Bethel Park will kick off America 250 celebration with artwork unveiling
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We still have more snow and chill to endure before we can get to the rockets’ red glare and bombs bursting in air, but Bethel Park will be getting a jump on the Fourth of July by unveiling artwork on Saturday that commemorates America’s 250th anniversary.
It will be at the Bethel Park Schoolhouse Arts and History Center on South Park Road. Activities will get underway at 9 a.m., and the art will be unveiled at 11 a.m. There will also be a vendors market at the event, which will wrap up at 2 p.m.
“It is just breathtaking what they’ve done,” said Andy Amrhein, vice president of the Bethel Park Community Foundation, referring to the four works that will be shown publicly for the first time. The artists were given “no restrictions and no guidelines,” Amrhein explained. They were just told to create around the theme of what the 250th anniversary of the United States means to them.
Some of the elements that are in the works are the Liberty Bell, the Statue of Liberty and an eagle, Amrhein pointed out.
All the artists have participated in the art and music festival that Bethel Park hosts every July. They are Linda Barnicott of Brentwood; J.P. Diroll of Allison Park; and Johno Prascak and Maria DeSimone Prascak, both of Pittsburgh.
Prints of the art will be on sale, as will commemorative American flags. Proceeds will benefit Bethel Park’s Fantastic Four Charities, which are the borough’s library, historical society, community foundation and educational foundation.
According to Tim Moury, president of the Bethel Park Historical Society, “As part of the Fantastic Four Charities, the Bethel Park Historical Society is happy to be part of and host this wonderful event to showcase this artwork depicting the history of our country and community.”
America’s semiquincentennial this summer is also going to be marked by the Bethel Park School District through an essay contest. The topics that will be explored include moments that shaped the United States and voices left out of the country’s founding.
For more information, call 412-760-9614.