Springfield is just the second (and one of seven overall) cities to be selected as part of the Any Given Child initiative, which focuses on creating, establishing and sustaining parts programming in communities and schools, with a focus on youth. Other cities in the program include Sacramento, Calif., Portland, Ore., Sarasota, Fla., Tulsa, Okla., Las Vegas and most recently, Austin, Texas. Read our original event-recap post here.

Below is the full version of “Any Given Child-Springfield,” which shines a wonderful light on local arts organizations. Please take the time to watch it and share it with friends.

Any Given Child (2011) from Bryan Manning on Vimeo.

At the Moxie Cinema, Springfield’s arts scene was the star of the show when the Community Foundation of the Ozarks, the Springfield Regional Arts Council and Springfield Public Schools hosted the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Tuesday afternoon and premiered a short film highlighting the scene.

The guest of honor was Darrell Ayers, vice-president in charge of education for the Washington D.C.-based Kennedy Center. Springfield is just the second (and one of seven overall) cities to be selected as part of the Any Given Child initiative, which focuses on creating, establishing and sustaining parts programming in communities and schools, with a focus on youth. Other cities in the program include Sacramento, Calif., Portland, Ore., Sarasota, Fla., Tulsa, Okla., Las Vegas and most recently, Austin, Texas.

It’s auspicious company for Springfield, but deserved, Ayers said, because of the sheer number of active arts organizations in the community. Add to that Springfield’s strong school system and diverse demographics (not so much in ethnicity, but in socio-economic terms) and the opportunity to reach and help a wide variety of children was apparent. Now starts the implementation process; with the Kennedy Center’s backing, arts organizations and the public schools should be able to offer even more arts programs that will be available for years to come.

Hosted at Moxie Cinema, Springfield’s non-profit independent theatre with a fund at the CFO, the event premiered the short film “Any Given Child-Springfield”, made by local filmmakers and SPS alumni Bryan Manning and Clay Mason. The final version of the film will be finished soon; we’ll post the delightful film once it’s through the final editing process.

At 5 p.m. the premiere of a short film by local filmmakers Bryan Manning and Clay Mason – “Any Given Child-Springfield” – will be presented. The event is part of the Kennedy Center “Any Given Child” initiative, which focuses on assisting communities in strengthening and expanding arts education for students in kindergarten through eighth grade. Springfield is just the second community selected nationally to participate in the program.

The premiere will be followed by a news conference with Darrell Ayers, vice president for education at the Kennedy Center. Members of various Springfield arts agencies including Springfield Ballet, The Community Foundation of the Ozarks Arts Programming Sustainability Initiative Panel, Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts, Moxie Cinema, MSU College of Arts and Letters, Southwest Missouri Museum Associates, Springfield Little Theatre, Springfield Public Schools, Springfield Regional Arts Council, SRO Lyric Theatre and Springfield Symphony Orchestra will also be in attendance.

“The Kennedy Center is excited about the future of arts education in Springfield, and looks forward to providing appropriate resources as part of the next steps in the new five-year plan,” Ayers said. “Springfield has such rich arts resources in the schools and community, it has very dedicated people, and now a wonderful new plan to ensure the arts for Any Given Child in Springfield.”

The event includes free movie popcorn and other refreshments.

Moxie Cinema is located at 431 S. Jefferson Ave., in the Wilhoit Plaza, with its entrance on Pershing Street. Parking is available on Pershing, or in the lot at Jefferson and Elm streets.

About Any Given Child (from kennedy-center.org)

The Any Given Child initiative, created by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, seeks to bring access, balance, and equity to each child’s arts education, using an affordable model that combines the resources of the school district, local arts groups, and the Kennedy Center. The program is designed for students in grades K-8.

Kennedy Center staff members work with community leaders and school administrators in a Community Team to develop a long-range plan for arts education that is tailor-made for their school district. The Team reviews existing arts resources in the school district and the education programs offered by local arts organizations and companies. Once there is a snapshot of the arts education resources, the Team develops a plan specific to the needs of that community.

Brielle Looney, 8, shows off her clay artwork.

The CFO joins the Springfield Regional Arts Council in celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the Arts in the Park Summer Workshops for at-risk youth from the Springfield Community Center.

