An avant-garde renovation of an old warehouse is the perfect home for this artist-owned and operated studio. The working environment zings electric with artists running their drills, welding with their blowtorches and dueling airbrushes on bold mats of color. The gallery space is upgraded with track lighting, and opening exhibits are warm and friendly. A collection of working studios, the organization holds regular advertised events but does not keep business hours for the public.

Housed in historic Franklin Square Gallery in Southport, this nonprofit organization provides an increasingly rich environment for the growth and development of local visual artists. It is dedicated to the cultural enrichment of the community through education and the promotion of original art. In 2004 the association celebrated the 25th anniversary of its inception and the 100th anniversary of the Franklin Square Gallery building. The gallery houses two floors of painting and pottery exhibit rooms, a sales office and a classroom. There are regularly scheduled workshops in various media by recognized artists as well as judged exhibitions and competitions, all of which are open to the public. A national juried competition and exhibit historically held each July in conjunction with the N.C. Fourth of July Festival will be a regional competition in 2009. Drawing and painting classes are held Monday through Friday in the upstairs studio. Pottery classes are conducted in the pottery studio behind the gallery. Painting and pottery classes for children of the community are conducted yearly and are partially funded by grants from the Brunswick Arts Council. Kids' Day is a community fun day, free to the public, sponsored by the Associated Artists, Brunswick County Parks and Recreation Department and Southport Parks and Recreation Department. Association members serve as instructors, speakers and judges for local schools and organizations. Monthly meetings are held the third Monday of each month. Call for more information or a membership application.

Built in 1993 by the citizens of Brunswick County for the educational and cultural enrichment of the community, this 1,500-seat, state-of-the-art facility on the campus of Brunswick Community College offers entertainment opportunities in the heart of Brunswick County. In its short history, this center for the arts has presented the talents of the North Carolina Symphony, the U.S. Marine Band, the Kingston Trio, Jerry Reed, the All American Boys Chorus, the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, The Lettermen, Lee Greenwood, Pebo Bryson, a presentation of The Odd Couple starring Jamie Farr and William Christopher (Klinger and Father Mulcahey from the TV show M*A*S*H), Kathy Matea, John Berry, Roy Clark, North Carolina Dance Theatre American Masterpieces and various national touring companies performing such classics as Death of a Salesman and Steel Magnolias. The auditorium and lobby are available for private and public rental. The auditorium has a subscription season each year. Completed in 2008, The Virginia Williamson Event Center is a multipurpose facility connected to the Odell Williamson Auditorium. The Event Center accommodates a wide variety of events including, but not limited to, receptions, banquets, conferences, lectures, dances, small concerts and theatre. A catering kitchen is available. The Odell Williamson Auditorium lobby serves as the entrance for the Event Center. Call (910) 755-7416 for tickets or information about renting the facility.

Established in 1981, this nonprofit volunteer organization is Brunswick County's primary arts information and funding source. Nonprofit arts funding is channeled to this group from the North Carolina Arts Council. With money received each year, the Brunswick Arts Council provides financial assistance to approximately 18 local nonprofit arts groups through Grassroots Arts Program grants; sponsors community events such as Concert by the Sea; and publishes a directory of Brunswick County artists and art groups as well as sponsoring the Brunswick County Arts Council Art Show. The council also raises funds privately through its annual Miniature Masterpiece Gala. This funding provides assistance to individual artists and arts related groups. Recently, the council partnered with the Brunswick County Board of Education to help introduce arts-integrated programs to all county schools. This valuable resource for local arts information is available through the organization, the Southport-Oak Island Chamber of Commerce, (910) 457-6964, and the Brunswick Chamber of Commerce, (800) 426-6644. Membership in the council is open to all interested citizens. The Brunswick Arts Council offers a range of programs, including cultural symposiums, programs for the classroom, bus trips to regional art venues, and more. Brunswick Arts Council's president, Gary Halberstadt, has recently established a fifth distinct operating division as a means to broaden its footprint throughout Brunswick County. Divisions include the new Multicultural Programs Division, Student Art Education/Appreciation, Performing Arts, Literary Arts, and Visual Arts. Halberstadt invites anyone interested in participating in an operating division to contact him in writing or to attend a council meeting, which is held on the second Monday of every month at 5:30 PM at the Administration Building of Brunswick Community College. Public attendance is invited as well.

