4 SEPTEMBER 2020 EDITOR’S NOTE I’ve got some questions for our readers: How are you doing out there? Parents, did you survive the first few weeks of remote learning? Students, are you all settled with the new school routine? Neighbors, are you making sure to stay six feet apart? I’m not a parent, but I’ve been keeping tabs on what I like to call the “school situation.” Two choices, two programs, different teachers, Zoom meetings, too much information – it’s stressful. Thankfully, you’re not alone. Arcadia is a strong community, and we’re all in this together. The start of the school year is also a time to celebrate new beginnings, and we’ve got something new from Arcadia News . This month, we are unveiling the Arcadia Podcast – a brand-new podcast where we interview local businesses and people to get behind- the-scenes information on what’s going on in our neighborhood. The first episode will introduce Lindsey Holt and Coley Arnold, creators of Junk in the Trunk Vintage Marketplace and owners of The Vintage, a gathering spot on Osborn Road where patrons can eat, shop and relax all in one place. The podcast will be available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts starting September 1. September also means that we share all the vacation photos that neighbors sent over the past couple of months in our annual vacation summer spread. Many of you may not have had the opportunity to travel as much as last year, but it looks like you had a lot of fun either way! Check out the spread on page 36. We love hearing about our awesome community, so please send your story ideas to editor@arcadianews.com, and as always, thank you for reading Arcadia News . Be well, Mallory Gleich Mallory Gleich By Jennifer Marshall In August, Arcadia Girl Scout Troop 312, composed primarily of Veritas Prep students, worked on their Bronze Award. Their mission was to collect 1,000 K-8 books to donate to the United Methodist Outreach Ministries, which focuses on preventing and ending homelessness. The girls reached their goal and then some, donating over 1,000 books to the nonprofit at the end of August. “The Bronze Award is the highest award a Girl Scout Junior can earn,” troop member Rowynn said, “and it involves improving in your community.” Girl Scout Juniors are comprised of fourth and fifth graders. After advancing to Cadettes, troop members are eligible to earn the Silver Award. The Silver Award then prepares high school seniors to earn the Gold Award, which is the highest honor. The UMOM homeless shelter sponsors a weekly program called “Read to Me,” where volunteers read to kids to promote literacy. “Every year, UMOM tries to get 1,000 books donated for their reading program, so our goal was to get those books for them,” troop member Charlotte said. The “Read to Me” program allows kids to keep two books after every reading session. “These kids don’t have many possessions, so those books are special to them. This program is a very good deed,” troop member Amber said. UMOM requests fiction books geared toward kids ages 4-13. Superhero books, pop-up books and serial books like “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” are in the highest demand. “We established a couple of ways for people to donate,” Charlotte said. “We made an Amazon Wish List, and we also donated personal books we no longer needed.” The troop members also contacted a couple of bookstores and a Goodwill, where they were presented with a $20 gift card to buy books. “I did a neighborhood walk where I handed out flyers letting people know they could place books in the box on my front porch,” Rowynn said. “I feel good when I get another book. It’s fun to set a goal and then meet it.” According to Troop Leader Susan Panganiban, to achieve the Bronze Award, the troop members must utilize the Girl Scout leadership keys: discover, connect and take action. Panganiban explained that to “discover” means the troop members learn what the community needs most and how they can best contribute while using their talents. To “connect” is essentially interacting and working with each other and family, friends and the community. And to “take action” literally means to go out and drive actual change with their efforts. “The girls are avid readers,” Panganiban said, “so their UMOM project tied into a need in the community and a passion. While they worked as a team, each girl also created a plan on how she was going to achieve her goal.” Local Girl Scout troop collects 1,000 books, earns top award Amber, Vivienne, Reese T., Rowynn, Erin and Reese O. Not pictured: Charlotte and Gigi. 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5 SEPTEMBER 2020 By Mallory Gleich While most of us are accustomed to using the internet to purchase things, the pandemic has made shopping, ordering food and discovering new places online much more prevalent. Many larger retail and restaurant businesses have managed to stay afloat through their online presence. However, local shops have struggled to stay open without the foot traffic they’re used to. One of the industries that’s been hit is art galleries. Arcadia News spoke to gallery employees in Scottsdale and Phoenix to see what they’ve been doing to keep the art scene relevant. “It’s been an interesting year. Last year was the best year we’d had in the past five to seven years, so to go from that to the worst – it’s been a huge change,” said Max Smith of Art One Gallery . “We’re hanging in