The countywide Parent Teacher Association’s second annual Performing Arts Festival was again a smashing hit. The event was broken into two sessions: the first held on Saturday April 20th from at Rockville Town Square, and the second held Sunday April 21st at the Silver Spring Veteran’s Plaza. Many audience members found themselves amazed by the student performances, which ranged from veteran high school actors and actresses to elementary school musicians and dancers, some of whom made their debut. But beyond the diversity of the performers was the diversity of their performances: pop culture slices of “High School Musical” shared the stage with traditional Indian dances, passionate jazz bands, and the Metropolitan Ballet. The performances were in a way a testimony to MCPS’s diverse student body and culture. The festival didn’t only provide fun and excitement for passers-by. “There’s a lot of performing arts activity where we have artists coming in to perform for students, but we wanted to create a venue where students could perform”, said MCCPTA Outreach Events Chair David Lechner, who coordinated the events. As this correspondent sat on the green grass under the blue sky near the stage, I noticed the audience around me. Not everyone had stopped to give their time to these colorful celebratory performers, but the audience that had stopped and watched was enraptured. As I looked around, I noticed the number of young children in the audience: they were enchanted. The Performing Arts Festival was a smashing hit, inspiring both the artists-in-training, and the artists of the future.
Article by Shannon Jin, photo credit to Richie Yarrow