News and Events

Student Showcase 2024

Showcase-202_20240315-145230_1

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER ONLINE

  39 Hits

Grant from Petoskey Harbor Springs Area Community Foundation!

Press-2 Photo credit: Mary Cummings

Big Water Creative Arts is pleased to announce a grant award from the Petoskey Harbor Springs Area Community Foundation!  

The $4,980.00 grant will go towards ongoing Rock Jam programs in Alanson and Pellston Schools, which BWCA provides to the students and the schools free of charge.  Pictured at left is BWCA co-founder Pete Kehoe, and Jake Myers, Community Philanthropy Officer for PHSACF.  

Thank you to all the folks at PHSACF who made this wonderful gift possible!!

  364 Hits

THANK YOU! Tip Of The Mitt Women Who Care Group.

Bigwaterblog

Big Water Creative Arts is pleased to announce a very substantial donation from the Tip Of The Mitt Women Who Care Group!

The Tip Of The Mitt Women Who Care Group is a charitable organization that selects and donates to local community groups and non-profits quarterly.  

The check for $9,250.00 was presented by Dawn Wagner of Women Who Care, to BWCA co-founders Michelle Chenard and Pete Kehoe.

The donation will be used to help fund BWCA’s ongoing free music education & programming in local area schools and after school programs in the coming year.  

For more information on how you can help us bring free music education to our communities, please visit  www.bigwatercreativearts.org, and look for us on FaceBook and Instagram.  Our heartfelt thanks to Tip Of The Mitt Women Who Care!

  406 Hits

News update BWCA 10/12/22

bwca-blog-2

We are so pleased to announce that our September 11, 2022 fundraiser at Boyne Valley Vineyards was a great success!

Boyne Valley Vineyards is a very special place and was the perfect setting for our fall fundraiser. Add to that some fantastic food by Chef Sarah from Parkside Deli, a live auction with a variety of amazing items and music performances from the talented Charlie Millard, Chris Michels with students from the Pellston Rock Jam program, Le Jet and Velvet Jones.

It was a truly magical day and we raised over $18,000!

Because of our generous donors, sponsors, volunteers and patrons, Big Water Creative Arts will be able to provide programs like Rock Jam, Music Exploration and Songwriting 101 for the 2022-2023 school year. Thank you everyone!

bwca blog 1

  620 Hits

Songwriting 101 starts November 7th

songwriting 101

Register at www.crookedtree.org

  589 Hits

Save The Date! Summer Fundraiser for Big water Creative Arts!

New-date

Click here to buy tickets!

September 11th 2022

Boyne Valley Vineyards
05325 US 131 S
Petoskey, MI 49770

  781 Hits

Big Water Creative Arts & Crooked Tree Arts Center Present Songwriting 101

29-04-22-OB-Poster-Songwriter101-_20220502-165245_1

A comprehensive 4 session beginning course in songwriting for students age 12-18.

Click Here to Register

  1002 Hits

LONE WOLF COLLABORATION

Lone-Wolf-Flyer-Letter-1

An Original Music and Dance Performance.

Crooked Tree Arts Center - Petoskey. Friday, April 22, 2022 6:30 p.m.

Featuring: CTAC School of Ballet students,composers/musicians Blaze Beairl, KateEberstadt and Chris Michels, andchoreographer Jesse Jason

  849 Hits

Thanks to Ron’s Bar & Backyard

RONS

The owners of Ron’s Bar & Backyard in Petoskey, MI rolled out the red carpet for BWCA and hosted a benefit in February 2022 which netted our organization over $1500.

 Left to right, Scott Miller (co-owner), Michelle Chenard, Pete Kehoe, and Jon Lyons (co-owner).

  768 Hits

Good Hart Artist Residency partners with Big Water Creative Arts

We are please to announce through our partnership with Good Hart Artist Residency an open call for Songwriters and Composers to do a 2 week residency at their Artist residency location in beautiful Good Hart, Michigan. A great opportunity for artists to create and engage with local northern Michigan communites. Deadline is Febuary 16, 2022.

image

  778 Hits

2021 Year End Newsletter

YEAR END NEWSLETTER 2021

And just like that....another year has flown by! And while 2020 was a very challenging year for us (with virtually no music programs because of the ongoing pandemic), 2021 has kept us going full bore, and we’ve finally been able to bring back face to face instruction to local public schools!

As the kids went back to in-class learning this past May, we kicked off two new programs, starting with a program for the middle schoolers at Wolverine Public Schools. Our amazing Robin Lee Berry taught a class in Music Exploration, and the kids learned about different stringed instruments, different rhythms using percussion instruments, call and answer, and beginning ukulele skills. They even learned several songs on the ukulele and ended up performing for the year-end school talent show!

And in September, we launched our new Rock Jam program at Pellston Middle School. One of our generous donors recently gifted us with most of the instruments we needed for the Pellston rock program; guitars and guitar amps, keyboards, percussion pads and so much more. The students have been really excited and enthusiastic about the program, and their instructor (the very talented Chris Michels) has taught them basic skills on drums, guitar and bass, and even taught them to play “Seven Nation Army” by the White Stripes in only three days!! We are so proud of these kids!

The 2021/2022 school programs also included co-founder Pete Kehoe picking up where he left off, and continuing with Music Exploration classes for the special needs students at Gaylord and Cheboygan High Schools. Pete has done an incredible job with these kids, and they were so excited to have him back in the classroom in person, as he had been doing classes only virtually the previous school year.

Continue reading
  792 Hits

2020 Year End Newsletter

END OF YEAR NEWSLETTER

December 2020

What a year it’s been! If you or your loved ones have been personally affected by COVID-19, you have our deepest sympathy.