The Cameron Art Museum is the only art museum in southeastern North Carolina. The museum presents six to eight special exhibitions annually; monthly family and children’s programs (Kids @ CAM); weekly interdisciplinary, public programs (lectures, music, films, dance); and ongoing workshops and classes in ceramics at a unique Clay Studio with a resident master artist and developing artist-in-residence program. The museum also offers weekly yoga and Tai Chi classes. The museum occupies a 40,000-square-foot facility designed in 2002 by the renowned architectural firm of Gwathmey Siegel & Associates (NYC). Cameron Art Museum is sited on a 9.3-acre woodland park known as Pyramid Park, featuring long-leaf pine woodlands, outdoor sculptures, nature trails, a historic Civil War site and The Clay Studio housed in the Pancoe Art Education Center. The main museum building includes three exhibition areas, the Weyerhaueser lecture and reception hall, a museum gift shop and free parking. Admission is free for members, $8 for non-members, $5 for students (with valid ID), and $3 for children ages 2 to 12.

Chamber Music Wilmington is a nonprofit organization that brings world-class chamber music concerts to southeastern North Carolina. All concerts are held at UNCW's new state-of-the art Beckwith Recital Hall. Now going into its 15th season, Chamber Music Wilmington sponsors a nationally award-winning series of five concerts each season. Chamber Music Wilmington hires award-winning professional artists from the various cultural institutions across the state, including faculty from Duke, UNC-CH, UNC-G, ECU, the NC School of the Arts, professionals from the NC Symphony, Winston-Salem and Charlotte Symphonies, and some of the nation's top ensembles. The 2009–10 series presents performances from a wide variety of artists, including the Kronos Quartet, Frye Street Quartet, Barbara McKenzie, the Carolina Piano Trio, Nicolas Duchamp (principal flutist from the Paris Opera), the Degas String Quartet and much more. Tickets for all CMW concerts are available at the UNCW's Kenan Auditorium Box Office by calling (910) 962-3500. The concerts have a reputation of selling out, so reserve your tickets early.

For more than 14 years this fearless festival of independent film has brought a wide variety of movies and their makers to the Port City. A non-competitive showcase for the best that creative filmmakers can offer, Cucalorus prides itself on a maverick approach to the festival concept. Organizers group like-minded shorts together in tidy blocks and screen first-run features that often include Q&A with filmmakers and stars alike. Numerous festival-affiliated celebrations and concerts show off the face of the Port City to visiting industry types, and the event's noted reputation has helped make Wilmington a thriving indie film town. Cucalorus offers something for everyone, including family friendly daytime screenings and programs for youth filmmakers. Screening emotional documentaries, naughty short films and hilarious and contemplative features, Cucalorus runs the gamut from experimental to mainstream, always managing to keep its cool. The 2009 festival will be held November 11-15.

The Hannah Block Historic U.S.O./ Community Arts Center is a part of Wilmington's Parks and Recreation Department and is located in the center of historic downtown. Primarily a learning facility where anyone may go to take low-cost lessons in a full range of disciplines, the center also serves as a rehearsal space for most of Wilmington's community theater groups. The Thalian Association community theater manages the building for the city and has offices and rehearsal space within the center. For nominal fees, students of all ages can experience hands-on work under the direction of skilled local artists. In addition to workshops and classes, other programs include performances, concerts and fund-raisers, usually staged in the Center's Hannah Block 2nd Street Stage theater area of the facility. This newly renovated building is available for rentals for all occasions; call for details.

