![poster for Extravaganza Latina](https://create-project.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Hispanic-Extravaganza-2024.jpg)
CELEBRATE HISPANIC HERITAGE EXTRAVAGANCIA LATINA
A three-part Extravaganza of Hispanic culture, music, and food is coming to Chautauqua County.
August 24, 2024
5pm-7pm: “Family Fiesta,”
Route 5, Event Center, Dunkirk, NY.
FREE! Everybody Welcome!
Featuring free traditional Hispanic foods from Taqueria Mexicana, live music by Sara Rodriguez (Saranaide), displays and demonstrations by traditional artisans Jenny Otero and Alma Segura, Crafts & Games for the whole family! Reps from the IDEA Coalition and Dunkirk Library will present and be helping with the activities.
AFTER PARTY
Geared towards an adult audience, tickets $10 at the door starting at 8pm. Cash bar will be available.
8pm to 10pm: Live music by “Comienzos”
Comienzos is a 4-piece Buffalo based band that interprets a rich repertoire of Central and South American music spanning from traditional folk songs to modern pop in a crossover jazz format. The group brings to audiences colorful bubbles of temporal pauses and voyages, hip moving, syncopated rhythms and energetic and playful improvisations. Featuring Jamie Sunshine (SUNY Fredonia Alumni) on marimba, Jeremy Spindler on accordion, Brian DeJesus on upright bass and Brian Mckenna on percussion.
10pm to Midnight
Get on your dancing shoes! Latin dance music spun by DJ Rasta Spock of Kinetic Entertainment.
This CREATE Project program is presented with support from the Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation and in partnership with Kinetic Entertainment, the IDEA Coalition, Taqueria Mexicana Restaurant, and the Dunkirk Public Library.
LIST OF PAST EVENTS:
Tradition, Trauma, & Tenderness
a documentary film
FREE ADMISSION- Public welcome – all ages
Sunday, May 11, 2024, at 1 pm.
at the Town of Collins Public Library
2341 Main St., Collins NY 14034
716-532-5129
___________________________
Featuring Bill Crouse
Sandra E. Jimerson-Dowdy, Kari Kennedy, Hunter Skye, Rhylee Hoag, Peter Jones, Mike Jones, Penny Minner, Debra Hoag, and the Allegany River Seneca Dancers
– Also –
Audrey Hager, Ph. D. and Darryl Tonemah, Ph. D.
This film was made possible by the support
from Arts Services, Inc. and the Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation
presented by the CREATE-Project
Creator, Writer, Executive Producer: Valerie Walawender
Co-Director: Valerie Walawender and Alex Simmons
Saturday, July 30, 2022, at Dunkirk Memorial Park, 1 pm to 3pm! We are making an important documentary film, “Tradition, Trauma, & Tenderness”. We will be filming the final scene for the documentary as a public event at Dunkirk Memorial Park.
![poster](https://create-project.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/CREATE-Project-Event-Instagram-Post.png)
Saturday, July 30, 2022, 1 pm to 3pm
The event will provide an opportunity for local community members, organizations, groups, families, and kids to appear in the film as they join in a Native American Social Dance Circle. There will be close-up shots and a drone photography shot from a bird’s-eye view.
The event will entail a short Native American social dance, in which all members of our community will be invited to participate. The dance and participants will be filmed for inclusion in the documentary.
Valerie Walawender. M.A., CREATE Project Founder, Lead Artist
the CREATE Project Board of Directors
This program is made possible with support from a Community Grant awarded by Northern Chautauqua Community foundation and with funds from the Statewide Community Regrant program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and administered by Arts Services Inc.
“CHILD NATURE” SCULPTURE – UNVEILING EVENT
![Detail from "Child Nature" Sculpture](https://create-project.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/2021-7-25_back_Child-Nature-whale-300x283.jpg)
An event to unveil and celebrate this original public art was held Thursday, August 12, 2021, at the front lawn of the library, located at 536 Central Avenue, Dunkirk, NY. The celebration was designed to underline the CREATE Project mission: to create a community free of child-trauma, abuse, and neglect, where children are free to grow to their highest potential. The Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy was also on-hand to discuss the significance of the Chautauqua County watershed.
The sculpture depicts poetic imagery painted skillfully on colorful glazed tiles . . . A young girl holds hope in her heart. A boy embraces a sailboat full of wishes and dreams for the future. Dolphins and whales ride rolling ocean waves. Otter and trout play in a river stream. Native plants and animals join together to stir the imagination of youth and adults.
The Child Nature sculpture is composed of glazed stoneware ceramic tiles affixed to a central armature to form an 6-foot pillar. Two sides of the vertical rectangular sculpture depict images of children entwined with natural water sources including rivers and oceans. Alternate sides of the column show tiles adorned with images of regional and global flora and fauna. An educational brochure describing the sculpture project along with suggestions for caring for children and nature has been designed. The brochure will be distributed at the unveiling celebration and later at the Dunkirk library and other locations.
