FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                  Contact: Marisa Bilicic

April 19, 2004                                                                                      814-676-6591, ext. 1215

Arts Festival Showcases Local Youth’s Talents

- Visual, Performance and Literary Arts Featured at May 1^st Event -

OIL CITY, PA – The Venango Area Community Foundation is sponsoring the Young People’s Arts Festival on Saturday, May 1 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. in the Robert W. Rhoades Center at Clarion University–Venango Campus. This year’s Festival will include visual, performing and literary arts by senior high school students from throughout the local area. It is free and open to the public. As part of the Festival, local opera luminary Samuel DePalma will conduct a workshop for young vocalists that will culminate in a special operatic performance.

            “This festival provides a forum to showcase youth talent and expose people, both young and old, to new forms of art,” said Stephen P. Kosak, executive director of the Venango Area Community Foundation. “We’re thrilled that Mr. DePalma has agreed to participate and give our youth an opportunity to experience opera of a caliber that would not typically be found here.”

            Students from area high schools – including Franklin, Oil City, Cranberry, and Venango Catholic – and from Waterloo Studios will contribute works for the Festival. Organizers expect more than 150 works of art in a variety of mediums to be on display. Dance and musical performances will occur from 11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in the Robert W. Rhoades Center auditorium.

            DePalma’s featured performance will take place at 11:30 a.m. Anthony Galla, a student at Clarion University–Venango Campus who performed at one of the first Young People’s Arts Festivals, will be assisting DePalma.

            The Venango Area Community Foundation is a non-profit organization established in 1975 that strives to unify public and private interests to enrich community resources. The Foundation manages more than 50 endowed, discretionary, and donor-advised funds that support the present and future needs of the community in a manner consistent with the wishes of each individual donor. Anyone can donate to the Foundation, including individuals, corporations, trusts and other foundations. Current Foundation assets total more than $4 million. Individuals interested in learning more about the Foundation, may call 677-8687.

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