ARTS for ALL! Family Festival

The ARTS for ALL! Family Festival is Saturday, March 29^th from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at beautiful LaCenterra located at 23501 Cinco Ranch Blvd. (across from Cinco Ranch High School). LaCenterra provides the festival as a community service in partnership with KVPAC. Kristin Miller, KVPAC Executive Director said, "The festival is all about celebrating the arts, creating an interactive opportunity for businesses and non-profits to give back to the community, and enjoying family time together. We invite the community to come and simply play the day away. You can't beat the price - 'free things to do' is a pretty good deal."

The price is right at the ARTS for ALL! Family Festival because admission, all activities and refreshments are free-of-charge courtesy of event sponsors, Katy YMCA and Learning Express Toys. More than 50 booths provided by local businesses and non-profit organizations have a variety of things for attendees: art projects, face painting, balloons, professional artist demonstrations, games, caricatures, door prizes, giveaways, photo booths, food and much more.

In addition, there will be lively stage performances through out the day. Jabbar the Great will perform dazzling feats of magic and Books Alive! Literacy through the Arts will present two professional musical theatre adaptations of featured children's books: Don't Eat the Bluebonnets performs at 10:00 a.m. and The Ballerina With Webbed Feet performs at 1:00 p.m. "Books Alive! plays are usually only available as part of a private academic field trip for children and the cost is normally $25/child," said Fleurette Fernando, Ballerina director, "We are so pleased to be able to share our love of books, the importance of reading and professional performances with the community at no-charge."

As a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, KVPAC annually serves more than 18,000 children, youth and adults through its community outreach programs, free ARTS for ALL! events and tuition-based workshops in Theater Arts, Visual Arts and Music.? Funding comes from grants & donations from charitable foundations, local business and individuals.? Contributors include: Houston Endowment Inc, National Endowment for the Arts, Houston Arts Alliance, Texas Commission on the Arts, Target Foundation, BP Foundation, Wal-Mart Foundation, LaCenterra at Cinco Ranch, Pump it Up! Party Center, Tradition Bank, & Katy Magazine.? For more information, please visit our website: www.KVPAC.org
?

Welcome to our new monthly newsletter, Art Matters.? Each edition provides current program and event information. The goal is to keep our art friends, Members and community partners well informed about what is going on at KVPAC.

Features: Staff, Student and Program Spotlights, our Executive Director's musings, Member Only perks, department reports, Artists@Work news, and don't forget to check out the coupon at the end of the newsletter redeemable for something artfully fun every month.

So sit back, relax and enjoy reading each issue because, as we all know... Art Matters.

KVPAC is proud to present Back To The 80's by Neil Gooding, performed by KVPAC's COMPANY actors and directed by Amy Barrineau. Performances are scheduled for Friday, April 4th at 7:00pm and Saturday, April 5th at 2:00pm and 7:00pm on our Kennedy Grand Stage.

Set in the USA, Back To The 80's tells a story about the graduating class of William Ocean High School, as remembered and seen through the eyes of Corey Palmer, who is now 30-something. In the play, the 17-year-old Corey is madly in love with his next-door neighbor, Tiffany Houston, one of the coolest girls in the school. However, she barely notices Corey because she is too busy mooning over Michael Feldman, the hottest guy on campus.

The combination of a Star Wars inspired dream sequence, high-energy dance routines, copious amounts of blue eye-shadow and many cans of hairspray to achieve a big-hair look results is a production guaranteed to delight and amuse audiences of all ages. Featured award winning music from the decade includes: Footloose; Girls Just Want To Have Fun; Wake Me Up Before You Go Go; Material Girl; Kids In America; Love Shack; Total Eclipse Of The Heart; Video Killed The Radio Star; Let's Hear It For The Boy; Time Of My Life; Mickey; and You Give Love A Bad Name.