This piece of public art is the result of collaboration between the CREATE Project and a multitude of generous community benefactors:
- CREATE Project artisans oversaw the project and contributed art for the ceramic tiles.
- Dunkirk Public Library offered outdoor space for the installation of the sculpture. The library’s CREATE Project Room, reinforces the sculpture’s message to care for children and the environment. A related CREATE Project video series is currently under development.
- Mudslingers Pottery Studio owner Ron Nasca contributed the concept of the column sculpture, and also fabricated and fired the glazed terra cotta tiles.
- A. Carapella Masonry, a local independent contractor, generously donated the materials and poured the concrete foundation for the sculpture while renovating the steps for the Dunkirk Public Library this past summer.
- Hae Jude Custom Signs kindly contributed logo and educational signage.
- Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation awarded a Northern Chautauqua Environmental Fund grant to partially support the creation of the Child Nature sculpture. The fund supports programs that promote local environmental education, particularly as it relates to Lake Erie and its watershed.
- P-TECH College and Career Academy, a multi-year program that prepares students for careers in advanced manufacturing, generously donated the materials to build the armature. P-Tech staff Mr. William Smock, Mr. Jeremy Bryant and Mr. Nick Anson guided students Jeffrey DeYoung, Alex Kochanowski, Eric Mettler, Abby Post, Eric Raynor, participated in the design, engineering, and fabrication of the steel armature for the sculpture.
- Special thanks also go to Robert and Jessica Walawender; P-Tech OMC staff Dawn Lehnen and Rich Valone for; and Anthony Bautista of Dunkirk Metal Products for end-phase troubleshooting and fabrication assistance.
- Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy collaborated on development of “Child Nature” brochure text designed to promote kindness to nature.
- Blossom Garden Friends Peace and Education Center collaborated on development of “Child Nature” brochure text to promote kindness to children.
- Artist Darlene Crawford contributed to the design and development of the educational brochure.
- The City of Dunkirk technicians Rich Tenaore and Dennis Odebralski assisted in the installation and promotion of the project.
- Kathy Reisenweber and the Girl Scouts, Chadwick Bay Service Unit, will help at the unveiling ceremony.
Jason Hammond, Executive Director of the Dunkirk Public Library commented, “The Library Board and our staff have been looking forward to this phase of the project ever since we began our collaboration with the CREATE Project in 2019.”
Artist Ron Nasca, owner of Mudslingers Pottery Studio, added, “It was an interesting project. Several obstacles had to be overcome and it seemed to have worked out just fine.”
Public Art
“Child-Nature” was strategically designed to be the first of a series. As such, considerable thought was given to the power of symbols and how they might reflect the values of our local community. The goal was to create a public art sculpture that has physical presence and compelling depth.
It is hoped that everyone concerned with children, families, community, and the environment will connect with the “Child-Nature” sculpture. “Child-Nature” will act as enchanting and educational reminder to pay attention to, respect, and respond to the nature of children and our natural environment. The work sets a high standard for the way we construct and connect the physical, natural, and social dimensions of our community. The piece recognizes our community’s heightened commitment to our children’s well-being and awareness of our relationship with the precious resources that nature extends to us.
Public art can help shape our community’s image and direction for decades to come. By underscoring the value of children, as well as the rich cultural and natural diversity of our area, “Child-Nature” is a work that visually advocates for children and the environment. The piece subtly suggests “understanding” as a remedy for societal cynicism, struggles, and angst. The antidote for these social maladies may lie in hope, reverence, and thoughtful consideration not only for our children, but also our own beautiful child-nature and earth nature. A spirit of appreciation and respect can form the foundation for lasting cultural change.
The intent is to make the art meaningful, and to impact the social and political directions of our community in the present and in generations to come. The narrative inspired by the visual elements will be subjectively construed, as children, their parents, and grandparents share their interpretations and relate their meanings to their own heritage and history.
CREATE Project representatives were on hand to talk about the sculpture at the Dunkirk Library book sale on September 4th
Past Events:
- “Puerto Rican Traditions” and “Identity Development and the Importance of Ritual” (“Third Thursday Program” at Dunkirk Pubic Library CREATE Project Room)
- “African American Traditions” and “The History of Children” (“Third Thursday Program” at Dunkirk Pubic Library CREATE Project Room)
- “A Gathering of Caring Community” at Dunkirk City School
- Tradition Fest at Dunkirk City School
- A Celebration of Quilting Traditions at Dunkirk City School
- Folk & Traditional Arts Community Programs featuring African American, Native American, Mexican, Puerto Rican, Polish, Quilting, Puppetry, and other traditions in cooperation with Boys & Girls Club of Northern Chautauqua County and Dunkirk Historical Society.
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“Puerto-Rican Traditions” and “Identity Development and the Importance of Ritual”
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Loretta Torain,
African American Traditon-Bearer -
Youth Dancers -
African American Poetry Reading -
Crowd joining in African American Gospel Singing