The Riverdale Park Arts Council will recognize hometown realism artist Gerald King during its annual membership meeting Tuesday, Feb. 28. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. at Town Hall. A brief business meeting to select board members will start the program. Annual $5 membership dues for new and renewing members will be collected. (RPAC members receive discounts on all arts council events including ArtsFest 2012 on May 6 in Town Center.)
At 7:30 p.m., the Arts Council pays tribute to Mr. King, a popular painter and educator who has had a studio in Town for nearly four decades. The Arts Council will then make a major arts education announcement.
At 8 p.m., Mr. King will present a personal narrative on the 40-year-long, international effort to recreate the priceless Minbar of Saladin in the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. The nearly 1,000-year-old minbar, similar to a Christian church's pulpit, was destroyed in August 1969 when the Mosque was firebombed. His introduction will be followed by the showing of a 53-minute film titled "Stairway to Heaven." Narrated by Kenneth Branagh, the film travels from Jerusalem to London, from Jordan to Syria, from Egypt to Spain to trace the history and reconstruction of the minbar. The production offers significant commentary by H.R.H. Prince Ghazi bin Mohammed of Jordan, an associate of Mr. King, and who helped finance the minbar's restoration.
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RPAC members invite all members of the Riverdale Park Business Association, all members of the Riverdale Lions Club, all members of the Town Council, and the first 25 Town Talk respondents to this event. Refreshments will be available. Please RSVP by 3 p.m. Monday, Feb. 27, by calling RPAC president Emily Fanning at 301-864-5561, or email RPArtsCouncil@gmail.com.