CABOT — If you’re talented with pencils, pens, paintbrushes or pastels in hand, the Veterans Park Event Center in Cabot might be a good home for your work.
Summer Allison, event center manager and marketing coordinator, said she wants to showcase individual talent in the building.
Allison recently started the Cabot Homegrown Artist Contest, which encourages current and past residents of Cabot, Ward and Austin to share their artwork with the community.
“I love art, painting, creating and all things crafty. The event center is constantly a work in progress,” she said. “I thought it would be a great way to display our local talent while creating a more aesthetically pleasing environment. … It will be special for different local event attendees to be able to walk the halls and lobby and see beautiful artwork by people they most likely know in one way or another.”
Acceptance of submissions for the art contest will close Sept. 15, and all submissions will be shared on the Cabot Parks and Recreation Facebook page for voting, she said.
The winner will receive a $100 gift card.
Allison also hopes to have other art contests in the future, as well as seasonal displays.
The Veterans Park Event Center, which opened in January, is a venue for special events, meetings, fundraisers and a variety of ceremonies.
Allison said Cabot has needed an event facility for a while.
While other local options exist for small-scale events, the event center is 9,420 square feet and can hold up to 600 seated guests, she said.
The center was funded through a bond project the residents of Cabot voted on in 2013, Allison said.
She said the community-center expansion and event center totaled $5.3 million.
“The event center allows for so much more to be kept local and was designed specifically for special events. I also believe that as we grow, the event facility will bring a lot of new events and opportunities to Cabot that we haven’t previously been able to accommodate,” she said.
Allison said she is planning Cabot’s Celebrate the Season, a vendor event that will take place Nov. 18.
“[It] will be fun for the community while also giving back to our local school system and children in need over the holidays,” she said.
Admission to the event will a donation of three nonperishable food items.
The donated food will be sent home with children in the Cabot School District over Christmas break, she said.
Growing up surrounded by teachers exposed Allison to the harsh reality that many children’s basic needs aren’t met.
“It rips my heart out,” she said. “While I love a good shopping event, I’m mostly excited to be able to integrate this event with the true meaning of the season — giving.”
Other upcoming events at the center include a Back to School and Ladies Night Out event on Sept. 9 and a Grand Prairie CASA Champion for Champions Fundraiser on Sept. 19.
Allison said the center has hosted a variety of events so far, including weddings, pageants, plays, corporate meetings and showers.
The center can be rented as an entire facility, or a half or fourth of it, she said, which makes it easy to work with events of all sizes.
“I’m hopeful that the multiple vendor events we have planned will bring more options and attractions to the city,” she said.
The center has a kitchen, a commercial-size refrigerator and sink, tables, chairs, audio and visual equipment, a stage and projectors, she said.
A tornado safe room that can hold up to 250 people is also located in the center.
Allison said that during all events, staff members remain on-site to help the renter with anything he or she might need.
“We try to make it very seamless. The client is only responsible for removing decorations and trash. We set up and tear everything down. We make it very simple for them,” she said.
Travis Young, director of Cabot Parks and Recreation, described Allison as a great communicator with an open and outgoing personality.
“She came up with the art contest, she has a Christmas event in the works that will allow us to give back to families in need this holiday season, and she has plenty of ideas to promote this place,” he said.
Young said the 2013 bond initiative for the center was voted on and passed 3-1 by the residents of Cabot.
“It gives us the space to hold a variety of events locally; people don’t have to drive all the way to Little Rock anymore,” he said.
Young said Allison has a lot of experience and a background in sales.
“She always has a smile on her face, she’s approachable, and she’s always open to new ideas,” he said.
Staff writer Kayla Baugh can be reached at (501) 244-4307 or kbaugh@arkansasonline.com.