In what has become somewhat a new Christmas tradition, Maroon 9 Community Enrichment Organization will hold its 7th Annual Arts & STEM Intensive and Gift Giveaway for children ages 9 to 17 on Saturday, December 17, 2022, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Tarrant County-Nicholas & Louella Martin Branch, 3123 Avenue G, Fort Worth, TX 76105.
Participants who pre-register will enjoy a live DJ, catered lunch, giveaways, and a rotating schedule of performing arts and STEM workshops. Ages 9-12 will participate in exploratory workshops, while ages 13-17 will attend master classes in vocal music, theater, and dance at Urban Village Family Services, located directly next door. All workshops and classes will be led by industry experts and educators.
Participants should dress comfortably because all workshops will be interactive. To receive Christmas gifts at the end of the event, all participants MUST attend the entire day. Although parents are not required to attend, Urban Village Family Services will provide engaging and informational parent workshops throughout the day.
This event is in collaboration with Boys & Girls Clubs of Tarrant County and Urban Village Family Services. The event is supported by the North Texas Community Foundation, United Way of Tarrant County, Toys For Tots, and Arts Fort Worth.
Maroon 9 Community Enrichment Organization (Maroon 9) is committed to enriching the lives of youth and educating the community by providing free high-quality youth enrichment programs in Fine Arts, STEM, Life Skills, College & Career, and other areas. Our mission is to provide stable and safe environments for youth enrichment programs, special events, mentoring, guidance, and community support. Winter clothing, books, educational activities, boys’ hygiene items, and gift cards are all needed for the event.
Visit www.maroon9.org or Facebook.com/Maroon9SickleCell for more information on Maroon 9. For more information or to donate, please contact ShaVonne Davis, Program Director, at 682-200- 9261 or email info@maroon9.org.
The Academy of Visual and Performing Arts is now accepting applications for the 2023-2024 school year, with the goal of addressing a crisis in educational opportunity equity and fine arts-based education. AVPA is enrolling 6th and 7th graders in its inaugural year and will gradually expand to all high school grade levels. Located on the city’s south side, AVPA brings arts focused instruction to students who because of distance or financial constraints, are unable to attend private or fine arts schools.
AVPA is open-enrollment, tuition-free, open to all students and exists to ensure all students are provided with equitable opportunities to learn through the arts, in the arts and with the arts. The admissions application takes 5-minutes to complete and there are no audition requirements.
AVPA students will experience arts-integrated, project-based learning across subject areas and conservatory programming in dance, digital media arts, literary arts, music, theatre, and visual arts. The middle school program is an exploratory opportunity for students to learn and develop pertinent skills to make informed decisions about AVPA’s high school conservatory programs for which they’ll audition in the Spring of their eighth-grade year. Enrollment in AVPA provides children with access to a learning environment that is designed to meet their needs while also addressing the years-long deficits in literacy, art curriculums, and even culinary deficits that exist in public education. This is the direct result of Texas’ commitment to prioritizing school choice in educational program selection.
Another hallmark of AVPA is its dedication to personalized learning. This is bolstered by a commitment to provide a safe, challenging learning environment that cultivates, sustains, and promotes academic and artistic excellence. AVPA culture focuses on five tenets of well-being by addressing the needs of students enrolled. By addressing physical, psychological, social, emotional, and economic needs AVPA students are more apt to succeed academically and artistically.
Some of the world’s foremost entertainers the likes of Kirk Franklin, Major Attaway, Sedrick Huckaby, Leon Bridges, Tatiana Mayfield, Ornette Coleman, Dewey Redman, Channing Godfrey Peoples, and several others hail from Fort Worth, a city without a major school for the performing and visual arts in their home communities. Though proximity is not always the immediate crisis, opportunity equity, and impedances to fine arts-enriched programming, yet abound. AVPA seeks to fill this void and make futures in visual and performing arts a possibility for more students with the opening of their school.
AVPA Board of Directors
To schedule a group presentation or individual meeting, please email or call Dr. Stephanie Love at enroll@avpaschools.org or (817) 200-7299. Learn more about the Academy of Visual and Performing Arts today by visiting www.avpaschools.org or by connecting on social media using @AVPATexas on all platforms.
