Sunday in the City to Celebrate the Arts

The New Work City Foundation, a nonprofit charity that aims to create jobs for people all over Stark County, knows how to have fun and raise money at the same time.

Their motto is, after all, to "have fun, raise money and give it all back." 

One event sponsored by NWCF was the . The event was a huge success, said , a North Canton business owner and founder of NWCF.

"Our last event, the Taste of North Canton, held in May at the , drew 400 friends and neighbors from the community. Enjoying tasty samples from over 20 restaurants and rockin' to the blues of the  was only the beginning."

The NWCF was able to award a $2,500 working-grant to the special education class at . The first five students to be hired by a local business or organization will each receive a $500 working-grant to defray 50 percent of the cost of their wages.

Next on this list: NWCF will take an idea from the past, in hopes of making it an annual North Canton tradition.

Two years ago, a group of North Canton community members came together to host Art in the City, a family art and music festival on the square at North Canton. When the group disbanded, NWCF decided to pick up where they had left off, Stanley said. 

They will host their first Sunday in the City, and through community support and participation, Stanley hopes to grow the event a little bit each year.

The NWCF has the same goal to bring the community together to celebrate art and music, but, as mentioned, the whole purpose of  NWCF is to put the money back in the community.

"Sunday in the City benefits the community in several ways," Stanley said. "First, this free event is fun for the whole family and it's a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon — browsing the local art, while enjoying the fabulous Brighter Side Band. It also benefits the community by raising funds toward a local art project, which will benefit the community for years to come."

, the community arts manager of ArtsinStark and a committee member for Sunday in the City, was in charge of finding artists for the event. For Saling, art is life. She is a big supporter of NWCF and is happy to be a part of such a fun and wonderful event, she said.

"Art has a way of reflecting exactly who you are, what you are feeling, how you came to feel it and help show you where that feeling will take you from there," Saling said. "Art fills a void, one that is different in each person's life."

Not only will Sunday in the City give the artists a chance to show the community a reflection of themselves, but the community has the opportunity to support and celebrate these local artists.

"Just as we support our local business owners and community groups, we need to support our local artists as well," Stanley said. "The passion and time that they put into their work is impressive and it is important to highlight the talent and quality of local artists."

Thanks to the North Canton Rotary, the main sponsor of the event, the community can come together and support our local talent. 

Come prepared to have a great time from 1 p.m.-4 p.m. Sunday on the square of North Canton. Some of the highlights: More than 20 artists with artwork on display, music by the Brighter Side Band, the will open its Founder's Room for the public to view the Ellsworth Smith Collection, the will be open for browsing and there will be fusion art projects for kids provided by .

Food vendors will include and . 

This event also brings a great opportunity for the community to get creative as well.

There will be a booth set up at Sunday in the City and NWCF invites all artists and residents to share their ideas and suggestions on what they envision for North Canton. The all-volunteer board will work with artists and local officials over the next year to bring the project to completion, Stanley said.

If community members want to make a tax-deductible donation to NWCF or want to get involved in other events, visit newworkcityfoundation.org or call 330-323-5745.

Editor's note: Contributor Lisa Lynch-Frank owns Ermanno's Legendary Pizza, which will serve food at the event that day.