Mount Vernon Area Arts Council held a reception and concert Friday, Nov. 8, to celebrate 20 years of enriching the arts and culture in the Mount Vernon and Lisbon communities. More than 75 people attended the free concert and reception for the organization. Poet laureate Amelia Kibbie read one of her poems to begin the event, and then Mount Vernon native Phil Heywood took to the stage to perform a concert. Both Kibbie and Heywood noted the impact the First Street Community Center held on their arts education as students at Mount Vernon. MVAAC president Dr. Tiffany Carr spoke about the numerous accomplishments the arts council has been a part of, including Chalk the Walk, Lincoln Highway Arts Festival, the new sculpture art trail, more than $20,000 in scholarships to area students, and several concerts and plays and other arts events.

“I’m a firm believer you make the community you want to live in,” Carr said. “Mount Vernon and Lisbon have made art a viable and visible part of this community in the past 20 years, and we’re going to continue doing that.”