After providing 13 months of entertainment during the off-season, Community Arts in Action has decided to disband, announcing the decision at their final performance on Sunday, June 27.

"A final finale," President Leie Carmody said of the event, which brought the talented Kevin Burgess to Wareham High School to perform his show, Totally Magic and Illusion.

The group was formed with the goal to bring the town together by bringing performing arts groups to town and donating the ticket revenue to community organizations.

The organization began as a fundraiser for the Wareham Free Library after budget cuts last April threatened its certification. The group organized a sold-out performance by Irish musicians - Aoife Clancy and Robbie O'Donnell that contributed $1,520 to the library. Since then, the monthly events have included dance, theater and musical performances to benefit the library and the Council on Aging. This May, the group donated three instruments - an alto sax, a clarinet, and a flute - to the High School Music Department. Individual donors and/or sponsors, playbill ads, and other donations underwrite the expenses for each performance so that all ticket proceeds can go to the benefiting organization.

Carmody said that, regretfully, the difficult economic climate and the work required to arrange performances and find sponsors for the show had made them decide it was time to disband.

"The six of us [board members] have worked hard and, though we've been thrilled at being able to give to the library and the school music department...it seems wise to call it a day," Carmody said.

And they went out with a bang. Burgess was fantastic and well-received by a great crowd, some of whom participated in the illusions themselves.

"We've had a good run and been able to be true to our mission," the board members wrote in their final playbill. "Our hearts and energies remain strong for Wareham and for encouraging its cultural growth.

The group will be missed.