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School Art Show
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Music in the Park
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CULTURE AND ARTS
The Belleville Area Council for the Arts sponsors programs throughout the year to the delight of all ages. Their Art Scholarship Show in conjunction with Van Buren Schools displays art from K-12 with recognition to these budding artists and a scholarship. Visitors are welcomed to this free event held in April and encouraged to purchase their favorite pieces.
On Sunday afternoons starting after Father’s Day through August, a beautiful blend of the arts and nature happens in Victory Park. A delightful schedule of music in the Gazebo along with the artists of the Belleville Art Colony take you back to a time when the pace was slower and families spent time enjoying the park together. Music begins at 3:00 p.m. and artists paint and draw between the hours of 2:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. You can see them create, learn about their techniques and even purchase their work.
The Arts Council helped begin the Belleville Community Band a few years ago and they do special performances including Music in the Park in the summer. The Council also held a successful Dance Performance 2000 in the spring.
The Council’s major fundraiser is held at Van Buren Park the first Thursday in August with a gourmet picnic and silent auction. Following the picnic the public is invited to a free POPS concert at the park stage sponsored by Van Buren Township Parks and Recreation.
The Arts Council also sponsors free Brunch with Bach performances in each of the communities. One of their major undertakings during the school year is the Art Smart program…an active visual and verbal presentation of different artists, art venues and themes in each of the schools. Volunteer presenters from the community are the core of this very successful program.
In 1999 the Arts Council opened an Art Gallery in the City. There are permanent displays from a multitude of artists and special showings throughout the year. The Gallery is located at 397 Main in the complex that houses the Council and the Chamber of Commerce.
Sumpter remains a rural community. Tree-lined roads and periodic roadside vegetable stands add to the country character and horseback riding is still a popular pastime among its residents.
Three major events contributed to the growth of the tri-community area: the coming of the Wabash Railroad to Van Buren Township in 1881, the construction of the French Landing Dam by Detroit Edison in 1925, and the creation of the Willow Run Expressway (now I-94) in 1941 to carry workers from Detroit to9 the World War II Bomber Plant at Willow Run.
The damming of the Huron River by Detroit Edison forever changed the face of Van Buren Township. Where once a narrow river flowed now lies seven-mile long Belleville Lake, covering over 1,200 acres of former farmland. When the lake was created, the community became something of a resort area as city dwellers from miles around came to swim, fish and build summer cottages on the beautiful lakeshore. Now surrounded by hundreds of lakeside home, Belleville Lake remains a prime recreational site.
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