Help Fund Art, Music Programs In Desert Sands USD

COACHELLA VALLEY, CA — Organizers of the annual Children's Art and Music Festival put out a call Tuesday for donations to fund art and music programs in the Desert Sands Unified School District.

Unlike prior years, the fourth annual CAMFest will not be held at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, with organizers instead opting for a week-long virtual event scheduled for Dec. 6-12 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The event raises money to support art, music, dance, theater and film programs for district students at the elementary, middle and high school levels.

CAMFest typically generates thousands of dollars each year from donations and ticket sales, but this year, organizers are banking on the generosity of the community more than ever.

"We don't have any tickets. The virtual event is free," CAMFest chair Kristie Beasley said. "So we're just hoping the community sees the need."

Last year, Beasley said about 10,000 spectators showed up to the in- person event, besting prior years' attendance records by far.

CAMFest ordinarily sees students showcase their talents on several stages throughout the course of the normally day-long event. The challenge for this year's event became how to encapsulate the students' 2020 experience virtually, "so we had to be creative," Beasley said.

Organizers opted to ask teachers to submit videos of their students engaging in their respective art forms. Those clips will be edited into 10- minute videos and grouped by art form — one day for dance, another for theater, etc. — and streamed over the festival's social media channels on each day of the festival.

The last day will feature a mash-up video billed as a grand finale presentation.

Potential sponsors are urged to contact Beasley directly at 760-333-0627.

Additional information about CAMFest can be found at www.officialcamfest.org.