June 20, 2018 - For Immediate Release: onSTAGE Live subscriptions on Sale July 15th!
Each year Arts For The Schools presents acclaimed cultural performing artists in music, dance, theater and other progressive art forms in regional venues. onSTAGE Live is about bringing community members together, celebrating cultural arts and learning about each other. Each year we bring artists from all over the world including from Europe, China, South America and across the US for live shows right here in Truckee and Tahoe. We also celebrate Hispanic Heritage month each year with a Hispanic artist. This year will be celebrating with Flor De Tolache from the Bronx, NY - an all women Mariachi group that is breaking all the rules.
This season we have top notch line up including Emi Sunshine, Flor De Tolache, Ririe Woodbury Dance Company, Kaki King, Okaidja Afroso, and much more. The artists are world-class and not to be missed!

​“onSTAGE Live provides the opportunity to see world class talent without leaving home. It also has been really special part of working with Arts For The Schools - to meet these amazing artists and see them play live. I just wish more people knew about these shows and would
come out to enjoy them. I am continually blown away by the talent, intimacy and unique opportunity these shows offer in Tahoe,” says Eve McEneaney, Executive Director.

onSTAGE Live season passes go on sale on July 15th. Check out the website and sign up for pre-season discounts by email, or RSVP for a season sneak peek party at artsfortheschools.org. 

Arts For The Schools’ launching it’s 3rd annual Wooden Boat Challenge on September 22nd at Commons Beach in Tahoe City.

A day festival with live music, activities for children, food options, drinks, and a beer garden; but the main event is the Challenge itself. Pre-registered teams of four will be provided with the materials to build a wooden boat (here’s the catch!) without power tools. After three hours of building time, the teams then have to race their hand-made boats in Lake Tahoe. Of course, there is a 1st place prize but other awards, such as funniest boat andbest craftsmanship, will also take home some prized goodies.

A festival and fundraiser that combines a unique challenge for participating teams but also provides entertainment for all ages, and types, of people. “This is a blast to watch and is so creative and really inspiring to see these teams build a boat in just 3 hours,” says Arts For The Schools’ Executive Director, Eve McEneaney. The event will feature the mini-boat
challenge for kids, as well as other family-friendly activities, and all viewers can participate in voting for the alternative boat awards.

All funds generated will directly fund Arts For The Schools educational programming. For 34 years, Arts For The Schools has taught visual and performing arts education to 25 schools in the region, increasing numbers served every school year. Arts For The Schools fill the gaps in arts education and ensures all children, regardless of ability or socio-economic status, receive the education they need and deserve. Arts For The Schools also presents public performances through their onSTAGE Live Series, bringing acclaimed performing artists from all over the world at an affordable ticket prices. Although onSTAGE and other small fundraisers supplement the nonprofit’s funds, it is Arts For The Schools’ hope that this annual Wooden Boat Challenge will provide them with the monetary support that will allow them to maintain, and grow, their important programming for our region and beyond.

Want to participate in the Wooden Boat Challenge? Get your team together and call Arts For The Schools for more information!

​The festival will be held Saturday, September 22nd from 11:00 am – 5:00 pm at Commons Beach, 400 N. Lake Blvd, Tahoe City. General admission is free but please RSVP to the event and find team registration at www.artsfortheschools.org.

No matter what kind of fun you’re looking for, the Wooden Boat Challenge has it! Come out for a fun day on the beach, and enjoy the festival while helping fund children’s arts education.

We are still awestruck from Contra-Tiempo's performance at North Tahoe High Theater on April 27th! An amazing multilingual performance work that created visual and sonic vocabulary that collages Salsa, Afro-Cuban, hip-hop, and contemporary dance with theater and original music, brought dynamic multi-modal experiences to the stage and the audience. We thank Contra-Tiempo all the way from Los Angeles, for visiting us and the children at Alder Creek Middle School, Truckee High School, Incline Middle School and North Tahoe School.

THANK YOU
THANK YOU
​THANK YOU!

Keep up with Contra-Tiempo and their future shows at: ​http://www.contra-tiempo.org

Artist in Bloom is an opportunity for students to showcase their artwork created in Arts For The Schools' 14-week visual arts program. Your child has kindly donated one piece of art for us to frame your family, as a fundraiser for art supplies. These artworks will be available at your child's open house. Each art work is a suggested donation of $15.

