The Avalon Theatre and Ellen Vatne General have been synonymous with the arts in Easton since 1994.
At its annual Winners Circle Reception last Wednesday, the Talbot County Arts Council honored General for what she and the Avalon have accomplished.
“For exceptionally distinguished service since 1994 as executive director of the Avalon Foundation and the leader behind the tremendous artistic and economic success of the Historic Avalon Theatre,” read the Special Outstanding Achievement Award that Andy Anderson, immediate past president of the Arts Council, presented to General on Nov. 14. “She has built the Avalon into the hub around which the cultural life of Talbot County revolves.”
A decade and a half ago, the possibility of a performing arts venue in Easton seemed like an idea ahead of its time. While the building was transformed from an empty, derelict shell into a magnificent showplace, no one could seem to make it succeed once the doors were reopened. General was a newcomer to Easton at that time, with a background in education. “I saw the inside of the theatre and just fell in love with it,” she said.
On Jan. 1, 1994 she became Executive Director of the nonprofit Avalon Foundation, and set about running the Avalon Theatre.
“While we wanted to present the theatre as a great place to see live entertainment, we knew that it could not just be one thing, meaning just a place to present theatre or concerts,” said General. “It had to be a multi-purpose venue to bring people downtown. I wanted it to be something that the whole community was involved in.”
The Avalon's programs, according to the Arts Council award, “include a wonderful mix of nationally-known, regional and local artists.” As a result, the Avalon Theatre is rightly thought of as a performing arts center. But there is more to it than that.
“Under [General's] leadership,” the citation reads, “the Avalon has emphasized community education and enrichment, and she has generously made its facilities available for many important civic events. She has also been the inspiration or a driving force behind a host of arts-related programs of major community benefit including the Passport to the Arts quarterly community arts calendar, the summer outdoor concert series, and the First Friday Gallery Walk.”
The Avalon Foundation has expanded in campus-like fashion to help create the Easton Resource Center, home to more than 120 community groups that use its meeting rooms 300 days a year. The Theatre houses MCTV, the local television station, which has been broadcasting town and county council meetings for several years.
While those operations became part of her everyday routine and took up much of her time as operations inside expanded, General was not done. She spread the foundation's wings further to offer more in the way of community events outside the art deco landmark on East Dover Street. The free outdoor Summer Concert Series has become an event that brings thousands of residents downtown. The Easton Farmer's Market, complete with live music, is in part a function of the Avalon Foundation through its partnership with Easton Main Street. Ditto the First Friday Gallery Walks, the Plein Air Arts Festival and Competition, the 4th of July Carnival and Fireworks Celebration, the Children's Halloween Parade, the Downtown Easter Egg Hunt and the upcoming holiday events support downtown businesses while making Christmastime a festive time in Easton.
After the Avalon was renovated in the late 1980s, several attempts were made to operate it as a quasi-governmental agency, run by volunteer boards that reported to the Easton Town Council. Yet it has only been since General brought her perseverance, determination, unyielding spirit and occasional quirkiness to bear that the Avalon has become the multipurpose facility and organization for which people wished.
General is quick to share the credit for the Avalon's success.
“The magic of the Avalon is about the people of this community coming out and celebrating and supporting this beautiful theatre,” she says. “I am very honored by the Talbot County Arts Council recognition, and I will continue to work towards keeping the Avalon as a place where residents gather to celebrate as a community together. We have a beautiful community that has not only come out to support what we do inside the theatre but has enabled us to carry the magic outside of the theatre walls.”
Fittingly, the Arts Council's Special Outstanding Achievement Award concluded with two of General's favorite words: magic and energy.
“Her boundless vision and energy, supported by a superb board of directors and a dedicated staff, have resulted in an organization whose operating budget now approaches $1 million,” it read, “and which provides the yearly opportunity for tens of thousands of residents and guests to 'experience the magic' brought to them by the Avalon Foundation.”