Congratulations to the 2011 Festival in the Park Scholarship winners!

Since 1991, Festival in the Park has awarded and funded over $122,000 in art scholarships to students around the Roanoke Valley and surrounding areas.  We appreciate all the teachers and school staff who help spread the word about the Festival Scholarship and encourage students to apply.  Each year the scholarship judges are more impressed with the high caliber of work that is submitted, it proves to be a more difficult task choosing winners!  Thank you to all of the students who applied for the 2011 Festival in the Park Scholarship for the Arts, Congratulations to the following winners:

Visual Arts Category:

Eric Griffin- William Byrd High School senior, plans to attend James Madison University in Fall 2011, Recipient of the EventZone Visual Art Scholarship in the amount of $1,000.

Paige Bedwell- William Byrd High School senior, plans to attend Virginia Commonwealth University in Fall 2011, Recipient of the EventZone Visual Art Scholarship in the amount of $500.

Jessica Shelden- Salem High School senior, plans to attend Virginia Commonwealth University in Fall 2011, Recipient of the EventZone Visual Art Scholarship in the amount of $250.

Lyly Nguyen- Northside High School senior, plans to attend Virginia Western Community College in Fall 2011, Recipient of the Visual Art Scholarship in Honor of Barbara Dickinson in the amount of $250.

Katherine Helvey- Salem High School senior, plans to attend James Madison University in Fall 2011, Recipient of the Visual Art Scholarship in Honor of Barbara Dickinson in the amount of $250.

Megan Froeschl- Franklin County High School senior, plans to attend Virginia Western Community College in Fall 2011, Recipient of the Visual Art Scholarship in Honor of Barbara Dickinson in the amount of $250.

Performing Arts Category:

John Michael Canfield- Home School, plans to attend Canada’s National Ballet School in Fall 2011, Recipient of the John Will Creasy Memorial Scholarship in the amount of $1,000.

Hunter Osborne- Franklin County High School senior, plans to attend Emory & Henry College in Fall 2011, Recipient of the Performing Arts Scholarship in the amount of $500.

Music Category:

Jessica Albano- Dayspring Christian Academy senior, plans to attend Davidson College in Fall 2011, Recipient of the A.W. “Skip” Brown/ Edward Jones Co. Scholarship in the amount of $1,000.

Sarah Quek- Home school, plans to attend the University of South Carolina in Fall 2011, Recipient of the Festival Music Scholarship in the amount of $500.

Kaytlyn Washenberger- Glenvar High School senior, plans to attend Emmanuel College in Fall 2011, Recipient of the Festival Music Scholarship in the amount of $250.

We wish all of these students a successful and creative future!

*Please check back around January 2012 for Festival Scholarship information.

"A Bear Perspective"- Eric Griffin

The 2011 Derby Day Gala – was the best yet!

The 3rd Annual Derby Day Gala was held Sat. May 7, 2011, the same day as the 137th running of the Kentucky Derby.  And what a day it was to celebrate this southern tradition in true Derby fashion.  We saw seersucker suits, big hats, mint juleps, traditional Kentucky Derby fare, friendly wagering and had a blast dancing to the live entertainment provided by Project 4.  Plus the added benefit of the most gorgeous view of the Roanoke Valley.  The Derby Day Gala has now officially become one of Roanoke’s social events of the year!

Mark your calendar for the 2012 Derby Day Gala – Saturday May 5, 2012.

See photos of the 2011 Derby Day Gala!

Festival in the Park- Arts Scholarship Deadline is April 5th!

In 2011, Festival in the Park will again be offering its annual scholarship awards to graduating high school seniors. Full time students planning to minor or major in visual or performing arts (music, dance, theater, sculpture, painting, photography, drawing, etc.); whose parent’s permanent residence is within a 100-mile radius of Roanoke; who have been accepted, or expect to be accepted into post-secondary training prior to the 2011 fall semester may apply.

The one-year awards being offered for 2011 will likely be:

• 1st place Music – $1,000 John Will Creasy Memorial –Festival In the Park
• 1st place Performing Arts – $1,000 A. W. (Skip) Brown, Edward Jones Scholarship
• 1st place Visual Arts – $1,000 – EventZone Scholarship
• 2nd place Music – $500
• 2nd place Performing Arts – $500
• 2nd place Visual Arts- $500
• One or Two Special Honorable mention awards of $250 any category

The awards will be made directly to the institutions that the recipients attend, to be applied to tuition, housing, books, or supplies.

Formal presentation of the scholarship awards will be made during the 2011 Festival in the Park. The winners of Visual Arts (paintings, photography, sculptures) will be allowed to participate at no charge in the three-day Fine Arts and Crafts Show during the Memorial Day weekend of May 27 – 30, 2011.

Click here to apply!

Kentucky Derby Fare is just one of the stars at the Derby Day Gala

The students form Culinary Institute of Virginia Western are once again planning to cook up some mouth-watering traditional Kentucky Derby fare at the 3rd Annual Derby Day Gala.  Chef Z and his students will prepare many traditional Kentucky Derby dishes as well as a few crowd favorites such as the southern staple, Shrimp and Grits, as well as Bananas Foster.  Below is a menu of all the food that will be served at the Gala, which is included in your ticket price!

Action Stations will feature:

Pimiento cheese

Silent Auction at the last Kroger Cabin Fever Series – March 4

At the March 4, 2011 Kroger Cabin Fever Series concert (featuring Jim Quick and Coastline) – we will be holding a terrific Silent Auction to benefit the Festival in the Park Scholarship for the Arts Program.  Make sure you arrive early, as there are so many great items to bid on!  This is a fun night filled with dancing and fabulous music, why not help out a worthy cause while you’re there -

and pick up some great deals!

