Community is invited to the Fairfax Cabaret

There is nothing quite as endearing as watching eager schoolchildren take the stage to show off their carefully rehearsed routines in their school talent show. Fairfax Elementary School knows how important such an event can be in the life of a child, and takes its talent show to a whole new level with the Fairfax Cabaret.

Fairfax students, families, teachers and alumni will take the stage at Heights High (Wiley campus) on Friday, Jan. 22, to sing, dance, flip, play instruments, recite poetry and perform original acts. The 2016 cabaret, which coincides with the school’s 100th anniversary, will feature highlights from the school's past 100 years, which the students have been learning about since August.

The event is a collaboration between the school’s PTA, which organizes the pre-show dinner and runs various raffles throughout the night, and music teacher Tamar Gray, who works with student groups outside of school hours for two months in preparation.

All proceeds from the event will benefit the Fairfax PTA, which funds field trips, assemblies, scholarships for after-school activities and mini-grants submitted by teachers for classroom enrichment materials and opportunities.

Everyone in the community is welcome to attend this year’s show to celebrate all that Tiger Nation has to offer. Tickets for the show, which starts at 7 p.m., cost $6, $10 or $20, depending on seat location. The pre-show candlelit pasta dinner, which starts at 6 p.m., requires an advance-purchased $5 ticket. Each grade level will provide a raffle basket with items, including tickets to a Cleveland Indians baseball game, gift certificates to local restaurants and shops, and—a perennial favorite—the lottery tree donated by teachers. All raffle tickets are $1.

If you’re unable to attend the show, but would still like to get in on the action, you can purchase 50/50 raffle tickets for $1, as the winner need not be present to win. At the last cabaret, held in January 2013, the PTA sold 2,400 tickets, with the winning pot valued at $1,200. This year, 3,500 tickets were ordered, so the winning half could be as much as $1,750. Members of the PTA will be selling raffle tickets at Zagara’s Marketplace during the day on Jan. 9, 10, 16 and 17. Tickets can also be purchased from any school parent.

If you’d like to purchase tickets to the show, they will be available after Jan. 8 from any current Fairfax student or staff member. You can also contact the PTA at fairfaxptachuh@gmail.com or the school at 216-371-7480.