Stephen Jenkins with Spare Kings Trio and Patrick Bliss In-Concert

Craven Arts Council & Gallery is proud to host Spare Kings Trio with Patrick Bliss concert Saturday, July 12, raising money for the Martha Hall Jenkins Scholarship (MHJ). This concert will be performed by the Spare King Trio & Patrick Bliss, a musical group based out of Charleston, SC, with proceeds to benefit MHJ Art Scholarship at Community Artists Gallery & Studios. Tickets are available for $30 for members of Craven Arts and $40 for nonmembers and are available in-person at Bank of the Arts, over the phone at 252-638-2577, and at cravenarts.org.

The Spare Kings Trio consists of Stephen Jenkins, New Bern native; Jeff Kozelki, from Columbia, South Carolina; and Fuller Condon, from South Florida. Patrick Bliss has been performing musically for over 20 years in eastern NC and covers a variety of genres from Broadway to pop. The performance consists of a variety of instruments and covers music across genres, blending original songs with cover songs spanning across the decades. Additionally, Derrick Bryant, a 1999 New Bern High School graduate and former art student of Martha Hall Jenkins, will have art works available for purchase at the concert. Derrick Bryant is an accomplished artist, created multiple murals around downtown New Bern, previously participating in Juneteenth at Bank of the Arts, is now based out of Atlanta, Georgia.

Martha Jenkins was a New Bern native, graduating from New Bern High School (NBHS) in 1968. Jenkins graduated from Meredith College with a degree in art education, where she enjoyed painting in watercolor and eventually became an accomplished potter. She served as the Craven Arts Council Gallery Coordinator. She joined the art department at NBHS for 14 years, from 1991 – 2005. After her passing in 2005, the MHJ scholarship was created in her honor to provide art students the opportunity for education and exhibition opportunities.