The Chewstick Foundation Finds New Home On Front Street
The Chewstick Foundation is excited to announce their new permanent home on 81 Front Street, Hamilton, the former home of Carole Holding Studios. The move follows several months of uncertainty after receiving notice from the landlord on the non-profit’s Elliot Street headquarters.
“Chewstick has had many homes, from Hilly’s on Front Street, to Champions on Reid Street, to our most recent location in the vibrant North East Hamilton community. We put a lot of thought into leaving Bakatown and while we would have loved to stay, there were no suitable available spaces. Chewstick has always been committed to breaking down barriers, and we look forward to offering inclusive and diverse programming for everyone in our new space,” explains Chewstick Foundation Executive Director, Gavin Djata Smith, “There has never been a space like Chewstick on Front Street and we are eager to open up opportunities for our local artists and charitable programmes by being in a more visible location.”
To operate out of the new Front Street location, a significant amount of renovation and infrastructure will be required. The Chewstick Foundation has already partnered with community and corporate supporters to review opportunities for the new space and plan for a sustainable, cost-effective and accessible new facility. The timeline of the renovation is tied to the ability to fundraise for the venture, but a soft opening is tentatively planned for mid-April.
The Chewstick Foundation needs to raise funds to complete the first phase of renovations and to pay for short-term operations. There are tiered donation options, including memberships, naming opportunities, and in-kind services and goods.
“Chewstick has always been fortunate to have a solid crew of volunteers and we look forward to engaging them in our new home. We are seeking individuals to join our Transition Task Forces to help with volunteer recruitment, fundraising, and renovations. We are grateful for community support and volunteers; their efforts ultimately help enrich Bermuda’s cultural landscape,” says Deidra-Lee Bean, Administrative Officer at The Chewstick Foundation.
The organisation’s new location comes with a similar rent but also offers increased square footage in a high-visibility location, offering the charity more of an opportunity to use their venue to sustain operations including charitable programming for arts, youth, community, and culture. While the new space is being renovated, Chewstick will be continuing some of its off site programming while it develops the new space
to enable it’s core cultural arts programming to recommence, hence there is always the opportunity for active involvement.
If would like to make a donation or get involved in the renovation project or any of our ongoing programs, feel free to email info@chewstick.org.
Chewstick Foundation Begins Mural Series with The Bermuda Industrial Union
In honour of the 50 year anniversary of the 1965 BELCO strike, The Chewstick Foundation fast-tracked a project they had been working on for a while. On February 2nd they continued with the Community Art Program by installing the first of a series of murals that will decorate the Bermuda Industrial Union headquarters, celebrating the incredible history and leadership of this esteemed organization.
The community was invited to participate in painting a mural highlighting the contribution of Dr. E. F. Gordon during the 50th Anniversary “Night of Reflection” that took place at B.I.U. headquarters. Artists and non-artists were encouraged to attend and participated in the creation of this historic mural.
A number of people ranging from Public Works Minister Patricia Gordon-Pamplin, to B.I.U. President Chris Furbert, B.I.U. members and volunteers and staff from The Chewstick Foundation added a brush stroke and paint to create a masterful work of art. The Chewstick Foundation will return to include some more information on Dr. Gordon’s tenure at the helm of the Bermuda Industrial Union. Stay tuned!
Argus Walks the Walk with The Centre on Philanthropy 5K | February 22
Join Team Chewstick for a 5K fun-walk charity fundraiser, starting & finishing in front of the Argus building on Wesley Street.
Sunday, February 22, 2015 | 8:15am warm-up | 8:30am start
Why walk? Because the Chewstick Foundation needs a new home!
As you may know, in late 2014, Chewstick had to move from our previous 28 Elliott Street location. After 2 months of searching, we have some BOASTY NEWS: We have found an awesome new spot! But, the challenge we face is that the new location needs a LOT of work.
Our theme this year is “Uptown Funk” … check out the below video for an idea
We NEED your support in order to renovate our new venue so that we can continue our important youth, arts, community, and culture programmes.
Sign up for the walk now!: https://runsignup.com/
Make sure to select “The Chewstick Foundation” as your charity of choice.
Argus Walks the Walk – Team Chewstick 2013, winners of “Team Spirit” Award!
With your $25 registration fee, you donate $20 directly to Chewstick, while $5 of your race entry fee supports VOLUNTEER.bm, The Centre on Philanthropy‘s awesome program that helps connect volunteers with charities.
We need at least 20 walkers in order to beat our 2013 record, and we have to show lots of TEAM CHEWSTICK SPIRIT to win prizes!
Prizes will be awarded to the largest youth, non-profit & corporate teams as well as the following categories: Best Coordinated Outfits, Best Choreography & Best Cheer!
Additional donations (when you sign up to walk) are welcomed and encouraged!
Team Chewstick – ALL IN!
Even if you have to work that day, or don’t want to get up very early to walk, we still encourage everyone to sign up to walk. Every little bit helps, and is much appreciated!
If you are off-island or unable to walk with us, check out our Fundraiser page: https://runsignup.com/chewstick
D.I.A.’s Last Performance at Elliot Street | 10pm | $10
Support D.I.A. for their last performance at The Chewstick Lounge location on Elliot Street. Saturday night they’ll take centre stage, playing music from a variety of genres including hip hop, reggae, Rock and Soul.
Their imaginative covers, remixes and mashups have been exceptionally well-received locally and internationally. Comprised of Bermudian drum legend, Scarlet Thomas; music director Derek Gladwin Simmons on bass, Thomas North on guitar, Keem Watson showing off his keyboarad mastery and a beautiful combination of vocals by Amora Rose’, Rowdy Piper and Haz the Human, they’ll crank up the energy and bring the vibes as Bermuda’s best Cross-Genre stars!
When was the last time you partied to live, local music? Skip the doldrums of a dull Saturday & head to Chewstick to see D.I.A. for a dance party to Hip-hop, Rock, and everything in-between.
Feature: D.I.A.
Date: November 29, 2014
Location: The Chewstick Neo-Griot Lounge
