Art event remains top fundraiser, artistic opportunity at Butler school district
Even 23 years after the first Fine Arts and Beyond Showcase at Butler Area School District, “it’s a big deal” for the students to get to display their art or perform at the annual Golden Tornado Scholastic Foundation event.
This year’s FAB Showcase will take place Saturday, April 11, at Butler Intermediate High School, where more than 1,000 students will have art on display or will perform for the attendees, a group that usually numbers near 2,000.
Erich Campbell, art chairman for Butler Area School District, described the event as a milestone for student artists, because it is a chance for them to show their art at an event attended by thousands.
“We have kids in (grades) nine through 12 who submit for the judged show,” Campbell said. “It’s painting, drawing, ceramics, photography, pottery.”
Campbell said this year’s event will function similarly to the previous few years, and it will once again feature Artie the Dragon, a craft made to look like a Chinese dragon that will move through the crowd. There will be performances by student musicians, including jazz, instrumental and choral groups, as well as from performing community members.
John Reddick, a member of the Golden Tornado Scholastic Foundation’s board of directors, said the event still attracts more than 2,000 people and the organization is expecting to see nearly 3,000 people at this year’s event.
One new aspect of the event will be the duck pool, where people can pay to select a duck from the school pool and win a reward based on what it says on the duck’s underside.
“Dr. (Brian) White (district superintendent) suggested it, he saw this game played at another venue and a few thousand miniature ducks, someone jumps in, pulls a number out and prizes are won,” Reddick said.
Money raised through the FAB Showcase goes into the foundation’s initiatives, including scholarships and the foundation’s creative teaching grants. The grants are awarded to teachers within the school district who have unique teaching ideas, and, Reddick said, the foundation has funded subjects from art to science and math.
“They come up with an idea and then come up with an application. If we have the money, we approve it,” Reddick said. “It’s all in an effort to create excellence in Butler Area School District for the students.”
The FAB Showcase will be 4:30 to 8 p.m. at the intermediate school, 551 Fairground Hill Road, Butler Township. Admission is free, and art and raffle baskets will be available to purchase. For more information, visit goldentornadoscholasticfoundation.org.
