great teachers

A Message from the President

As I sit here and reflect on the nearly thirty year history
of River Tree, I am reminded of the rich and colorful heritage of our Kennebunk/ Kennebunkport villages . I want to make our way back to our beginnings established by Ellie Dow on the banks of the Kennebunk River.It was there in the shadow of the South Congregational Church,
that our neighbors learned to be in touch with the visible world around them using painting and music . Under those trees along the River , something wondrously, miraculous was born. It gave a place for creativity that exists in all of us . I feel honored to follow all those who have worked passionately to keep that dream alive.

My own experience goes back even further , back to early
sixties, when my parents would come East for the summer with my brothers and myself. We spent hours walking the little alleys of Kennebunkport and visiting the studios of the artists perched on piers in the River. Those experiences on those summer afternoons planted the seeds for my life that would always circle around art , color and light.

I have that hope for River Tree. That as adults and children come through our doors, the seeds of imagination will germinate in them too.In this world of amazing technology, we've become more of a spectator than an initiator.In our schools , art and music has become marginalized.We hope to fill that void by facilitating creativity with music, dance, theater and art.

Watch a child's eyes as they paint, throw a pot, or dance in the ballet...there is such joy and discovery. The arts makes us uniquely human. Join us in this journey of self
-expression giving you a lifelong gift ."Creating is such a way of inscaping from the overloaded switchboard. It establishes an island of silence, an oasis of undivided attention, an environment of recovery." May we all continue to support this community jewel.

Susan