Sale of sculptures to raise funds for new center

Date: 5/17/2011

May 18, 2011

By G. Michael Dobbs

Managing Editor

CHICOPEE — "Planes Over Chicopee" is ready for take-off.

The fund-raising campaign for the new senior center was announced on May 10 with the arrival at the senior center of one of the fiberglass statues of a C5-A that will be painted by local artists.

The 20 four-foot by five-foot planes will the objects of two auction events, which, Council on Aging (COA) Executive Director Sandra Lapollo told Reminder Publications, hopefully will raise $40,000 toward the $2 million pledged by The Friends of the Senior Center.

Mayor Michael Bissonnette told the audience gathered at the senior center for the event the city plans to borrow $5 million from the federal government and pay it back through its annual Community Development Block Grant allocations. That funding will be used to demolish the former Facemate building and help pay for the construction the new center.

The City Council has also approved a $4 million bond application for the project, he added.

"There was a bumper sticker put out last year that read 'The Time is Now' [for a new senior center]. I couldn't agree more," Bissonnette said.

Chuck Desmarais of the Friends of the Senior Center explained the group would host the first event with the sculptures on June 1 at the Castle of Knights on Memorial Drive. An auction, beginning at 5 p.m. that evening, will determine the sponsorship rights to each of the 20 statues. Sponsors will have a nameplate attached to the base of the statue and receive a table model of the plane.

The starting bid for the sponsorships will be $1,400, which will cover the cost of the sculpture and the supplies for the artists.

The tickets for the auction will be $20 in advance and $25 at the door and will be available at the gift shop at the senior center.

The designs for the planes will vary widely. Several address the history of the city of Chicopee, while others have a patriotic flair.

According to the information from the COA, the artists and their themes are: Carol Belise of Monterey, "Mountain Majesty;" Ann Beebe, of Chicopee, "Our City;" Dolores Borowiec of Chicopee, "All About Chicopee;" Jeffery Calvi of West Springfield; Jennifer Dorgan of Westfield, "In Your Honor;" Mischa Epstein of Springfield "Spring Has Sprung over Chicopee;" Elizabeth Koscher of Ludlow, "The Small World of Chicopee;" Sylvia Krol of Chicopee, "American Indian;" Robert Meulemans of West Springfield, Anne Mueller of Chicopee, "The Dawnbreaker;" Marianne Paquette of Chicopee, "Polish Potter Plane;" Kara Smith of West Springfield; Karen Smith of West Springfield, "Sunset;" Sheldon Smith of Springfield, "Crossroad of Creativity;" Rennatc Tropeano of Westfield "Woven into the Fabric of Chicopee;" and Amy Morin.

The artists are volunteering their time for the project, Lapollo said.

Lapollo added the planes should be finished by the annual Fest of All conducted at Szot Park on July 23 through 26 where they will be on display.

Later this year, another auction at a date yet to be determined will take place to sell the finished sculptures.