Our May Happenings begins with a message from our Exec Director Jeff Lyscczyn, who says

Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!

We’ve heard the phrase our whole lives. We know that when we hear it, someone is in need. I was curious about the origins of the call. Here’s what I learned.

The term was created in the early 1920s by Frederick Stanley Mockford, as a distress word that English and French pilots could easily understand. He proposed “Mayday,” modeled on the French m’aider (“help me”), itself a shortened form of venez m’aider (“come help me”).

We all get by with a little help from our friends (see what I did there?). As the “Art of Unburdening” series comes to its conclusion on May 7th, the word “help” takes on profound meaning. The project started with a simple conversation I had with Kory Wells about how we can use art to help caregivers find brief respite from their daily burden. We talked about who we might call to help us. So many people said yes. Come to the Walnut House and see for yourself. See how art comes to life and supports community in ways you never imagined. Details are here in the newsletter.

May and June provide many opportunities for us to help RAA and our arts community. If you’re a RAA member, you’ve already begun to see calls to volunteer at JazzFest (May 1&2), and the America 250 Mosaic Painting at Oaklands Mansion (May 17). Even if you’re not called to volunteer, we’d love to see you at these events, where you can support the arts in Rutherford County. There will be invitations soon to volunteer at Simply Smyrna, Juneteenth, and more. Watch your inbox!

How else can you help? RAA K-12 scholarship season opens again in August. You can donate here to help kids who struggle financially to afford to participate in the arts.

I had the privilege of serving on a grant review panel for the Tennessee Arts Commission last month. 80% of arts grants in Tennessee come from the TAC, including the grant that funded “The Art of Unburdening.” That funding comes from the sale of specialty license plates. If you’ve always wanted to show your personality with a specialty plate, there’s no time like the present to help the arts while you do it! Click here to find out more: tnspecialtyplates.org

For many of us, May Day also means the celebration of the emergence of spring and the renewal of life. I hope you make time to gather a few flowers. Give them to someone you love, or maybe someone you don’t even know. Dance around the Maypole, literally or proverbially. Spread love – it’s the one thing you can have more of for yourself when you give it away.

See you real soon!

Jeff

Read on for events in many genres, calls for artists and vendors, and much more!

Read the May Happenings Newsletter