First-Ever Recipients of ASF Patrons of the Arts Award Announced

Barrie and Laura Harmon – Photo from the Alabama Shakespeare Festival

The Alabama Shakespeare Festival has announced that Barrie and Laura Harmon are the inaugural recipients of the Wynton M. Blount Patrons of the Arts Award.

Festival officials say the Harmons are leading supporters of the arts and other non-profit organizations in the River Region. Barrie Harmon has been a longtime member of ASF’s Executive Committee of the Board of Directors, and he and Laura have sponsored plays on ASF’s stages for decades.

Alabama Shakespeare Festival was founded in Anniston as a summer repertory theatre in 1972 and was proclaimed the State Theatre of Alabama in 1977.   In 1985, ASF moved into a 100,000-square-foot, $21.5 million complex christened the Carolyn Blount Theatre. At the time, it was the largest single gift in the history of American theatre.

ASF leaders say with the continued support of patrons like the Harmons, ASF has grown into the largest regional theatre in the Southeast.

“We are gratified but humbled to be the initial recipient of the Wynton M. Blount Patrons of the Arts Award. We both share the same passion for the arts, which has had a tremendous impact on our lives,” said the Harmons. “Montgomery is very fortunate to have a diverse and viable art community, and we are certainly proud to be a part of it. Wynton M. Blount, because of his vision and accomplishments, was the standard bearer for all of us to follow. In some aspects of our everyday lives, we are directly or indirectly influenced by art. We are passionate and obligated to continue the legacy established by the Blount family.”

Laura and Barrie Harmon will receive the award at Alabama Shakespeare Festival’s End o’ Summer Night’s Gala on August 17.