Too Cool – Way Cool
What’s cooler than a cucumber? …..

Tribute to Air Conditioning Sculpture Unveiled on July 4
SCHEDULE CHANGE

COOL: Gadsden Salutes the Invention of Air Conditioning; a movie tribute will not be shown on the lawn of City Hall at 7:30pm. Due to the heat and humidity along with an afternoon threat of rain, the Air Conditioning Tribute Committee decided to view the movie inside the Air Conditioned Comfort of the Mary G. Hardin Center for Cultural Arts.
Also, a special July 4th cool-off preview will be shown at 3:30 pm in the comfort controlled Community Room of the Hardin Center.

As a bonus to the citizens of Gadsden with Comcast cable service, Channel 99 will air parts of the movie beginning Thursday evening at 7 PM. Channel 99 is the Gadsden City Information Channel on Comcast.

Fireworks over the Coosa will commence at 9:00pm.

More than two years ago, the Air Conditioning Tribute Committee became a committee of the Gadsden Cultural Arts Foundation. Under the leadership of Chairman Peter Gregerson, Willie Maise, Wilbur Masters, Glen Porter, and Kay Moore, the committee has interviewed many Gadsdenites concerning their attitude towards the cooling device and held an essay and design competitions. The winner of the $25,000 purchase award sculpture contest is Thomas Lyles of Augusta Georgia. At 2:00 PM at the Hardin Center for Cultural Arts on July 4th, the public is invited to pay tribute to one of the most influential inventions of the modern era, the air conditioner.

The Gadsden Cultural Arts Foundation will unveil the “tribute to the air conditioner” sculpture on Saturday, July 4, 2009 at the Mary G. Hardin Center for Cultural Arts in historic downtown Gadsden, AL.
The program will begin at 2:00pm in the Community Room of the Hardin Center. Peter Gregerson, founder of the air conditioning tribute movement, and Thomas Lyles, artist, are scheduled to speak.

The unveiling is in conjunction with Downtown Gadsden’s Freedom Saturday. Festivities for the event include a watermelon eating contest, sweet tea challenge, homemade ice cream freeze off, along with vendors and live entertainment. To repeat, Gadsden’s Cool Movie” as the film by Mario Gallardo was formerly known as, will NOT be shown on the lawn of City Hall at 7:30pm.

Details for the event:

Broad Street will be blocked off and set up for the events the same as First Friday

July 3rd, First Friday booth/flyer/promo and the airing of “COOL IN GADSDEN” over public access and other broadcast outlets. We will have a large block of ice to see how long it takes until it melts. This could draw attention to our 4th of July unveiling.

July 4th, streets will be blocked off at noon
The Mary G. Hardin Center for Cultural Arts will be open 2PM – 8PM, including Ink and Blood exhibit, Imagination Place will be open 2 – 6 PM.

2:00 PM – Vendors in place and onsite registration/ticket sales begin

2:00 PM – program begins in Community Room of the Hardin Center with remarks about the project by Peter Gregerson, Committee Chairman and founder of the air conditioning tribute movement

2:30 – Recognition of Special Guests, invitation to be extended to the President and all our US, State and Local politicians. GCAF Chair Kay Moore makes remarks and introduces Thomas Lyles, who explains his sculpture then takes us to sculpture site for unveiling.

2:45 – in front of the sculpture, The Unveiling of art by Thomas Lyles

3:00 – Patriotic Music played from main stage in front of Hardin Center

3:30 – sneak peek preview showing of COOL. Inside the air conditioned Hardin Center’s Community Room

