A fire alarm emptied the Town Hall Friday at the opening of the East Shore Festival of the Arts (ESFOTA).  Lansing firefighters responded to the scene, where they found that someone had pulled one of the fire alarm stations near the western exit in the courtroom.  But the false alarm didn't put a damper on the festive opening, which took over every building in the Town Hall campus, including the Library, Historical Records building, Community Center and the one-room school house.

The three-hour event featured food and beer-tastings from local restaurants, wine tasting, music, balloon sculptures, an exhibit on Lansing agriculture through the years, jig saw puzzles, video art, and an artist who worked with children to string hula hoops between the history building and community center.

During the fire alarm people simply moved to the library gallery and other buildings until emergency responders turned off the fire alarm.  At first it was thought that the alarm could have been caused by faltering phone service, but firefighters quickly determined that someone had pulled a false alarm.


The art, or course, was the star of the evening.  Artists Annemiek Haralson, Christa Boice, Christopher Loomis, Dawn Kleeschulte, Diane Duthe, Doug Baird, Fred Warner, Gerry Monaghan, Grey T. Larison, Helen Bigsby, Hobit Lafaye, June Silberman, Karen Veaner, Katrina Binkewicz, Lucinda Lindsley-Schultz, Marcy Rosencrantz, Martin Kepecs, Martin R. Miller, Matthew P. Binkewicz, Michele Steffey, Monroe Payne, Nancy R. Ridenour, Rachel Philipson, Rebecca Godin, Rebecca Philion, Robin Schuttenberg, Sarah Thomson, Trish Coonrod will remain on display in the Town Hall and Library through June 25th.

On a sad note, photographer Grey Larison (89) passed away three weeks before the opening.  Originally from Odessa, NY, Larison created 30 nature films which he presented at schools across the region.  He also was an accomplished still photographer, whose ability to get right up close to the animals he was photographing was uncanny.  In his final days Larison looked forward to attending the opening, but it was not to be.  Four of his photographs are featured in the east Town hall hallway to the left, past the clerk's office in the Lansing Town Hall.

v11i18