Bossier Arts Council Executive Director Brittainy Pope was at the door greeting all who entered for the ARTini Rhinestone Cowboy Glass Painting Party on a recent Friday evening.
“We’re always excited to see the new individuals who’ve never been before,” she said. “We’re also equally excited to see those who paint with us every year.”
It is an event that gets them one step closer to their largest fundraiser of the year, ARTini. At hand were hundreds of clear glass martini glasses and a large selection of paint for those who came.
The mission? Paint as many glasses as you can. The reason? The painted glasses will be picked by the patrons of Artini to enjoy the designer cocktails at the event. “It’s wonderful; people walk in and they literally walk down the buffet of glasses before they choose the one that they think is just right for their evening,” Pope said.
Professional artist Karen La Beau has been coming to these painting events for the last three years.
“It’s about the support that they give to the artists and the programs that they bring to the community,” La Beau said of BAC. “Art is a form of therapy, it enriches lives and we need it.”
La Beau paints her glasses in bright colors, and a few get her signature royal blue crawfish. “I started painting blue crawfish because they are one in 10,000 off the coast of Florida,” she said. “Most people don’t realize they’re actually real.”
There were dozens of people painting that night, all with their own reasons. Tina Ramsay went to the event with four of her girlfriends. She painted her glasses with little hearts. “I just love hearts and I hope that someone else will love hearts and they’ll choose my glass and enjoy it,” Ramsay said.
Pope knows that this plays a part in creating a fantastic evening. “Over the years, people have begun their own hand painted glass collections based on them attending the event,” she said. “So, it does make it special for us to have a hand painted glasses there that evening.”
The 14th annual events theme is Rhinestone Cowboy and will have local mixologists create signature martinis and compete for the coveted title of Judges Choice, People’s Choice and Most M’artisanal.
The funds raised from the event support the Bossier Arts Council’s programming, local artists and outreach projects for the entire year.
ARTini: Rhinestone Cowboy will be Saturday, June 8, 2024, at Sam’s Town Hotel & Casino with a 7 p.m. start time.
Tickets are $85 and include entrance to the event, a hand-painted martini glass, live music, food and a myriad of martinis from some of our areas most popular restaurants and bars. The tickets are available for purchase at Eventbrite.
