Saturday, April 30, 2016

SACC Initiates Evaluation Planning for Potential Outdoor Art Sale

The Smyrna Arts & Cultural Council is considering being the sponsor of an outdoor art exhibition later this year. This will be a big event if we decide to move forward. Before we decide though we need to identify a large pool of interested, talented artists across a wide variety of Visual & Fines Arts disciplines – painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, pottery, glassmaking, wood turning and more.

There will be retail space, demonstration areas and “en plein air” artist stations in a classy format that features great artists!

Please e-mail SmyrnaACC@gmail.com if interested. Please include a link to your online portfolio (if you have one or some sample photos), your bio and let us know if you are interested in conducting a demonstration or workshop. 

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Musicians Wanted!


Attention Up and Coming Local Musicians!!! We have been asked to help book 21 Saturday morning 90-minute gigs staring in May. There is a small weekly stipend for each performance. SACC will heavily promote the selected artists. We also have a bigger event in the Fall we’ll announce soon.
If interested please email smyrnaacc@gmail.com and include your bio and YouTube links. 

Lynn Coulter Presents “Heirloom Flowers and Edibles for Today’s Gardeners”

Tonight’s featured speaker for out Talk of the Town Speaker Series at Brawner Hall was Lynn Coulter.  She presented “Heirloom Flowers and Edibles for Today’s Gardeners”.

Lynn is the author of Gardening with Heirloom Seeds (UNC Press) and two books in the spiritual genre, Mustard Seeds and Little Mercies (both from B&H Books). She’s also a frequent contributor to HGTVGardens.com and a blogger for the Travel Channel. 

Her work has appeared in Delta Air Lines Sky, Southern Living, U.S. Airways Magazine, and many other print and digital publications. She lives with her family and two rescue pups in Douglasville, GA.

Lynn's extensive work for HGTV and Home Depot is available online at HGTVGardens.com and The Home Depot Garden Club.

Topic Description

Heirloom flowers and vegetables are varieties that have been handed down from one generation to the next.  Sadly, many are disappearing as new hybrids crowd them out of the marketplace. 

Mortgage Lifter Tomatoes, Heavenly Blue Morning Glories, and other old-fashioned plants are just too wonderful to lose. Learn why heirlooms matter, how to grow them, and how to save and share their seeds!

Sunday, April 24, 2016

Smyrna Arts & Cultural Council Hosts Local Artists at Jonquil Festival

The Smyrna Arts & Cultural Council participated in its first Jonquil Festival this weekend.  

Our featured guest Smyrna-area artists were Steve Stoichev and Freedom Rodriguez.  We hope to enlarge our festival footprint at the upcoming Fall Festival. 

About Steve Stoichev

Steve Stoichev is an award winning artist.  He’s a painter, scuptor and designer.  He paints in impressionistic style and makes modern sculpture.  He lives in Smyrna, GA with his wife and three children.  He is a member of the SACC, Society of Silven Artists and the South Cobb Arts Alliance.  Follow his work on Facebook at Fine Arts America

About Freedom Rodriguez

Freedom Rodriguez is a native of New York City. He studied animation and illustration but is mostly a self taught artist. He has a passion to integrate his art and faith to share God's truth, beauty, and goodness. Currently, he is creatively investing in Cobb County communities with life-empowering art programs. Visit www.artserveint.org.  

Enjoy the photo album!

Friday, April 22, 2016

Smyrna Arts & Cultural Council Hosts Spring Town Hall Meeting

The Smyrna Arts & Cultural Council hosted its Spring Town Hall Meeting at Brawner Hall this evening.  President Jeff Jones presented details on SACC’s progress over the last six months.  

The Summer Town Hall Meeting is scheduled for Sunday, July 17, 2016 at 3:00 pm at the Community Center in the Community Room.  The public is welcome to attend.



Saturday, April 16, 2016

SACC “Adopts-a-Mile” to Keep Smyrna Beautiful!


The Smyrna Arts & Cultural Council is now a participant in Keep Smyrna Beautiful's ADOPT-A-MILE program.  Our sign is located near the intersection of Atlanta Road and Creatwood Trail.  We held our first cleanup today.

