The Raleigh Civic Symphony Association is hosting a contra dance on the evening of Saturday, February 25, 2012, 7-10 pm. This is a fund-raising event; all proceeds benefit the orchestras at NC State University. The contra dance is a couples folk dancing tradition that began in New England and subsequently spread through all of North America. The dance figures are similar to those used in square dancing, but it also has many similarities with line dancing. NO EXPERIENCE IS REQUIRED. There will be a caller to teach all of the dances; the only thing you need is a willingness to have fun. The music will be led by the orchestra’s own Mara Shea, who plays and teaches contra dance music up and down the east coast. Caller: Bree Kalb

Musicians: Mara Shea, fiddle; Dean Herington, piano; Alison Arnold, flute; Gordon Arnold, cello; James McCann, fiddle; Tyler Johnson, guitar and mandolin. This is a family-oriented event for people of all ages. Tickets available at the door or by calling 919-782-1628. Students $5, Non-students $10.

Raleigh Chamber Music Guild is seeking a new Executive Director of this 70-year-old Raleigh, North Carolina, chamber music presenter. New ED will provide leadership to the organization in meeting its goals for artistic excellence, financial stability and community engagement. Responsible for all aspects of RCMG's operations including planning and implementing two concert series, fundraising, marketing, financial management, office administration and community activities. Application deadline: March 31, 2012. The candidate should be able to start work on June 25, 2012.

The Apex Arts Council will present the "Valentines and Romance Art Show and Silent Auction” beginning January 30. The theme of the show will be art depicting any subject romance or love in whatever creative way the mind of an artist may see that.

Artists should bring any works of art (paintings or photographs) in keeping with the theme to Common Grounds Coffeehouse, 219 North Salem Street, Apex, NC 27502, on January 30, 9 am to 2:00 pm. If another time that day or the day before is necessary for you, please contact Bob Crowley (President@ApexArtsCouncil.org) to make arrangements.

If your work fits the theme, we will accept it as part of the show. Because of limited space, only two (2) works of art each for artists from Wake, Chatham, Durham, Harnett, and Lee Counties will be accepted. All artists will have the option of allowing any works accepted into the show to be part of a silent auction. At the close of the show, as soon as the successful bidders have been determined, the artist shall receive seventy-five percent (75%) of the final bid price with the remainder being retained by the Apex Arts Council.

The show closes and auction winners will be notified on February 10 at 3 pm. Payments based upon the winning bid from the silent auction shall be made as soon as possible upon collection of the bid amount from the successful bidder. Artists with unsold works may pick up those works at the Common Grounds Coffee House on February 10, 2012, before 5:00 pm.

The Pastel Society of North Carolina, in conjunction with the Appalachian Pastel Society and the Piedmont Pastel Society, is hosting a statewide exhibit for chalk pastelists. Exhibit Dates: June 1-30, 2012. Entry Deadline: March 24, 2012. The juror is Marla Bagetta.

The Sertoma Arts Center is currently taking proposals for the Summer and Fall 2012 season from artists 18 years of age and up, residing and/or working in Wake County and surrounding areas. As a community exhibition space for the City of Raleigh, the gallery has introduced hundreds of artists to area residents and visitors since the inception of the Gallery Program. The gallery encourages the display of new and emerging artists, including Undergraduate students and artists that have exhibited elsewhere in the community. Monthly exhibitions will be scheduled. Space is available for two dimensional work in the Raleigh Room and hallway galleries, with space for three-dimensional work in display cases. Review and scheduling of applications will begin immediately and continue through Feb. 29. 2012.

The North Carolina Poetry Society announces a deadline of February 1, 2012, and invites submissions to its nine 2012 adult poetry contests, open to NCPS members and non-members and (except for the Poet Laureate contest) to both NC residents and non-residents:

• THOMAS H. McDILL AWARD: any form, any style; maximum 70 lines.
• CALDWELL NIXON JR. AWARD: written for children ages 2-12, any form, any style; maximum 36 lines.
• JOANNA CATHERINE SCOTT AWARD: traditional forms (except sestinas); maximum 36 lines./li>
• MARY RUFFIN POOLE AMERICAN HERITAGE AWARD: any form, any style on theme of American heritage, brotherhood/sisterhood, nature; maximum of 36 lines.
• KATHERINE KENNEDY McINTYRE LIGHT VERSE AWARD: any form, any style; maximum 36 lines.
• GRIFFIN-FARLOW AWARD: Haiku.
• POETRY OF COURAGE AWARD: any form, any style on theme of courage or crisis; maximum 36 lines.
• POETRY OF LOVE AWARD: any form, any style; maximum 36 lines.
• POET LAUREATE AWARD: a serious poem, any subject, any style, maximum of 110 lines. Open to poets currently residing in NC. The winning poem will be selected by the North Carolina Poet Laureate.

