Enjoy the holiday season at The Center for the Arts & Help US GIVE BACK

The Center for the Arts in Grass Valley will be rolling out shows, events, and giving back to the community this holiday season. 

There will be several holiday themed shows including Big Bad Voodoo Daddy’s Wild & Swingin’ Holiday Party, Irish Christmas in America, and Jake Shimabukuro’s Christmas in Hawaii. In addition, The Center for the Arts is hosting a Holiday Makers Mart  on December 18th and 19th in the Main Theater that will feature local shops, artisans, and food vendors. The Fair will run from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. both days. Patrons will receive hot cider and goodies while they shop artisans from throughout Nevada, Placer, and Sacramento Counties.

The Center for the Arts is giving back to the community this year as a way to thank the community for its support during the pandemic. As such The Center is introducing its holiday initiative, 12 Nights of Giving. During the months of November and December, The Center will donate a portion of its proceeds and will invite patrons to donate during 12 different performances. Each show is paired with a different local nonprofit organization who will receive the donations on behalf of The Center and its guests. One night in particular will raise money for The Center’s new CREATE program which launched early last year. 

CREATE (Center Resource for Education, Art & Theater Exploration) is a program launched by The Center to increase educational opportunities for children and adults in all mediums of art. During the pandemic The Center offered programs in theater, painting, mixed media, photography and music. The CREATE program will expand those efforts to include adult programming over coming months. 

“It is so important to provide access to arts education for both children and adults,” said Amber Jo Manuel, Executive Director of The Center for the Arts. “As schools are finding it difficult to reinstate some of these programs, parents and adult learners are increasingly having to find alternatives. During the pandemic it also became critical to provide opportunities for children so that they could experience the transformative power of the arts.”

The CREATE program will offer scholarships to attendees in an effort to assist those with financial hardships. In 2021 alone The Center has provided over $11,000 in scholarships for 57 students to attend these classes. 

One parent wrote: “My son was becoming a casualty of the pandemic and I could see the depression and loss of spark in his personality as the months wore on, so I was so excited when I came across your class through the center!!! My boy is sparkling again and he needed this place to express his exuberant personality! Thank you for being available and giving of yourself so that kids like Vinny have a much needed resource.”

Among the non-profit organizations benefiting from 12 Nights of Giving are Bright Futures for Youth, Hospitality House, Food Bank of Nevada County and Hospice of the Foothills.

“As we head into this period of reflection and welcoming the winter months, we want to focus on gratitude and being a place of refuge and joy. ,” said Manuel. “We look forward to seeing our community wrapped in warmth, music, and the spirit of giving.”