The director, Amy Barrineau, a graduate of Taylor High School and University of Houston, brings a wide range of professional experience to the production. Mrs. Barrineau has been a resident director at KVPAC since 2003 and her performance resume includes Disney's Beauty and the Beast, You're a Good Man CharlieBrown, Disney's Aristocats Kidsand Dracula.

Tickets for Back To The 80's are $5.00 each and can be purchased at KVPAC or by phone at 281-829-2787 or online by clicking here.

Admission to the matinee performance is free-of-charge to KVPAC Members (phone reservation required).

Rehearsals for KVPAC's COMPANY Production of Back To The 80's are currently underway, as seen here in this musical number 'Girls Just Want To Have Fun'.

KVPAC has experienced exponential growth since its founding in 2001; its annual client base has expanded from approximately 60 young children to more than 18,000 children, youth and adults participating in dynamic visual and performing arts programs. Just like a well-dressed woman needs a fashion stylist to help her looking fabulous, KVPAC has expanded its Advisory Board of Directors to keep pace with the growth and become, well,... even more fabulous!

One of the new board members, Dr. Leonard Merrell explains his motivation for volunteering his considerable expertise, "For a vibrant community to grow and meet the needs of its citizens a strong visual and performing arts presence is essential. KVPAC not only shows how artists can benefit an art organization but how an entire community can. I am delighted to serve on the board."

Last summer, the KVPAC General Board of Directors identified the need to expand the Advisory Board and Randal Rockett, a retired Commercial Real Estate Broker, Katy resident since 1979 and chairman of the Advisory Board led the way. "Up to this point, I was the Advisory Board," laughs Randal, "The founding artists of KVPAC came to me looking for an adequate piece of real estate. They were successful so quickly; that they out grew the first two properties I located for them. I stayed around to help them as an informal consultant." Local dignitaries and community leaders were queried about joining the board, emphasizing KVPAC's capabilities from an outreach standpoint. Each candidate toured the facility, heard clients' testimony, and every member personally invited to join the Advisory Board did so without hesitation.

"There are 18,000 reasons (KVPAC's annual client base) to be a part of KVPAC," said Charlie Myer, YMCA Community Advancement Director. "Each person who is served changes the community. And with so many of them being served free-of-charge, it truly makes an impact." The extent of KVPAC's outreach programs is considerable, last year more than 12,000 people participated and 89% were served free-of-charge.

The expanded board has had two official meetings so far. The first was held on December 7^th, 2007 and the second was February 19, 2008. The list of members now reads like a 'Who's Who' of Katy: the Honorable Bill Callegari, Texas State Representative; the Honorable Don Elder, City of Katy Mayor; Kaye Goolsby and Pat Hebert, both Community Activists; Dr. Leonard Merrell, Katy Independent School District (KISD) Retired Superintendent; the Honorable Andy Meyers, Ft Bend County Commissioner; the Honorable Steve Pearson, City of Katy Mayor Pro-tem; Pat Baker, Director of Social Services for the City of Katy; Dr. Lynn Freeman, University of Houston Cinco Ranch; Glenn Hegar, Texas State Senator, District 18; Charlie Myer, YMCA; Nicole Istre, of the Katy Early Childhood Enrichment Center; Downey Vickery, President, Tradition Bank; and Alton Frailey, the current KISD Superintendent, who was quoted "KISD is so fortunate to be a part of the KVPAC community."

Books Alive! Literacy Through The Arts
Spring 2008 Season
Presents
Don't Eat The Bluebonnets

Adapted from the children's book of the same name by author Ellen Leventhal and Ellen Rothberg and illustrated by Bill Megenhardt, this Books Alive! production is scheduled to kick off on March 29th at 10:00AM with a public performance at the ARTS for ALL! Festival at LaCenterra.? The play will be viewed by more than 1,000 people and will be presented free-of-charge to the community.?

