Artisan/Visitor Center opens in Emporium
By Alex Davis Endeavor News

A grand opening ceremony for the Cameron County Chamber of Commerce and Artisan Center in downtown Emporium is being planned for next month.

Ten area artists were spotlighted as the center opened its doors for the first time on Tuesday in the former Lundberg Pharmacy and Gift building on Fourth Street.

"We had a good time putting it all together," said Chamber Executive Director Tina Johns Lorson. "We'll be exposing people to all kinds of artists and their techniques."

It's part of the Pennsylvania Wilds Artisan Trail initiative, where 12 counties feature artists. The Emporium center will be included in 25,000 brochures being distributed throughout the state.

Among works on display are stained glass windows, glass fusion jewelry, pen and ink drawings, Adirondack style patio furniture, oil and water color paintings, flower bouquets made of chocolate, wooden figurines, gun cabinets and carved gun stocks.

Lorson said she'll recruit photographers, glasses blowers and quilters to showcase their works.

Classes are expected to start at the end of the August or early September. Chamber applied for a $3,000 grant through the Pa Council on the Arts to reduce the costs of the courses.

"Once classes take off and the need is created for art supplies, we're hoping someone will open a new business catering to budding artists," she said. "This is why the Chamber is actively promoting the center."

Half of the building, still under renovations by Burkhouse Contracting, will house the chamber board room, workshop/ classroom area, handicapped restrooms and the executive director's office.

A book titled "Headwaters and Hardwoods," written by various authors in the region, will be sold at the center. The facility also has information on events happening in Cameron County and brochures from area businesses.

"This has been a masterpiece of cooperation between so many people," Lorson said. She expressed appreciation to artists, visitors, as well as Mountaineer Search and Rescue members for helping move equipment and supplies into the new office.

The center will be open Monday through Friday, 9 am to 3 pm, as well as some Saturdays. It will be open over holiday weekends, as well as during the opening of fishing and bear, turkey and deer hunting seasons.

For more information, call the Chamber office at 486-4314.