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Riverside Arts Center, Fall, 2007, Newsletter

Join the Celebration: OKTOBERFEST
Riverside Arts Center’s fundraiser for lights and sound
4-8 p.m. Sunday, 7 October 2007 at the Corner Brewery
Celebrating the joyous return of The RFD Boys

Tickets: $50 per person. More information: 734-480-2787 or www.riversidearts.com. Make checks payable to “Riverside Arts Center” and mail to Mary Kinley, 843 Asa Gray Dr., Ann Arbor, MI 48105. Tickets will be held at the door.

Ypsi’s old Edison office declared “Off Center”
First it was Godfroy’s Patowatomie Trail, but most knew it as the Edison office where they could pay electric bills and get free light bulbs. Now it’s going to be called the “Riverside Off Center.” The name was chosen at the May meeting of the Riverside Arts Center Foundation Board to recognize the input of the many participants who had suggested different versions of “off-center” gathered at the 2006 community surveys held to determine possible uses for the expansion of the Arts Center.

Other names suggested included “The Real McCoy Center” in honor of Ypsilanti inventor Elijah McCoy (The Real McCoy); “The Lorch Center of Ypsilanti” to honor the famed architect, Emil Lorch, who designed Ypsilanti’s and Ann Arbor’s early Edison buildings and the MacArthur Bridge at Belle Isle in Detroit; “Down Town Energy” to recognize the renovation of the central business district; “Thomas Alva Edison Power Center” not to be confused with UM’s Power Center; and “The Godfroy Center” for the first settler to establish a business here.

“Off Center” speaks to its next-door quality, Board members said, but also reflects its placement on the city’s secondary street––near the center, but slightly off. It’s also a popular theme with many in the arts community. Plans are in the works for the deco stainless steel sign to proclaim “Riverside Off Center” soon––with changeable lettering below.

“Hanging” scheduled for Riverside Off Center
Every spring the Brown Chapel AME Church holds the Brotherhood Banquet to promote understanding in the community. Proceeds of the dinner are distributed to worthy organizations who apply for funding. This year the Brotherhood Committee awarded the Riverside Arts Center $300 toward the installation a professional system for hanging art on the walls of the “Riverside Off Center”––the former DTE building. Larry Newhouse will help with technical specifications and Bill Knudstrup has generously offered to assist in both installation and funding for this project.

The installation will see a rail installed 8’-10’ off the floor. Adjustable rods will be suspended from the rails to support works of art without drilling or taping onto the wall surface itself.

We thank Barry LaRue for writing the application, Pastor Jerry Hatter and his committee members at Brown Chapel, and all our RAC friends who are assisting with this worthy project!