By Lorraine Glowczak
It began as The Raymond Hill Community Center (RHCC) a
little over two years ago with a few Raymond individuals who came together to
offer a space of gathering for the Raymond and Lakes Region communities. The
goal and mission were to provide an open and welcoming space for people of all ages and
backgrounds, sharing thoughts, ideas and/or creative projects; and to promote
community connections.
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| Qigong is offered every Saturday |
Challenges were faced in the beginning, but due to a dedicated
few who embraced a stick-to-it attitude, the RHCC morphed into the Raymond Arts
Alliance (RAA) one year ago on January 20th with the same mission in
mind. It’s been a year of success, to say the least.
“I
was actually pretty shocked when I saw our “year in review” with all of the
events we had scheduled and things we had accomplished. I actually had to look
at it for a long time to believe it,” stated Mary-Therese Duffy, President and
one of the initial founding members of RAA. “The best thing about it was
calling to mind all of the wonderful people we have met, some of the most fun,
inspiring moments and ideas we shared with them, and how warmly welcomed the
Raymond Arts Alliance is.”
Another
founding member was Duffy’s husband, musician and educator, Gary Wittner.
Sticking it out during difficult times offered some astonishing results “First
and foremost, I am amazed and proud that we have developed into the group that
now exists. I am also amazed that we have had so many and varied events.
And that we appear to be generating some local interest and excitement.”
When
RHCC began, the events were held at the Riverside Hall located at 7 Raymond Hill
Road in Raymond. Challenges arose at the beginning – such as being unable to
continue financing artistic and community endeavors during the heating season and
meet a monthly rent. As a result, some apprehension regarding all the logistics
and legalities of having and hosting such events made the path to continue with
the mission of the organization difficult. With most giving up on the project,
Duffy and Wittner stayed with it – alone - to carry the torch. Until, that is,
a little library and a small church with a big heart came along and saw the
value of RHCC’s goal.
Duffy had this to say of the challenging transition: “I had to sit down and really
examine my motives:
were they clean? As in, was I truly thinking
about enhancing a sense of community connection and not just myself, in what I
was attempting to do? It was a pretty easy clarification I realized,
especially when it brought to mind the 50 people or so to whom we had initially
reached out for input and ideas. At that time, they were not only
excited, they had, without pause, donated pretty substantially. That felt like
a mandate frankly, not so much from or for them, but for the very real desire,
excitement and commitment I saw within the Raymond community to connect with
one another while enjoying and supporting the arts and humanities. That made it
easy. Scary, with just the two of us then, but easy to feel trust in what was
driving us. So, when the Raymond Village Library Board members and
Reverend Nancy Foran of the Raymond Village Community Church reached out to us,
we felt well teamed with people who had the same goals and vision we had.”
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| A full year of music, magic, comedy, poetry and more. |
With
this collaborative effort, RHCC then changed its name and became known as
Raymond Arts Alliance (RAA). For the past year, the RAA has provided a variety
of popular and well attended events to include (but not limited to) the
following:
*Evening
music series
*Comedy
and Magic night
*Writing
workshops
*SLUKES
(Sebago Lakes Ukuleles) group sing alongs
*Short
Set Concert performances (Latin, Celtic and Middle Eastern music)
*Poetry
Night
*Seeds
of Peace presentation
*Open-Mic
nights
*Saturday
morning Qigong/Tai-chi exercise program.
RAA
now has grown with a larger group of volunteers. A new volunteer member, Louise
Carpenter, stated that her main drive to participate in the group is to bring
people out of their houses. “Raymond is such a large and spread out area, it’s
really hard to meet people. The Raymond Arts Alliance is one way to gather as a
community and enjoy the various events that we can all enjoy. As a result, I
want to be a part of it and love the friendships I have developed as a result
of my participation.”
Another
dedicated volunteer, Brenda Olsen, concurred with Carpenter and also stated
that she sees the work of RAA as way to bring unique performances and other
venues to the area without having to go out of town and spending a lot of
money. “One of my goals for RAA is to find ways to get children involved in the
arts and the community, too.”
For
those who are inspired to do something just as meaningful but are currently
facing a hurdle along the way, Duffy shares some encouragement and what she
learned about hanging in there during times when your dream seems out of reach.
“I
like to say: follow the yesses. The attraction of members to the Raymond
Arts Alliance has been all about quite uncanny meetings of others that not only
became “yesses”, they were also perfect fits of likeminded people with the
exact right skills at the exact right time. Some things are just bigger than us
and have been waiting to happen.”
Wittner had this to say about the way the Raymond Hill
Community Center transpired into what it is today, “Things can manifest at any time, often when it seems unlikely.
If the dream has passion, it keeps moving at its own speed.”
So,
if it seems that things are not going as planned or meeting your agenda,
remember that your dreams and vision can manifest at any time. Don’t give up.
To
learn more about RAA or for volunteer opportunities, contact Duffy at:
mtherese@maine.rr.com
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