In 2007, City of Sacramento Department of Parks & Recreation installed Lifetrail Stations in five community parks, including Garcia Bend Park in the Pocket area, to help get seniors moving.

FITNESS FOR ALL. Lifetrail stations at Garcia Bend Park, such as this one, provide information for seniors on how to maintain physical strength. They also provide all members of the community with a way to stay (or to get) physically fit. / Valley Community Newspapers photo, Corrie Pelc

According to Rosanne Bernardy, program Supervisor in the Older Adult Services Section of the City of Sacramento Department of Parks & Recreation, the Lifetrail Stations are a series of three-sided kiosks along walkways or in parks designed to be used by older adults to help them increase their strength while using walking trails.

“They’re really designed for people who are maybe not so accustomed to doing a lot of exercise, but they’re perfect for people particularly who are using walking as their primary form of exercise to supplement that,” she added.

Let’s get physical

Bernardy said the Lifetrail Stations cost about $100,000 to install in all five parks, and the funds came from the Ethel Ethel MacLeod Hart Endowment, whose funds are to be used exclusively for programs and equipment to benefit older adults.

“Several years ago this Lifetrail equipment caught my attention and it looked like something that would be a good thing to supplement what’s going on in the parks, and so the funding from this trust fund was used to install these,” Bernardy said.

The Lifetrail Stations were originally installed by Dennis Day, associate landscape architect for City of Sacramento Department of Parks & Recreation. He said the Lifetrail Stations each have three sides.

Two of the sides have exercise equipment.

“There are some things as simple as like a step up that would help to motivate the seniors to improve their health,” Day explained. “There’s a standing pushup on one of them, (and) a lower body workout. There’s just a variety.”

And on the third side of the Lifetrail Station is an educational panel with information on different adult issues, such as fall prevention and how to keep a healthy heart, Bernardy added.

“I see people just standing reading the informational panels,” she said.

Fitness for all

At Garcia Bend Park, Day said there are four stations for a total of eight pieces of physical exercise equipment.

Day said Garcia Bend Park was selected to be one of the five parks to receive Lifetrail Stations as it was one of the major community parks in the Pocket area. The other four parks with Lifetrail Stations are South Natomas Community Park, Marshall Park in downtown Sacramento, and George Simm Park and Jacinto Creek Park in South Sacramento.

“We strategically distributed them around the city,” he added.

Bernardy said the Department of Parks & Recreation wanted to install the Lifetrail Stations in areas that were heavily used and had walking trails already present.

“And then probably most importantly, we wanted to install them in parks that we felt were accessible to older adults and that means the demographics of a certain neighborhood would be such that there would be a large enough number living close by enough to use it that it would warrant installing them in the parks,” she explained.

Sweat it out

So why is it so important to give seniors free access to workout equipment in community parks?

Bernardy said it’s very important because strengthening exercises are increasingly important as we age.

“One of the realities of aging is that we lose muscle mass and so it’s increasingly important to learn on keeping as much strength as possible,” she said.

Additionally, Bernardy said seniors working on particularly lower body strength is vital for balance as falling is one of the primary risks as people grow older.

“A fall can be a major life-changing episode, and so the more strength someone has, the more likely they are to keep upright and not have those devastating falls,” she explained.

Although the Lifetrail Stations are geared towards senior fitness, that doesn’t mean they can’t be used by everyone, Day said.

“It’s low impact, it’s good for somebody who’s starting out on fitness,” he added. “It’s intended for somebody who doesn’t do much fitness whatsoever and doesn’t have access to a gym or equipment at home.”

And the Lifetrail Stations are just one more way for people to get out and stay active, Bernardy said.

“It gets people talking about fitness, talking about their health with other community members, and in general I just think it’s a really positive thing for any neighborhood,” she added.

corrie@valcomnews.com

After only two years of competing, the Sam Brannan Middle School Drum Line took first place in four competitions during the 2011-2012 school year, including the Drumline Championships held in Stockton in March.

MARCHING TO THE BEAT of success, the Sam Brannan Middle School Drum Line is winning regional competitions – with only two years of competition under its belt. / Photo courtesy, Sam Brannan Middle School Drum Line

“I’m very proud of them – they did a wonderful job (and) they worked really hard,” said Jeremy Hammond, the band and orchestra teacher at Sam Brannan. “They’ve come so far in the last couple of years.”

