BELHAVEN — A year and a half in, the Belhaven Arts Council continues to flourish.

“It’s doing everything I thought it would,” founder Kaye Lee Brady said.

Brady hosts the council at her store, Kaye Lee’s Corner on Pamlico Street. She brought her idea for an arts council in Belhaven to life in April 2016, seeking to fill a void for art lovers in the eastern part of the county.

Since its inception, the council has grown to more than 25 members, and it is involved in multiple community events throughout the year, according to Brady.

Happening now is a display of artists’ work in the Turnage Theatre gallery, with a reception scheduled for tonight. This is the Belhaven Arts Council’s first foray into showing artwork at a larger venue with visitors countywide and beyond.

Brady said there will be everything from ink and watercolor paintings, to glass and pottery, among others.

“Most of the stuff in the arts show at the Turnage, it’ll be up for three weeks,” Brady said. “We stay really busy. … The whole group is really enthusiastic.”

Another large project for the budding council is the December Festival of the Trees, an annual event in Belhaven. This year, the council is moving its tree displays to the Wilkinson Center and doubling the number of them, as well, Brady said.

Other activities include partnerships with MATTIE Arts Center in Hyde County, guest speakers at the monthly meetings and a close relationship with the Senior Club of Belhaven, also a relatively new venture.

Brady said the arts council has plans to create a bulletin for Belhaven residents, informing them of council activities and opportunities with the senior club. The first hurdle is securing the funds to do so.

“The biggest problem we have here is, I think, communication,” she said. “There’s no way to get the word out there.”

Brady said she believes having a bulletin catering specifically to Belhaven will encourage community involvement and “give everything a boost.”

In the meantime, Brady is proud of the arts council’s first year and a half, and for the members, it’s full steam ahead, doing what they love.

“It’s going really smooth, and it’s a talented bunch of people,” Brady said.

Belhaven Arts Council meets the third Monday of every month at 3 p.m. at Kaye Lee’s Corner, 413 Pamlico St., Belhaven. For more information, call 801-259-7446.