there like a lot of businesses in the area and doing what we can to stay busy and stay relevant. We just unveiled a brand new website and we are increasing our social media presence.” Smith explained that while they’re open to the public and available for online appointments, it’s been tough. “We’re such a month-to-month business that we couldn’t afford to close. We had to do what we had to do, taking the necessary precautions and all that – people weren’t walking around anyway,” Smith said. Safety precautions at art galleries include employees wearing masks and asking that people wear a mask when they’re inside. They provide hand sanitizer, and some places offer gloves. “We’ve had to change our hours because there wasn’t any foot traffic, and for our business, that’s crucial because art is visual. Seeing it in person is far different than seeing an image of the piece,” Smith said. Paul Eubanks of the Paul Scott Gallery said that thankfully they haven’t had to change their business model too drastically since the shutdown. “Paul Scott Gallery has always been strong at reaching out to a vetted mailing list built over nearly 30 years. These outreach efforts primarily involve various mailings and a little bit of emailing,” Eubanks said. “We are fortunate in that our existing clients often contact us proactively. Sales, so far, have been in line with past years and summer month sales.” Eubanks said they are actively exploring several ways to engage patrons, ranging from targeted “unveilings” of new works, a new catalog, a more consultative relationship with key artists and online options. Valerie Hildebrand, from On the Edge Gallery , said they received help from Jeff Handley of 360° Niche (a virtual reality/ photography business) to create a virtual tour of the gallery in March after they closed. “We made that available on our website. It has been well received,” Hildebrand said. Hildebrand said that their art sales have suffered. The gallery had just moved to a new location in February (7077 E. Main St., Suite 1, Scottsdale) and sales were up over the previous year – but that changed after the pandemic hit. “We were very excited about the opportunities in our new location. It’s been a little difficult losing that excitement and momentum, but we’re currently preparing for the beginning of our ninth season, which begins September 1,” Hildebrand said. “We have some very talented new artists joining us and many of our artists who are returning for another season are doing some very exciting new work.” The Shemer Art Center debuted a mobile app in March, which made it easy for students to stay connected from their phones. They also created an arts activities book for families and started converting all of their art classes to virtual platforms. “From there, our classes started growing and we are now in our fifth month of virtual classes,” President Shonna James said. “We have also converted our last four exhibitions to virtual, and we are currently in the process of uploading our latest exhibition, Inside Perspectives, which opened August 4.” At Art One Gallery, they’ve started The Art One Show, an in-depth online interview with an employee at the gallery and one of their many artists. “It’s been cool, and we’re learning things that even we didn’t necessarily know about our artists,” Smith said. “It’s been cool to talk with them and understand their perspective and influences and how they found out about the gallery. It’s been really fun.” Smith said they are planning to change up the format for their second season. They’re going to go even more in-depth and check out the artists’ studios and see their process. “The whole point is to keep attention on our artists’ and the gallery and cross-promote both. What’s been awesome is a lot of the videos have generated sales,” Smith said. “It’s been nice to have the online option, and it has kind of saved us because people are definitely on their phones – they’re just not leaving the house as much.” This year, Art One is holding a fundraiser to raise money for personal protective equipment for students when they return to school. Masks, shields and cleaning supplies will be donated to schools around the Valley. “We want to spread the message of local art and the importance of supporting up-and- coming artists because that is what I think will bring a lot of joy to people in this dark time. Staying positive and doing whatever we can to stay relevant is the best thing that anyone can do,” Smith said. Keeping art alive during the pandemic Max Smith Art One Gallery artonegalleryinc.com Paul Eubanks Paul Scott Gallery paulscottgallery.com Valerie Hildebrand On the Edge Gallery ontheedgegallery.com Shonna James The Shemer Art Center shemerartcenter.org 5405 E Calle Ventura • $ 2,395,000 4 Bedroom/ 4.5 Bath • 3,723 square feet QUINTESSENTIAL ARCADIA RANCH 2020 TAVAN SCHOOL DISTRICT SALES RESULTS (1/01/2020-7/31/2020) Active Homes - 58 Homes Homes Sold - 118 Homes Average Sale Price - $718,000 Average Sold $ Per SF - $304 Average Days On Market - 63 days There is currently 3 months of home inventory. (based on 2019 sales results) 2020 home sales have decreased 1% this year. (based on 2019 sales results) 2020 home prices have increased 9%. (based on 2019 sales results) 2020 $ Per Square Foot prices have increased 9%. (based on 2019 sales results) 2020 Homes are taking 31% less time to sell. 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