By Linda Gupton
Photo Credit: Charles Gupton
When a friend asked Burlington resident Becky Clark to join her on a bus tour of downtown arts venues, Clark wasn’t so sure there’d be much to see.
Instead, she came away from the experience surprised and impressed.
“I had no idea that Burlington had all these secret places that we could visit!”
Clark was one of 20 participants who boarded the Arty Party Bus Tour in the fall, organized by the For Alamance initiative’s Arts & Culture Team.
This was the second tour organized by the team in the past year, designed to bring together artists and supporters of the arts to expose them to more of the artistic and cultural activities going on in the county.
The idea for the Arty Party Bus came out of several community conversations, where artists expressed the concern that they felt isolated and out of touch with others in the arts community, said Cheryl Wilder, co-leader of the Arts & Culture Team.
The downtown Burlington tour stops included:
• Haand Ceramics, a manufacturer of handmade porcelain table ware and serving pieces for fine-dining restaurants.
• Skram Furniture, a manufacturer of contemporary custom-made heirloom furnishings for commercial and residential customers all over the world.
• The studio of Artie Barksdale, a Burlington native and well-known public mural artist who also works in a variety of media including acrylics, watercolor, ink, clay, wood and charcoal.
• The Art Above Main gallery on the second floor of Persnickety Books, which features exhibits by local artists.
• Marble Studios, the home of artist Darrell Coble, who takes a photojournalistic approach to his artistic creations.
• The Paramount Theater, which is preparing to undertake a major renovation to expand its capabilities as a venue for theater, concerts and more.
• The Owl & Rabbit Gallery, a local art gallery and gift shop specializing in whimsical, colorful and nature-inspired work.
• Walkerdance Studio, which offers adult and youth classes in ballet, tap and contemporary dance.
Elon resident Courtney Lin has lived in the area for a year and hadn’t heard of several of the stops on the tour.
“We try to be aware of what’s going on in the area, so I was pleasantly surprised to see how many stops on the tour weren’t places I recognized,” she said.
Several of the tour participants were residents of the Twin Lakes Community in Burlington, who were excited to learn about new places to visit and bring family and friends.
“There’s so much potential here, especially in the downtown area,’ “noted Karen Sagett, one of the tour’s Twin Lakes participants.
Thomasine Spriggs, a local clothing designer and upcycler, participated in both Arty Party Bus tours and hopes the connections made will lead to other events that bring artists together.
“I want to spend more time with the other artists I’ve met on the tours so we can form a deeper connection.”
Inspiring pride in the community and creating opportunities for community members to engage socially and identify common ground is a top priority for the team, said Wilder. “That’s the bigger vision we’re working towards.”
Get Involved
If you’re interested in learning more about the Arts & Culture Team, please contact Wilder at cheryl@bornwilder.com. The next Arty Party bus tours are planned for March 1 and June 21, 2025.
About For Alamance
For Alamance is a partnership between Alamance County community members, Impact Alamance and The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation. Their aim is to inspire community members to work together despite their differences to build a better Alamance. The initiative comprises five action teams: the Arts & Culture Team, Bridging Team, Faith Team, Narrative Team and Youth Wellness Team. The teams have been gathering public knowledge through community conversations since early 2023. Now, they are beginning to take action to create an Alamance that is rooted in the aspirations of its community members. If you’re interested in learning more about the For Alamance Initiative, please contact Jewel Tillman at jewel.tillman@conehealth.com.