On the beat

According to Hammond, the school started the Drum Line about six years ago. This year’s Drum Line included 20 seventh and eighth grade students from the school’s music program.

“Some of them are drummers and some of them are not – some play wind instruments and some of them even play orchestra instruments,” he explained. “They just have to be able to show skill in playing drums.”

Hammond said being part of the Drum Line is an afterschool elective for the students involved, with rehearsals held on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoons, plus all-day Saturday competitions.

“That was a lot of work – a huge commitment for them,” he said.

The Drum Line has gotten so big that this year Hammond hired two instructors to help him work with the students – Sam Brannan and John F. Kennedy High School alumnus Sergio Soto and Patrick Manning.

“Both have been a tremendous help and did a wonderful job with the kids this year,” Hammond added.

Big winners

Last year the Drum Line had participated in two competitions, and this year they decided to go for four competitions held at McClatchy High School in Sacramento, Elk Grove High School, Woodcreek High School in Roseville, and the final Drumline Championships at Lincoln High School in Stockton.

During all four competitions the Drum Line was scored by judges.

“Each time that they played they got first place, so they did a wonderful job,” Hammond said.

For this year’s performances, the Drum Line played music from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. Hammond said the Drum Line students learned all the music and marching choreography in about two months

“They put together a really nice show that has marching and all sorts of different things in it, which is really pretty awesome to watch,” he added. “You have xylophones, bells and vibraphones and cymbals and drums. It’s not just hitting drums, it’s a whole production. We include digital pianos – just you name it, it’s in there.”

Learning curve

In addition to learning the music and accompanying moves for this year’s production, Hammond said the Drum Line students walk away with a myriad of other positive skills as well.

For instance, Hammond said the students learn discipline as playing a musical instrument takes a whole lot of that, as well as persistence to always be practicing the materials and learning from mistakes they make.

“It’s a huge practice in teamwork – it’s such a team activity,” he added. “Everybody is depending on everybody else’s part. Every part is equally important and if one person is not doing their best, it affects the rest of the group, so it’s a huge team sport.”

And of course being a part of the Drum Line teaches the students music.

“They’re learning how to properly play an instrument technically correct and play with dynamics and turn something into music to make a beautiful show,” Hammond said. “There are a lot of really good skills they get out of it, outside of just music.”

Marching on

After a successful year, the Drum Line team is beginning to look to next year. Hammond said Soto and Manning will still be on board to help instruct the drum line, and they are currently working on ideas for next year’s performance theme. And they are also looking at adding some more competitions to their line-up.

“We want to go along the same line we did this year, except do it a little bit bigger and a little bit better,” Hammond added.

corrie@valcomnews.com

More than 250 girls in the third through eighth grades in Sacramento area schools participated in the spring 2012 session of Girls On the Run – a nonprofit program that strives to educate and prepare girls for a lifetime of self-respect and healthy living.

READY TO RUN. Girls On the Run team from Theodore Judah Elementary in East Sacramento on race day of their 5K. / Photo courtesy, Girls On the Run

“Girls On the Run is an afterschool prevention program for girls in the third through eighth grade and it addresses issues that pre-teen girls are just starting to think about and face, things like positive body image,” explained Kristen Condie, council director of Girls On the Run of Greater Sacramento.

Condie said this is the time in a girl’s life where they are beginning to feel self-conscious as they are beginning to be influenced by topics they hear through the media, at school, or even from their parents. “We really focus a lot on how everybody is great just the way they are,” she added.

“These are the grades that are merging into adolescence and they’re starting to encounter changes in their bodies, in their relationships with their friends, they’re encountering new social topics that they might not have thought about,” added Corrie Buckmaster, principal of Theodore Judah Elementary in East Sacramento, which has been hosting Girls On the Run programs for the last three years. “It gives them an arena to talk together, to work together on positive self-esteem, good social skills and those types of things so when they encounter these topics that are common in adolescence, they’ll have some background and support.”

Ready…

According to Condie, Girls On the Run offers two programs – Girls On the Run for third through fifth grades, and Girls On Track for sixth through eighth grades. “The Girls On Track curriculum is a little more mature – they deal with things like boys, dating and internet safety,” she explained.

Both programs consist of two 12-weeks sessions during the year – fall and spring – with three levels of curriculum. The first section teaches the girls to look inward and talks about values and being healthy. The second section addresses teamwork, while the final section has the girls take on a community service project. And the entire session ends with the girls running a 5K.

