Ellen’s Work Blog
April 2026
Let's start our April news on a high note: Live @AMP is back! Since we sold out last year’s a cappella event, we wisely decided to do it again, this time with three all-female collegiate groups for our Vocal Fireworks event on Saturday, April 18. I was in an a cappella group in college. I owe all my most obnoxious moments of bursting into song to a weekend trip with this group to NYC. After a couple of glasses of wine, we spontaneously decided to do a free performance for people at the crossroads of Broadway and 49th. I believe we got a standing ovation. Come to think of it, everyone was already standing.
An exciting addition to our AMP event lineup: our new After-School Teen Art Club. Before I was an obnoxious singing street performer, I was an inveterate scribbler, doodler, painter, sketcher, etc. If you have a creative teen looking for a weekly chance to get together to make art, explore new things, and socialize with other cool teens, this Friday afternoon addition to our schedule will surely be welcome.
Another GIANT event is coming up on our spring calendar. (I am technically cheating, letting you know about this a month in advance). One of my many heroes, Colonel Alton Whitley is coming to AMP from South Carolina to be with us over Memorial Day Weekend. A long time AMP Advisor and five-star individual, Alton, his wife Ann and their grandchild Whitley, will all be with us on Saturday May 23 for an AMP Talk about his astounding career in the United States Air Force. Earlier in the day we are planning a HUGELY special family experience at AMP where kids can meet Colonel Whitley. Working with the CT Air Museum and the Hartford Science Center we will have a zillion cool things to do for all ages. Thanks to the New England Air Museum, we will have a portable flight simulator, flight helmets, and other sky-high fun. My favorite, and something I have wanted to do for years—we are going to have a paper airplane contest with materials to create your fast flyer and room to test the results of your plane’s performance! There will be prizes awarded for longest elapsed time in the air, longest distance flown, and most creative folded ‘airworks’.
I know it’s early to make Memorial Day weekend plans, but now you can check that off your list. I am giving you plenty of warning here that you and your family and friends won’t want to miss meeting Colonel Alton Whitley, the first operational pilot to test the F-117 Nighthawk and, years later, take command of the 37th Tactical Fighter Wing on the eve of Operation Desert Storm.