Truckee Elementary School
May 3rd
5:30-7:00pm

Donner Trail Elementary 
May 17th
5:00-6:30pm

Tahoe Lake Elementary  
May 31st
6:00-7:30pm

Kings Beach Elementary 
June 5th
5:00-7:00pm

Glenshire Elementary School
June 7th
5:00-7:00pm


Missed your child's open house? Their artwork is still available to take home!
​Please call our offices at 530-582-8278

Visit Plumas Bank to cast your vote for your favorite non-Profit, Arts For The Schools! You can visit your local branch or send Plumas a message on Facebook.

For more information, visit: www.plumasbank.com

​

Join us at the 3rd Annual Wild & Scenic Film Festival presented by Mountain Area Preservation this Friday, April 20th at the Community Arts Center in downtown Truckee to win 2 tickets to see CONTRA-TIEMPO!

Tickets for the festival are available at www.mapf.org! Doors & Box Office Open at 5:00 PM, Films Start at 6:00 PM.

​Thank you to MAP for allowing Arts For The Schools to be apart of this wonderful visual arts event!

Rain, snow and hail didn't stop Arts For The Schools from having a good time at Winter WonderGrass 2018! Thank you to our Teaching Artists, Volunteers and Kids for helping and hanging with us! We offered different activities such Tahoe Trout making - fabric trout stuffed with newspaper, Pickin with Pastels - drawing bluegrass instruments with Artist Anja and Dancer Wands - made with recycled materials. 

We look forward to next year, rain or shine!
​

Who: Mark Henasey
What: Music Teaching Artist for Arts For The Schools
Community School Key Responsibilities: Teaching music curriculum and administering music student assessments.
What musical instruments does Mark Play: Bass, Guitar, Piano, Trumpet, Saxophone
​
Mark graduated with a Music Education degree from University of Massachusetts Amherst. He enjoys performing and teaching students of all ages. His teaching methods are diverse and oriented towards each student’s specific musical personality.
He spent nine years as a Faculty Instructor for the Summer Institute for the Gifted teaching music courses at Princeton University, UCLA, Drew University and Bryn Mawr College. He also worked as a high school music director for a private boarding school for seven years.
His original compositions have been featured on University of Princeton radio (WPRB 103.3) and his projects have opened for many international touring acts including Ween, The Wailers, Bernie Worrell (P-Funk and Talking Heads) and Vernon Reed (Living Color).

Arts For The Schools welcomes Mark and is glad to have him as a part of our wonderful teaching team!

We are counting down the days until Winter Wonder Grass 2018! Thank you to everyone who reached out and asked about volunteering. 

Have purchased your tickets yet?
If you haven't and are buying online, select Arts For The Schools when purchasing tickets to give $1 back to Kids! 

Please stop by the Kid Zone tent to say hello or bring your Little WonderGrasser for some activities!

#countdown7days

Is it April yet? Better yet...April 27th?

Arts For The Schools is very excited to present: CONTRA-TIEMPO! 

CONTRA-TIEMPO is a bold, multilingual Los Angeles-based dance company creating physically intense and politically astute performance work that moves audiences to imagine what is possible. They create a new physical, visual and sonic vocabulary that collages Salsa, Afro-Cuban, hip-hop, and contemporary dance with theater, compelling text, and original music to bring dynamic multi-modal experiences to the stage.
​
Agua Furiosa, CONTRA-TIEMPO's newest evening length work, challenges audiences to confront harsh realities of race in our country. Inspired by Shakespeare’s The Tempest and Oya, the Afro-Cuban deity of wind and storms, artistic director and choreographer Ana María Alvarez, harnesses her unique Urban-Latin movement approach to create a visually stunning and thought provoking evening of dance performance. Agua Furiosamerges call and response, a live vocalist, water themes, fierce physicality and the performers’ own personal narratives. Audiences walk away from Agua Furiosa, impacted and inspired to locate themselves inside the complex and transforming conversation of race in America. Creative collaborators include sound designer d. sabela grimes, vocalist Pyeng Threadgill, lighting designer Masha Tsimring and dramaturg Michael Garces.

CONTRA-TIEMPO is dedicated to transforming the world through dance. One of the most effective and powerful ways they do this is through their dynamic work with youth. They have partnered with over 40 schools, colleges, and universities, and continue to share their dance-as-social-action pedagogy work for thousands of young people across the nation each year. They are dedicated to the growth and development of more self reflective and engaged young artists.

Don't miss out!
Friday, April 27th  -  7pm  -  Tickets $5-$20
North Tahoe High School Theater - 2945 Polaris Road - Tahoe City, CA 96145

Tickets available at the door until showtime!

