2025 Annual Fund Letter

Dear Friends of ALCA,

This year has been nothing short of historic for the Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts. In May, we moved and opened our doors at our new home – marking the beginning of a new era for ALCA.  After 57 wonderful years in the former Fuller Garage, ALCA now celebrates the arts in an historic lakeside campus with expanded performance spaces, vibrant galleries, and a gathering place worthy of the creativity and community we serve.

Because of you, this first season in our new home has been filled with energy, joy, and possibility. Together, we celebrated:

• “Taking arts around the Park” with three touring shows produced by our own ADK LAKES Theatre Festival, which were performed at our new campus and in locations across the central Adirondacks.

• World-class music and regional talent, from international pianists to Adirondack-based musicians, filling our halls and waterfront with music.

• Wide-ranging visual arts and arts education programs, with gallery exhibitions, adult workshops, and our Kids’ Arts Camp sparking imagination in every generation.

• Three artists in residence, resulting in such events as Anthony Caputo’s “Chalk Art Project” and Andrea Spiridonakos’s “Felted Wool Hats” and “Silk-Painted Scarves” workshops.

• Beloved community traditions, including the ALCA Auction, the Great Arts Benefit, Tuesdays@ALCA, and Open Mic Night ‒ all of which found new life and energy in our new facility.

• The No-Octane Regatta and Alfred Z. Solomon Lecture Series, which included such intriguing topics as “The Art of the Traditional Boat” and “Neo-Luddites in the UK and the Adirondacks.”

• Added “pop-up” programming, including the Adirondack North Country premiere of the film A Return Homewith live music.

• Sharing our facility through fair-priced rentals, including the Adirondack Land Trust meeting and a wedding reception hosted by a local family.

Beyond our own programming, ALCA continued to serve as a cultural hub for northeastern New York through our administration of the NYSCA Statewide Community Regrants (SCR) Program for Clinton, Hamilton, Essex, and Franklin Counties and the Haudenosaunee tribal community of Akwesasne.  Nearly $300,000 in grants administratively flowed through ALCA this year, supporting 91 projects by arts organizations and other nonprofits, local government, teaching artists, and individual creative artists and artist collectives. ALCA’s facility, staff, and organizational infrastructure enable us to sustain and grow the NYSCA SCR program here in the Adirondack North Country. When you support ALCA, you amplify the creative voices of our whole region.

As we look toward 2026, we are committed to making the most of our new home. With your help, we will:

• Continue to expand our programming with new performances, exhibits, education series, and partnerships that deliver on our artistic vision of “Arts for All.”

• Deepen our community connections, locally and across the central Adirondacks and beyond.

• Strengthen our financial foundation to ensure ALCA thrives for decades to come.

This Annual Fund appeal is critical to our success. Ticket sales and program fees cover only a portion of what it takes to bring high-quality arts and culture to our rural region. Your generosity provides the foundation – enabling us to pay artists, maintain our facility, support our staff, and keep the arts accessible to all.

We are here because of you – your vision, your belief in the transformative power of the arts, and your willingness to invest in ALCA’s future. Please consider a gift to the 2025 Annual Fund today. Together, we will ensure that ALCA continues to be a spectacular, welcoming home for creativity in the Adirondacks.

With heartfelt gratitude and excitement,

Sally Coney Wheeler                                             Jean-Marie Donohue

Board President                                                     Executive Director

P.S. Every dollar you give helps bring the arts to life in the Adirondacks — whether this involves children discovering their own creativity or professional artists and community members sharing their talents on our stage, in one of our galleries, or in our lecture series or workshops.

ALCA Board of Trustees

Pat Benton, Mark Chamberlain (Vice President), Mike Corey, Todd Friebel (Treasurer),Peter Gibson, Karen Kirkham, Kathleen Peartree Moon, Sherry Nemmers, Audrey Peartree (Secretary), Ardie Russell, Douglas Stinson, and Sally Coney Wheeler (President)