By Jaime Fuller
The weekend of Aug. 15 and 16 brings the second annual Corvallis Imagination Music and Art (CIMA) Festival. Along with many a local band, Ty Curtis and Patrick Lamb headline this year’s event. Saturday will include an art and craft show as well as an art creation zone. Donated items from some of Corvallis’ top artists will be available for sale during the silent auction. In the spirit of celebration, a music creation zone will allow people of all talents and ages to create music on unique instruments. The festival offers free admission this year.
Just yesterday, eight pianos were strategically placed throughout town, each painted according to a theme. The pianos will be available for the public to play between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. through Aug. 16.
Part of the spirit behind the festival is that it’s hard to imagine a day without listening to music. If there were no radio, Internet, or MP3s, would music be absent from our lives? Absolutely not. We would make it ourselves, regardless of what talent we did or did not possess. People would be singing everywhere they went, hitting sticks together, banging on boxes… isn’t that how it all started?
Thus it’s a little surprising that the subjects of music and art, which add such richness to our lives, tend to be the most belittled in academia. In order to rectify this, Corvallisites Dave and Shelly Lundahl founded the non-profit organization Imagination Music and Art, Inc. in 2013.
The group is involved in various projects including organizing the CIMA festival, which is run solely by volunteers. The ultimate goals for the group are, first of all, to bring the community together to celebrate music and art. “The second goal is that in coming together, we can create a platform in which we can collectively support music and art education in schools,” said Dave Lundahl.
All proceeds from the festival, including its Kickstarter campaign, donations at the gate, and percentages from vendors and art booths, will be used to submit a grant to the Corvallis Public Schools Foundation for music and art education. Their number one need right now is to raise $2,000 using Kickstarter. With various levels of donation, people will receive a T-shirt, a CD with a signature of the headliner band, 2015 calendars featuring local artwork, or a VIP pass.
The need for art education is most evident in kindergarten through fifth grade. High schools don’t have enough money to repair all the instruments in their bands. That’s why Gracewinds, one of the festival’s sponsors, is donating $1,500 worth of instrument repair.
This is just one of the many local businesses pitching in to make the festival a success, but keep an eye open while you enjoy the art to see other instances of our community working together.
The CIMA Festival is free and will take place on Friday, Aug. 15 from 6 to 10 p.m. and Saturday, Aug. 16 from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. at the Bruce Starker Arts Park. For more information about the festival, visit www.cimafestival.com. To make a donation supporting art and music education in Corvallis public schools, visit www.kck.st/1jNeQr3.
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