Local citizens interested in forming an arts coalition, in partnership with the City of Marysville, held two meetings in April to gather input from the community and begin to determine the group's direction. A follow-up meeting is set for Tuesday, May 24, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at Marysville City Hall, and supporters of the arts are encouraged to attend.

"Many great ideas and insights came from the first two meetings," said organizer Beckye Randall, "and we're looking forward to forging a clear purpose and comprehensive plan for integrating the arts into the fabric of the Marysville community."

Mayor Jon Nehring, who attended an April meeting, assured the group that supporting a vibrant arts community is one of his top priorities, even though the city has no arts-related funding available.

"We can't put a line item in the budget for the arts," Nehring explained, "but we can offer some resources to the group, like meeting facilities and staff assistance in developing grant applications."

Parks director Jim Ballew offered examples of successful efforts to incorporate the arts into similar communities, and suggested developing a partnership with the Marysville School District.

In fact, several MSD music educators are planning to attend the upcoming May meeting of the new group. The arts teachers are concerned about possible budget cuts to the school district's arts programs, and hope to reach out to the community to spur support.

Kurt Hollstein, the district's secondary fine arts coordinator, said, "We, as a group, would like to assist in arts awareness and support, and help communicate the essence of how the arts create community."

Because of limited meeting space, those interested in attending are asked to RSVP to Randall at [email protected].