Our mile (actually 1.2 miles) is located on the east side of Atlanta Road from Creatwood 
Trail to the Community Center.  Volunteers work the mile in 3 sections:

1)  Community Center to Spring Road
2)  Spring Road to Brawner Park
3)  Brawner Park to Creatwood Trail

All needed supplies are provided free of charge by Keep Smyrna Beautiful and lunch is served after the event. Please e-Mail SmyrnaACCvols@gmail.com to signup.

Sunday, April 10, 2016

Jonquil City Sessions Concert Series Launches - Montana Skies is Inaugural Act

The Smyrna Arts & Cultural Council celebrated the inaugural concert of the Jonquil City Sessions concert series on Saturday, April 9, with the performance of Atlanta-based group Montana Skies. Some 100 people warmed in the intimate setting of candlelit tables and good food and drink to relish this band’s unique musical sound. 

Musicians Jonathan and Jenn Adams wielded cello, guitar and Tibetan bowl to deliver an acoustic touch of grace to everything from Pink Floyd to Vivaldi, while the sound system of the Smyrna American Legion Music Hall superbly accentuated every note. The evening culminated in standing applause.

Montana Skies is an award-winning band combining classical technique with the energy of jazz improv and rock’n’roll. They enjoy a worldwide following, with tours in the States, Canada and Asia as well as features on NPR and the Travel Channel. On April 9, Montana Skies let loose in Smyrna across traditional musical boundaries—wielding strings across everything from hard rock to classical as well as their own original material.

With this kickoff, the SACC Jonquil City Sessions concert series and Smyrna American Legion Music Hall are well on the way to bringing great music to Smyrna! Look for upcoming concerts at: http://www.smyrnaacc.org

If you missed the concert, enjoy Montana Skies on YouTube at: 

Monday, April 4, 2016

Jonah McDonald Presents HIKING COBB COUNTY

With the arrival of the hustle and heat of another busy summer in Smyrna, it’s not unusual to long for the sights and sounds of nature—the peace of flowing waters, the trills of flitting birds about their business under the dappled shade of tall rustling trees. If only we had time to take a few days, pack up the kids, fill up the tank and find that spot in the mountains, right?

There is good news for us…fantastic news actually: Smyrna …Cobb County … in fact, much of the greater Atlanta area, is green.

Just in time for spring, the Smyrna Arts & Cultural Council hosted its April First Sunday Lecture series with Jonah McDonald’s introduction to “Hiking Cobb County” at the Smyrna Public Library. Some sixty people of all ages attended the talk to learn about many beautiful nature hikes available in west and north metro and Cobb County. Author of Hiking Atlanta’s Hidden Forests and a ten-year resident of Atlanta, Mr. McDonald proved that nature is not something you only see once a year on vacation. He shared the locations of many “greenspaces” within and around Smyrna—not just the ever-popular Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park and Silver Comet trail but lesser known gems too, such as Heritage Park, the East and West Palisades, Cochran Shoals and Lost Mountain. These nearby spots can be enjoyed in a day or even in an afternoon.

Mr. McDonald shared with the group that his goal—besides offering us a mini-vacation—is to increase the community’s participation in the local environment and so foster a sense of stewardship, especially among young people, that will help preserve the city’s vast natural beauty—a beauty that many do not even realize is there beside the malls, the office parks and the parking lots.

So when the heat is on this summer—whether in your backyard or on that conference call—take heart! Families and nature-lovers can spend an afternoon breathing in the scents and sounds of champion oaks and towering poplars, peaceful rivers and rushing waterfalls…and maybe even catch a sight of a little bit of wildlife—all without leaving the city!

Jonah McDonald is the founder of an outdoor guide service providing hiking, camping, backpacking and outdoor education programs throughout the Southeast. As an educator and naturalist, he has designed and taught wilderness and outdoor programs for several Atlanta-area independent schools. McDonald thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2002. Hiking Atlanta’s Hidden Forests was inspired by his many days spent exploring the greenspaces of metro Atlanta.

For more information about green spaces to see in Smyrna, visit: http://hikingatlanta.com/


The "First Sunday" lecture series is held in the Smyrna Public Library Meeting Room and is jointly sponsored by the Friends of Smyrna Library and the Smyrna Arts & Cultural Council.