AU REVOIR. A FAREWELL MESSAGE FROM DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS, LAUREN WOLK
The French don’t say goodbye, which seems so final. They say au revoir. Until we meet again.
And that’s what I’m saying now as I prepare to fill a new role at the Cultural Center.
In 2022, I’ll be proud to count myself among the Cultural Center’s devoted friends but no longer one of its staff. I’ll continue to give of my time, talent, and treasure, and I urge you to do the same. To support this extraordinary organization as a patron, member, student, teacher, and artist. I plan to be all of these.
But while I intend to work on special projects like the annual Mutual Muses Exhibition, the May writing retreat with Kwame Alexander, Bass River Press, and other initiatives I’ve captained, I’ll also be starting a new chapter in my life … quite literally … as I become more and more engaged in my other career, as a writer.
With a new novel coming out in May (and other books scheduled for the years ahead), book tours, school visits, and wonderful new opportunities in both the literary and visual arts, I will be busier than ever and simply cannot continue to give the Cultural Center the attention, energy, and commitment it deserves. But I’ll always be as involved as I can be.
When I recently arrived home after work, quite blue about my looming departure, my son told me to feel good about what I’d helped to accomplish … and what I’ll accomplish next. He was right, of course. I do feel good about my contributions, and I’m excited about finally being a full-time author. But I also feel deeply sad as I prepare to leave the institution I helped to build with more blood, sweat, and tears than I’ve spent on any other act of creation except motherhood. The Cultural Center deserves my tears. It has been a wonderful place to work, and its people, programs, mission, and stellar service to the entire region have always been enormously important elements of my life. They always will be.
So thanks to all of you who are part of the Cultural Center family and, therefore, part of mine. I hope to see you often at our shared home in Bass River.
Au revoir.
Lauren
HAPPENINGS
Sunday, November 28, at 3pm
“Playing Favorites!”
With the Fred Fried / Bruce Abbott Quintet, Featuring Marcelle Gauvin
This all-star jazz ensemble will play works by such composers as George Gershwin, Duke Ellington, Johnny Mandel, Michel LeGrand, and Bill Evans. Featuring Fred Fried on 8-string guitar, Bruce Abbott on sax and flute, Marcelle Gauvin on vocals, Evan Carley on bass, and Miki Matsuki on drums.
Fred says, “As musicians, we’ve been asked so many times about our favorite songs that we decided to showcase even more of the tunes we love to play. After last year’s sold-out performance, we were agreed that an all-new ‘Playing Favorites’ would be just the thing!”
You’ll find that many of their favorites are your favorites too!
$20