4:00 – Watermelon Eating competition

Also booths for Tea Tasting and Freeze Off contestants open

5:00 – 8:00 Caribbean Chrome steel drum band

6:30 – Sweet Tea Tasting and Freeze Off competition winners announced

7:30 – “COOL: Gadsden Salutes the Invention of Air Conditioning”, a movie

9:00 – Fireworks over river

Air Conditioning Tribute Committee Announces Poetry Contest Winners

Cool Cash Given Out…….
Winners of the Air Conditioning Tribute Contest Announced

In an effort to remind us all to pause and appreciate the many great things in our lives, the Gadsden Cultural Arts Foundation formed the Air Conditioning Tribute Committee earlier this year. The committee’s first task was design competition.  The winning art, by Augusta, GA artist Thomas Lyles will be unveiled as part of The Hardin Center’s  Air Conditioning Tribute on June 21 (the first day of summer, summer solstice).
The second phase was a cool essay/poetry contests for student. Teachers asked students to think about all the ways that Air Conditioning makes our southern life better;  to imagine all of the simple things that would be miserable without the benefit of Air Conditioning.  Students were encouraged to speak with an older relative to find out what their life was like before air conditioning.
The Air Conditioning Tribute Committee announced the winners of the essay/poetry contest today.  The winners and their teachers are invited to attend the award presentation at 5:00 PM on Thursday, February 26th at 5:00 PM at the Hardin Center for Cultural Arts.

Elementary: $100 for classroom and $100 for student:  “The Father of Cool” by Baylor Millhoff, Southside Elementary School, 4th grade, Teacher: Mrs. Clevenger

Middle: $200 for classroom and $200 for student: “The Air-conditioner” by Samantha Farrell, Hokes Bluff Middle School – Teacher: Debbie Landers Scott

A special $50 honorable mention was awarded to “Life Without Air Conditioning” by Leah Littleton, Emma Sansom Middle School, 8th grade class, Teacher: Mrs. Cothran

High School $200 for classroom and $200 for student: “Air Conditioning” by Katelyn Hayes, Episcopal Day School, 11th grade, Teacher: Barbara Wills

Adult: $500: Cherylyn Barrett for “Fathers of Cool”

Click here to view the winning adult essay.

Click here to view the other winning essays.

Gadsden Reads: The Shawl
Welcomes Sigmund Sobolewski,
a Catholic Holocaust Survivor,
to Tell His Story

Click Here to View the Press Release

Would you like to see fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls displayed in Gadsden?

Click for Exhibit Preview

The collection includes authentic Dead Sea Scrolls, 5,000-year-old clay tablets, Hebrew Torahs, ancient Greek texts, Medieval Latin manuscripts, pages from Gutenberg’s Bible, and rare English printed Bibles.

In addition to the more than one-hundred authentic artifacts, the exhibition includes a working replica of Gutenberg’s printing press featuring live demonstrations of incunabular printing. 

 
If 1,000 people paid $50 now, we would have the funds to guarantee the exhibit's success.  Please pre-purchase tickets now at $5 each.  If 1,000 people buy 10 tickets at $5 each by November 18, the Board of Directors will have the comfort level to make the necessary commitments.

For 2009, we had several headliners already planned.  Gadsden Reads: The Shawl's theme will be expanded upon in March and April as we exhibit "Darkness Into Life".  The exhibit was organized by the Birmingham Holocaust Education Committee and focuses on Alabama's Holocaust survivors.  Our summer is celebrated with a tribute to the air conditioner, and during September into November we are organizing Faberge and Vivian Alexander.  Original Faberge selections from several collections, including items from the Forbes' Collection will be combined with an extraordinary collection of Vivian Alexander egg-related objects d'art.
 
These programs were our 2009 grand plans until a few weeks ago when….

Ink and Blood became unavailable,
unless we exhibited it during May, June and July of 2009.

The good news is that our community has the opportunity to display an incredible exhibit in May, June and July 2009.   The bad news is that with our already full exhibit schedule, we must raise a minimum of $30,000 by November 18 to sign the contract.

Please click DONATE NOW to ensure this comes to Gadsden.

Corporate Sponsorships levels begin at $12,500 and special group rate programs can include the use of the Hardin Center's 400 seat auditorium; inquiries should be made to bobwelch@culturalarts.org or phone 256-543-2787 x 26.
Ink & Blood: Dead Sea Scrolls to Gutenberg is the largest collection ever assembled chronicling Western Civilization as seen through one of its most prominent and carefully preserved objects d’art—the Hebrew, Latin and English Bible.
The collection includes authentic Dead Sea Scrolls, 5,000-year-old clay tablets, Hebrew Torahs, ancient Greek texts, Medieval Latin manuscripts, pages from Gutenberg’s Bible, and rare English printed Bibles.
In addition to the more than one-hundred authentic artifacts, the exhibition includes a working replica of Gutenberg’s printing press featuring live demonstrations of incunabular printing.

Click here to download an informational guide to learn about specifics of this exhibit.