Anchorage Daily News

The Palmer Arts Council meets bimonthly. Its next meeting is 7 p.m. Monday at the Meeting House on the corner of Bailey and Cottonwood streets, Palmer.

The council is soliciting ideas for the 2007 calendar at a forum Oct. 18 at the Palmer Depot. For information, call 761-3600. The Palmer Arts Council hosts Artrain USA, which stops at the Palmer Depot Sept. 27-Oct 1. The train and depot will be open to the public 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sept. 30 and Oct. 1.

That's "art train," as in five cars stuffed with fine arts, an artist studio and gift shop. The train bills itself as "America's only traveling art museum on a train" and has featured exhibits from the Smithsonian Institution and the Metropolitan Museum of Art since it began in 1971.

Shows like the current exhibit, "Native Views," tour the country for several years. The train tour is its first to Alaska and also includes Fairbanks, Nenana, Anchorage and Seward.

As host, the arts council is in charge of organizing the train's stop, a responsibility that spans the details from phone lines and volunteers to raising several thousand dollars to finance it all, said arts council president Mimi Pippel.

Since "Native Views" explores the influence of modern culture on contemporary Native American artists, Pippel invited local Alaska Native tribes to be involved. Several will demonstrate their art during the Sept. 27 opening reception and all day Oct. 1 at the depot.

The list includes artisans in stained glass, basket and jewelry making and carving. Fireweed Dancers, an Anchorage troupe, and children from Chickaloon Elementary School are tentatively scheduled to dance Oct. 1.

The Palmer library will host Native American storyteller Patricia Wade at 2 p.m. Oct. 1.

Learn more about the Artrain at www.ArtrainUSA.org.

-- Melodie Wright

Since the Palmer Arts Council formed over hors d'oeuvres and wine at Mimi and Tony Pippel's house last December, the organization has grown faster than a giant cabbage.

At the time, the group talked about a spring production of "Proof," a play Valley Performing Arts had delayed performing because of objectionable language. But the impetus for the group's founders wasn't the play controversy, Mimi Pippel said.

" 'Proof' was a catalyst that got us started," said Pippel, who heads the 160-member council. "The time was right, obviously. We've had so many different organizations coming to us asking for help."

Those pleas translate into about 30 events planned for 2007. Council board member Howard Bess said the organization has tapped into a large number of artists who lack venues or organizational structures to share their works with the public.

"I think what has happened is the Palmer Arts Council has tapped into a blue ocean, that there's a very large potential for artistic expression that's pent up," Bess said. "We're not a production company so we're not competing with anybody. We went into this thinking, let's just see who shows up."

So far, quite a few have surfaced. Musicians, artists and a director have floated ideas to the council, requesting help with the business end of public offerings. Pippel is negotiating with the city of Palmer to rent the Palmer Depot for activities like a 1950s sock hop, a season of plays, a wearable arts fashion show and a battle of the bands. If the council has its way, Saturday nights downtown will be transformed from pin-drop silence to people and plays.

And that can only be good for downtown merchants, whose "going out of business" sales are almost as predictable as termination dust.

"I'm thrilled," said Fireside Books owner David Cheezem of the possibility of a home. Cheezem is also a council board member. "The impact on the downtown is about establishing this identity of Palmer as a source of creative thinking and innovation, and that's something to celebrate."

The events proposed by the council don't occur only on weekends. The summer theater academy directed by Annie Benson plans a return. And Pioneer Playhouse productions, which founder Grant Olson said are "still in the preliminary planning stages," could include a Sunday matinee or Thursday night performance.

For events like plays or performances, the council would facilitate details such as ticket sales, ushers or program printing, leaving Olson free to manage the creative side.

Although the Palmer Depot is centrally located, rental costs add up and the space isn't ideal for every venue. Pippel would like to see the council housed in its own downtown space. Mayor John Combs may be able to provide that with the old morgue building on South Alaska Street.

Combs said the building, currently owned by the Matanuska-Susitna Borough and leased to the Alaska Department of Corrections, might be part of a swap between the city and the borough. The borough will need additional parking at the soon-to-be-renovated Mat-Su School District administration building on Evergreen Avenue. That's parking space the city may be able to provide if a land-swap deal with the Salvation Army goes through. In exchange for the morgue building, the city would waive borough parking fees for a predetermined length of time.

Borough Manager John Duffy was unavailable for comment.

Combs said if such a deal happened, the city would then deed the morgue building to the arts council.

"We'd have a performing arts center in the core area, which would draw people into the judicial and historic area," Combs said. "That's very important, to keep developing that area. It's something I'd like to see happen. We've put in quite a few hours already and we'll keep at it."

Negotiations have yet to create a paper trail and will take at least two years to finalize, but "we have to start on something to get something going," Combs said.

This plan, though months away from fruition, delights Bess and Pippel.

"If we're able to acquire that building and develop it, it'll be the busiest building in the Valley," Bess said.

In the meantime, Pippel is run off her feet with arts council affairs. The council is hosting the Artrain next week and has a full roster of events for 2007. It's currently seeking a replacement for Pippel, who said she wants to avoid burnout while maintaining her passion for local arts.

The new executive officer would not only head the organization but also be willing to see the council through the transition to full-time, paid personnel. Bess envisions a retired executive or empty-nest mother who's able to devote a year toward growing the council.

The organization would provide an office and computer; the volunteer would provide the vision and drive.

Those interested in the position may call Pippel at 745-3223 or mail an inquiry to P.O. Box 1807, Palmer 99645.

Contact Melodie Wright at mwright@adn.com or 352-6721.