . . . However, kids are curious and with this squishy mass in hand the child gave it a squeeze. In less than a second the center section of the audience was sprayed bright blue! After a second or so of shocked silence everyone including the “victims” roared with laughter. It was quite a kick-off to the weekend’s events—even better than we could have hoped for . . . Dean immediately announced that the Arts Council would pay all the cleaning bills, but if memory serves no one tendered a claim . . . The illustration shows Earl Blust at work during a demonstration of painting by the Seven Lively Artists at the 1969 festival . . .

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