According to the SRAC’s recent news release, more than 900 children have participated since 2001 in the eight-week program that focuses on artistic instruction from the city’s arts groups. This year’s participants include the Springfield Little Theatre, SRO Lyric Theatre, Springfield Ballet, Springfield Symphony Orchestra, the Claymobile (a mobile ceramic education program of the Arts Council and Springfield Pottery), the Moxie Cinema, and visual teaching artists, Kate Baird and Susan Goodman.

“The children are challenged to think, learn, engage, expand, commit, share, and dare,” said Calvin Allen, CEO of the Springfield Community Center. “By the end of each summer, the participants show significant growth in their ability to confidently communicate their thoughts and feelings to others through a variety of art forms.”

The CFO has been connected to the program since it began with support from longtime CFO donors and volunteers Rob and Sally Baird. The program is now supported by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, with additional funding from the Missouri Arts Council, the Musgrave Foundation, and an anonymous donor.

Arts in the Park graduates have continued their participation in the arts through choir, band, dance, theater and visual art classes in their high school career.

“It [the program] has influenced me to draw more which will help me pursue a career in automotive engineering,” Chris Shields, 16, a graduate of the program and junior at Central High School, told the SRAC.

A new element of this year’s program is the Springfield Civility Project initiative, which the CFO also is participating in with other community leaders.  Arts in the Park includes a focus on the 10 tenets of civility being promoted through “Be Civil. Be Heard.” The project is intended to create a more welcoming and respectful environment where everyone’s views are encouraged and heard.

“We have had tremendous results,” SRAC Executive Director Leah Hamilton said. “All of our instructors, some who have been with the program since its inception, have said they have never known the students to be so engaged and behaved.”

This year’s graduation celebration will take place at 1:30 p.m., Friday, July 29. The students will entertain with a special presentation. The graduation is open to the public at The Creamery Arts Center, 411 N. Sherman Parkway, across from Hammons Field.

The success of the 2nd annual  ”Flights of Fancy” raised $3,455 for the “10 Weeks Festival” from guests who enjoyed seeing  a variety of Springfield performing groups and celebrating the annual Ozzie award winners.

The event hosted by the Springfield-Branson National Airport last Thursday drew more than 200 people to the Airport’s large front lobby area where performers and “cats” attracted quizzical looks from arriving and departing passengers.

The proceeds from the event will go toward the final tally for the “10 Weeks Festival,” a CFO Arts in Action initiative. The proceeds will be divided evenly between the Arts Education Endowment Fund and the Care to Learn program, which provides health, hunger and hygiene needs in Springfield Public Schools and other chapters.

An addition to this year’s Flights of Fancy event was the annual Ozzie Awards, sponsored by the Springfield Regional Arts Council to recognize major support of the arts in our community. This year’s awards were presented to Virginia Bussey, Lifetime Achievement Award; Sen. Roy Blunt, Leadership Award; CoxHealth, Corporate Award; and the SATO-48 film festival, Organization Award. State Sen. Bob Dixon and state Rep. Charlie Denison presented resolutions of support on behalf of the Missouri Senate and House for the Leadership Award to Sen. Blunt.

Some tickets still remain for the second “Flights of Fancy” celebration taking place at the Springfield-Branson National Airport on Thursday.

The event, which includes a great program of Springfield performers, the Springfield Regional Arts Council’s Ozzie Awards and other special presentations, takes place from 6 to 8:30 p.m. tomorrow.

All proceeds from the tax-deductible $25 ticket price benefit the “10 Weeks Festival” and are equally shared between the Foundation’s Arts Education Endowment and featured speaker Doug Pitt’s “Care to Learn” program.

The SRAC will honor Virginia Bussey as this year’s Individual Award Recipient. Other Ozzies will be presented to: SATO 48 for the Organizational Award; Cox Health Systems for the Corporate Award; and Sen. Roy Blunt for the Leadership Award.  As a special part of the awards ceremony, state Sen.  Bob Dixon will present a House and Senate Resolution for the 2011 Ozzie Award honorees as well as the Leadership Ozzie to Sharon Nahon, who will accept on behalf of Sen. Blunt.

