Hoyt Sherman Place Foundation to Present Annual Project S.T.A.G.E. Festival

The Hoyt Sherman Place Foundation, in partnership with the Kennedy Center’s Turnaround Arts Initiative and six Title 1 North Des Moines schools, will present the annual Project S.T.A.G.E. (Students, Teachers, Artists: Generating Excellence) Festival. The festival includes peer-to-peer performances of Broadway Junior™ musicals and will take place on Wednesday, May 7. Principal Foundation and Principal Charity Classic’s Birdies For Charity program, funded by Sammons Financial Group, are sponsors for this event.

Turnaround Arts is a national program of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The initiative began in 2011 under the President’s Committees on the Arts and the Humanities, along with the U.S. Department of Education and the White House Domestic Policy Council. The program is about integrating the arts into all academic disciplines to spur learning and achievement across the board.

Turnaround Arts schools receive an array of arts education services designed to increase their opportunities for success, engage in their communities, and raise the visibility of their achievements. Key to those efforts is arts education programming that is rigorous, effective, and integrated holistically into the school, as well as strategically targeted to address broader school challenges.

Wednesday, May 7 – 8:35 AM–1:40 PM

8:35-9:05 AM – Cattell Elementary performance, Making the Band

9:25-9:55 AM – Madison Elementary performance, 101 Dalmatians

10:15-10:45 AM – Moulton Elementary performance, Shrek

11:25 AM-11:50 AM – Harding Middle School performance, Cabaret

12:15-12:45 PM – Findley Elementary performance, Alice in Wonderland

1:10-1:40 PM – Oak Park Elementary performance, Lion King

All performances are open to the public, free of charge. For more information, call Hoyt Sherman Place at 515-452-0610, or visit our website, hoytsherman.org.

Check out photos from the 2024 Festival!