High School Sets Art Festival Schedule

Watchung Hills Regional High School will host its fifth annual Spring Festival of the Arts every evening from May 16 to May 21.

The public is invited to experience and enjoy student work from all of the Arts Department’s varied disciplines. Exhibits will be on display all week, but each evening of the Festival will focus on a different facet of the arts program. All “live performances” will take place in the Performing Arts Center.

The six-day Festival begins on May 16 at 7 p.m., with events highlighting the Culinary Arts, Fashion, Wood Arts and Child Development programs, and the kickoff of the Beads of Courage project.

Using commonplace materials, the latter project produces beads which “reward” children who are undergoing treatment for serious illness. Each bead on a “chain of hope” represents or commemorates a step or phase of treatment as the patient progresses. Participants will learn techniques for making the beads which may be added to chains already in progress and distributed to hospitals.

On May 17, beginning at 6:30 p.m., a free Visual Art exhibit will be featured, followed by a concert featuring the Watchung Hills Regional H.S. Jazz Band, “Brass in Black & White,” beginning at 7:30 p.m. There will also be a variety of instrumental and vocal performances by various ensembles. A $2 donation is suggested.

Beginning at 7:30 p m. May 18, audiences are invited to enjoy the Fifth Annual Watchung Hills Regional High School Student Film Festival. After the top student films have been viewed, awards will be presented for Outstanding Achievement—in Directing, Editing, Art Direction, Cinematography., as judged by Watchung Hills alumni. A $2.00 donation is requested.

Theatre and Dance Performances will be presented at 7:30 p.m. May 19 through May 21. This program combines performances by the WHRHS Dance Ensemble, directed by Marisa Impalli, and one-act plays. Four short one-act plays will be presented, three of which will be directed by students and one by Judith Mulder, Arts Supervisor. Tickets are $5 for students, $10.00 for adults.

The students’ dance performance is especially looked forward to this year. Recently, a teaching artist from the American Dance Legacy Institute (ADLI), Marisa Ballaro came to the dance classes on April 14 and 28, to assist students in revising, cleaning and staging “Parsons Etude,” (choreographed by David Parsons), which will be a prominent part of the students’ dance performance. (The ADLI is “dedicated to enabling all individuals to celebrate, share and participate in the rich dance heritage of the United States of America.”)

All events are free to senior citizens. Tickets for all events can be purchased at the door before each event; seating is general admission. For more information, call Judith Mulder at (908) 647-4800, extension 5021.

The Visual Arts Festival offers an opportunity for the public to see and enjoy the talents and the various accomplishments of students in the arts curriculum. It also enables students to experience the procedures, techniques and challenges of preparing for public performance or display.