Our Friends at the Nick have taken to the highway and are out on one of the greatest of American adventures – the ROAD TRIP! Happily, they’re sharing their news from the road with us via the Jasper blog. Below is the final installation from the great adventurers’ travel(b)log. Thank you everyone for reading about our travels this week. We couldn't have had this amazing experience without Leveraging Investments in Creativity (LINC), and we couldn't have had a better outlet to share our story with than the wonderful people at Jasper. If there is one thing this trip has taught us, it is that an art scene is necessary for any city to truly be great. Columbia has a wonderful art scene, and we know that Jasper plays a big role.
Our final official day of the trip happened at the awesome Belcourt Theatre in Nashville. We all got to spend time with our counterparts at the theater, learning how we can be better, and how we can bring new knowledge to the Nick!
Andy started the day off before all of us. He went in early to hang out with Stephanie Silverman, Executive Director of the Belcourt. He learned a lot, and is eager to get back and start getting all of us to try some new things. He even had the opportunity to talk about programming with Toby Leonard, who is also a former Indie Grits juror.
Heather wasted no time, hanging out with Melinda Morgan, the Director of Operations. So much so that she volunteered to scoop popcorn and fill drinks for two of the showtimes! Claire had a lovely time with Elle Long, their membership coordinator. (unfortunately no picture exists). We even ran into another juror at the offices of Janus Films Nashville (in the Belcourt). It is always a pleasure to see Sarah Finklea, she is a really fantastic person, and we were thrilled she had moved to Nashville and was conveniently located at the Belcourt. We were able to unwind with a nice meal at Southern where Heather got to pick out her steak!
Today we head back to Columbia, and I think the staff all needs a little down time to take in everything we saw. Thanks again to Jasper, and we look forward to the future of the Nick!