By Felix Hoover

For YourNewsColumbus.com

 

Butch Printup's first ever visit to the King Arts Complex came Saturday night at the gala marking the historic facility's 22nd anniversary.

 

He attended mostly to support his brother, David, a member of the gala committee. But after scoping out the complex at 867 Mount Vernon Ave, he realized that he had found a place that could help expand his social life. He concluded that he needs to visit the center on normal days and not just special occasions.

 

"I love jazz and I have a chance to dress up and look nice," Butch Printup said. "We need more of this in Columbus."

 

Jazz is one of the many musical genres performed at the gala and is part of the fare offerred throughout the year at the complex.

 

Jazz flutist Galen Adbur Razzaq gave a musical greeting at the gala's opening ceremony and Mayor Michael B. Coleman plugged the outdoor jazz series in Mayme Moore Park on summer Thursdays. The mayor also made a plea for sponsors to sustain the popular series.

 

The gala's Tapestry theme underscored the role of the arts complex as a home for diversiity, whether in music, food or people.

 

Two tents were set up to provide separate performance areas for multiple musical groups throughout the evening, Food stations in the tents and different parts of the main building gave guests plenty of snacking options.

 

Although the night was devoted to celebration, it also provided an opportunity to connect with the immediate neighborhood and the community at large. In the latter case, canned goods were collected for the Mid-Ohio Food Bank.

 

Most of the gala was enjoyed at a leisurely pace, giving plenty of time for participants to examine artwork throughout the building.

 

The Rev. John Coats said that in addition to being a pastor and a community activiist, he's also an organist.

 

"Every time I see the permanent installation of Hank Marr's Hammond B-3, it runs chills up and down my spine," Coats said.

 

As usual, photographs of Mount Vernon Avenue from "back in the day" invited nostalgic exchanges among folks who grew up on the Near East Side in the '60s or earlier.

 

Habeeba's Dance of the Arts provided part of the entertainment for the evening.

 

Most of the people at the gala needed no prompt from the studio dancers to hit the dance floor or otherwise get their bodies in motion.

 

Whether busing tables or entertaining guests, facilty worker Donald White managed to work in some of his smoothest steps.

 

By the end of the night, many of the revelers expressed the same sentiments as Barbara Smith-Allen of Reynoldsburg who said, "I had a blast; this was hot."