There’s no question this past year presented incredible challenges for all of us, but also unexpected opportunities. As we navigated through cancellations, working from home, virtual school, social distancing and the stress of trying to stay safe through the pandemic, we were also able to take time to implement new ideas to move our mission forward in 2021.

To continue our mission of bringing music education to those who would otherwise not have access, Big Water Creative Arts is creating an online teaching platform. Last week, we took a big step toward achieving that objective when we were approved by Microsoft Teams through our non-profit status! Our plan is to start offering “Songwriting 101” classes in early 2021. 

Continue reading
  781 Hits

Songwriter/Composer Residency at Good Hart Artist Residency 2021

We are so excited to be partnered with Good Hart Artist Residency on the new Songwriter/Composer Residency, 2021. Applications are being accepted now through February 17, 2021. Please visit www.goodhartartistresidency.org to learn more and apply.

  777 Hits

Year-end Newsletter

Good year-end news you can use!

Friends, donors, supporters and musical family: It’s hard to believe that this year has come to a close! Big Water Creative Arts has had an amazing year of growth and we are grateful for all of the events and opportunities that have been a part of our journey. We feel blessed to be able to share the love, inspiration and good vibes that music brings to each and every one of us.

2019 saw us gaining more generous donors, sponsors and connections, culminating in a very successful 2nd annual fundraiser in June. We also had the pleasure of holding new adult songwriting workshops as part of the Bay View Association’s annual music festival in Petoskey, and on Mackinac Island in partnership with the Mackinac Arts Council. We also returned to Independence Village for the 2nd year in a row to teach music exploration and ukulele classes for the seniors there. And, we also took a new event for a test drive in December - Petoskey Community Sing, where we invited students from the Petoskey Montessori Children’s House to join together with the wonderful residents at Independence Village earlier this month. To the delight of all, it was a huge success (with over 25 kids and 35 seniors!) so much so, that we’re continuing on with an 8 week Community Sing program in early 2020. Joining generations together to sing is an amazing experience in so many ways. We couldn’t think of a better way during the holiday season to bring community together. We will be expanding this program in the future, offering the opportunity for others of all ages and walks of life to join us and sing in a fun and safe environment!

We have some great programs coming in 2020 that we can’t wait to get started! Big Water Creative Arts will be starting an 8 week Music Exploration class at Pellston Public Schools in Pellston on January 15th. Also in January, Pete Kehoe will be returning to Gaylord to work with the Michigan Arts Access group on our 2nd annual round of classes with the students at Gaylord High School. Additionally, we have programs in the works for Wolverine Public Schools in Wolverine, and classes in partnership with AuSable Artisans Village in Grayling. These programs will be starting in the first quarter of 2020.

All of us here at Big Water Creative Arts are so very thankful for the support of our generous donors and sponsors. Your support is crucial to our ongoing success and growth, and we’re so pleased to share our mission of bringing music to students, special groups, retirees, and the community at large with you. We wish you all happy holidays and look forward with anticipation to 2020!

Continue reading
  753 Hits

Spring 2019 Newsletter

20220125-201859VSA3

Big Water Creative Arts, Inc. May 1, 2019

Welcome!

To those of you who are already in the know about Big Water Creative Arts and what we’re all about, this quarterly newsletter will keep you up to speed on our programs, our progress, and our fundraising events and concerts/performances.

To those of you who are new to BWCA, you’re receiving this newsletter because you were a participant or supporter of the Mackinac Island Songwriters Workshop in years past. To you, we extend an invitation to join us in bringing music to the masses and supporting music education for all ages and all walks of life!

For the new folks, a little background....

Continue reading
  737 Hits

Fall Newsletter 2018

Big Water Creative Arts

Welcome!

To those of you who are already in the know about Big Water Creative Arts and what we’re all about, this quarterly newsletter will keep you up to speed on our programs, our progress, and our fundraising events and concerts/performances. To those of you who are new to BWCA, you’re receiving this newsletter because you were a participant or supporter of the Mackinac Island Songwriters Workshop in years past. To you, we extend an invitation to join us in bringing music to the masses and supporting music education for all ages and all walks of life!

For those of you who aren’t familiar with how BWCA started and what we’ve done so far, click on OUR HISTORY and PROGRAMS for a little background on where we came from, and what we’ve accomplished so far.

BWCA has broadened its scope in the past year, providing music programs for developmentally challenged adults at the Bergmann Center in Charlevoix, as well as senior programs for music exploration and group instrumental instruction at Independence Village (an assisted care and independent living facility in Petoskey). Both were huge successes, and these programs are slated to become year-round programs starting in fall/winter 2018/2019. We’re also currently working with Independence Village on a plan to eventually provide these programs to all 17 of Independence Village’s facilities state-wide.

Continue reading
  727 Hits
11 October 2023
News and Events
Big Water Creative Arts is pleased to announce a grant award from the Petoskey Harbor Springs Area Community Foundation!   The $4,980.00 grant will go towards ongoing Rock Jam programs in Alanson and Pellston Schools, which BWCA provides to the ...
16 August 2023
News and Events
Big Water Creative Arts is pleased to announce a very substantial donation from the Tip Of The Mitt Women Who Care Group! The Tip Of The Mitt Women Who Care Group is a charitable organization that selects and donates to local community groups and non...
25 October 2022
News and Events
We are so pleased to announce that our September 11, 2022 fundraiser at Boyne Valley Vineyards was a great success! Boyne Valley Vineyards is a very special place and was the perfect setting for our fall fundraiser. Add to that some fantastic food by...