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People looking for theater and orchestra tickets or who simply want to help a good cause should stop by Ramsey Elementary School on Thursday (today) from 4 to 8 p.m. or Monday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. for the 17th annual ABC for Arts sale.
ABC for Arts benefits the Artist in Residence program at Montevideo schools, paying salaries and providing supplies for the artist visits.
“It all goes to bring artists to the school,” said program coordinator Carol Westberg, who feels passionately about the experience the kids get from the artists. “We are letting kids have experiences with art that they wouldn’t normally have. They make kids think differently.”
For two weeks each year, K-4 students learn about various topics while experiencing different forms of art from visiting artists.
Kindergarteners will learn movement and dance from Derek Phillips. Ross Sutter, whose expertise is music and folk dance, and Marie Olofsdotter, who specializes in writing and bookmaking, work mostly with first-graders for one week each. Second-graders study clowning with Perrin Boyd, while third-graders learn puppetry from Margo McCreary. Finally, the fourth-graders learn about poetry from Florence Dacey, then present a public poetry reading.
Westberg puts in a lot of time preparing for the ABC event but bringing in the artists makes it worth the effort.
Westberg began this fundraiser 17 years ago to help fund the Artist in Residence program because the budget from the school was insufficient.
Now that none of the funds come from school sponsorship, the ABC event constitutes Westberg’s largest fund drive. She collects donations through a letter-writing campaign each spring, as well.
Westberg also writes various grant applications to fund the program, but that is becoming increasingly difficult. “You can’t count on grants because you don’t know if you’ll get them,” she said. “A lot of places are hurting for money.”
As in past years, the silent auction will feature tickets for various musical and theatrical performances in the Twin Cities as well as for the St. Paul Saints. People can also bid on collectibles and artwork framed by Bob Christensen from The Gallery on 1st, who donates his expertise. Interested readers can find signed books from local authors.
A special new attraction at the auction will be purses made from the ties of Congressman Collin Peterson, artists-in-residence Sutter and Phillips, Montevideo graduates and television personalities John Lauritsen and Jerrid Sebesta, and Montevideo school administrators Dr. Luther Heller, Bruce Bergeson, and Bob Grey.
People looking for theater and orchestra tickets or who simply want to help a good cause should stop by Ramsey Elementary School on Thursday (today) from 4 to 8 p.m. or Monday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. for the 17th annual ABC for Arts sale.
ABC for Arts benefits the Artist in Residence program at Montevideo schools, paying salaries and providing supplies for the artist visits.
“It all goes to bring artists to the school,” said program coordinator Carol Westberg, who feels passionately about the experience the kids get from the artists. “We are letting kids have experiences with art that they wouldn’t normally have. They make kids think differently.”
For two weeks each year, K-4 students learn about various topics while experiencing different forms of art from visiting artists.
Kindergarteners will learn movement and dance from Derek Phillips. Ross Sutter, whose expertise is music and folk dance, and Marie Olofsdotter, who specializes in writing and bookmaking, work mostly with first-graders for one week each. Second-graders study clowning with Perrin Boyd, while third-graders learn puppetry from Margo McCreary. Finally, the fourth-graders learn about poetry from Florence Dacey, then present a public poetry reading.
Westberg puts in a lot of time preparing for the ABC event but bringing in the artists makes it worth the effort.
Westberg began this fundraiser 17 years ago to help fund the Artist in Residence program because the budget from the school was insufficient.
Now that none of the funds come from school sponsorship, the ABC event constitutes Westberg’s largest fund drive. She collects donations through a letter-writing campaign each spring, as well.
Westberg also writes various grant applications to fund the program, but that is becoming increasingly difficult. “You can’t count on grants because you don’t know if you’ll get them,” she said. “A lot of places are hurting for money.”
As in past years, the silent auction will feature tickets for various musical and theatrical performances in the Twin Cities as well as for the St. Paul Saints. People can also bid on collectibles and artwork framed by Bob Christensen from The Gallery on 1st, who donates his expertise. Interested readers can find signed books from local authors.
A special new attraction at the auction will be purses made from the ties of Congressman Collin Peterson, artists-in-residence Sutter and Phillips, Montevideo graduates and television personalities John Lauritsen and Jerrid Sebesta, and Montevideo school administrators Dr. Luther Heller, Bruce Bergeson, and Bob Grey.
ABC for Arts offers more than just an auction as suggested by the name. “A” also stands for aluminum can collection while the “B” indicates a used book and bake sale. The “C” is for the crafts that will also be on sale.
Many of these items have been donated by supporters, including parents with children currently in school as well as parents of students from years past.
The event takes place at Ramsey on Thursday night and again throughout the day on Monday to run concurrently with the end-of-quarter parent/teacher conferences.
Westberg points out, though, that community members who do not have children attending conferences are welcome to stop in and bid on the items.
As for the work Westberg puts in, as items keep coming in right to the end, she’s excited about that too. “It’s grown almost every year,” she said. “It’s all about the kids.”
