RoxArts hosts Kentucky-Derby themed benefit on May 7

The arts have been a top priority at Roxboro Elementary and Middle schools since 1981, thanks to the parent fundraising group RoxArts, formerly known as REAP (Roxboro Enrichment Arts Program). RoxArts, a nonprofit organization, will hold its annual adult benefit on Saturday, May 7, at the B-Side Barcade & Lounge in Coventry Village. All proceeds from the benefit fund artists-in-residence, field trips, assemblies and capital projects that enhance the arts education for all children in kindergarten through eighth grade in both schools, impacting more than 1,000 students.

Funded projects at Roxboro Elementary School include, but are not limited to, the Science of Sound, Shen Yun Chinese dancers, professional reenactments of black history and women’s history during all-school assemblies, and printing of the new Rox Reader, the school newspaper. At Roxboro Middle School, RoxArts has helped fund an all-school annual Jazz Week, new equipment for the music and drama programs, and an eighth grade field trip to the Violins of Hope exhibit and concert.

The organization invites the entire community and all elementary and middle school parents to attend the Derby Day benefit. The Kentucky Derby-themed party will feature catered food from Butcher and the Brewer, The Fairmount, Forest Hill Kitchen and Euro USA, plus beer, wine, a bourbon tasting and auction.

A VIP event begins at 5:30 p.m. with signature cocktails and live betting during the Kentucky Derby. For all other ticket holders, the event runs 6:30–10 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to dress in Derby attire, with fancy, feathered hats.

The event, planned by a team of parents from both buildings, is chaired by Rosemary Pierce, Jennifer Young and Kathy Simkoff Blackman, owner of the B-Side and the Grog Shop. Tickets can be purchased online by visiting roxarts.org. To donate an item for the auction, contact Pierce at rracklpierce@yahoo.com.

Krissy Dietrich Gallagher

Krissy Dietrich Gallagher is a longtime resident of Cleveland Heights, a graduate of the Heights schools, a former Coventry School teacher, and a freelance writer for the CH-UH City School District.

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Volume 9, Issue 4, Posted 1:02 PM, 03.28.2016