AC5 Will Honor Six Individuals For Achievement in Arts, Culture

An artist, dancer, actress-fundraiser, administrator, journalist and youth-theater director were selected to receive awards for achievement in the arts by the Arts and Culture Commission of Contra Costa County.

Awards will be formally presented to the honorees by the commission at a ceremony at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, October 22 at the historic El Campanil Theatre in Antioch. The ceremony, followed by a reception, will include a video and entertainment salute to each honoree. Reservations will be accepted starting in September.

The honorees:

• Mark Ballock, of San Ramon, organizer and president of the San Ramon Arts Foundation, which promotes arts and culture in San Ramon. He has raised thousands of dollars for visual and performing arts, including the San Ramon Community Theater, which performs in the new Front Row Theater at Dougherty Station Community Center, and summer concerts in the city’s Central Park.

• Edward Belasco, of Walnut Creek, director of the Belasco Theatre Company, a non-profit youth musical theater group he founded in 1981. Over a period of 25 years, he has produced more than 30 musicals, which have been a training ground and skills-building opportunity for young people pursuing careers on and off the stage.

• Barbara Grant, of Alamo, an award-winning actress who combines her successful performing career at The Willows Theatre Company of Concord with that of development director for the organization. Since 1987, she has raised $2.25 million for the company. She has also been on the boards of other organizations, including the Danville-based Eugene O’Neill Foundation.

• Carolina Lugo, of Pleasant Hill, founder in 1995 and artistic director of Brisas de Espana Flamenco Dance Company, which performs an average of 30 concerts a year in Contra Costa County and cities throughout the Bay Area. She has choreographed 25 new works, some of which were performed with major symphony orchestras. Her professional dance career spans 40 years.

• Jack Tucker, of Richmond, veteran journalist who has covered the arts in West Contra Costa County for more than 35 of his 92 years. His stories and reviews (82 in one year alone) have appeared in the West County Times, Contra Costa Times, and Hills Newspapers. He is regarded as “one of the most beloved people in the East Bay theater community."

• John Wehrle, of Richmond, regarded as that city’s pre-eminent muralist, specializing in public art, which often blends historical and contemporary ideas. His five works in West Contra Costa County include one on Macdonald Avenue and 19th Street in Richmond, which depicts the history of railroading. He is also an accomplished sculptor and painter and serves on the city’s Public Art Advisory Committee and the Richmond Art Center.

The commission voted a special award to Tucker. The other five honorees were chosen from among 12 additional nominations by a panel of judges representing media organizations.

Since the recognition program was initiated 11 years ago, the commission has presented 55 awards to individuals and organizations.