Looking for the heartbeat of arts and culture in Moab? Look no further than the Moab Arts and Recreation Center in downtown Moab.

Since its formation by the City of Moab in 1997, the MARC has become the center for creativity-based recreation. Housed in a renovated 1920s era church, the building has been lovingly remodeled to offer a performance stage, a gallery, a pottery studio, classrooms and the only wooden dance floors in town.

Each year approximately 20,000 people use the arts center for a variety of artistic endeavors. At any given time of the day you are likely to walk through the MARC and hear children practicing on the guitar or piano. In other rooms you’ll find yoga, tai chi, chi gong, ballet, salsa and other movement arts. During winter months, the MARC offers classes in watercolor, oil painting, pastels, ceramics, jewelry, stained glass, woodcarving and more. The gallery hosts community shows as part of the second Saturday of the month Art Walk. On the last Thursday of every month the Moab Film Society selects an independent film to screen at the MARC. The last Friday of the month is the time to kick up your heels and join the contra dancers who spin to the music of the Moab Community Dance Band.

While the MARC is owned and operated by the city, about half of the revenues to run the programs and sustain the arts must be generated by rentals and fundraising activities. Three big fundraisers populate the MARC’s busy calendar: The Holiday Arts and Crafts Fair in December, a mystery dinner theatre in November and the Western Stars Cowboy Poetry Gathering in February.

This year the Holiday Arts and Crafts Fair is on Saturday, December 2, which coincides with the annual Electric Light Parade and tree lighting ceremony downtown. After the lights are on and the parade passes by, the MARC kicks off the holidays with another contra dance.

During those rare times when someone isn’t pirouetting, painting or practicing yoga, the MARC is a favorite place for weddings and small private parties. Rental space is also available for meetings or for a temporary base camp for seasonal activities or events that come to Moab such as 24-hours of Moab bike race. Visiting dancers, photographers and writers often use the facility for workshops. Last year the MARC initiated their first “art swap and flea market” offering a place for artists to sell and buy leftover arts and crafts materials.

Another way the MARC is supported is through the generous donations of the community. Memberships are also sold. A regular individual membership is $25.00. A regular family membership is $50.00. This membership entitles the member to the MARC newsletter and a 10 percent discount on all MARC sponsored classes and events. For a $40 value-added individual membership, MARC supporters receive the above benefits plus a 20 percent discount at Back of Beyond and Sgt. Pepper’s Music Store. A family membership at the same level is $80.00.

Whether its visual art, literary arts, movement arts, clay, wood, rock or steel, there is always some kind of art happening at the MARC. For more information call Janet at 435/259-6272 or visit www.moabcity.org and select Arts Programs.