Volunteer Opportunity: Pool Party @TheGuadalupe

I know it’s extremely short notice, but if you’re looking for something to do tonight, The Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center is having a closing pool party reception tonight, and they need help setting up, running the event, and breaking it down. Below are the details:

Location:

Guadalupe Backyard
816 S. Brazos St.
San Antonio, TX 

Details from Facebook page

Chill out and enjoy refreshments poolside with San Antonio’s hottest artists. Join in the fun!

POOL PARTY CLOSING RECEPTION
THURSDAY, AUGUST 26 
6-9 PM | FREE
816 S. Brazos St. 

Enter the Wildest Sunglasses or Wackiest Sun Hat competitions. Play the Berries & Cream game, in which the first person to find and eat their strawberry wins. And wait till you see the Rubber Duck Race; artists from the exhibition and local reporters compete in a race around the pool using only their breath to move the rubber duck.

Plus kids’ crafts, beach music, fresh fruit kabobs, Hawaiian pizza, and more!

Also be sure to get your Folklórico Chanclas for sale by the Guadalupe Dance Company.

FYI: It’s your last chance to buy priority placement for engraved bricks & paving stones before the first installation next to “La Veladora” by Jesse Treviño.

Please come out and show your support. To see other opportunities that may interest you check out their page of events here.

Shake Your Munny Maker

Yesterday I mentioned I would write a little more about the Munny Maker fundraising event that took place this past Saturday at the Fine Silver Building in San Antonio. It was both hosted by, and for the benefit of, AIGA San Antonio. AIGA (American Institute for Graphic Designers) is a professional designers’ association. In Texas, they currently have chapters in Dallas, Austin, and Houston, but not in San Antonio. The design community in San Antonio is working to hard to start an officially recognized chapter of their own.  I must say, they have put in some tremendous work, and it’s starting to pay off. The guest speaker was Brian Flynn, one of the top designers in the States, founder of Hybrid Design, and, might I add, a pretty cool guy.

Since I’m not a designer, at first I planned only to attend the event, but when I saw the tweet asking for volunteers I decided to see what I could do. For me, volunteering at events is much more rewarding than simply attending them. I like being able to see all the passion and effort that goes into coordinating and executing events such as this. Also, the people that put these things together tend to be the those willing to go the extra mile—the kinds of people I like to be around. I got a chance to meet some really cool people I otherwise might not have the chance. Among them were Rolando Murillo or Murillo Design, Cesar Rivera of Chimaera Design, and Karmen Vidal of Picoso Creative, among several others.  These are the people you often hear about in the industry, but It’s cool to work alongside them and see them with their hair down.

Munnies were crafted by both local and non-local designers and sold during a silent auction. Some of the top munnies went for over $100. Check out some of my favorites below. Good luck AIGA San Antonio! Feel free to let me know if you need any help with future events.

San Antonio Gets Its Own AIGA Chapter

San Antonio designers and art lovers can celebrate the inauguration of its very own AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts), the professional association for designers. Although Austin, Dallas, and Houston have had their chapters for some time, design professionals in San Antonio didn’t have a place to call home until very recently.

To raise money, they are hosting one of the coolest fundraisers I’ve ever heard of. Munny Maker, will take place at 6:30 p.m. CST on Saturday, August 14, 2010 at the Finesilver Building in San Antonio, and proceeds will benefit the new chapter. Designers have been tasked with creating a munny doll to be auctioned during the event, which will include hors d’oeuvres and beverages. It looks like it will shape up to be an interesting event. Tickets are $5 for AIGA members and students, $10 pre-sale, and $15 at the door. Maybe I’ll see you there. Peace.

More Information:

AIGA Website

Munny Maker Fundraiser Website

Munny Doll Website

San Antonio AIGA Facebook Page

San Antonio AIGA Twitter Page

Shout Out: The Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center

Last night I was blown away by the performances of several teens in Insides Out, presented by the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center. I can’t think of a better way to spend $5 on a Friday night. The production is a result of the Teen Arts Puentes Project. The description of the program, available on the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center website, is:

The Teen Arts Puentes Project uses the arts to nurture the growth of adolescents in a positive environment where they can build individual talents, develop social awareness, and attain critical life skills. Tuition: Full scholarship provided for all students accepted.

Boy did these young men and women deliver. Their performance covered everything from isolation and drugs, to sexuality and education. The emotion their performances portrayed was remarkable. Each of these individuals deserves a round of applause, and it’s always good to see young people put their time and energy into something productive. Their program director Vincent Toro is very enthusiastic, approachable, and his love of art and making positive impacts is made apparent in his demeanor and the performance that took place. GCAC has several other productions coming up, and I definitely plan to attend. If you’d like more information about GCAC, their programs, or how to get involved visit their website and support their events. They are a wonderful group of people.