Museum Honors Arts and Culture Contributors

This in from the New England Carousel Museum:

The Board of Directors and staff of the New England Carousel Museum will kick off the year-long celebration of our 20th anniversary on May 8 by honoring recipients of the fourth annual Arts, Culture and Entertainment Awards.
The 2010 ACE awards will be awarded at a May 8 fundraising dinner at the museum to retired teacher and musician Alexander Caruso and sports media company ESPN.
The award honors contributions to the art, culture, or entertainment in the Greater Bristol Community. Past recipients have been artist Glo Sessions, Hap Barnes, Ken Ferris, The Clinton Roberts Foundation, Elaine Sportelli and The Barnes Group Foundation.
Caruso, a Bristol native, first took piano lessons at age six. While serving in the U.S. Navy in Japan, he was noticed for his piano playing and often asked to play.
He later taught social studies and psychology for years and while at Bristol Eastern High School, was the musical director for numerous shows. He was also musical director for Bristol’s Civic Theater and master of ceremonies for over 40 years for the annual Christmas carol sing on Main Street. He recently performed at the Bristol Historical Society.
Members of Team ESPN, a community service arm of the company, have volunteered at many Bristol locations, including the museum, doing spring cleaning, landscaping and more.
The dinner on Saturday, May 8 will include a cocktail hour, buffet dinner by Emily’s, a door prize donated by local artist Rick Fitzsimons, an awards ceremony, raffle, music and dancing. The event begins at 6 p.m.
Tickets are $50 each or $400 for a reserved table of 8. Tickets can be purchased at the Carousel Museum building, 95 Riverside Ave. in Bristol, or from the following board members: Jack Driscoll, David Preleski, Veronica Hunter, Louise DeMars, Ed Krawiecki Jr., Ellen Ferrier, Jerry Olson, Kevin McCauley, Bob Palazzo, Cheri Bilodeau-Barton, Joan White, Joan Seguljic, Laureen Rubino, Frank Stawski, Eric Schwab, Jeanne Radcliff, Pat Byrne, Wendy Labadia, Mickey Goldwasser, and Derek Czenczelewski. The proceeds from this event will benefit the general operations and educational programming of the New England Carousel Museum. For more information, please call the New England Carousel Museum at 860-585-5411 or visit www.thecarouselmuseum.org.