South Minneapolis Classroom Art Projects Selected to Appear on Twin Cities Billboards

Two art projects created by 2^nd and 3^rd grade students at Michael Dowling School in Minneapolis will be featured on digital billboards in the Twin Cities for the next month.  The art projects are two of 26 that have been selected to be featured on the billboards as part of the 2013 Flint Hills International Children’s Festival, presented by the Ordway, in Saint Paul.  Two projects from each grade K through 12 was selected for the billboards.

The artwork of the Michael Dowling School students and more than 550 other Minnesota students will be on display in downtown Saint Paul storefronts and skyways through June 2 as part of the Clear Channel ARTwalk.  ARTwalk locations can also be found online at www.ordway.org/festival/artwalk.  The ARTwalk is an annual feature of the Flint Hills International Children’s Festival, which accepts submissions from all young artists.  The purpose of the festival is to provide opportunities for young people to become engaged in the arts.

About the Flint Hills International Children’s Festival

The Flint Hills International Children’s Festival, presented by the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, engages young minds in the performing arts by bringing top international and regional talent to Minnesota children and families.  The Festival, which began in 2001, includes two parts – School Days (May 28-31), when more than 15,000 students and teachers from throughout Minnesota and western Wisconsin visit the Festival, and Family Weekend (June 1-2). More than 50,000 children and families participate in or attend the Festival each year. For more information, visit www.ordway.org/festival.

About Flint Hills Resources

Flint Hills Resources, LLC, through its subsidiaries, is a leading refining, chemicals and biofuels company.  Its subsidiaries market products such as gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, ethanol, biodiesel, olefins, polymers and intermediate chemicals, as well as base oils and asphalt.  The refining business operates refineries in Alaska (North Pole), Minnesota (Rosemount), and Texas (Corpus Christi), with a combined crude oil processing capacity of nearly 670,000 barrels per day.  The petrochemical business includes production facilities in Illinois, Michigan and Texas.  The renewables business operates ethanol plants in Iowa, and a biodiesel plant in Texas, and has made equity investments in bioenergy companies.  The asphalt business produces and markets products in the Midwest and Alaska.  A subsidiary owns an interest in a lubricants base oil facility in Louisiana.

Flint Hills Resources Pine Bend in Rosemount, Minn., has a crude oil processing capacity of about 320,000 barrels per day.  Pine Bend employs about 900 people full-time; an additional 400-2,000 contractors work at the refinery daily on construction and maintenance projects.  More information about the company is available at www.fhr.com.

Ordway Center for the Performing Arts

The Ordway is widely recognized as one of the nation’s leading nonprofit performing arts centers and Saint Paul’s most elegant and inviting performance space. The Ordway’s Music Theater and McKnight stages attract diverse audiences with an array of productions showcasing the finest in American musical theater, world music, dance and vocal performance. Education and community engagement are integral to the Ordway’s mission, with major initiatives including the annual Flint Hills International Children’s Festival and Ordway Education programs that serve more than 50,000 students annually. The Ordway also serves as authorizer for the Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists, a professionally guided academic and artistic environment that trains aspiring pre-professional performing artists. Together with The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota Opera and The Schubert Club, the Ordway is a member of the Arts Partnership and serves as the principal venue for their performances.