Directed by KVPAC's own Executive Director, Kristin Miller, and assisted by Jill Manser, Don't Eat The Bluebonnets will play to over 1100 children from a variety of local schools in the guise of a 3-hour educational field trip.? Except for the show at LaCenterra, the performances are immediately followed by 3 thirty-minute academic workshops in Visual Art, Music and Stage Craft.? The actors who perform in the play teach these workshops.? At the Stage Craft workshop, the students are given a crash course in acting, characterization and choreography.? For many, it is a first for them taking stage direction and working with props or costumes.? In the Music workshop, instructors discuss different types of music, especially those used in the play.? They touch on musical terms, instruments and highlight a composer.? The idea that music emits emotion and helps to convey meaning throughout a performance is highly emphasized.? During the Visual Art workshop, the students work together on a collaborative piece of art that is professionally framed and donated back to their school for their use.? The goal of the program is to institute a love of books and reading to young children in a very creative way.? It is provided free-of-charge to Head Start, Title I schools and qualified non-profit organizations thanks to the generous grants from Houston Arts Alliance, Target Foundation and Wal-Mart Foundation.? Significant tuition discounts are provided for public and private schools.???

Audience size can range from 40-600/event based on student need and the size of the venue.? In some cases, the whole production is packed up and taken off-site and modified to accommodate student transportation limitations or for health reasons.

Join the Books Alive! adventure and have your child's school book their next field trip at KVPAC by contacting Kristin Miller at 281-829-ARTS or www.KVPAC.org

Junior COMPANY

Presents

Sleeping Beauty

Directed by Elizabeth Scholl

Performs Friday, April 18th 7:00pm and Saturday, April 19th 2:00pm

?

Senior COMPANY

Presents

Willie Wonka Jr

Directed by Tamara Grisko

Performs Friday, May 2nd 7:00pm and Saturday, May 3rd 2:00pm and 7:00pm

Both to be performed at KVPAC's Kennedy Grand Stage

The youngest campers, with little hands and large imaginations, channel their creative energy being a Pirate (arrgghh) or a Princess.
See catalog on website for details
www.KVPAC.org?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Look for the newsletter coupon and take $15 off tuition.

Cute, energetic, cheerful, professional, and experienced in working with children of all ages, characterizes Jessica Pettey.? Jessica (never Jess or Jessie) wears several hats at KVPAC as a PreK instructor, theatre director and Books Alive! Literacy through the Arts cast member.?
She earned a degree in Family and Child Sciences from Harding University.? While in college, she traveled nationally and internationally with an Improvisational Children's Theatre Troupe called The Pied Pipers, performing classic stories such as Where the Wild Things Are and Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.
After graduating from Harding, she moved back to Katy and found KVPAC (and we are so glad she did). Currently, she is Assistant Director for Willy Wonka and Back to the 80's and directing Cowboy Camp. Jessica also shines in the spotlight and stars in The Ballerina With Webbed Feet as Pattie Patty, the wannabe dance-challenged duck.
Jessica's unfailing charm and technical proficiency brings out the best in her students.

There is such a thing as a "free lunch" at KVPAC and it is called ARTS for ALL!, a program that provides fun, family-friendly art classes and theatre performances every month.? Admission is always free-of-charge.

The goal of ARTS for ALL! is to fulfill the Unifying part of our three-fold mission.? KVPAC believes in the ability of arts experiences to transcend differences based on race, culture, age, gender and able-bodiness, and provides free events and classes to foster an environment of mutual respect, cultural awareness and encourage community cohesiveness.?

Admission is free but tickets are required because seating is limited to 30/art workshop and 170/theatre performance.? Tickets may be picked up at KVPAC beginning one week in advance of each event.? KVPAC Members may phone in and reserve their tickets.

ARTS for ALL! is not a drop-off program, parents stay with their children and enjoy artful fun together.? Last year there were 20 free ARTS for ALL! classes and family theatre performances. The spring event calendar can be found on the website www.KVPAC.org