PDT Staff Report

Tie-dyed shirts and bell-bottom pants, disco shirts and ripped jeans, fondue and crepes, Simon and Garfunkle, and James Taylor - echoes of the 1970s will ring through Southern Ohio Museum's galleries on the evening of June 27, when Portsmouth Area Arts Council sponsors the opening reception for "Cream of the Crop 2008."

Exhibiting artists will be special guests for a sneak preview of Southern Ohio Museum's 11th-biennial juried exhibition of finest works by artists in the region, and PAAC invites all arts patrons and friends to come dressed in '70s attire appropriate to the party's theme of "Where Were You in '72?"

The opening night gala, a fundraiser for the local arts council, celebrates the anniversary of PAAC's establishment as a non-profit organization, as well as the art and artists selected for the show by juror Dennis Harrington, director of Alice F. and Harris Weston Art Gallery in Cincinnati's Aronoff Center for the Arts. The new exhibit, which will be on display in both the Kricker and Richards galleries through Aug. 6, will display works by artists living and working within an 85-mile radius of Portsmouth.

Tickets for the event, which will be from 6 to 8 p.m., are $25 per person; each artist and one guest will be admitted at no charge. The deadline for reservations is June 20, and may be made by contacting PAAC Executive Director DeLynn Coppoletti at (740) 351-3642, or sending checks made payable to Portsmouth Area Arts Council to P.O. Box 1258, Portsmouth, OH 45662. All proceeds from the fundraiser will go toward the Arts Council's efforts to present live arts programming for children and families in the Portsmouth area.

Decorations for the reception will center on memorabilia from the 1970s, accented by tie-dyed materials. Music will be provided by two members of the local band KYOVA, including Nevada Hart on the guitar along with lead singer Jeff Lykins on percussion. Typical refreshments such as kabobs, guacamole, antipasto, fondue, quiche and crepes, prepared by PAAC board members and volunteers, will evoke memories of the '70s.

Photo opportunities for guests dressed in their "groovy" '70s outfits will be available at a cost of $10 per photograph.

The planning committee for the Cream of the Crop opening reception includes PAAC executive director, DeLynn Coppoletti; John Leasure, PAAC president and fundraising chairman; Gloria Horsley and Eric Hardin, PAAC board members, and local artist Nick Gampp.