- October 10, 2024
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The Palm Coast Arts Foundation will likely dissolve by the end of the year. But first, two new turtle sculptures will be added to the Turtle Trail.
PCAF President Sam Perkovich announced the decision to dissolve the 20-year-old nonprofit in a press release on Oct. 17. Executive Director Nancy Crouch said in an interview with the Observer that there is no firm final date yet, but that PCAF will probably officially close down by the end of 2023.
The foundation couldn’t bounce back financially after it was required to close because of COVID-19, she said.
“It is sad,” Crouch said. “Twenty years of trying to get something developed in Town Center — with a lot of great movement — but COVID just did us in.”
The foundation focused on bringing in interesting entertainment from outside of Palm Coast that local residents may not have had the chance to experience before, she said — an opera star, jazz performers, blues performers and, of course, the Jacksonville Symphony.
“We did some really creative things,” she said. “It was just really a great thing. We were just always trying to bring in different entertainment.”
Before it shuts its doors, PCAF will be unveiling sculptures number 20 and 21, the last two under PCAF’s direction, for the Turtle Trail, Crouch said.
Sculpture 20 will be unveiled at 4 p.m. on Nov. 1 at Central Park behind City Hall, around the lake, Crouch said, and Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin will be there to accept the turtle on behalf of the city.
Sculpture 20 is sponsored by Mike Morello of Mike Morello Inc. Air Conditioning & Heating. It has a rural America theme and takes a “whimsical approach to the American Gothic painting of Grant Wood,” Crouch said.
Sculpture 21 is sponsored by Intracoastal Bank and will be unveiled at 4:30 p.m. on Nov. 2 at the Intracoastal Bank on Palm Coast Parkway.
The turtle was created by Lisa Fisher and Nancy Zedar and is themed after French artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir. It is nicknamed “Renny” after the artist, Crouch said.
The Turtle Trail will continue with the Flagler County Cultural Council, under Crouch’s continued direction.
Crouch is transitioning to co-chair the Cultural Council, an umbrella organization uniting numerous arts, history and cultural groups, the PCAF press release said.
“It’ll be a seamless transition,” Crouch said.
The PCAF site will continue as a cultural events space through the city of Palm Coast, the press release said.
At an Oct. 17 City Council meeting, the council approved a partial release of covenant restrictions on the site to allow the city to take over management and maintenance of the stage.
Crouch said that even in these two years since the pandemic, PCAF struggled to recover without event revenue to support it. The foundation had no more paid staff, she said, and it was difficult to get the volunteers to return, too.
“When you rely on your operating budget from event revenues” she said, “and you don’t have events for over two years, you know, it kind of does you in, because you still have expenses.”
In the press release, Perkovich credited the success of PCAF to its members, donors, volunteers, event guests, the art community, the city, county and state, the Jacksonville Symphony and PCAF’s board.
She told the Observer she will continue promoting the arts at the new United We Art nonprofit.
“[United We Art] is just getting started,” she said. “So look for more to come on United We Art.”
Between her work there and Crouch at the FC3, the two will be able to work together to support the arts, Perkovich said. Perkovich said that PCAF never got the full buy-in it needed from local organizations to continue to grow, including the goal of building a roof over the PCAF stage.
“The arts are a multi-billion dollar entity in Florida, but we just don't support them very well here in Flagler County," she said. "Our elected officials all need to do better."
