Mission StatementWe build cultural opportunities in Alcona County to make our county a destination and home for creative people of all kinds.
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Philosophy
Inspiration Alcona, Inc., is committed to the premise that the natural beauty of the area will serve as a perfect backdrop for those wishing to engage in creative pursuits. By using what the community has to offer in natural beauty and inspiration, to host educational seminars, workshops and other events of various types so that people who wish to engage in those pursuits will be drawn to the area and will thereby enhance and revitalize the economic vitality of the community.
We’re a 501c3 arts organization dedicated to the idea that the friendly rural beauty of Alcona County can help us develop a new economic base through the arts and cultural activity for visitors and for our neighbors.
We’re a 501c3 arts organization dedicated to the idea that the friendly rural beauty of Alcona County can help us develop a new economic base through the arts and cultural activity for visitors and for our neighbors.
History
Inspiration Alcona grew out of a 2011 MSU Extension conference on local leadership. The founding board members were all part of that experience, which encouraged not just learning about leadership but actually taking on and completing a project.
The first event we held was the 2012 Alcona Arts Retreat in September of that year, which drew 37 students to a variety of classes. The second was a program for elementary students at Alcona Community Schools that used American dance styles through history to connect with social and political events of their times.
By early 2020 Inspiration Alcona had expanded to include not only the annual Alcona Arts Retreat and an annual school presentation or two, but also the annual Lost Lake Writers Retreat, the annual Alcona Small Farms Conference, weekly after-school art, guitar and ukulele lessons for Alcona students, the twice-monthly Alcona Authors workshop group, the weekly Art for Adults sessions, the weekly Dockside Jams music nights, the annual Summer Art for Youth, as well as occasional concerts, film showings, dances, author readings and more events.
Of course, covid-19 restrictions shut down most of the programs, but we were able to offer the outdoor summertime version of Dockside Jams during 2020. In April 2021 we were able to restart Art for Adults, and in June we resumed Dockside Jams and Summer Art for Kids. We also began a new program, Harbor Nights Concerts, featuring Michigan songwriters for 14 consecutive Fridays into the fall. The afterschool programs returned in the fall 2022 semester, and the September Alcona Arts Retreat and October Lost Lake Writers Retreat also returned in 2022.
Since we gained federal recognition as a 501c3 group in 2013, we have been able to obtain support from individuals and community groups, state arts and humanities grants and other foundations to expand our art and cultural offerings to Alcona County. We owe many thanks to these supporters for trusting us in our earliest years and in continuing to back our efforts. We are also grateful to our various partners over the years who have cosponsored or otherwise joined us in programs, including Alcona Community Schools, the Alcona County Library, the Harrisville Arts Council, the Alcona County Commission on Aging and the Northeast Michigan Community Foundation. We have regularly won major grants from the Michigan Arts and Culture Council (formerly the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs) and the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as the Michigan Department of Education, Preque Ile Electic and Gas, and the Michigan Humanities Council, as well as others.
In late 2022, Inspiration Alcona won a major grant to provide after-school and summer tutoring and enrichment activities for students at Alcona Community Schools. That program ran from January to September 2023. In late 2023, IA won the same grant and in 2024 is running an expanded program that includes two hours after school four days a week plus six weeks of all-day summer lessons divided among multiple classes.
We are proud to carry the platinum Guidestar designation from that charitable overseer and the Sunrise Coast Pure Michigan seal. We also participate in the Candid organization's review of charitable organizations.
Board meetings are generally held at 5:30 p.m. on the first Monday of each month at the Harrisville branch of the Alcona County Library, 314 W. Main Street. The meetings are open to the public. Meetings are occasionally rescheduled when they fall near holidays or when too many members cannot attend at the regular time.
The first event we held was the 2012 Alcona Arts Retreat in September of that year, which drew 37 students to a variety of classes. The second was a program for elementary students at Alcona Community Schools that used American dance styles through history to connect with social and political events of their times.
By early 2020 Inspiration Alcona had expanded to include not only the annual Alcona Arts Retreat and an annual school presentation or two, but also the annual Lost Lake Writers Retreat, the annual Alcona Small Farms Conference, weekly after-school art, guitar and ukulele lessons for Alcona students, the twice-monthly Alcona Authors workshop group, the weekly Art for Adults sessions, the weekly Dockside Jams music nights, the annual Summer Art for Youth, as well as occasional concerts, film showings, dances, author readings and more events.
Of course, covid-19 restrictions shut down most of the programs, but we were able to offer the outdoor summertime version of Dockside Jams during 2020. In April 2021 we were able to restart Art for Adults, and in June we resumed Dockside Jams and Summer Art for Kids. We also began a new program, Harbor Nights Concerts, featuring Michigan songwriters for 14 consecutive Fridays into the fall. The afterschool programs returned in the fall 2022 semester, and the September Alcona Arts Retreat and October Lost Lake Writers Retreat also returned in 2022.
Since we gained federal recognition as a 501c3 group in 2013, we have been able to obtain support from individuals and community groups, state arts and humanities grants and other foundations to expand our art and cultural offerings to Alcona County. We owe many thanks to these supporters for trusting us in our earliest years and in continuing to back our efforts. We are also grateful to our various partners over the years who have cosponsored or otherwise joined us in programs, including Alcona Community Schools, the Alcona County Library, the Harrisville Arts Council, the Alcona County Commission on Aging and the Northeast Michigan Community Foundation. We have regularly won major grants from the Michigan Arts and Culture Council (formerly the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs) and the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as the Michigan Department of Education, Preque Ile Electic and Gas, and the Michigan Humanities Council, as well as others.
In late 2022, Inspiration Alcona won a major grant to provide after-school and summer tutoring and enrichment activities for students at Alcona Community Schools. That program ran from January to September 2023. In late 2023, IA won the same grant and in 2024 is running an expanded program that includes two hours after school four days a week plus six weeks of all-day summer lessons divided among multiple classes.
We are proud to carry the platinum Guidestar designation from that charitable overseer and the Sunrise Coast Pure Michigan seal. We also participate in the Candid organization's review of charitable organizations.
Board meetings are generally held at 5:30 p.m. on the first Monday of each month at the Harrisville branch of the Alcona County Library, 314 W. Main Street. The meetings are open to the public. Meetings are occasionally rescheduled when they fall near holidays or when too many members cannot attend at the regular time.
Photo credits
The photos on this site were shot by a number of people, including Ted Fines of Ted Fines Photography, Joe Thomas, Judy St. John, Michelle Mercoullier, Mary Ellen Jones, Ron Casper, Meg Nesbit, Will St. John, Ron Lamrock and others.
