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Richmond Ballet and U.S. Postal Service to Recognize Local Nutcracker Artist
10/27/2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 27, 2008
Media Contact: Aaron Sutten
(804) 344-0906 x244
asutten@richmondballet.com
RICHMOND BALLET AND U.S. POSTAL SERVICE TO RECOGNIZE
LOCAL NUTCRACKER ARTIST
This season’s contemporary holiday stamps from the
U.S. Postal Service (USPS) hold special meaning for Richmond Ballet and its
audience members. Local artist Glenn Crider (Mechanicsville, Va.),
who has been creating limited edition nutcrackers for the Ballet for the past
nine years, will have four of his original designs featured on the stamps.
Saturday, November 8th, from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. at the Landmark
Theater Ballroom, Richmond Ballet and the USPS will recognize Crider and his
work.
The event will feature a special dedication and unveiling
ceremony of the nutcracker stamps from 11:30 a.m. until noon. With characters
from Richmond Ballet’s The Nutcracker present,
it will be a festive event for the whole family and a prelude to the Ballet’s
25th Anniversary celebration on December 12. The Postal Service will
have cachets (commemorative envelopes) and a pictorial postmark designed by Crider,
available for purchase. Glenn Crider will be present for autographs. The Ballet
Resource and Volunteer Organization (BRAVO) will be selling a limited number of
the various nutcrackers Crider has created for the Ballet over the years.
Crider’s involvement with the
stamp project began with a “mysterious” phone call in early 2006 inquiring
about his custom-made artwork. A few
months later he received a call from the Postal Service asking if he would be
interested in producing four nutcrackers to be used on the stamp designs.
“Humbly, I am very excited to be involved in all of this,” Crider said. “As an artist, it has been a life-changing
experience.”
Crider, of T.R.C. Designs, Inc., is one of only a handful
of nutcracker makers in the United
States who creates his nutcrackers in the
German style, a process which requires over 400 steps in the crafting of just
one figure. He began creating nutcrackers in the early 1980’s, and in 1999, he
was first commissioned to create nutcrackers dedicated to Richmond Ballet.
Crider’s nutcrackers have been sold by BRAVO as a fundraiser for Richmond
Ballet each year since. Crider commented that, “BRAVO has been a wonderful
experience for us and it’s been a great feeling knowing that we’ve been able to
help with what seems to be a great fundraiser for the Ballet.”
BRAVO,
founded in 1981, works to support Richmond Ballet with an emphasis on enhancing
dance education. Membership is open to all parents/guardians of students
enrolled in the School
of Richmond Ballet.
Fund-raising efforts such as the sale of Crider’s nutcrackers, allows BRAVO to
make an annual gift to Richmond Ballet of over $30,000.
This family event is free and open to the
public. For further information, please
visit nutcrackersusa.com.
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Richmond Ballet, The State Ballet of Virginia, is dedicated to the
education, promotion, preservation and continuing evolution of the art form of
ballet. Richmond Ballet strives to keep meaningful
works of dance alive and to produce and foster new works that remain true to
these values. Now in its 25th
professional season, Richmond
Ballet's mission is to “awaken and uplift the human spirit, both for audiences
and artists.”
***
For further press information contact:
Aaron Sutten, Director of Marketing and Communications
EMAIL: asutten@richmondballet.com; CALL: (804) 344-0906 x244