Support the arts in Vernon

We at the Vernon Free Summer Arts Group appreciate the coverage of the recent Vernon Township Mini Film Festival featuring “Scarecrow” by Vernon native Patrick Knipe. Mr. Knipe was a Vernon High School graduate whose Civil War short movie was recently featured at the Hoboken International Film Festival. A historical film, every resident enjoyed it and by all standards, it was a huge success! The Vernon Free Summer Arts Group was started by a group of individuals who think that we really need to kick things up in our community from all sides of the equation. We therefore started brainstorming about what we could all do which was inexpensive and came up with free movies — something that is not controversial and popular. With a town population hovering around 26, 000 and also covering 68 square miles, large events take on a logistics aspect that then becomes dependent on having a few people doing a lot of the work. When it comes to what everyone wants to do when they have some extra time, well, we decided something as simple as showing movies at night in the summertime for free might be a great way to kick off our first initiative. We thought that providing various locations to show the film would be convenient for everyone in town would also be helpful. I had gone to see the movie “Scarecrow” at the Hoboken International Film Festival. After viewing the movie, I met Patrick’s parents Patty and Peter Knipe. After speaking to them about Vernon and how I thought that we did not have enough art events in the community and that everything seemed to always be based around sports that we were a big enough community to embrace all kinds of community activities which did not depend upon any commercial venue, but which focused on free activities for the residents of the town. After making contact with Patrick, he generously agreed to loan us the film for a mini film festival. Many people came out to see a 16-minute Civil War short at the Historical Society’s monthly meeting on Friday, Aug. 21. What excitement there was as an obviously gifted artist generously shared his handiwork with the hometown crowd. Our emphasis is on free activities not associated with a commercial venue. We want to have community activities that are of interest to the people who live in this town. Those activities that many towns in New Jersey provide for their residents in the summer like street festivals, movies, food and wine festivals, theatre productions and concerts all for free. We appreciate the local coverage about our first initiative and hope that many people will embrace our vision of free arts for Vernon. In the interim, we will be changing our name to Vernon Free Arts Group because we have more ideas for future year around events. We would also like to thank the residents who supported us at the Vernon town council presentation. Your enthusiasm was contagious! It is not every day that a native of Vernon is recognized for their successes on a national level. We are glad to have been part of the excitement. We also want to thank the Historical Society, Hidden Valley Club, Dorothy Henry Library and the Nordic House for embracing our vision. Just a sidebar, the arts are a great addition to any community contributing millions of dollars in economic development. Most of all, they add to the quality of life issues of the residents of a town something that we feel needs to be addressed in Vernon Township. For further information or for volunteer opportunities please call: 973-764-9230. Mary Ellen Vichiconti Vernon Free Arts Group