Fox Valley Arts Hall of Fame opens nomination process

BATAVIA – To celebrate lives of achievement, the nomination period has opened for the Fox Valley Arts Hall of Fame’s class of 2020. Nominations will close Nov. 1, and the 10th class of inductees will be announced Feb. 5 in Batavia, a news release stated.

The Fox Valley Arts Hall of Fame had its start during a commemoration for the millennium. Its main objective is to give public recognition to people associated with the Fox Valley area by birth, education, residence or service, who have achieved national or international acclaim. The FVAHF has saluted the lives of numerous inductees during the past 20 years.

The people honored with induction every other year represent the visual arts, performing arts, literary arts, media arts and educator/curator/benefactor. Each must have served at least 20 years in their profession.

A black-tie formal banquet will begin at 6 p.m. April 24 at the Villa Olivia Banquet Hall, 1401 W. Lake St., Bartlett, to officially induct the candidates. That evening, the inductees will be awarded plaques, with one to be hung at the Hemmens Cultural Center in Elgin, alongside the previous inductees.

The second objective of the FVAHF is to ensure a strong cultural legacy for future generations.

This objective is accomplished through the organization’s Founders Series. The FVAHF bi-annually sponsors arts programs in the Fox Valley area particularly helping the arts reach children.

The FVAHF is a sponsor of the Ainsworth Youth Concerts put on by the Elgin Symphony Orchestra. The program, named for the late Sterling “Stu” Ainsworth of St. Charles, has been a huge success with over 8,000 children from the area attending the program this past spring.

The FVAHF believes arts are an important part of a child’s education and sponsors programs that can reach the most number of children in the Fox Valley area.

The FVAHF is totally dependent on donations to fund its work. To give a donation, one may make out a check to the Fox Valley Arts Hall of Fame and send it to the treasurer at 960 Commons Road, Naperville IL 60563. All donations will be recognized in the FVAHF programs 2019-20.

To download a nomination form or to learn more, visit the "Make a Nomination" page at foxvalleyarts.org.