For Immediate Release: 4/26/09
MORGAN ARTS COUNCIL
Berkeley Springs, WV
www.macicehouse.org
www.berkeleysprings.com
press contact only: Jeanne Mozier 304-258-4248

Photos available on request


BERKELEY SPRINGS VOTED #7 ART DESTINATION IN U.S.A.


BERKELEY SPRINGS, WV ---- The list of top art destinations in America
released recently by American Style magazine places Berkeley Springs,
WV at #7 among small cities and towns, the smallest in population of
the top 25. “It’s our eighth year on the list and we held steady at
#7, same as last year, ” says Jeanne Mozier, local arts promoter.
Sante Fe and Asheville top the list but Berkeley Springs ranked higher
than many notable places including Boulder and Aspen, Colorado;
Sarasota, Florida and Annapolis, Maryland. “Berkeley Springs continues
to be the only town in West Virginia to make the list,” says Mozier.

The list is compiled from votes cast by the public. Berkeley Springs
competes in the category of under 100,000 population. The complete
list in all three size categories can be found on the magazine’s
Website: www.americanstyle.com

Berkeley Springs making a national list has benefits beyond bragging
rights. “Many visitors come to Berkeley Springs specifically because
it is known as an art town. They seek out the galleries and want to
know where there is live music,” says Laura Smith, administrator of
Travel Berkeley Springs, the local visitors center. “We start getting
calls in March wanting to know who is performing during the summer
concerts in the park.”

Mozier asserts that being a nationally recognized art town also has an
impact on economic development since individuals and companies looking
to relocate want places with a rich cultural scene. “Being known as a
creative town is one of the most important assets Berkeley Springs has
to compete in the new economy,” she says. Mozier announced that the
Morgan Arts Council (MAC) is launching a portal Webpage shortly
branding Berkeley Springs as a creative community and a "hot spot for
cool living." She believes the national art town rating is validation
for the claim.

“The local art scene has always been robust," says Mozier, "but in
the past year it has become even more so." Mozier pointed to the many
activities connected with the yearlong Back to Our Roots program and
the addition of several more venues for local music. "Someone
visiting Berkeley Springs this May would be overwhelmed," she says,
listing planned events including the Smithsonian Institution's "New
Harmonies" exhibit at the Ice House Art Center along with the annual
Quilt Show, the Yard-Square Quilts hanging all over town, the spring
Studio Tour, a jazz lecture, a big band concert, Peter Pan and
Piecework plays about quilting. " Add to those special events all the
ongoing art activity like galleries, local music and afterschool
classes and no one should be surprised that Berkeley Springs can hold
its own with much bigger places in percentage of population engaged in
the arts."

Mozier highlighted some new directions the arts are taking in Berkeley
Springs. "We've always recognized that the art town concept worked
for Berkeley Springs because spa goers and art seekers tend to be a
similar visitor audience," she says. Recently, MAC has connected the
arts and healing for the local audience as well by working with
community social service agencies.
"Everyone should get a healing dose of the arts," she says.

As with major metropolitan areas that include large budget items for
cultural development, widespread public and corporate financial
support is a key part of Berkeley Springs’ success. "A thriving arts
scene needs artists but it also needs the kind of strong support we
have from the local newspaper, corporate sponsors, local government
and our loyal audience," says Mozier. "By voting to include support
for MAC in the recent school levy, the community showed that it
understands how important the arts are to the future of the area.
Nothing shows the value placed on the contribution the arts make to
life more than investing money in the arts and arts organizations."

For more information on Morgan County arts activities check www.macicehouse.org
or call 304-258-2300.