Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts not only has changed the Kansas City skyline, but has established Kansas City as a dynamic and varied cultural destination., Presenting a wide spectrum of entertainers and performers from around the world as well as regional grass-roots performing arts organizations, the Kauffman Center has become Kansas City’s home for extraordinary performing arts experiences. Since opening in September of 2011, more than one million visitors have attended an event and celebrate this milestone, the Kauffman Center is hosting a new, free community event: Future Stages Festival. The event will include family-friendly interactive activities and a diverse range of performing arts experiences for the whole family.
Future Stages Festival will be held on Sunday, June 22, 2014 from 12 pm to 5 pm. The one-day festival, a part of the Kauffman Center’s Open Doors Spotlight on Youth program, will provide opportunities for youth and community arts organizations to perform.
“We are committed to encouraging students and young artists to participate in creative endeavors. As an extension of this commitment, the Future Stages Festival will provide opportunities for future artists to take center stage at the Kauffman Center,” stated Jane Chu, President and CEO of Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts.
An April nomination process invited community arts organizations and school programs to be considered for performances on stage and outdoors during Future Stages Festival. The Kauffman Center’s resident companies, the Kansas City Ballet, Kansas City Symphony and Lyric Opera of Kansas City will take part in the event. The GRAMMY Museum’s Music Revolution Project, an educational partnership of Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts and Sprint Center, will provide opportunities for current and past student participants to perform in front of new audiences.
The festival is open to the public and attendees are encouraged to register for free at kauffmancenter.org/futurestages to receive the latest event updates and schedule for performances and activities.
The Kauffman Center’s Open Doors program provides educational and community outreach connecting students throughout the Kansas City metropolitan area to the Center. The program is designed to create opportunities for young people, especially those with limited experience of the arts, to attend performances, and perform on the stages of the Center’s two performance halls – the Muriel Kauffman Theatre and Helzberg Hall.
Young people are the future of the arts — future artists and future audiences. Creating unprecedented access to arts experiences for young people in the Kansas City metropolitan area the Center provides live arts experience for future generations.
More information on the Future Stages Festival at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts is available at www.kauffmancenter.org.
–Megan Felling
