Spaulding Youth Center Celebrates at 31st Annual Arts Festival
June 06, 2018
Spaulding Youth Center is pleased to announce the success of its annual Arts Festival. The event is a campus-wide celebration of arts and theatre and provides students the opportunity to learn about the various aspects of theater, including acting, writing and performing songs as well as participating in set and costume design. The theme of the event this year was Spaulding Mystery Theater, an exploration of vintage science fiction.
For this year’s Arts Festival, Spaulding Youth Center worked with David Tonkin of Concord Community Music School to plan and execute the event. Mr. Tonkin is an established professional musician and music teacher, regularly working with children who are interested in music. Andrew Raeside, Arts Festival coordinator and producer, worked with Mr. Tonkin since April 2017 to plan every detail of the event. Mr. Tonkin and Mr. Raeside met with students regularly to work on their festival projects.
The primary goal of the festival is to create a performance that allows each student to participate in the event in a way that is most comfortable to them. Students had the option to sing, play an instrument, act, or assist with set building and costume design – all equally important aspects of putting on a successful show.
“It was an inspiration to see students and staff work together to bring the Arts Festival to fruition,” said Colleen Sliva, School Principal & Special Education Director of Spaulding Youth Center. “This event is a wonderful example of the extraordinary value the arts contribute to education. Thanks to the hard work and leadership from Andrew Raeside, this year’s festival was a huge success.”
The Arts Festival was the first campus-wide event held annually at Spaulding Youth Center. The eight annual campus events serve as esteem-building experiences for students. These events are designed on educational fundamentals providing students the opportunity identify and work together towards fulfilling a goal, publicly presenting their completed project and celebrating the collaborative success. Over the past 30 years, Spaulding Youth Center has collaborated with numerous juried artists from the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts’ artist rosters and has welcomed artists from across the world.
For those interested in sponsoring an annual event like the Arts Festival or donating toward a specific academic or extracurricular interest, contact the Director of Development & Community Relations at 603-286-8901 ext. 107 or Donate@SpauldingYouthCenter.org. To learn more about Spaulding Youth Center annual events, please visit www.spauldingyouthcenter.org/news-events/.
Concord Community Music School teaches more than 1,600 students annually, 59% of whom receive free or reduced-cost instruction because of financial or special needs. Its partnership with Spaulding Youth Center stretches back 20 years, and is one of the 15 long-term partnerships in its Music in the Community Initiative that began in 1998. To learn more, visit www.ccmusicschool.org.
About Spaulding Youth Center
Spaulding Youth Center is a leading provider of services for children and youth with neurological, emotional, behavioral, learning and/or developmental challenges, including Autism Spectrum Disorder. Services include academic, behavioral health, residential, foster care, health and wellness and family support. Spaulding Youth Center is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit. For information about Spaulding Youth Center, visit www.spauldingyouthcenter.org.
Interested in Learning More About Our Vibrant Campus?
If you are interested in an insider's view of a day in the life of Spaulding Academy & Family Services, we recommend visiting our online photo gallery or our video gallery. These are updated weekly so keep checking back for more great Spaulding moments!