Fall City Arts began around 1998, with Leigh Falconer as the President and some seed money from one of the founding members. The founding members were Leigh Falconer, Bette Stuart, Ruth Affleck (sculpture donated in her name to the Art Walk), Barbara Center, Terri Reilly, and Becky Miller.
With Leigh at the helm there were a couple of goals the arts organization wanted to follow. The first was to bring in a broad range of professional programs from outside the Snoqualmie Valley, as everyone felt strongly that many of our community members may not venture away to gain exposure to the arts. The second reason behind starting an arts organization was they saw a need for an artistic curriculum within our local schools.
The first year, the seed money allowed us to fund one performance group which provided two performances to our community. If our memories are accurate the performance was Sonondo and it was an African drum and dance group, and both events were very well received.
Leigh then began talking with the Development Authority of King County, now known as 4Culture, and learned there was grant money available to arts organizations, particularly for those in the outlying communities within King County. Leigh wrote and received a grant to fund the following year with a couple of programs within the elementary school and an evening performance. Don McConkey, the principal of Fall City Elementary was very supportive, even polishing the floor after the program at the school ended!
Over the years, Leigh wrote and received grants, and Fall City Arts held fundraisers, and each year the seasons grew to involve more and more programs. From one event in 1998, up to present day where we hold about six key events (and many smaller ones) depending upon our budget and manpower.