Darcy Foran Williams decided to bring Girls On Track to Sierra Oaks K-8 school in the Arden area as she saw the need for such a program for her two middle school-aged daughters and their classmates. “It’s a difficult age for a lot of girls and I just saw a need that there would be some positive energy, and we had a very good experience with it,” she said.

Set…

So where does running fit into the picture? Condie said the Girls On the Run program uses running as a tool to help build self-esteem and work on the lessons the girls are taught through the curriculum.

“And as you know when you’re healthy and fit, and when you’re outside moving around and being active, you just automatically feel better about yourself,” she added. “We try to combine all of that.”

“I like that they encourage everyone to be part of it and it’s not based on skill – it’s just participation and really just motivating the girls to do their best,” said Eric Duarte, a sixth grade teacher at Pony Express Elementary who coached Girls On the Run at her school for the first time this year. “I felt like the program really encouraged girls no matter what their size was or their skill level was.”

WARMING UP. Participants for the Spring Girls On the Run 5K held April 28 warm up for their race. / Photo courtesy, Girls On the Run

Williams said the running portion of the program helps the girls channel their energy in a positive way.

“I saw girls that were kind of down, kind of tired, kind of negative throughout the day, but once we got there and got out running, their atmosphere would completely change,” she explained. “It totally turned their mood around because it was a good, fun peer group, it was a positive experience they looked forward to.”

Condie has seen the program have a positive influence on parents as well.

“We have so many amazing stories of parents who have decided to run their first 5K because their daughter was training for her first 5K,” she said. “It’s really neat to see them cross the finish line together and for the girls to feel like, ‘Wow. Because of me, my mom did this and my dad did this, too.’”

Go!

Condie said Girls On the Run of Greater Sacramento is beginning to prepare for the fall 2012 session, which normally runs from September to December. They hope to provide the program in up to 25 schools in the Sacramento area next year, an increase over the 19 that participated this year.

If a parent would like to place his or her daughter in a Girls On the Run program but their daughter’s school does not currently have one, they can register for a program at a different school, Condie said. She advises parents to visit www.gotrsac.org for the most up-to-date list of confirmed schools for the fall 2012 session.

For parents seeking to see a program started at their local school, Condie said once a parent or teacher receives a principal’s approval, the organization will work with them to train volunteer coaches and give them all the tools they need.

corrie@valcomnews.com

On Saturday, June 2, and Sunday, June 3, the Sacramento Suburban Kiwanis Club will host more than 1,500 artisans at their 54th annual Art Fiesta at Town & Country Village on Fulton and Marconi Avenues in Sacramento.

According to Beverly Sanchez, co-chair of the Art Fiesta Committee for the Sacramento Suburban Kiwanis Club, the Art Fiesta is a fine arts show featuring jewelry, ceramics, paintings, pottery, watercolors, stained glass and more. “These are highly qualified artists,” she adds.

One of these highly-qualified artists is Jerry Harr and his wife, Fran, who have been hand-making jewelry for 37 years in Palo Cedro, CA. This will be their fifth year at the Art Fiesta, a show Harr says they enjoy coming to. “Most of the people that we’ve met are looking for a painting or something else like that, a nice piece of glass or pottery – they’re looking for something they can’t buy in the local store,” he explains.

Howit all began

Sanchez says the Art Fiesta got its start 54 years ago through the efforts of Harold M. Anderson, one of the original founders of Anderson Bros. Pharmacy in Town & Country, who was also a founding member of the Sacramento Suburban Kiwanis Club.

“Like a typical community service organization we’re always looking for different ways to raise funds to then spend in our community,” Sanchez explains. “Mr. Anderson approached the owners of the shopping center and said would you donate your sidewalk space to us so we can have an art show. They gave us permission to do that and they have been donating their sidewalk space to us every since.”

Sanchez says although over the years management of Town & Country has changed hands, the new owners have consistently continued to support the group’s efforts. “They have worked very well with our group and have been very, very supportive throughout the many, many years we’ve done this and just bend over backwards to make this work for us and be very accommodating,” she adds.

Raising funds

As a major fund raiser for the Kiwanis group, Sanchez says although the event itself is free they raise funds through the booth fees they charge the artists. The proceeds go towards the myriad of community programs the group supports throughout the year, including the Kiwanis Family House, high school Key Clubs, Boy and Girl Scouts, Boy’s and Girl’s State, and Just for Kids.

