We’re just 8 days from GiveMN.org’s Give to the Max Day! This year is the first year that Bluestem Center for the Arts is participating and the Alex Stern Family Foundation has generously pledged a $50,000 match to all donations made through Bluestem’s GiveMN.org page on Wednesday, November 16th. The funds raised during Give to the Max Day will go towards supporting Trollwood Performing Art School’s annual arts education programs; more specifically, your support provides tuition, meals, transportation to and from programs sites, dance shoes, sheet music, and most importantly, guidance from caring adult mentors.

For those of you who don’t know, GiveMN.org is an on-line giving platform and Give to the Max Day is their annual, 24 hour fundraising drive. Last year more than 42,000 donors logged on to GiveMN.org and gave over $10 million to Minnesota non-profits in the 24 hours during Give to the Max Day.

During GiveMN.org’s Give to the Max Day, you can amplify your giving in a number of ways:

• Win a Golden Ticket! $1,000 will be given to a random donor’s charity every hour.  You could be that donor!
• Put us on the Leader Board!  $15,000, $10,000 and $5,000 prize grants will be awarded to the top three nonprofit organizations (colleges and universities excluded) which receive the most dollars in 24 hours during Give to the Max Day.
• Attend a fundraising lunch! To help us celebrate this day of giving, Mosaic Foods will be hosting a lunch fundraiser at Mezzaluna, located in Downtown Fargo at 309 Roberts Street North, from 11:00 to 1:00pm. Suggested donation is for $10 or more.
• Stop out and visit!Stop by during the day to see where the Trollwood magic happens! Dessert and coffee will be served Wednesday afternoon at Bluestem Center for the Arts, 801 50th Ave SW Moorhead, MN
• Tune in! On Give to the Max Day, FM 105.1 will broadcast live from 10:00-1:00pm and Froggy 99.9 from 1:00-4:00pm!

GiveMN is easy to use, and your gift to Bluestem Center for the Arts will make a huge difference to our ongoing work to raise funds in support of Trollwood Performing Art School’s annual arts education programs.

This year Bluestem Center for the Arts is planning a new festive fall fundraiser for Trollwood Performing Arts School. We will be holding a Day of the Dead inspired costume ball on October 28th, 2011.

This 21+ event will feature:
Dancing with live music by local band BOOMTOWN
Hors d’oeuvres by MOSAIC FOODS
Cash Bar by SPEAK EASY
Traditional Day of the Dead inspired arts and crafts will be on display
Ofrenda Lantern Ceremony

Costumes are optional but encouraged. Come inspired by the creativity of the theater; let  your imagination spirit you away!

Day of the Dead is a Latino celebration of family and life. This holiday is particularly celebrated in Mexico and focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. The celebration takes place on November 1st and 2nd, in connection with the Catholic holidays of All Saints’ Day (November 1) and All Souls’ Day (November 2).

Traditions connected with the holiday include building private altars or ofrendas, honoring the deceased using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed and visiting graves with these as gifts.

Most Americans are familiar with Memorial Day celebrations, but similar observances occur elsewhere in Central and South America, Europe, and in many Asian and African cultures.

As Day of the Dead is about remembering and celebrating the loved ones we’ve lost and honoring our ancestors, we will close the evening with a lantern lighting ceremony. Flying Lanterns will be available for purchase; light a lantern in honor of your loved one.

Tickets: $40/person or $75/couple

All proceeds go to support Trollwood’s annual arts education programs!

Oh My God You Guys! Trollwood Performing Arts School announced—at an earlier date than in any other year of the organization’s history—our 2012 summer Mainstage Musical show selection via their facebook page September 16, 2011.

Trollwood’s summer musical for 2012 is the Regional Premiere of “LEGALLY BLONDE The Musical.”

Show dates for “LEGALLY BLONDE The Musical” are set for July 12-14, 18-21, and 24-28, 2012 at Bluestem Center for the Arts, home of Trollwood Performing Arts School, on the Chepulis-Marks Stage at Imagine Amphitheater, 801 50^th Ave SW, Moorhead.

Group tickets will go on sale in March, 2012 and the regular box office will open in June. Cast and orchestra auditions, which are open to all high school students currently in grades 8 through 12 will occur after the first of the year.

Music Theatre International of New York released the amateur production rights for this popular movie-turned-musical only yesterday (September 15), and Trollwood is excited to make this announcement less than 24 hours later.

The Broadway musical based on the movie opened at the Palace Theater on April 29, 2007 and ran for 595 performances, closing on October 19, 2008. The musical was written by Laurence O’Keefe, with Laura Bell Bundy starring as Elle Woods. Laura Bell Bundy was nominated for the 2007 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical.

TPAS alumna and former Moorhead resident Becky Gulsvig has starred in the show’s title role of “Elle Woods” for the National Tour and in a special appearance on this year’s televised Tony Awards Show, and was in the original Broadway cast of “LEGALLY BLONDE The Musical.”

Welcome to AreaVoices. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!