Members of St. Sebastian Parish along with others in the Akron community dedicated to the arts are celebrating after another successful rendition of the annual Brickstreet Jazz and Wine Festival.
Close to 200 people attended the event on July 14 in the St. Sebastian Parish School courtyard to support the Academy of Culture and Arts.
(See photo gallery above.)
“This is the 10th year we’ve held the festival,” said Scott Mason, director of the Academy. “It has evolved over the years into something people really look forward to attending. It is great to have so many people understand the importance of engaging in the arts.”
The Academy of Culture and Arts offers courses in Latin and martial arts along with music and dance to both adults and students from across Akron. Father John Valencheck, pastor of St. Sebastian Parish, started the Academy in 2013 with the intent of training church organists who were proving difficult to find.
“As we starting going through the process, we decided to go beyond organ lessons and include all forms of art and culture,” Father Valencheck said. “The Academy is not just for children, but also for adults. It’s for anyone who wants to learn or teach as part of a spiritually based program.”
The Academy provides space for a variety of instructors who, in turn, charge nominal fees to help local children or adults learn everything from classical guitar and violin to jazz or ballet.
Sarah Husak, a St. Sebastian parishioner, has taught violin since the Academy began.
“The best part for me is to share the joy that music brings to my students, she said. “We are all working together to spread the beauty of music and God’s love.”
Scott Mason said proceeds from this year’s event would help buy some new equipment for dance classes and would help defray part of the cost of purchasing some new pianos.
Festival goers were blessed with picture-perfect weather and some great music. The Syx Bryx, an Akron-area jazz band, opened the entertainment and was followed by a Columbus group called the Whirlybirds. Local vendors donated a variety of wines, beer and food, including some favorite fares from Thirsty Dog Brewing as well as the popular Italian eateries Rizzi’s and D’Agnese’s.
Outside the entrance walkway, four students from the leadership program of the HALO Foundation (Hope Always Lives On), a local nonprofit that began as part of the quest to raise money for the Flight 93 memorial in Pennsylvania, sold bracelets and baked goods as part of a campaign they initiated to raise money for Ukraine.
And just before the start of the event, some students from the Academy provided a sample of classical guitar and violin music.
“I feel like playing guitar, or any instrument -- if you're playing for worship or something -- is a way to spread God's love,” said Matthew Eby, a high school sophomore and a member of St. Hilary Parish, after he strummed the last notes of an old Spanish folk song.
“And it's just really nice. It can touch people's hearts with worship or without.”