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Retiring after 20 Years as Show Director! Mary Haase

Posted by Dave Hinde on October 11, 2012 at 12:09pm in Everything Else

The Virginian Pilot ran an article about Mary Haase today.  After over 20 years as the director of the Ocean View Art Show, Mary is "retiring".  Wherever I've gone, when I mention the Ocean View Show, the first question I'm asked is "is Mary still running it?".   You can read the article at http://hamptonroads.com/2012/10/ocean-view-art-show-feeling-special-50-years.  

One thing I disagreed about in the article, is the description of the show as not a big show and more like an "Art Neighborhood", where everyone knows everyone.  That knowing everyone may be true, but the regular art show attendees know it as one of their favorite shows.  I talked with people at the Boardwalk Art Show, the Seawall Art Show, and several other shows in the area, and they all mentioned Ocean View as their favorite show to attend.  

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Tags: Mary Haase, Ocean View, show director retires
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  • Connie Mettler October 12, 2012 at 11:12am

    I've attended very few East Coast shows, but it sounds like Mary was an important part of several shows and will really be missed. It also sounds like she was quite a character who was down-to-earth and pragmatic and would face the tough questions. Loved this quote:

    "I've never had a problem with the women," she began in a recent interview. "No prima donnas. But there was the year I had the five prima dons," said Haase, who has chaired the Chesapeake Bay Art Association's Ocean View Art Show since 1993. The 50th annual show takes place this weekend at Ocean View Beach Park.

    Each don was unhappy with his space. "One was too close to the bathroom. One was too far from the bathroom.

    "One man's spot was too hilly. One was too close to the food vendors, and still another was on the wrong side of the sidewalk."

    Thanks for sharing this story. I hope the shows she has been involved in will find people who can fill her shoes. Change can be tricky and people like this will be missed.

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