Paul J. Schupf Art Center to open on Saturday, Dec. 17 with the return of Joy to the Ville

WATERVILLE, Maine – For the fifth year, Joy to the Ville returns to Waterville on Saturday, Dec. 17. The event will be the first in a series to help celebrate the opening of the new Paul J. Schupf Art Center. Waterville Creates, together with the Colby College Museum of Art, Waterville Public Library, Children’s Discovery Museum, and Bixby Chocolate Café, are thrilled to bring this full day of free, family-friendly holiday activities back to downtown Waterville.

“We are so excited to welcome the community to our new home in the Paul J. Schupf Art Center,” said Waterville Creates President + CEO Shannon Haines, adding, “Joy to the Ville is a beloved community event and the perfect opportunity to invite people of all ages to explore our new space.”

Developed in partnership with Colby College, the Paul J. Schupf Art Center will serve as the new home of Waterville Creates and the year-round film, visual, and performing arts programming offered through its three divisions, the Maine Film Center, Ticonic Gallery + Studios and the Waterville Opera House. Schupf Arts will also include the Colby College Museum of Art’s Joan Dignam Schmaltz Gallery of Art, featuring year-round exhibitions and programs.

“The Joan Dignam Schmaltz Gallery of Art will offer our local community and visitors of all ages, from near and far, a vibrant space to experience great art right on Main Street. We’re thrilled to be part of the Paul J. Schupf Art Center with our Waterville Creates partners and work together to make Schupf Arts the place to be in Waterville,” said Jacqueline Terrassa, Carolyn Muzzy Director at the Colby College Museum of Art.

Complementing the building’s arts programming, award-winning Bixby Chocolate will open its first Chocolate Café on the first floor, offering retail chocolates, prepared chocolate beverages, and specialty coffee. Featured products will include the company’s signature bean-to-bar products, seasonal bon bons, toffee, and Maine Sea Salted caramels. “We are so excited to celebrate the grand opening of our first Chocolate Café as part of Joy to the Ville,” said Kate McAleer, founder, owner and CEO of Bixby Chocolate.

The Joy to the Ville festivities will include a variety of free arts activities throughout the new building with the following exhibitions on view all day: Light on Main Street at the Joan Dignam Schmaltz Gallery of Art, Common Threads at Ticonic Gallery, Karina Steele’s site-specific installation in the Maine Film Center lobby, and a display of spectacular costumes from the Waterville Opera House. Free art lunchboxes, luminary art kits, rolling art cart activities, and refreshments, including Maine Film Center popcorn and Bixby’s drinking chocolate, will be available all day. All activities will take place at 93 Main Street, Waterville, unless otherwise noted.

10am                Story Time with the Waterville Public Library

10am–3pm      Cityscape Lanterns: Create glass jar lanterns inspired by the Colby Museum’s Light on
Main Street exhibition

10am–3pm      Art in a Box: Create a pop-up drawing of an outdoor space and package it in one of the Colby Museum’s beautiful winter-themed boxes

10:30am           Holiday Movie: “The Muppet Christmas Carol”

11am–1pm        Ticonic Clay Studio: Wheel throwing demonstrations

11am–2pm       Muppet Green Screen

11am                 Meet the Makers and Collaborators: Light on Main Street exhibition

12pm               Ribbon Cutting with the Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce

12–2pm           Creating Seasonal Pine Swags with The Robin’s Nest

12–2pm           Meet the Artists of Common Threads: Colleen Kinsella and Elizabeth Jabar

12–3pm           Holiday Card Making

12pm               Joyful Dance with artist + dancemaker Matthew Cumbie (ages 6-12)

12–4pm           10-Minute Portraits with artist Desiree DuBois

12–4pm           Oil Painting and Collage demonstration with Ryan Kohler

1–3pm             3D Printing demonstrations

1–4pm             Kringleville Visits with Santa (at Head of Falls)

1pm                 Holiday Movie: “Miracle on 34th Street”

1pm                 Meet the Makers and Collaborators: Light on Main Street exhibition

2pm                 Sgraffito Clay Workshop with clay artist Tim Christensen (ages 12 + up)

3pm                 Joyful Dance with artist + dancemaker Matthew Cumbie (ages 13-adult)

4pm                 Flora + Fauna of Waterville Conversation with artist Tessa Greene O’Brien and Maine Naturalist and WC Education + Outreach Manager Serena Sanborn

Waterville Creates thanks Kennebec Savings Bank for their sponsorship of Joy to the Ville. More information about Joy to the Ville can be found at WatervilleCreates.org.

About Waterville Creates
The mission of Waterville Creates is arts experiences for all. Offering diverse programming for all ages, Waterville Creates is building a thriving, connected, and equitable community through shared experiences in the arts. For more information about Waterville Creates, visit WatervilleCreates.org.

About Paul J. Schupf Art Center
The Paul J. Schupf Art Center is a hub and destination for the visual and performing arts, arts education, and film in Waterville, Maine. Schupf Arts, which is a partnership between Waterville Creates and Colby College, brings together under one roof some of the city’s most important arts institutions. With a diverse set of flexible, multipurpose spaces for art and cultural programming, Schupf Arts will play a major role in making Waterville a premier destination for the arts by attracting internationally recognized and emerging artists, supporting access to world-class performances and exhibits, and providing new opportunities for creative expression for the Waterville and central Maine communities.