[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 67 (Thursday, May 19, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1012]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




CONGRATULATING THE WILKES-BARRE FINE ARTS FIESTA ON THE OCCASION OF ITS 
                            50TH ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. PAUL E. KANJORSKI

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 18, 2005

  Mr. KANJORSKI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today ask you and my esteemed 
colleagues in the House of Representatives to pay tribute to the Fine 
Arts Fiesta in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, which is celebrating 50 
years of artistic and cultural presentation to the citizens of 
northeastern Pennsylvania.
  Founded in 1956 under the leadership of Annette Evans, Ruth Schooley 
and Alfred Groh, the Fine Arts Fiesta is the oldest full-scale arts 
festival in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
  Making the event even more special is the fact that it has never 
charged the public for admission, preferring to make the event open to 
anyone, regardless of ability to pay. Instead, the Fine Arts Fiesta, 
always held on Wilkes-Barre's historic Public Square, has managed to 
fund itself through state grants and voluntary contributions from 
individuals, corporations and foundations.
  Throughout its history, the Fine Arts Fiesta has always highlighted 
children's entertainment.
  At noon on May 24, 1956, then Mayor Luther M. Kniffen sounded the Old 
Ship Zion bell and the Fine Arts Fiesta was born. It was also a 
highlight of Wilkes-Barre's Sesquicentennial that was being observed in 
1956.
  Dr. Eugene S. Farley, then president of Wilkes College, offered 
remarks and stressed the interrelation between the Wyoming Valley's 
cultural assets and the economic and industrial well being of the 
community. He concluded that the Fiesta plays a significant role in the 
overall growth of the community.
  By 1962, the Fine Arts Fiesta had grown to include 36 organizations. 
More than 1,000 volunteers were working to present artistic displays 
from virtually every art and craft.
  In 1963, Mrs. C. Wells Belin, of Scranton, a leader in the local art 
world, delivered the Fiesta's opening address. She spoke of the ``four 
great assets of Fiesta.'' She went on to describe those assets as 
``public relations value . . . positive example for other cities . . . 
importance to industries already here and those planning to come here 
and, finally, as a way of helping people broaden their horizons and 
appreciation of culture and the arts.
  Also in 1963, The Fine Arts Fiesta gained national recognition after 
George Ralston, chairman of the Wilkes-Barre Recreation Board, 
nominated the Fiesta for an award from the National Recreation 
Committee. That award was presented to Fiesta founder Annette Evans in 
the presence of the late U.S. Congressman Daniel J. Flood.
  Mr. Speaker, please join me in congratulating The Fine Arts Fiesta on 
a half century of cultural service to the citizens of northeastern 
Pennsylvania and beyond, some of whom travel great distances to attend 
and enjoy the Fiesta. Clearly, the Fiesta has enriched the lives of 
hundreds of thousands of people and our community is a far better place 
because of it.

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