Free, free, free!

You pays NO money and you STILL takes yer choice! These two Gull Lake/Richland-related arts events are free.

At the Halloween Hootenanny, Notified, the singing troupe that features our own Mary Teutsch, will open the show, with three more a cappella groups to follow. Bring your chair and blanket to this free outdoor event in Kindleberger Park in Parchment at 7 p.m. Friday, October 22. See also their Facebook and web pages.

Also on Friday, October 22, at 7 p.m., Community Advocates for Persons with Developmental Disabilities, whose CEO/president is Richlander Deb Russell, presents the Sprout Film Festival at the Radisson Hotel downtown. Check out Community Advocates' Facebook page or website for more info.

GLHS Marching Invitational

Get ready for some fantastic music and marching this Saturday, October 9, starting at 1 p.m. at the Gull Lake High School football stadium. It's the 7th annual GLHS Marching Invitational, with 11 bands competing and Gull Lake's own band in an exhibition performance. Admission is $7, $5 for seniors/students, free for kids 4 and under, family rate $20--all to benefit the Gull Lake Band Parents' Association.

Gull Lake behind the scenes of GODSPELL

That favorite off-Broadway musical Godspell opens at the Civic Theatre on Friday, September 24, then runs through Sunday, October 10. You'll enjoy a great show, thanks to the behind-the-scenes work of Gull Lake alumnae Stacy Bartell, props master, and Lisa Watson on the sound board. And a PAF stalwart known to you all is running a follow spot for the first time. Go, enjoy, and applaud! Call 269-343-1313 or go to the Civic's website for tickets.

It's Barbershop Time!

And we don't mean you need a haircut (though you well may). No, it's time to enjoy some great barbershop harmonies with the Mall City Harmonizers, under the direction of Gull Lake's Dave Woolf. They perform this Saturday, September 18, at 7 p.m. at the Dalton Recital Hall on the Western Michigan University Campus. It's the 69th Annual Show for the Barbershop Harmony Society. If you enjoyed--or missed--them at last year's PAF Ice Cream Social, here's your chance!

Join PAF on Facebook and Twitter

We're dipping a toe in! Search for GLCS Performing Arts Foundation on Facebook, and for GullLakePAF on Twitter.

Happy Arts in Education Week!

In July, Congress designated the week beginning the second Sunday of September--that's this week!--as Arts in Education Week. The declaration recognizes that "arts education, comprising a rich array of disciplines including dance, music, theatre, media arts, literature, design, and visual arts, is a core academic subject and an essential element of a complete and balanced education
for all students" and goes on to quote Albert Einstein, "After a certain high
level of technical skill is achieved, science and art tend to coalesce in esthetics, plasticity, and form. The greatest scientists are artists as well."

Not to be outdone, in addition to recognizing Arts in Education Week, Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm also proclaimed this Youth Arts Week in Michigan, saying, "The involvement of young people in the arts helps them to understand and respect people of diverse populations and cultures as well as help them to communicate through different forms of expression," and that "education in the arts contributes to the overall education of our students by helping them to develop and explore their own creative problem-solving and critical thinking abilities."

So . . . let's celebrate! You can start by joining us at the regular meeting of the GLCS Performing Arts Foundation, Tuesday, September 14, at 6:30 p.m. at the Richland Area Community Center!

Seen and heard at the Kalamazoo Scottish Festival

Erica Holcomb, Gull Lake High School Performing Arts Company '05, playing a most intriguing musical instrument, the hurdy-gurdy.