July 2008

The Delaware Water Gap Celebration of the Arts (C.O.T.A) is proud to announce that it has selected the artwork of Tim Helman, an integral member of the COTA family for years, as the winner of the 2008 poster competition. The dates for this year’s annual jazz and arts festival are September 5th through 7th, 2008.

Helman, a Pocono native, has been a visual artist for more than thirty years, painting in a two-dimensional mixed media, incorporating musical instruments and found objects into his art. His style is innovative and unique and has been exhibited in the Bixler Gallery, Sweet Creams Café, Designer Crafts on Main, the Willowtree Inn, and the Red Run Gallery, to name a few. Throughout his career he has been commissioned to do face and body painting by numerous festivals and several private gatherings in the Tri-State Area, including the Knowlton River Festival and the Celebration of the Arts. In the past, he has also done airbrushed body art for the ESPN/EXPN X-Games. In 2007, Helman was selected, as the 1st place winner of the COTA Music Motif Art Show, and in 2004, was the recipient of the COTA Volunteer of the Year Award. He is also the Director of the Artisan Area at the COTA Festival itself. Additionally, his work is currently displayed in many private collections across the country.

The poster competition is held annually and is open to all visual artists. The poster is widely displayed throughout the Tri-State area, and is the primary marketing tool of COTA. In addition to the poster, the design is used on the official C.O.T.A. tee shirt, as well as the brochure and program.

The 31st Annual Celebration of the Arts will feature the music of Michelle Bautier; the David Liebman Quartet; Urbie and Kathie Green with the Jesse Green Trio; the Bob Dorough Quartet Plus Horns; Nellie McKay with the Obligatory Villagers; Marko Marcinko’s Latin Jazz Quintet; Sherrie Maricle and Five Play; Piano Summit with Eric Doney, Jesse Green, Bobby Avey and Dave Lantz; Simone (daughter of Nina Simone); and the big band sounds of “Library Alive” with Phil Woods and the COTA Festival Orchestra; the COTA Cats, and the Jazz Artists Repertory Orchestra (J.A.R.O.), just to name a few.

For additional information about the COTA festival, please visit the website at www.cotajazz.org or contact C.O.T.A. at (570) 424-2210.

The Delaware Water Gap Celebration of the Arts is presented in cooperation with the Borough of Delaware Water Gap, Castle Hill Development, Inc, and the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission.

THIS POSTER IS AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE IN THE COTA ONLINE STORE