The Oak Island Art Guild meets the second Friday of each month at the Oak Island Recreation Center. After each meeting experienced artists lead free workshops in a relaxed atmosphere and open to the public. Workshop topics include oil, acrylic, watercolor, pastel, pen-and-ink, colored pencil, clay, collage, tile painting, calligraphy, portraits, abstracts and more. Each year the Guild awards a $1,000 scholarship to a high school senior who is planning to continue school and major in an arts-related field. The Art Guild also donates arts books, DVDs and videos to the local library and sponsors the very successful Labor Day Arts and Crafts Fair in Oak Island. Annually, the second weekend of November, the Oak Island Art Guild cosponsors with the Oak Island Parks and Recreation Department, the Arts By The Shore event, a three-day judged art show held at the Oak Island Recreation Center.

Built in 1858, this majestic performance center has gone through several restorations and, at this time, offers three performance spaces. Housed within are a 675-seat main theater, the 225-seat Council Chamber and a 100-seat studio theater. With a lively local performing arts community and the addition of touring companies, at least one of the spaces is in use each evening or afternoon. More than 35 area arts and civic organizations use the facility, and more than 450 performances and screenings in music, theater, dance and film are presented each year. (See our Attractions chapter for more information on this facility.) The box office number is (910) 343-3664.

The Waterway Art Association was established in 1991 to "encourage artistic awareness and growth both on an individual as well as a community level." An important part of this mission is accomplished in the group's weekly paint-in program. The paint-ins are open to the community and are held at the Calabash Fire House every Wednesday morning with the exception of three weeks in December. The first and third Wednesday of each month also include the option of painting and sketching from a live model. Several three-day and one-day professional workshops are offered to the community as well as to members. Association members of all skill levels participate in a variety of activities, such as outdoor painting and sketching sessions and trips to museums and gallery exhibits. With the exception of December, general business meetings are held on the third Wednesday of the months of September through May at 1:30 PM and include arts-related programs. The association hosts a February Show and Sale, a Memorial Day Exhibit, which is a judged show, and an outdoor Labor Day Show and Sale. The association is supported in part by a Brunswick Arts Council Grassroots Arts Program Grant, by members' dues and by private donations.

Composed of professional and amateur visual artists and art enthusiasts, Wilmington Art Association (WAA) holds art shows throughout the year and conducts an annual juried exhibition, the Spring Juried Art Show and Sale, held during the Azalea Festival activities in April. The association's Wilmington Art Gallery at 616-B Castle Street is open seven days a week in the New Castle Art and Antique District and has a wide selection of affordable paintings, photographs, jewelry and other items. The gallery is part of the Fourth Friday Gallery Walk. WAA also holds meetings on topics of interest and sponsors frequent workshops, critiques, educational programs and special projects. Meetings are held monthly September through June on the second Thursday evening of each month at 6:30 PM at the Arboretum on Oleander Drive.

Sweet Adelines, the female counterpart of the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing in America (see the writeup for Cape Fear Chordsmen), promotes and preserves the art of singing four-part harmony, barbershop style. The Sweet Adelines meet on Mondays at 7 PM at the Wrightsville Beach Baptist Church. Membership is open to all women who enjoy this original American style of music.

The Battleship Hootenanny, a concert of folk and pop favorites takes place on the fantail of the Battleship NORTH CAROLINA, underneath the summer stars. This year's event will take place on June 16, 2009, at 8 PM. Local folk musician John Golden brings together a fantastic crew of local musicians for an evening of fun by the river. Tickets cost $10 (cash only and fee does not include tour of ship) with sodas and popcorn a paltry $1. Proceeds go to Friends of the Battleship, and the event takes place in the auditorium if weather should prove to prohibit an outdoor show.

The nonprofit Brunswick Concert Band is composed of volunteers from Brunswick, New Hanover, Pender and Horry counties who have been playing together since 1992. No auditions are required, and volunteers who have at least a high-school skill level are invited to join, with the stipulation that members have their own instrument and can read music. The band plays a variety of music styles from jazz to light classical, marches and show tunes. The Brunswick Big Band is made up of members of the concert band and plays the swinging tunes of the 1940s. Together the bands conduct two formal concerts in the spring and two during the Christmas season. They also play at a variety of festivals and events in the area, particularly the N.C. Fourth of July Celebration. Brunswick Concert Band is a member of the Association of Concert Bands. Weekly rehearsals are held on Tuesday evenings from 7 to 9 PM at the Progress Energy Brunswick Energy Center in Southport.