Sanchez says they also ask each artist participating in the Art Fiesta to donate one piece of their art to the Kiwanis Club, which in turn uses them as silent auction items at a fund raising event in the fall. “So it’s a fund raising event that builds from one right into another that we offer in the fall,” she adds.

Aiding the community

Additionally, Sanchez says the Art Fiesta also provides a benefit to the entire community by making residents aware of the retailers in the Town & Country Shopping Center.

“We want to be able to attract customers to their businesses and that’s been part of the goal – get people into that shopping center, let them see what businesses are back there, and at the same time allow us to raise funds for our different community service events that we do for all our community,” she says. “The last several years all retailers have suffered because of the economy and they need every little bit of help they can get to get people in to their areas, into their businesses.”

Harr agrees, saying those that come to shop at the Art Fiesta also go to and buy from the store owners around the artists, helping everybody out. “I think…the good shows actually help to stabilize the community – I think they help a lot,” he adds.

For more information, call the Art Fiesta hotline at (916) 972-7337 or visit www.townandcountryartfiesta.org.

When deciding on a topic to focus on for their “advocacy journey” this year, Land Park-based Girl Scout Troop 864 decided to focus on a problem they see every day – texting and driving.

JUST SAY NO to texting and driving. The members of Girl Scout Troop 864 want everyone who drives and has a cell phone to be aware of the deadly dangers of distracted driving. Left to right, top row: Corina Crary, Christianna Louie and Macy Webb. Bottow row: Spencer Trussell, Karly Webb and Mariah Ruiz. Not pictured: Mecca Evans. / Photo courtesy, Girl Scout Troop 864

“We decided to pick texting and driving since all the girls in the troop are (high school) juniors, everyone is learning how to drive, and all our friends are driving now,” explained 17-year-old troop member Christianna Louie. “We thought that it was a topic or issue that would really impact our lives and deal with some of the major things that people our age are facing.”

“The journey (teaches) the girls to be advocates of whatever is close to their hearts and this is something they chose,” added Troop Leader Terri Larkin. “Because all of my girls just recently got their licenses in the last year except for one of the girls – she’s still too young – it opened their eyes to teen texting and driving and how it can really be harmful.”

On the journey

Through their journey, Troop 864 – which includes seven girls ages 15 to 17 – developed a bumper sticker with the phrase “Don’t Look @ UR Phone! U Might Not Make It Home!” to hand out to classmates and community members to help bring awareness to the dangers of texting and driving.

Louie said she and her troop mates passed the stickers out to their respective high schools and other clubs and organizations they were involved with. Additionally, the troop had an opportunity to showcase their project at a Girl Scout Leaders meeting last month, as well the Girls Scouts 100th Anniversary event at Cal Expo in March.

Larkin said the bumper stickers were very well received by the California Highway Patrol at the 100th Anniversary event.

“(The troop) shared them with the Highway Patrol and they shared what their thought was on why they did it,” she explained. “The police officers were very impressed with the girls at their ages and how they presented themselves.”

Making an impact

Larkin feels Troop 864’s advocacy journey has made an impact on the community.

“Even if we just touched one person’s life, we made a difference,” she said.

Larkin added other Girl Scout Troops were so impressed with their project there is talk of the troop soliciting donations to make more bumper stickers for a broader distribution, and also for the girls to share their project with other troops.

“They do have upcoming girls that will be driving here in the next year or so and they would like to meet with some other troops and just share with them some of the knowledge that they’ve gotten,” she said. “It was an eye opener for the girls and they do want to carry this and share it with other troops.”

And for Louie, the program has had a personal impact.

“I think personally it has made me more aware of the problem,” she explained. “When we’re at a stoplight or something (and) we see people on their phones, we’re like ‘Hey, you shouldn’t do that.’”

corrie@valcomnews.com

Spring has sprung in Sacramento and that means the gardens are blooming and butterflies are beginning to hatch at the Science Alive program at Theodore Judah Elementary School in East Sacramento.

DIG IN! Students at Theodore Judah Elementary School find that digging into the garden is growing their science and math skills. / Photo courtesy, Shannon Hardwicke

According to Principal Corrie Buckmaster, Science Alive is a supplementary part of the school’s core science program that is funded by the school’s PTA. She said all the students at the school, from grades kindergarten through sixth, participate in the program.

