By Waveney Ann Moore, Times Staff Writer
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
ST. PETERSBURG — The PinkCricket Center for Arts Education, a youth arts center downtown, will end its short run this week.
The year-old endeavor, which had been undercapitalized from the start, suffered a fatal blow when ongoing renovations caused it to reopen late for the school year. Friday will be its last day.
"It hurts,'' said Sara "PinkMeanie" Turner, 32, who conceived the program with high school friend Jennifer "Cricket" Brendel, 33.
Their dream was to offer classes in the visual arts, literary arts, drama, music, film, fashion design and dance. They also envisioned offering a unique after-school arts program with sliding scale fees that made it possible for any child to have access to the arts.
In the months following the program's August 2009 opening, though, a series of problems, from a shortage of start-up money, inadequate cash flow, bureaucratic requirements and construction delays, managed to puncture their idealism. The damage apparently is not permanent.
"Really, we're not giving up. We are closing the physical location for now, but Cricket and I are going to continue to work on the organization and continue to work with our board members and see what we could do to reopen and what we can do to change our program,'' Turner said this week.
"I just feel that art education is way too valuable not to continue to try.''
Last week, Turner gave a tour of PinkCricket's quarters in the historic Kress Building at 475 Central Ave. Pink and green Chinese lanterns hung from the ceiling, colorful murals covered the walls and children's excited voices filled a front classroom.
The arts center had moved into the space, previously occupied by a travel agency, early in the summer. The larger quarters were meant to accommodate its growing programs and meet Pinellas County child care licensing requirements for indoor play space, Turner said. Parents, staff and volunteers worked feverishly to create the required area, but the center did not get clearance to reopen after its summer camps until three weeks after the beginning of the new school year. By then, many parents had made other arrangements for their children. Enrollment never recovered.
"Being closed for the three weeks really damaged us financially,'' Turner said.
Andy Orrell, director of marketing for American Stage and a parent, is sad to see the arts program end. PinkCricket, he said, had been on the verge of making it. "Just a matter of 21 days is what is going to shut the doors,'' he said.
Dianne Wood is disappointed, because her 6-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, had only just enrolled. "She got to go to one class and then we got the notice that they were closing,'' she said.
Landlord and lawyer George Rahdert said he had done his bit to help.
"We remodeled the space to meet their needs completely at our expense,'' he said.
PinkCricket had not been able to pay its rent since June, said Rahdert, who also represents the St. Petersburg Times. He blamed the bureaucracy for some of the center's problems.
"I think this is one where the regulators killed a struggling, but promising business. It's one thing to beat up a fat cat. I did everything I could. In the end, I didn't kick them out. I think it was a case where the bureaucrats stepped on the air hose,'' he said.
Responding, Rick Dunn, the city's building official, said he could not compromise on safety, especially where children are concerned. Turner is philosophical. She doesn't want to point fingers, she said, but agrees that PinkCricket faced "issues that were not under our control."
"It's definitely a learning experience for me,'' she said. "If we were to reopen, it would be done very differently.''
Waveney Ann Moore can be reached at wmoore@sptimes.com or (727) 892-2283.