Annual benefit supports arts in the schools
That’s the theme of this year’s benefit and auction to support RoxArts, a not-for-profit organization of parents and community members who share a common goal: to bring enhanced arts education to students at Roxboro Elementary and Middle schools in Cleveland Heights.
The annual fund-raiser will be held Friday, March 5, at 7 p.m. at the Heights Rockefeller Building (3101 Mayfield Road, at the corner of Mayfield and Lee roads) in Cleveland Heights. Party-goers will enjoy French food, drinks and live entertainment, while bidding on fine arts and jewelry by local artists, tickets to sporting events and museums, a vacation getaway and much more in silent and live auctions.
To keep the evening lively, RoxArts has recruited actor and director Fabio Polanco as auctioneer. Polanco, assistant professor of theater at Ashland University, has appeared in the national tour of Les Miserables. He also has performed at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Great Lakes Theater Festival, the Cleveland Play House and other theaters. His wife, Jennifer Polanco, is a first-grade teacher at Roxboro Elementary.
RoxArts, formerly known as REAP, is the Roxboro Enrichment Arts Program and was founded more than 30 years ago. RoxArts sponsors educational art programs in the performing and visual arts for children in every grade, and funds artists in residence, school performances, capital projects and equipment. The two schools each receive about $8,000 per year from the group.
“RoxArts opens up the arts and brings new ideas to children who may not otherwise have the exposure,” says Sheri Fried, art teacher at Roxboro Elementary School. With at least three artists in residency per grade, the additional arts programming “really lets the kids express themselves, try something new and learn things in different ways,” she says.
Artistic residencies and projects tie into the curriculum and reflect the community’s diverse and multicultural population, adds Tara Grove, Roxboro Elementary principal. Recent examples of arts education made possible by RoxArts include: Japanese poetry, pinhole cameras, puppet theater, jazz artists, African drumming, a trip to the Cleveland Play House, theatrical lighting and a ceramic firing kiln.
“We invite the community to join us at the benefit so that we can continue our great support for the arts at Roxboro schools,” says Grove.
Tickets are $25 each in advance; $30/person at the door. To make reservations, call Susan Ford at 216-932-2223. For general questions or to donate items, call Chesca Hadden at 216-932-7169.
Julie Evans is a volunteer with RoxArts.