The Thrive Comes Alive!
Youngstown Cultural Arts Center is celebrating our eighth year of your local arts and culture hub, and we thought it would be a perfect opportunity to let the families and friends of West Seattle cut loose. The Youngstown Thrive on March 1st will be the second major event held by Youngstown since I began working here last summer, and I am so excited! Back in September 2013, we held the annual Youngstown Open House, welcoming hundreds of our West Seattle neighbors in to learn more about the historic Cooper building, connect with valuable community organizations, and meet our resident artists.
Now, we want to offer the community a chance to kick back, relax, and enjoy some grooves! At the Thrive, you can enjoy a family-friendly atmosphere in our movement studio, or shake your 21+ groove thang in the theater after the kids head home. See amazing live performances by Cabiri aerialists, get crazy balloon figures from the talented Sean Chambers, or dance the night away to live bands and professional DJs.
In the Movement Studio, Eli Rosenblatt will be performing live music focusing on rhythm, positivity, and being goofy. Using swing, salsa, reggae, and samba, Eli brings to life multi-lingual stories about silly animals, love, friendship, and freedom. And if the kids need a break from grooving to the beats, they can participate in fun craft activities with Youngstown program leaders or get balloon figures twisted by the amazing Sean Chambers!
Adults will be getting down to the musical styling of DJ Manos, known for keeping Seattle dance floors moving with reverie-inducing experimental and starry-eyed electronica. Meanwhile, the aerial artists of Cabiri will dazzle you with high-flying feats.
But it doesn’t stop there! Finish out the evening on the dance floor with DJ Leopold Bloom, whose turntablism is somehow funky, sultry, and clever at once. Hip-hop meets bhangra, funk sidles up to indie, latin beats and soul records flirt with each other across the decks…the buttery smooth transitions and fluid scratches keep the jaws dropping and the energy kinetic.
Not only will you have a great time at the Youngstown Thrive, but your attendance will help support expansion of youth programming at Youngstown! In 2014, through a collaborative program model, Youngstown will offer free arts classes for youth with partners Totem Star, Rock School, Arts Corps, and Nature Consortium, among others. Proceeds from the Thrive will immediately support program needs, including upgrades to our facilities and equipment, and our ability to engage top teaching artists.
Classes through Rock School and Totem Star have already begun, offering students lessons in songwriting, recording, and audio production under the mentorship of industry professionals. We look forward to upgrading our recording studio to give students full access to the skills required to pursue professional music production. Help support more programs like these- Come to the Thrive!