“The children go to (science) lab or garden once a week, so half would go to lab and half would go to garden and then the following weeks the groups would switch,” Buckmaster explained. “And the concepts that are covered in the garden obviously coincide and support the work that they’re studying out of their science standards.”

Dig in!

The Science Alive program is lead by its coordinator, Shannon Hardwicke, who is a parent of three current Theodore Judah students. Since the start of the program five years ago, Hardwicke is in charge of coordinating and training the 30 to 40 parent volunteers, or docents, that take the student groups out into the garden each week. She also restocks garden and lab supplies, and coordinates all the activities in the science labs to “make sure they’re all based upon standards and we’re hitting all different grade level activities,” she added.

Since the Science Alive program began with the construction of one garden, Hardwicke said it has grown to encompass two edible gardens, a greenhouse, a butterfly pavilion, and a few native plant gardens.

Buckmaster said the students love the butterfly pavilion as they are able to watch the creatures through a life-cycle. And the edible garden gives students a chance to try vegetables they might not normally have the chance to.

“We want children to understand how good food tastes that’s fresh from the garden,” she added.

The Green Team

Another part of Science Alive is the Green Team, comprised of about 50 to 60 students for grades first through sixth, which works to help “green” the school’s campus

Hardwicke gives an example of a recent Green Team project, where the students discussed what changes they might make in their local neighborhood regarding plastic bag usage.

“The kids were brainstorming, ‘Could we approach our local supermarket and ask them to stop using plastic bags, or are we going to write our assemblymember,’” she detailed.

Also during the year, Buckmaster said the students explore ways people can use resources better and present a poster on their findings. Additionally, the Green Team is in charge of putting together an annual assembly by planning and writing skits that teach students about environmental concepts.

Project Green

The Science Alive program also spurred a large project this year for the school, which participated in the Project Green competition through the Sacramento City Unified School District. According to Buckmaster, the school board had set aside $5 million of remaining unused previous bond funds for schools to present proposals on how to green their campuses.

YUM. This “Science Alive” student at Theodore Judah Elementary School can tell you that foods taste better when they are picked fresh from the garden. In addition to growing kids’ science skills and environmental knowledge, the program also encourages better nutrition. / Photo courtesy, Shannon Hardwicke

For their Project Green submission, Buckmaster said students from grades third through sixth took part in a comprehensive review of the campus. For example, the combined third-fourth grade class did an urban forest audit of the campus and made recommendations on where different types of trees should be planted, while sixth graders did a study of green building technologies and built a green model classroom to scale.

“The students took their normal math, science, writing, evaluation skills and had an opportunity to put those into practice in a very tangible way,” Hardwicke said. “I think they also started to see that they could create change by using their education, using their skills and academics. And that was really valuable – I’ve seen the students realize wow, this is not just a practice, this is something tangible that is making a change and that’s been very exciting for them.”

Buckmaster said Theodore Judah presented their project during the Project Green Showcase held in April and are now waiting to hear back where they stand in the competition. If their project is selected for funding, the school would be looking to remove its current portable buildings and to construct a new two-story classroom building built using green technologies, as well as the construction of a bio-swell with a watershed feature for collecting rainwater.

“We’re just hoping to bolster some changes on our facility that are going to have an instructional purpose and take us to that level,” Buckmaster added.

Growth spurts

In addition to helping the students grow into environmental stewards, Science Alive has also helped bolster science learning.

Buckmaster said the school currently has the highest fifth grade science test scores in the district, and she also knows they’re quite high compared to other schools in the county.

“We’ve seen some pretty significant student achievements produced as a result of this instructional approach,” she said.

Hardwicke said the program has also helped students who may not be successful learning in the traditional classroom setting.

“They’re given an opportunity to have success in a different way,” she explained. “We have some students that have learning disabilities or (are) autistic and they just thrive in the garden – they can demonstrate their skills in just a completely different realm and it’s really valuable.”

Overall, Buckmaster said the Science Alive program is helping Theodore Judah become a very green and environmentally-conscious school.

“This generation of kids, that’s on their radar – it’s a topic of their time,” she added.

corrie@valcomnews.com

Sacramento may be more than 3,000 miles away from the lights of Broadway, but for the past 35 years, the nonprofit Chautauqua Playhouse has been bringing quality live theater to the Sacramento community.

“It’s of the utmost importance that we keep the arts alive…we feel like we are providing a service to the community,” said Warren Harrison, co-producer for the Chautauqua Playhouse.

