Icicle Arts Announces New After School Arts Program

FOR RELEASE: November 5, 2009
Press & visuals contact:  (509) 668-4663, info@iciclearts.org

Icicle Arts Announces New After School Arts Program

Icicle Arts is a dynamic Leavenworth-based non-profit organization whose mission is to build a sustainable and vital arts community in the Wenatchee River Valley. Although they have been in existence since 2005, primarily as the publisher of the quarterly Wenatchee Valley Arts Calendar, Managing Director Anna James Percival, who joined the organization in April 2009, has expanded the organization’s reach exponentially. Icicle Arts programs now include a new art gallery in Leavenworth, an annual arts festival spanning Leavenworth and Wenatchee areas, in-kind sponsorships of local arts events, a Leavenworth art and science summer camp in partnership with Barn Beach Reserve, and now a new after school arts program.

 The idea for the program came about earlier this year when many local parents joined together to express concern about the cutbacks to public school arts programming in Leavenworth. Percival set out, with help from local parents and arts educators, to come up with a solution to this problem. The group conceptualized an after school program which would be accessible to the community and provide professional arts education in a variety of styles, and Icicle Arts set out to secure funding for the program. After receiving a grant from the Community Foundation of North Central Washington, and planning a silent auction fundraiser on November 13 at Sleeping Lady Mountain Resort, this dream will soon become reality.

A.S.A.P. will include two initial sessions in 2010, both of which are currently enrolling: January through March, and April through June. The two program levels are: grades one through five (level one) and grades six through twelve (level two). The program will take place at Osborn School, in conjunction with their after school program, and at Barn Beach Reserve in Leavenworth. Possible Cashmere and Wenatchee locations are still under exploration. A.S.A.P. students will present their work at a performance and art show during Leavenworth Spring Bird Fest.

Icicle Arts’ new After School Arts Program (called A.S.A.P. for short) will create connections, awareness, and joy for all kinds of art. It will give students the opportunity to fill their after school free time with positive influences and hands-on activities. Participating students will experience professional arts education taught by carefully-screened and highly-qualified local and guest arts professionals. The program involves a large variety of art forms including dance, ceramics, music, drawing, collage, jewelry-making, painting, sculpture, poetry, photography, crafts and theater. A.S.A.P. encourages active and creative engagement and its curriculum is based upon research demonstrating the benefits of arts education in children. Icicle Arts’ goal with the program is to connect local artists who want to share their talents and love for the arts with A.S.A.P. students. They will provide a diverse, art-filled experience, open students’ minds to the endless possibilities that art has to offer, and create a positive impact on their lives and the lives around them.

 If you are interested in signing your student up for A.S.A.P. or would like more information, visit iciclearts.org or call (509) 668-4663.