The Cooke County Arts Council met Thursday, Oct. 15 at the First State Bank Conference Center, with Janet Morris, president, presiding.

In attendance were Margie Askew, Linda Coursey, John Hunt, Rebecca Lawson, Janet Morris and Dean Patterson.

Rebecca Lawson, secretary, presented the minutes of the previous meeting held Sept. 17.

The Arts Council fund raiser for early next year was discussed. It will be held in February at the Gainesville Middle School Auditorium, 1201 Lindsay Street. All members will participate.

The Gainesville Swing Orchestra and North Central Texas Chorale will provide entertainment. The Gainesville Council of Garden Clubs will decorate, and the Gainesville Area Visual Arts will have an exhibition of art. A portion of the money will go to scholarships.

It was announced that quarterly reports be brought forward by the next meeting.

The Gainesville Swing Orchestra will have its Christmas concert Dec. 17 at the First State Bank Center for the Performing Arts at the North Central Texas College Gainesville campus. The concert will be a fund raiser for the orchestra.

The orchestra entertained at the Gainesville Depot Days festivities Oct. 10.

The North Central Texas Chorale’s “Americana” concert held Oct. 11 at Westminister Presbyterian Church in Gainesville was a success.

The audience was delighted with the music — a variety of folk, spirituals, hymns, classical, contemporary and Dixie.

Kevin Beall, the chorale’s director, gave a brief background of the church noting that it was once the Camp Howze Chapel during WWII. He also commemorated the military soldiers with the music, “The Brave.”

The Chorale’s Christmas concert, Handel’s “Messiah,” will be held Dec. 6 at the Gainesville Middle School Auditorium.

The Gainesville Council of Garden Clubs displayed pedestal arrangements with the Gainesville Area Visual Arts at Depot Days, Oct. 10-11. The Visual Arts had an art exhibit there as well.

The next meeting of the Arts Council will be Nov. 19.