Great performances

QUALITY LOCAL THEATER. The Chautauqua Playhouse provides quality local theater at affordable prices. This scene is from the playhouse’s recent production of “Don't Cry For Me, Margaret Mitchell.” / Photo courtesy, Chautauqua Playhouse

Originally formed in 1975, the 95-seat Chautauqua Playhouse is currently housed inside the La Sierra Community Center in Carmichael. Harrison said the Playhouse specializes in “putting on quality shows that are reasonable in price for the average patron.” Each season includes five shows, which are a mix of comedies, dramas and an occasional musical. Additionally, each year the Playhouse produces “Scrooge” during the holiday season, as well as a summer show.

Harrison said they try to get a mix of different types of shows each season to meet all tastes.

“Our general audience is mostly an older audience, but they also bring their families so we like to do shows that are family-oriented, that you can basically bring the kids to if you wanted to,” he explained. He added that, periodically, the Playhouse will do an original show, giving the local playwrights a chance to have their works produced.

The 2011-2012 season will conclude with “The Importance of Being Earnest,” which will run from May 4 to June 10. That will be followed by their summer show, “Arsenic and Old Lace,” from June 22 to July 22.

For the kids

In addition to its regular season, the Chautauqua Playhouse also features a Children’s Theatre program with productions on Saturday afternoons. The 2011-2012 Children’s Theatre series will end with a production of “The Prince and the Pauper” from May 12 to May 26.

Harrison said the Children’s Theatre gives young theater-goers an introduction to live theater, such as interaction with the actors on stage.

“It also gives the children an opportunity to learn how to behave and react in a theatrical setting as far as what’s acceptable, what’s not acceptable, how to sit and give your attention to a show, how to show your appreciation to the actors with laughter and applause,” he added.

Harrison said children also get an opportunity after the shows to meet the actors and have autographs signed and have pictures taken with them, “so they take away an extra little memento of their day.”

Learning the craft

For kids that foster an early love for the theater and want to try their hand on the stage themselves, Chautauqua Playhouse offers the Chautauqua School of the Performing Arts with classes in voice, acting and dance for ages six to 13.

A CHRISTMAS TRADITION, “Scrooge” is produced by the Chautauqua Playhouse every holiday season, much to the delight of audiences. / Photo courtesy, Chautauqua Playhouse

The Performing Arts school is gearing up for its summer workshops, which Harrison said this year will include five weeks of morning sessions from 9 a.m. to about noon four days a week, beginning in late June. For the first time this year, the summer session will conclude with a production by attendees of “Alice in Wonderland.”

Harrison said theater education can give a number of benefits to kids.

“Theater is a very disciplined and very focused art, so they learn how to discipline themselves and they learn about memorization,” he explained. “It very much socializes them because the children work on-stage as an ensemble, so it teaches them to help each other out while they’re performing. I think it helps them achieve poise in front of other people and in front of an audience. But if really helps them focus on a single activity.”

V is for volunteering

As a nonprofit organization, Chautauqua Playhouse is always looking for volunteers both on and off the stage.

On the stage, each year in late May or early June, a general audition is held for those interested in trying out for acting parts in the upcoming season. The general audition allows the directors to see the actors available and make call backs as they get closer to production dates.

The Playhouse brings in volunteer actors from all over Sacramento and even beyond.

“Last year we did a show and we had three cast members from Nevada City/Grass Valley area, which was quite a drive for them but they felt it was worth it to do that,” Harrison said. “Sometimes we get people from closer to the Bay Area. We get people from Davis quite often, people from Vacaville even. Actors will go where the parts are, basically.”

Or if you’d prefer to volunteer off-stage, the Playhouse is always in need of volunteers to do “just about everything” from ushering to working the technical side of their shows, such as lighting, sound and costumes. Additionally, the Playhouse is always looking for donations of items they can use on stage, such as costume pieces, vintage jewelry, furniture, and paint.

Giving support

Overall, Harrison asks the community for their continued support by coming to their productions and spreading the word to others.

“We are so thankful and grateful to still be able to serve Sacramento and Carmichael in particular with our theater,” he said. “So many theaters are going under – we have seen several good theater groups go under because of financial difficulties because of the economy. We consider ourselves very fortunate that we have such support in the community.”

For more information on the Chautauqua Playhouse and to purchase tickets for upcoming shows, visit www.cplayhouse.org.

corrie@valcomnews.com