Media Advisory: #GivingTuesday: OVEC’s Night at the Kanawha Forest Exposition

Contact: Robin Blakeman, 304-522-0246 or robin@ohvec.org

When:             6 – 8 p.m., Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Where:           247 Capitol St., Charleston, WV

What:             #GivingTuesday: OVEC’s Night at the Kanawha Forest Exposition*

Volunteers and staff of the Huntington-based Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition will be on hand to meet with visitors to the 247 Capitol St. storefront space that evening. They’ll explain the group’s work to those interested. Visitors will be encouraged to either renew their memberships or join OVEC for the first time. Standard membership is $20/year; “sweat-equity” memberships are an option, too. Anyone joining at the Sustainer level of $60/year will be eligible for a free collectible hand-made glass ornament by local glass artist Kelsey Murphy.  Those purchasing a gift membership for another person will receive a gift book on an issue related to OVEC’s work.

Unique holiday gifts such as the hand-blown glass ornaments, hand-made one-of-a-kind necklaces, and Solar Puffs (your purchase sends one of these lanterns to an area without electricity) will be available for purchase.

Passersby can stop in for refreshments and listen to the background music provided by local musicians Paul Epstein on fiddle and guitar, John Longwell on mandolin and fiddle and Sara Cottingham on banjo.

*The Kanawha Forest Coalition has organized the Kanawha Forest Exposition, a pop-up art gallery and events space. From November 23 to December 5, the store-front space will be home to programs such as film screenings, family-friendly arts and crafts, meet-ups with local artists and events hosted by local groups including OVEC, Advocates for a Safe Water System and Energy Efficient West Virginia. The pop-up gallery will include a photography and video installation documenting the natural beauty and wildlife found in Kanawha State Forest, including aerial drone video footage taken around the forest and the nearby KD#2 mine.

The art display will also feature a limited edition print portfolio, “We Are The Storm: Climate Change Warriors,” which tells the stories of frontline environmental justice organizations, including RAMPS in southern West Virginia and Kentuckians For The Commonwealth.