New Rochelle High School Students Part of ArtsFest

ArtsFest starts this Thursday, October 20th, and students from New Rochelle High School are participating in all aspects of the popular annual festival organized by the New Rochelle Council on the Arts (NRCA). In addition to volunteering student artists in all disciplines will be demonstrating their talents.

Take a Look at Visual Arts

For starters, students in New Rochelle High School’s Arts Honor Society and the outstanding PAVE arts program are creating Halloween-themed paintings on windows of local businesses all over New Rochelle. The event is a collaboration between the New Rochelle Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown BID and the City’s Department of Development: For a list of Halloween Windows and their store locations go to https://newrochellechamber.org/ .

On Friday evening meet the artist Miguel Braceli and hear about his “Bury the Flag” project, on view at the Museum of Arts & Culture (North Avenue at Braemar Rd; entrance near the high school’s tennis courts) from 7 pm to 8:30 pm. Yes, New Rochelle High School has a state-accredited museum (along with a top notch art department) and Braceli will be on hand to talk about his latest project, created in collaboration with NRHS students from the school’s PAVE Visual Arts, AP and Photography classes. The event will begin in the Linda Kelly Theatre with a short film and Q-and-A with the artist, then move to the MAC gallery upstairs to view the exhibit. Braceli will also be at the Museum of Arts & Culture on Saturday from 12 noon to 4 pm to meet the public and discuss this thought-provoking project.

Time to Dance

Families with dance-mad kids won't want to miss the ArtsFest Dance Festival happening on Saturday and Sunday from 3 pm to 5 pm at the Whitney Young Auditorium at New Rochelle High School (265 Clove Rd., NR) where local dance schools and professional dance companies will perform dances that showcase their work all weekend.

Dance Festival organizer Monica Deane says the event gives local dance schools and professional dance companies the opportunity to “share their expertise, passion and joy of this art form. It is a very special environment where the audience can experience the vibrant dance culture in New Rochelle.” On Saturday Ajkun Ballet, Coleman School of Dance, A-Y /dancers and New Beginnings will perform. And on Sunday New Rochelle High School’s own PAVE dance programs will shine with a performance by PAVE Dancers as well as Accent Dance, Ballet Arts, Ajkun Ballet, Rooftop Rhythms and Dance Ministry Institute.

Spoken Word

At noon on Saturday, October 22nd students from New Rochelle High School’s TheatreWorks drama group and the PAVE 4 program will be staging their annual spoken word event A Vente on the Veranda at Starbucks Wykagyl (1278-80 North Ave.) Come hear students share a collection of monologues and performance pieces, staged outside to demonstrate that you don’t need a theatre to create great art. You might never think of your Chai Latte the same way again.

Finally, at 5:30 pm on Saturday head to the other side of New Rochelle High School and the intimate Linda Kelly Theatre (North Ave. at Braemar Rd.) as students from the PAVE acting program present a staged reading of The Sledding Hill. Written by frequently-banned author Chris Crutcher to raise awareness about Banned Books Week, the play centers on a teen who confronts town censors trying to ban a book from his high school English class. Presented with support from the New Rochelle Public Library Foundation.

Organized by the non-profit New Rochelle Council on the Arts (NRCA) ArtsFest spotlights the diversity of arts and artists in our community: This year ArtsFest will feature 40 participating venues, representing the work of hundreds of artists. For a complete calendar of events visit www.newrochellearts.org.

ArtsFest sponsors include ArtsWestchester, Gwendolen Appleyard Trust, New Rochelle IDA, Charles Fazzino, Mill Creek Residential, Alvin & Friends Restaurant, Cappelli, L+M Wilder Balter, New Rochelle Downtown Business Improvement District, RXR, The Standard, Town House and in-kind sponsors AJ’s Burgers and New Rochelle Public Library. The New Rochelle Council on the Arts is proud to be a grantee of ArtsWestchester with funding made possible by Westchester County government with the support of County Executive George Latimer.