Festival’s Scholarship for the Arts Program began in 1991 and has to date awarded over $115,000 to area students pursuing further education in the arts.  These awards are made annually to high school seniors and college freshmen who live within a 100 mile radius of Roanoke.  This scholarship program is for post secondary educational studies in the arts which include:  music, dance, theater, sculpture, painting, photography, and drawing.  Please help us support the future of the ARTS in our community!!

For more information about the Scholarship for the Arts Program, visit the Festival in the Park website.

Click here to purchase Kroger Cabin Fever Series tickets.

Put on your dancing shoes and don’t forget your wallet! We will see you there!

Congratulations to 2010 Festival Scholarship winners!

Since 1991, Festival in the Park has awarded and funded over $118,000 in art scholarships to students around the Roanoke Valley and surrounding areas.  We appreciate all the teachers and school staff who help spread the word about the Festival Scholarship and encourage students to apply.  Each year the scholarship judges are more impressed with the high caliber of work that is submitted, it proves to be a more difficult task choosing winners!  Thank you to all of the students who applied for the 2010 Festival in the Park Scholarship, Congratulations to the following winners:

Marcie Hancock, Salem High School, recipient of the $500 Festival in the Park and EventZone Scholarship

Gwendolyn Sewell, Christiansburg High School, recipient of the $250 Visual Art Scholarship

Angela Huang, Cave Spring High School, recipient of the $250 Visual Art Scholarship

Mariah Davis, Salem High School, recipient of the $250 Visual Art Scholarship

Abagail Bagliani, Roanoke Catholic, recipient of the $500 John Will Creasy Memorial Scholarship

Emily Eyestone, Blacksburg High School, recipient of the $500 A.W. “Skip” Brown, Edward Jones Scholarship

Minjin Chung, Blacksburg High School, recipient of the $250 Music Scholarship

We wish all of these students a successful and creative future!

*Please check back around January 2011 for Festival Scholarship information.

A Memorial Day weekend that won’t break the bank!

Roanoke, Virginia (May 28-31, 2010) -   Festival in the Park will celebrate its 41^st year during Memorial Day weekend.  As always, Festival in the Park is an exciting weekend with tons of stuff to do for any age, but this year will prove to be the best by far!  We’ve got a fantastic concert line-up as well as a jammed packed weekend of family friendly activities that are sure to please!  We’re bringing back many of the popular activities that people look forward to during Festival weekend like the Fine Arts & Craft Show, the Youth Art Show, the infamous Fireman’s Foam, Honey tree’s inflatables and face painting, Fire Safety House and many fabulous daytime performing artist.

However, we’re excited about the new additions to the line-up this year like Larry’s Tropical Bird Show, Dr. Laura Mann’s “Opera-tunity” Show and the Mega- Extreme Obstacle Course & Bungee Run.  All the daytime activities are absolutely free! What a great way to entertain an entire family without having to spend lots of money.

In addition to all of the great activities listed above, Festival in the Park is excited to bring many well-known, national acts to downtown Roanoke. Star Country, WDBJ-7 and Festival in the Park are bringing country star- Rodney Atkins and Big Kenny, from Big and Rich. Rodney Atkins has had over five hit singles that have topped both Country Music Charts as well as Billboard.  Rutledge will also be performing on opening night, May 28^th; gates open at 5:30pm.  On Saturday, May 29^th K92, Bud Light and Festival in the Park are bringing international sensation Sister Hazel.  Polychrome is a local group who will be opening for the platinum selling group.  Star Country and Cox Communications are back at it on Sunday, May 30^th with another great concert line-up including Chris Young, The Band Perry and Jaron & The Long Road to Love.  All three acts currently have hits on the Country Music Charts and I-tunes top 50.  Again, gates open at 5:30pm; music starts around 6:00pm.  Join us to celebrate Memorial Day (Monday, May 31^st) in style with 1964: The Tribute, presented by Q99, Kroger, Oakey’s and Festival in the Park.  This act is always a crowd favorite and we are excited to have them back again for another year!

You can enjoy all four nights of fabulous music for only $32.00 by purchasing a “Festival EZ 4-Pass” at any area Kroger Store or $10.00 per person at the gate.  Don’t miss out on this Memorial Day weekend tradition!

2nd Annual Derby Day Gala – a huge success!

It was a beautiful day on Saturday, May 1 at Rockledge for the 2nd Annual Derby Day Gala fundraiser.  It was a little warm until the sun set, so all those big hats and cool seer sucker suite came in handy!  The food was great, the beverages refreshing, and Hoppie Vaughn and the Pace Brothers sounded terrific.  Nearly 150 “good looking” people attended and enjoyed the Kentucky Derby and the view from Mill Mountain – while supporting the Festival in the Park Scholarship for the Arts. 

See photos from the 2010 Derby Day Gala.

See more photos here.

Be sure to RSVP for Derby Day limited space available

We are almost two weeks away from the 2nd Annual Derby Day Gala at Rockledge.  Last year’s inaugural event was a fabulous way to start the summer; great food, gorgeous hats, Kentucky Derby horse races and of course raising money for a wonderful cause – the Festival in the Park’s Arts Scholarship Program.  You definitely do not want to miss this year’s event.  Be sure to RSVP soon before this event sells out, as space is limited.  Event begins at 4:00pm- 9:30pm.  Complimentary valet.

Contact Debbie McClure at dmcclure@rev.net or call (540)-580-2526 to make your reservations.

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