Students take the stage at EAF
Published 8:05 pm Tuesday, June 12, 2012
The Edmonds Arts Festival is well-known for its cornucopia of fine art and artisan crafts. But the festival also showcases talented local performers who entertain the crowds during the festival.
This year for the first time, young performers of Edmonds are being given the chance to shine on the big stage.
“In the past, most of the performances (on the main stage) have been by a variety of family-friendly adult acts,” said EAF Performing Arts Co-director Julaine Fleetwood. “If youth groups performed, it was in the children’s area: a small, out-of-the way area without a formal stage or amplification.”
Due in part to the major cuts the Edmonds School District endured in the arts programs, the EAF board wanted to increase its support of the community’s youth in all artistic forms.
“We are doing this,” Fleetwood explained, “by providing a venue to give our kids the opportunity to get more performance experience, showcase their talent to the community, let them experience what it might be like to compete for the chance to perform, allow them to perform in a public amphitheater like the professionals, and experience the support they would get from a professional sound production company.”
Interested student performing groups applied for available slots by submitting an application and a demo of their music. The performers include school-sponsored groups, dance students and independent groups.
The Edmonds School District was recently recognized as a “Best Community for Music Education” in the United States. This is the fourth year in a row that Edmonds has been selected for this honor by the National Association of Music Merchants Foundation. The Edmonds School District is the only one in the state to receive the award this year.
“We know that communities are struggling to maintain funding for many education programs and we applaud these communities that remain committed to a complete and quality education that must include music and the arts,” said NAMM Foundation Executive Director Mary Luehrsen.
Fleetwood agreed, emphasizing that the EAF wants to support the efforts of the local educators.
“In support of the mission of the Edmonds Arts Festival, we saw our performing arts venue as a perfect opportunity to further support the district and, most importantly, our artists of tomorrow.”
With that kind of support, it’s no surprise that Edmonds schools are turning out talented young performers.
“Some of the school groups have won regional, state and even national awards of excellence for their performances. There will be a wide variety of music styles, with performers from grades 1-12, so there will be something that everyone will enjoy,” Fleetwood said.
Fleetwood is excited about this new way to involve local youth in the EAF and she sees her long hours of volunteering for the past 14 years as well worth the effort.
“The reason I have been involved for so long,” she said, “is that I truly align with the festival’s mission of providing arts education to our community youth and because there are so many opportunities within the organization to both work for what I believe in, and to have fun. This organization does great work for our community.”
Edmonds Arts Festival
WHERE: Frances Anderson Cultural Center, 700 Main St., Edmonds
WHEN: 10 a.m.-8 p.m. June 15-16, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. June 17
ONLINE: www.edmondsartsfestival.com
