By JAMES BELL
Hays Post
During extended hours on Saturday, the Hays Arts Council, 112 E. 11th, will host live readings of the "Millie's Garden and the Great Mystery" during a come-and-go open house.
Kansas resident and author Joyce Frey, along with Hays resident and illustrator Kathleen Kuchar, will be on hand for the first readings of the work.
Readings are planned for 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. in the Founder's Gallery.
"Since it is not the proper time to have things like art walks or receptions, with food and drink — those things that we come to know and love ... we are going to have an open house on Saturday," said Brenda Meder, Hays Arts Council executive director.
An exhibition of the illustrations paired with the story is ongoing.
"It's a wonderful story about a rabbit and other creatures that live in this particular back yard," Meder said. "It is delightful and Kathleen's illustrations are truly magical, whimsical and warm."
Although retired from Fort Hays State University, Kuchar continues to create and exhibit work.
Meder hopes the event will add to the holiday festivities that have been abridged this year.
"We are hoping people will come out with their children," Meder said. "There is not going to be as many opportunities to dress up and costumes this year ... so put those kids in costumes and come down and see us."
Face covering are encouraged, but Meder said people will be spaced out in the room during the readings.
"There is plenty of room for people to stretch out in there," Meder said.
The children will also receive a goodie bag after the reading.
"They will get a really cool Millie take-home kid's craft," Meder said, along with candy and related coloring sheets.
For those who cannot make it to a reading, Meder said a recording of the event will be posted online.
During the open house, attendees will also have the opportunity to see the ongoing Aces and Eights exhibition.
"They kind of go together a little bit, with an event this weekend," Meder said.
The exhibition is a showcase of the work that was donated to the Hays Arts Center for an online auction that is set to begin Thursday.
The show features a diverse set of artists and works, with over 60 pieces of art, sized at 8" by 8."
"What is really exciting is I literally just had an artist come in this morning who said 'I heard you are real close to 52' — they knew that was my target because there are 52 cards in a deck — and this is called Aces and Eights," Meder said. "So we have 52 aces, aces being the artists, without whom you don't have the arts in a community."
The show will focus on visual arts, she said.
"It's a fabulous exhibition, not only by artists within our own community, but actually from other parts of the state as well," Meder said. "We are honored and humbled by their generosity."
The art was donated by to the Arts Council, with the auction working as a fundraiser for the organization.
"It's a great show on its own, but it is also going to be an online auction to celebrate the artists," Meder said.
In return for the donation, Meder said information about the artists will be included with the auction pieces, so participants can discover those artists.
"We think it is really important to know artists and have a chance to have some sort of engagement and education since we are not having our traditional methods of gathering," Meder said.
She also said links to the author's websites and social media will be included.
"We are trying to make this an engaging, interactive experience," Meder said.
"We want everybody to have a chance to play," Meder said. So all of the auction pieces will be offered at an opening bid of $50.
"And everything is original artwork," she said. "We have even got some handcrafted jewelry pieces. We've got oil, acrylic, watercolor, photography, lithographs, monotype prints, assemblage, collage, fiber, quilling. It's just an incredible body of work."
The auction is set to open at 10 a.m. Thursday and will run through Nov. 18, the same day both exhibitions are set to close.
