FOLIO
by ERIN THURSBY
Teri Coutu, who has taken over the position as Riverside Arts Market Director this fall, spoke to EU about what’s coming up at RAM this October and why she loves her job.
I was first introduced to RAM as a patron, but more importantly I was a performer twice last last year on the River Stage and I really got to see it from a whole different perspective…fell in love with it then. It’s just a great crowd of people…it’s a wonderful backdrop;I knew it was something special then.”
Art and music are Coutu’s first love, but she got a degree in health food, so she wouldn’t be a starving artist. After working in marketing and promotions, she found that “the arts would keep calling to me.” In her new position as director of RAM, she realized she could take all of the skills she had and “use it for the betterment of arts and culture.”
There’s always a lot going on at RAM, and October is no exception. This month, for the first time, they’re holding a two day event. It’s in honor of Oktoberfest. “We’re going to have 20 different kinds of beer…we’re going to have the Aetna Healthy Food Fight; we’re one of the spots for the Jacksonville Film Festival, so we’re going to be showing some shorts in between our musical entertainment on Friday night. It’s going to be…a huge three-ring circle Oktoberfest of food and fun.”
Here’s a calendar of what to expect at RAM this month:
OCTOBER 2ND – Internationally acclaimed children’s singer/songwriter Justin Roberts
OCTOBER 9TH – Opening of the RAM Art Gallery (see page 39)
OCTOBER 15TH – 16th Oktoberfest Friday night activities will kick off with an “oompah” band at 6:30 pm. kLoB will also perform, beginning around 9 pm. There will be additional entertainment on Saturday night from 6 pm-11pm. The Jacksonville Film Festival will be showing 3 short movies in between the musical entertainment on Friday night. Dancing, food, and other fun activities are also being planned to expand the Oktoberfest theme. Aetna’s Healthy Food Fight will be on the premises. They will be cooking and teaching from 4 pm-10pm on Friday, and on Saturday from 10 am – 8 pm.
OCTOBER 23 – Think Pink at RAM – Dedicated to breast cancer awareness and support.
OCTOBER 30TH- Halloween Costume Contest and The RAM Championship Pumpkin Chunkin Tournament (RCPCT)
Movies Under the Bridge
The Riverside Arts Market has been tremendously successful, attracting thousands of attendees each Saturday. However, the market is not limited to daytime enjoyment. RAM will show FREE family movies four Saturday evenings in October with the support of EU Jacksonville, Jacksonville Orthopaedic Institute, Lee & Cates Glass. The fun begins around 6:30 with live entertainment and refreshments for purchase. Movies will begin around 7 pm (or as soon as it is dark enough). Chairs and blankets are welcome. Schedule follow:
Oct 2 – Up
Oct 9 – Wall-E
Oct 23 – The Wizard of Oz
Oct 30 – Ghostbusters
It’s Hip To Be Square
artistic types and even crayon cowboys square off and get hung at RAM
The friendly folks at the Riverside Arts Market have celebrated a one year anniversary for a venture that’s quickly become Jacksonville’s “happening place to be” on Saturday mornings. Well-known for its variety of vendors and carnival atmosphere RAM is now launching its newest creation, the RAM Art Gallery under the guidance of R.A.P. and directed by Ryan Strasser.
To initiate this all-inclusive art exhibit space they created “Get Squared Away.” It’s a art exhibit that calls for public participation by creating your own visual design on a pair of art squares that will be on exhibit at the RAM Arts Gallery and available for sale. The 9×9 inch wooden squares come unfinished and are available at the Riverside Avondale Preservation office at 2623 Herschel Street (just north of King Street in Riverside), or the Riverside Arts Market on Saturdays and purchase your kit for a mere $36.
Starting on October 9 the display of artists works will open at RAM, then the pieces that haven’t sold after four weeks will move to the Jacksonville Landing for the month of November.
“I did my squares in oil,” says Ryan Strasser, a Riverside native and UNF grad. Strasser explains that using oils takes a more time, because of the time it takes for the paint to dry. Both creations are being considered for album cover art. “One is an underwater diver and the other is an astronaut – each is reaching out.” But using oil is just one of many choices in medium for the squares, just as Strasser is but one of the artists. “Some people are using acrylics and some collages – really creative stuff, and it’s an honor for me to be able to hang my work next to the likes of Jim Draper and Joanelle Mulrain.”
So if your artistic side needs a fun and creative outlet “Get Squared Away” and make something incredible, or a grown-up version of refrigerator art.
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