Long a mainstay of Wilmington's music community, the Cape Fear Blues Society has enjoyed exponential growth and expanded membership in the last decade, making it one of the most successful music organizations in eastern North Carolina. The group offers musicians of all skill levels an opportunity to participate in the society's weekly jam sessions and annual events, including an exciting blues talent competition held the first weekend in November. The CFBS also actively participates in state and local arts organizations and programs. Enthusiasts of the genre don't want to miss the annual Cape Fear Blues Festival, the area's premier blues event, held in July (see Annual Events for more details). Numerous benefits are available through membership in the society and meetings are held quarterly. Musicians and blues listeners can join the group's long-standing weekly jam session every Tuesday night from 8 PM until midnight (or later). The CFBS provides any professional equipment you may need; just bring your instruments. Call for meeting and jam locations.

The Cape Fear Chorale has been performing in the Wilmington area since the fall of 1998 and presents concerts in the fall and spring of each year. The director, accompanist and more than 50 singers volunteer their time, talents and effort to provide quality choral music to the Cape Fear Region. New singers are welcomed at the beginning of each concert season.

This group is Wilmington's chapter of the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America (now known as Barber Shop Harmony Society). Members practice male four-part a cappella harmony singing weekly at 7:30 PM on Tuesday evenings at the Winter Park Baptist Church in Wilmington. New members are welcome; call for more information and a concert schedule.

Carolina Vocal Arts Ensemble was founded in 2006 and is directed by Stephen Field. The ensemble is a friendly group of people of all ages and backgrounds who love to sing and have fun while approaching classical music with dedication and focus. With a diverse repertoire in multiple languages, including choral masterworks, operatic choruses and spirituals, CVAE offers volunteer singers the opportunity to perform with full orchestra and professional soloists. In 2007 the ensemble initiated a High School Apprentice Singer Program to allow students with an aptitude for singing the opportunity to participate in a performance type not typically available to them at local schools. CVAE rehearses on Tuesday evenings from August through May and is an audition-based group. If you are interested in an audition, the high school program or more information, please call Stephen Field at (910) 523-2974.

The Field Studio offers private vocal instruction by Elizabeth Field and private piano instruction by Stephen Field. Both are classically trained, professional musicians with master's degrees in their respective areas. Steve has more than 19 years of experience teaching piano privately. He has been on faculty at the University of Connecticut and the University of Memphis. He maintains a performing career doing recitals, accompanying and conducting throughout the country. Steve has a passion for passing on his knowledge, experience and love of the piano to anyone who has a desire to learn. Steve offers private piano lessons for kids ages 6 and older, including adults — advanced and beginners. Liz has been teaching voice since 1987 to students at all levels. A Lyric Coloratura Soprano, Liz is in demand as a soloist and as a leader of her Vocal Enrichment Seminars for Choral Singers. She truly loves helping people find their true voice and experience the joy of singing. Liz offers singing lessons for girls ages 11 and older and boys ages 15 and older and also teaches adults. At The Field Studio, they make music seriously fun!

Formed in 1997, this community-based choral ensemble has an enrollment of approximately 80 girls. Girls ages 9 and older perform a variety of classical, folk, sacred, secular and popular music. The members learn teamwork, discipline, musicianship and community service through the concerts and activities.

Formed in 1986, this local women's group sings four-part harmony a cappella. Their performances for civic organizations, churches, nursing homes, educational programs in schools and at local events emphasize their philosophy of community service. Rehearsals are Tuesday evenings from 6:30 to 9 PM. Harmony Belles is open to new members; call for rehearsal location and membership information. The Belle Chords, a female quartet within the group, performs in a four-part harmony.

