Shenango Valley Performing Arts Council has gotten smaller over the years, in terms of number of members and programs it offers and the amount of money it has to work with.

But the impetus to keep going has not waned for the 24 members. They proudly show letters they've gotten from elementary students thanking them for presenting concerts, and tell stories of students wanting to pick up an instrument or take dance lessons after seeing a group the council has sponsored.

The group's goal is to provide cultural activities to residents of the Shenango Valley. As its membership and finances have shrunk, it has focused on two areas: the Young People's Arts in Education Program concert series, and the summer series of concerts at Bicentennial Park in Sharon and Buhl Farm in Hermitage, said President Pauline Radasevich of Sharon.

"We don't get a lot of the funding that we once did, so we had to streamline our spending," she said.

The Bicentennial Park series is the oldest ongoing group endeavor, starting in 1985, and touches on the group's roots.

The council was formerly the Sharon Mayor's Committee on the Arts, founded in the early 1970s, and its members were appointed by the mayor of Sharon.

Committee activities branched out beyond Sharon, and in 1992 it changed its name to the Shenango Valley Performing Arts Council.

The Bicentennial Park concerts, which are free, stemmed from a state grant the city received. Once the grant ran out, the city picked up funding the series, said Ann U'Halie of Sharon, chairwoman of the Special Events Committee.

The concerts attract about 150 to 200 people a night, and local musicians now come to the committee looking for bookings, instead of the committee members having to find them, said Pattie Segarra of Hermitage.

The committee also works with Carole Dunkerly and the F.H. Buhl trustees on their summer concert series. The council will fund shows of groups that need sponsorship. Admission is free.

This summer, the council will bring in Mercer Community Band, Warren Junior Military Band, Shenango Area Youth Chorus and the W.D. Packard Band of Warren, Ohio.

The young people's concert series draws the most cards and letters. It was started by the Young People's Concert Association, and the council donated money.

When YPCA folded, the council took over the concerts.

The council books music, dance and theater performances at Sharon High School for grades 2 through 4 and 6, and sends fifth-graders to Youngstown Symphony Orchestra's annual young people's concert, said Ms. Segarra, chairwoman of the Young People's Arts in Education Committee.

Schools participating this year are Sharon, Hermitage, Farrell, West Middlesex, Sharpsville, Notre Dame, St. Joseph's, Monsignor Geno J. Monti and Sharon Christian Academy.

The schools are responsible for transportation, but do not have to pay to have their students admitted. More than 600 students see each show.

The shows are age appropriate. This year, third-graders saw Bob Dunlap and Mark Tamusula lead a music and dance program on how other cultures have influenced American music, and fourth-graders enjoyed the Dance Alloy of Pittsburgh.

Later this month, Gateway to Music Woodwind Quintet will present "Peter and the Wolf" to second-graders, and Walnut Street Lodge, Sharpsville, will stage the original ballet "Dragonfly Lake" to sixth-graders in March.

The council wants elementary students to experience cultural activities they might not have the chance to see, and teachers are given guides to build the shows into their lessons.

"They do a great job," said Ms. Radasevich. "They come prepared. They always have questions."

The third- and fourth-graders usually see musical performances, which coincide with when students in some schools start taking instrument lessons.

"The band programs are very high here," Ms. Segarra said. "We try to feed that."

Each show is evaluated by teachers, and their comments are used in setting the next year's concerts.

"We take special requests," said Karen Trapp of Transfer, who handles public relations, advertising and graphics.

The council no longer gives out scholarships to graduating high school seniors, or sponsors the Pittsburgh Arts of Tour series, workshops or bus trips to out-of-town performances, but the committees that ran those programs still exist to bring them back if funding can be found.

The council members do not like the fund-raising part of their activities -- "We just want to be a source of entertainment," Ms. Segarra said -- but would like to find someone to write grants for them.

A wine-and-cheese fund-raiser was shelved this year because of the local economy, Ms. Radasevich said.

But the group still has money to work with, from local governments and foundations and private donations, and is looking for local performers it can sponsor. In the past, the council has funded performances by the Walnut Street Lodge and Shenango Valley Chorale, and donated money to Buhl Day.

"We have a lot of ideas," said Ms. Segarra.

"We just need people to do them," continued Ms. Radasevich.

Council membership is open to anyone in the Shenango Valley interested in advancing the performing arts culture. Call Ms. Radasevich at (724) 962-2001 or Carol Schultz Karol at (724) 962-4409.

You can e-mail Herald Staff Writer Joe Pinchot at jpinchot@sharon-herald.com