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)

Welcome to Part II of our January series on getting ready for February, which is Alpha Chi Omega's MacDowell Month. 

Connect electronically with MacDowell Colony 

At MTM, we encourage the use of social media and other technologies to keep in touch with  the friends, organizations and causes we care about. Here are a few of the ways you, can connect with and learn more about MacDowell Colony on an ongoing basis:

1. Sign up for MacDowell's monthly E-newsletter. Each month you'll get a brief synopsis of the Colony's activities. At that subscription page, you can also subscribe to the Colony's biannual print newsletter, which is also available on-line here.

2. Follow the Colony on Twitter: @MacDowellColony [or http://twitter.com/MacDowellColony ]

3. Become a fan of MacDowell Colony on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-MacDowell-Colony/145760028923?ref=ts

4. Encourage your Alpha Chi Omega sisters, chapter members and friends to take Steps 1, 2 & 3 above! You could plan a MacDowell Colony day on facebook during February... or tweet a MacDowell Colony fact every day that month... 

Please share your ideas and plans by commenting below, and stay tuned for next week's installment of Prepping for MacDowell Month... Part III, which will be available Monday January 18th... Follow @EstelleLeonard or check back here!

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 is our first Monday and we thought we'd start with the basics!

Educate your chapter about MacDowell Month

Plan a presentation at a chapter meeting or Chi Connection; film and share a video; and/or post on your blog, website or MCR forum about MacDowell Month.

What is MacDowell Month?

From alphachiomega.org: "Named for the MacDowell artists' colony in New Hampshire (Alpha Chi Omega’s first philanthropic project), this month (February) also honors our founders’ heritage as musicians. During MacDowell Month, our members are encouraged to attend exhibitions, see plays, take in concerts, and otherwise celebrate and patronize the arts."

What is Alpha Chi Omega's relationship with MacDowell Colony?

From alphachiomega.org: "Alpha Chi Omega’s founders were music students and appreciated the arts in general. And one of Alpha Chi Omega’s early members, Marian Nevins MacDowell (Zeta, New England Conservatory of Music), worked with her composer husband to create a community on their New Hampshire farm “where artists could work in an ideal place in the stimulating company of peers.” 

As a result of this connection, the Alpha Chi Omega Foundation has long supported the Star Studio at the MacDowell Colony in Peterborough. In fact, the Star Studio was built in 1911 with funds from Alpha Chi Omega. It was our organization’s first altruistic project. 

The Foundation also supports Alpha Chi Omega fellowships in honor of Fay Barnaby Kent for professional artists and writers who need financial aid to study at the Colony."

Resources:

MacDowell Colony has a wonderful rich website that is a joy to explore. Visit it at http://www.macdowell.org 

PBS Art:21 produced a beautiful video "MacDowell Moments" which can be viewed here.

Beta Sigma chapter (University of Georgia) made 2 funny and informative videos for MacDowell Month in 2007 and 2008. Watch them on youtube: MacDowell Month and Single Ladies: Alpha Chi Omega Founders

We'd love to hear about how you plan to educate your chapter about MacDowell Month so please comment below! And stay tuned as each Monday we offer a new way to prepare for February!

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):