| Heartwood in the Hills will open its doors tonight for a final performance of their 12th annual December Celebration.
Guest Artist Storyteller Ilene Evans will join the line-up for
the evening's festivities. There will be dances, drumming and
theatre performances.
The program begins at 7 p.m.
This popular community event showcases the work of students
and faculty of Heartwood's Fall Program, and includes a line-up of
entertainment guaranteed to produce smiles and laughter for children
and adults of all ages.
The program is not recommended for children two years of age and younger.
This year's December Celebration will also
feature the artwork of Gideon Kendall and his 1995 Heartwood art
students in a production by the Acting Class of "Ears, Eyes,
Legs, Arms" a musical romp written and directed by Heartwood Artistic
Director Jude Binder.
Kendall is an illustrator and animator for
Cartoon Network whose work can currently be seen in the cartoons
Kids Next Door and Pepper Ann. He resides in
Brooklyn with his
wife Julie Peppito, a Heartwood resident teacher who created The
Sunbird for the Wood Festival in 2001. Her artwork will also be
featured as a backdrop for the Celebration.
 The Heartwood Turtle Mask was designed and created by
Artist-Illustrator Gideon Kendall for the 1989 Heartwood production
Goldie's Dream which was presented to school children of
Calhoun
County that year.
Kendall is a former
Heartwood student and faculty member. He attended Brooksville
Elementary School and the old Calhoun County High School. The
popular Heartwood Turtle will make an appearance both evenings of
the Celebration and on Saturday evening he will present certificates
and prizes to Heartwood's young students.
Guests of the December Celebration will be greeted by
Welcome
Masks worn by Heartwood students.
There will also be an exhibit
in
the main building of many of the beautiful masks made by students of
this program and previous programs as well as an exhibit of the
artwork of the young students of the Fall Program.
The Acting Class will also perform Who's On First? by
Harry
Giles, which was made famous when performed by Abbott and Costello. It has been arranged by Jude Binder for ensemble performance.
Heartwood's
Dance Teams will perform and a Percussion Discussion
featuring
Michael Franek and the students of his Fall Percussion Class will be
presented.
The December Celebration is a fund-raiser for Heartwood. There
is no admission charge, however, donations will be gratefully
accepted at the door.
Friday night two prizes will be raffled
off including an afghan and a free legal will from Venezia Law
Offices. Saturday night there will be a raffle of a Brinkmann
ProSeries 2500 Heavy Duty Gas Grill and Smoker. Raffle tickets may
be purchased until show time. Also on Friday and Saturday, Heartwood
will be selling home-made, frozen egg rolls, made by Heartwood's
Board of Directors and volunteers. The egg rolls are sold in bags of
12 for $10.
Money raised at the December Celebration helps to pay
expenses to operate Heartwood, which is a non-profit school for the
arts.
For more information about the December Celebration or for
directions to Heartwood please call 354-7874 or visit Heartwood's
website at www.heartwoodinthehills.com
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