Mu Tau Mu of Alpha Chi Omega

Hard to believe it's already the last Monday in January! MacDowell Month (February) begins one week from today. All month we've been counting down with fun ways for you and your chapter to prepare for the month when Alpha Chi Omegas everywhere celebrate the fine arts. 

Support Alpha Chi Omega sisters involved in the arts

This is one of our absolute favorites at MTM because it's as easy to do long-distance as it is locally. Since all collegiate chapters and most alumnae chapters are local, we'll talk about that first. Here are some ideas:

1. Make a list of all chapter members who are artists - those in the theater, orchestra, choir, as well as the poets, writers and architecture students - and share it with the chapter and local alumnae.

2. Make a calendar of all the fine arts events the sisters in Item 1 are participating in during February and the rest of the month to share.

3. Attend the events in Item 2 as a group and support fine arts and Alpha Chi sisters at the same time!

Long-distance

1. Find video and audio files of sisters' performances and share them. See some samples that MTM has shared at the bottom of our Alpha Chi Omega songs page. Each week in February we send out a link that everyone can enjoy at their leisure... some are from alumnae and others from campus events that collegiate members participate in (like the orchestra and chorale). 

2. Find ways to support fine arts on campus. Last year, MTM was a top-level sponsor for the 10th Anniversary show of a student-run theater group, the FootLighters, at CWRU. Sisters had been involved all through the years in productions, both on stage and behind the scenes, so we wanted to help the organization celebrate. It was good PR and inexpensive!

3. Highlight Alpha Chi Omega alumnae artists. For example, read a book by an Alpha Chi Omega author (see a slideshow with some options here) or learn more about a sister who is an artist or composer or architect.

Whatever you decide to do, we hope you enjoy it! We also hope you'll share your thoughts and plans with us by commenting below. Thanks and Happy MacDowell Month! 

MTM is honored to have been asked by @EstelleLeonard to help promote February's Alpha Chi Omega MacDowell Month by providing a way to celebrate each Monday in January. Today marks our third week!

Plan a group event to enjoy the fine arts

There are probably thousands of possibilities for this, so if you have a favorite, or just one you've enjoyed, please comment below! Here are some of our favs at MTM.

• for a mixer or semi-formal (or date night for alumnae chapters), plan a dinner and then go to the theater (or a concert or gallery opening) together. Zeta Upsilon has done this several times over the years! 
• invite a guest speaker to dinner or a Chi Connection. If you have MacDowell Fellows on your faculty or in your community, perhaps they could come to speak about the Colony, their experiences there, and their work.
• visit the campus art gallery or museum as a group.
• take a walking tour of your city that features local architectural highlights. There are even lots of these you can download as podcasts with maps so a sister could serve as a tour guide to make a virtually free event. 
• create a digital scavenger hunt. Split the chapter into teams and have them photograph all the fine arts items they can find on campus. Encourage everyone to be creative! After an hour of collecting, create a quick slideshow and have each team share what they found.

 The corollary to this is Make it easy for sisters to find ways to appreciate the fine arts

For example, your chapter's Fraternity Relations Committee, Membership Development Committee or Cultural Chair could

• compile a list of fine arts events on campus/in your community
• create a directory of fine arts freebies. Are some museums and galleries in your neighborhood free to the public certain days and times of week? Does your university have a raffle for free Orchestra or theatre tickets?
• offer chapter members double positive points for cultural/fine arts activities they attend in February
• create a brief presentation (for a meeting or Chi Connection) on one of the seven fine arts areas MacDowell Colony supports (architects, composers, filmmakers, interdisciplinary artists, theatre artists, visual artists, writers)

Looking for a great book or CD for yourself for the long winter nights ahead? Want to give a gift that expands horizons? MacDowell Colony was Alpha Chi Omega's first philanthropy, reflecting our musical heritage. Help us as we continue to support them. MacDowell Fellows created these works.

Robin Ekiss won the Rona Jaffe Foundation Award for Emerging Women Writers:

Tim Johnston's book won the Katherine Anne Porter Prize in Short Fiction:

In non-Fiction, check out 

Volti's new CD features work by Stacy Garrop, Eric Moe, Kurt Rhode, and Mark Winges (composer):