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Making the Arts Center More Comfortable

Rich Egger
The West Central Illinois Arts Center

The West Central Illinois Arts Center in Macomb hosts concerts, plays, trivia nights, and more.  It hopes guests will soon find it a bit more comfortable to sit during those events.

“It’s the ‘Endow a Chair’ campaign so that people will purchase or endow a chair so that we can replace our old, worn out, falling apart chairs,” said Nancy Crossman, WCIAC Executive Director.  “They’re used quite a bit.”

She said the arts center plans to buy at least 75 sturdy metal chairs with padded seats and backs.  Each costs $20.  She said the campaign is off to a strong start with enough donations already in hand to acquire about half the new chairs.

The current chairs have plastic bodies and no padding.  They’ve been in use for about five years.

“They served us very well. Those chairs were the result of a fundraising campaign done by (late local artist) Te Ma and the money went to buy chairs for both the Western Illinois Museum and the arts center. That’s been great but they’re not incredibly sturdy and so they are starting to show their age,” Crossman said.

Credit WCIAC
The new chairs will look something like this.

The WCIAC has not set a deadline for raising the money but Crossman said she would like to have the new chairs before the next concert at the arts center, which will feature Celtic folk group The John Byrne Band on June 19. 

Crossman said donations can be made on the WCIAC websiteor by visiting the WCIAC, 25 East Side Square in Macomb, during regular gallery hours: 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Saturdays.

Rich is TSPR's News Director.