This winter weekend festival, now in its 29th year, is scheduled for the first weekend in February and features traditional jazz performances by national and international stars. The event is held at the Wilmington Hilton Riverside. This is a hugely popular festival with fiercely devoted fans, so don't wait to call for tickets. For more information see our Annual Events chapter.

The Cape Fear Series of the North Carolina Symphony presents six concerts from September through May at Kenan Auditorium on the campus of UNC-Wilmington. For tickets, call the Kenan Auditorium Ticket Office at (910) 962-3500 or (800) 732-3643.

This nonprofit volunteer organization is based in Southport and serves Brunswick County. Membership in the chorus, whose numbers currently exceed 100, is open to all interested singers. Some choral experience is expected, but no auditions are required unless you are applying to be a soloist. The group rehearses every Monday evening at 7 PM in St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Southport. Concerts include a variety of music, from the Messiah to folk to gospel to pops. The chorus has a new director every season with three primary concerts annually — in the spring, on the Fourth of July and at Christmas. Check out the website for dates. Members are asked to pay dues of $20 per year to supplement contributions and grants. All concerts are free, though donations are gratefully accepted.

Open-air concerts sponsored by the City of Southport and the Southport Visitors Center are held in the historic Keziah Memorial Park from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend on Sundays from 2 until 4 PM. Bring chairs, blankets, picnic baskets, kids, families and elders and enjoy music by local artists. Jazz, rhythm and blues, rock 'n' roll, bluegrass, show tunes, Big Band music and more assure something for everyone's taste and enjoyment.

Sara Graham Westermark, a classically trained singer with a master's degree in Voice Performance from the University of Missouri-Columbia, offers affordable voice lessons for all ages. Each lesson is recorded on a CD, which is a wonderful tool for practice sessions at home. Sara is an active singer in this region and has appeared as a soloist with the Wilmington Symphony Orchestra, Southeastern Oratorio Society, Wilmington Oratorio Society, UNCW Concert Choir, UNCW Opera Scenes and other area organizations. She has taught private voice lessons for more than ten years in addition to working with elementary singing groups. Give yourself, family member or friend the gift of Sara's instruction and the benefit of her years of experience.

The academy is a private school, founded in 1987, that offers a full range of music instruction in voice, piano, guitar, harp, violin, viola, cello, percussion, trumpet, trombone, clarinet, saxophone, flute, tuba, oboe and more for students of all ages. Theory, conducting, ensemble and other classes are available. Weekly private lessons and monthly group lessons, recitals and master classes are offered. The academy offers a variety of ensembles for weddings, receptions and special events, featuring the combined talents of faculty members and experienced local musicians. Call for details.

This large, well-established chorus has been a presence in Wilmington since 1950. Attracting singers from Wilmington and the surrounding areas and from a cross-section of ages and professions, the chorus prides itself on high-performance standards of classic choral selections and a wide variety of contemporary music. The group participates in three or four concerts annually. Members rehearse on Tuesdays from 7:25 to 9:30 PM at the Cape Fear Christian Church in Wilmington, and the organization is open to all interested singers. Open rehearsals are in August and January; please call for details.

Established in 1929, the Wilmington Concert Association brings world-class music and dance to the Port City, sponsoring several concerts each year at UNCW's Kenan Auditorium. For tickets call Kenan Auditorium Box Office at (910) 962-3500 or (800) 732-3643. Membership is open to everyone.

Founded in 1971, the Wilmington Symphony Orchestra is a cultural jewel in the Port City's crown, performing a series of concerts that enrich, entertain and educate thousands of adults and school children throughout the year. The musicians are local professional instrumentalists, gifted students and faculty that are selected each year by audition. The conductor, Dr. Steven Errante, is Professor of Music at UNCW. The Wilmington Symphony Orchestra also continues to serve the Cape Fear Region as a leader in music education through an extensive educational and outreach program that includes a Free Family Concert, the Wilmington Symphony Youth Orchestra, an annual Student Concerto Competition and Artist-in-Residence Programs in area schools.