A performance schedule for the evening is as follows:

• Springfield Little Theatre Young Artists, Lander’s Kids and Troupers in Training: 6-6:30
• Springfield Symphony-Borderline Wind Trio:  6:30-6:45
• Springfield Ballet: 6:45-7
• “Arts in Action”/”Care to Learn” and Springfield Regional Arts Council Ozzie Awards: 7-7:30
• SRO Lyric Theatre: 7:30-7:45
• Springfield Symphony-Borderline Wind Trio: 7:45-8
• Springfield Ballet: 8-8:15
• SRO Lyric Theatre: 8:15-8:30

Eight members of the Arts Council’s Registry artists will provide ongoing demonstrations, as well as interactions with costumed cast members of Springfield Little Theatre’s  production of “Cats,” sidewalk artist, Eric Vaughn, living artist “statues” and many other roving entertainers and performers.

Tickets are available online, or or may be purchased at the door. Guests may park in the lot on the east side of the Airport.

The third annual “10 Weeks Festival” kicks off with Saturday’s Springfield Symphony performance where patrons at participating arts events will be asked to contribute a dollar or more to support the arts-education endowment fund and the Care to Learn program.

The Festival, organized through the CFO’s Arts Patronage Sustainability Initiative, has a goal to raise $10,000 in 10 weeks, which will be split evenly between the endowment fund and Care to Learn’s efforts to meet health, hunger and hygiene needs of children in Springfield Public Schools. The Arts in Education endowment fund is  designated for bringing local arts presenters directly into schools.

More information about the “10 Weeks Festival” is available at the re-launched “10 Weeks” website, now at: cfoartsinaction.org.

The CFO’s Arts in Action website was relaunched this week by Element Eleven of Nixa to include expanded information about all of the CFO’s arts-related programs, including the Stand Up for the Arts Legacy Society, the APSI panel, and the Cultural Investment Fund.

The Springfield-Branson National Airport will present the second “Flights of Fancy” event on Thursday, June 9, to cap the Festival and celebrate the arts in our community. All proceeds from that event will apply to the “10 Weeks Festival” totals. The 2010 “10 Weeks Festival” raised $11,373 for the endowment and Care to Learn. 

It also includes a summary of the CFO’s record scholarship activity, the Youth Empowerment Project, the major 2010 grant awards, the Arts in Action project over the past year and the 231 new funds established in FY10.

If you’d like a hard copy of the report, please send an e-mail to Louise Knauer or call (417) 864-6199.

Care to Learn Founder Doug Pitt is joined by student performers to shoot a promo video for the 2011 "10 Weeks Festival."

Work is already underway to plan the next  ”10 Weeks Festival” of local arts performances in spring 2011.

The Festival is designed to establish an endowment for arts education, which will secure the strong partnership that exists between performance and visual arts organizations and the children in our schools.

A second component features the partnership with the “Care to Learn” program, which was established to assist with students’ health, hunger and hygiene needs. Care to Learn Founder Doug Pitt recently filmed an announcement, which will precede performances during the Festival to describe both aspects of the programming.

Student artists representing all arts disciplines accompanied Doug in shooting the video. They’ll all recognize potential donors who will be viewing the message by saying “Thanks for being a part of the show” as the ending line. Arts patrons are encouraged to drop money in clear “10 Weeks” boxes set up at participating venues throughout the festival. Last year’s festival raised more than $11,000 for the arts education endowment.

A full schedule of information will be posted on the “10 Weeks” website in March.

Stand Up for the Arts patrons and guests enjoyed a thank-you reception at Obelisk Home to kick off last weekend’s First Friday activities in downtown Springfield.

The CFO held the reception to thank the Legacy Society members who joined on behalf of Stand Up for the Arts during 2009-10. Arts supporters can make planned gifts through the CFO’s Legacy Society designated specifically for a favorite arts program.

Springfield Regional Arts Council Executive Director Leah Hamilton Jenkins, an accomplished vocalist accompanied by Harry Beckett, entertained the group with a selection of their favorite standards.

We’d like to thank Nathan Taylor and Jay Martin, owners of Obelisk Home, for providing their wholesale showroom as an enjoyable venue for the reception.