CowParade is coming to the Triangle in June 2012. North Carolina Children's Hospital at UNC Hospitals will be the beneficiary of the event. The artwork for CowParade comes in the form of life-sized fiberglass cows in three standard shapes. Beginning as 125 pound blank canvasses, the cows can be painted, altered and transformed by the artist. Artists of all types--well-established, undiscovered, painters, sculptors, architects, all creative individuals--are encouraged to submit designs for this unique opportunity. Entry is free and each design submission will be reviewed by CowParade North Carolina. Selected artists will receive a $1,000 stipend and recognition for their work.

CowParade North Carolina cows will be sponsored by local companies and organizations and will be placed on display for three months in a free outdoor art exhibit throughout parks, storefronts and other public areas in Chapel Hill, Durham and Raleigh. At the conclusion of the event, the cows will be sold at a live auction with the proceeds benefiting North Carolina Children's Hospital.

Artist applications can be found at http://cowparadenc.com/artists. If you would like more information, call (919) 843-3948 or email alisa_minshall@med.unc.edu. More information at http://cowparadenc.com/.

North Ridge Country Club will sponsor a juried art competition, with a showcase of the work of the selected artists on February 25, 2012. Roger Manley, Director of the Gregg Museum of Art & Design at North Carolina State University, will serve as juror and select 30 pieces for the show from submitted artwork. The creators of those pieces will be able to offer additional work for sale at the North Ridge Country Club Art Gala February 25. There will be a Purchase Award piece selected for North Ridge to hang in the club's permanent collection. The juror will choose first, second and third place award winners, who will receive recognition at the Gala and the opportunity to display their work for a designated number of weeks at North Ridge. Entries will be accepted November 7, 2011-January 6, 2012. Entrants will be notified of acceptance by January 19, 2012. Specifications

All work must be original. Media accepted: Oil, Acrylic, Watercolor, Pastel. Subjects preferred: Landscape, Figurative, Still life, Architectural. Entry Requirements:

• $10 entry fee per submission.
• Limit of five submissions maximum per artist.
• Please note that this is a juried show, so not all entries will be exhibited. Entry fees are non-refundable.

Entry Method

• Digital photos of entries should be emailed to NRCCArtGala@aol.com
• Each entry MUST include:
• Artist's name
• Artist's email address
• Artist's address and contact phone number
• Title of artwork
• Size of artwork
• Medium
• Price

Entry fee checks, made out to North Ridge Country Club, should be mailed to:

PLEASE NOTE

Email entries will not be considered complete nor submitted to the juror until the entry fees are received. North Ridge Country Club will retain a 15 percent commission on all sales at the Gala and related exhibits. Other dates to mark:

• Set-up for Art Gala is the morning of Saturday, February 25, 2012.
• North Ridge Art Gala is the evening of Saturday, February 25, 2012, with a possible preview event late that afternoon.
• Breakdown for Art Gala is immediately following, or Sunday, February 26 before noon.

Clayton, NC--The Town of Clayton is seeking a conceptual artist to be the community's first Artist-in-Residence, a position that will take the lead in helping build Clayton's reputation as an arts community.

A "Request-for-Qualification" (RFQ) with a Nov. 11 submission deadline is ready for regional distribution and can be downloaded off the town's website at www.townofclaytonnc.org.

"It's not something that a lot of small towns have, but it expresses our commitment to establishing a reputation for Clayton as an arts community," Mayor Jody McLeod said. "I'm really excited that we're going to have someone working with us to provide vision and guidance."

The Artist-in-Residence will provide vision for a collaboration of art and space in new town projects, as well as finding ways to bring out more of the beauty that's already here, the Mayor said. But, perhaps the position's greatest responsibility will center on working with residents, organizations and town officials to promote the arts in step with the community's unique values and identity, he said.

The idea for an Artist-in-Residence came out of a January "idea session" that included members of the Town Council and the Public Arts Advisory Board.

Town officials hope to make a decision on a candidate by mid-December. The budget for the position is $15,000.

Town officials have put more and more effort in recent years into building the town's reputation for the arts. The town's first public art pieces--murals at Town Hall and the Hocutt-Ellington Memorial Library--were unveiled over the last couple of years, and the new Cultural Arts Grant Committee, formed four years ago, has already awarded $76,000 in arts grants to local arts groups. Town officials have said they intend to increase spending for the arts as the economy improves.