The TTUSD Transportation Department has reschedule the STEAM & CTE Fair due to the predicted storm for tomorrow - Thursday, March 1st. TTUSD and Arts For The Schools is committed to safety of the student attendees.

The new date for the STEAM & CTE Fair is scheduled to take place on June 11th, 2018 from 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. at the Truckee Donner Recreation Center (same location).

Arts For The Schools and TTUSD looks forward to seeing you there!

Rahim AlHaj born in Baghdad, Iraq began playing the oud (the grandfather of all stringed instruments) at age nine. In 2015 Rahim was awarded the National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowship and was also nominated for two Grammy awards. He wowed Truckee Elementary, (in the video above) and a large audience at The Community Arts Center for AFTS onStage live public show. Arts For The Schools owes a big Thank You to Rahim and his trio for coming to "have fun with us"! 

Next onStage Live Event: Rahim AlHaj, Feb 2nd, 7pm
​at The Community Arts Center in Truckee

Rahim AlHaj, virtuoso oud musician and composer, was born in Baghdad, Iraq and began playing the oud (the grandfather of all stringed instruments) at age nine. In 1991, after the first Gulf War, Mr. AlHaj was forced to leave Iraq due to his activism against the Saddam Hussein regime and began his life in Jordan and Syria. He moved to the US in 2000 as a political refugee and has resided in Albuquerque, NM ever since. In 2015 Rahim was awarded the National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowship, the highest honor for traditional arts in the USA.

Lightwire Theater (from America's Got Talent) provided a unique educational performance teaching students about El wire, theater, dance and their unique brand of storytelling.  Lightwire presented Moon Mouse, a tale about Marvin who gets bullied in school and later overcomes his challenges and becomes friends with his bullies.  Students and public audience members were blown away by this amazing group.

Troker, a jazz band from Guadalajara, Mexico came into schools to teach students about Mexican music.  In some schools Troker provided the entire workshop in Spanish and in other schools they taught in both Spanish and English.  Students loved Troker!  We also hosted a great Dia De los Muertos party with Troker on Saturday October 28th. The crowd was blown away by their talent, and a a great time was had by all.

Arts For The Schools developed a new partnership with Alder Creek Middle School to co-teach visual art to sixth, seventh and eight grade students. Teaching artists are working with Alder Creek Middle School teachers to provide a six week, daily art class for students.  Art classes have been designed to meet the education standards and to allow students to develop their visual art foundations, as well as explore new mediums.

"We are excited about the opportunity to learn from and collaborate with classroom teachers at Alder Creek. I am really enjoying working with these kids," says Teaching Artist Anke Hass.  Arts For The Schools provides visual arts integrated classes to 10 schools in Tahoe Truckee Unified School District and Placer County Office of Education.  Arts education classes occur once per week in schools for at least 14 weeks and up to 32 weeks, depending on the school.  At Alder Creek students are being co-taught by Alder Creek teachers and teaching artists every day for six weeks.

Support Arts For The Schools and art in our rural community.  Six live shows! Check out the amazing line up with artists from all over the world!  Buy a season pass today and save up to $75.  Passes on sale til October 28th.

Look no further, the most exciting festival of summer is on its way! The Wooden Boat Challenge will be held on Sunday August 20th, 2017 at West End Beach on Donner Lake from 11am-5pm.
 
The festival is centered around a boat building competition where teams of up to four people build boats with materials supplied by Truckee Tahoe Lumber. After constructing the vessels, they race them on Donner Lake for a chance to win great prizes, like a 2017-18 Northstar Ski Pass or a Northstar Golf Pass! If you’re interested in forming a team, read this.

While the boats are being constructed, there will be plenty of activities to keep everyone entertained. We’ll have live music on the Pavilion stage all day, activities for kids of all ages, food trucks and a beer garden, as well as local artisans displaying their work.
 
Festival entrance is $10/person or $25/family, and all proceeds will go towards supporting Arts For The Schools’ programming. AFTS provides visual and performing arts education for students K-12 around North Lake Tahoe. You can buy tickets ahead of time at New Moon Natural Foods, on Eventbrite, or at the gate on the day of the event.
 
Stay tuned for the music line-up to be announced soon!
 
Visit the WBC page or email us if you have any questions.

Arts For The Schools is expanding to new schools and we need more teaching artists! Please click on each link to download the job description and application instructions. If you have any questions, please email Eve.

Visual Arts Program - Teaching Visual Artist
Job Description and Application Instructions
Deadline: July 14, 2017 at 5pm

Performing Arts Program  - Music Teaching Artist
Job Description and Application Instructions
Deadline: July 24, 2017 at 5pm