PNC Arts Alive Grant Funds Opera Family Day in Lauderhill

Florida Grand Opera (FGO) and Lauderhill Performing Arts Center will be collaborating to present a special Florida Grand Opera Family Day on Saturday, January 14, 2017. This day of opera-related activities seeks to encourage inclusion in the arts, allowing newcomers and opera aficionados to discover that "Opera is for You." This event is made possible by a generous grant for PNC Bank's Arts Alive Initiative, which seeks to enrich lives and build a stronger community in Broward County.

"We are honored to be one of the recipients of the PNC Arts Alive grant this year," says FGO's Director of Education and Community Engagement, Rebekah Diaz-Fandrei. "This grant gives us the opportunity to collaborate with great new venues like Lauderhill Performing Arts Center and to expand our Family Day program to Broward County."

Children of all ages can explore the world of opera through hands-on activities, interactive experiences, and the thrill of live theater. Activities will engage children in aspects of the creative fields that go into bringing an opera to life to spark each child's interest in this grand art form. Children can:

• Learn how to create their own on-stage looks through stage makeup lessons
• Snap selfies with props and costume pieces at Florida Grand Opera's "selfie station
• Sing along to kiddie classics with professional vocal guidance
• Discover how special effects are created and design stage props
• Experience a special DISNEY collaborative performance, featuring a beautiful animation created by Disney Imagineers, accompanied by a live singer in support of early childhood literacy

The day will conclude with members of Florida Grand Opera's Young Artist Program putting all of these elements together in a performance of Carmencita - a 45-minute, condensed, English-language version of Georges Bizet's famous opera, Carmen. Children who stay until the end of the performance will be given a free gift courtesy of Florida Grand Opera's Department of Education and Community Engagement.
FGO will host another Family Day event on Sunday, February 12, 2017 in Miami's Design District.

This event is FREE! For more information, please visit www.lpacfl.com.

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ABOUT PNC ARTS ALIVE INITIATIVE

We know what art can do, how it changes perspectives and even changes lives. Similarly, the PNC Foundation has always believed that engagement in the arts enriches lives and builds stronger, more vibrant communities. That's why PNC Arts Alive was created.

PNC Arts Alive challenges visual and performing arts organizations to put forth their best, most original thinking in expanding audience participation and engagement. This commitment advances our mission of community development.

Since PNC Arts Alive debuted in 2009, we have awarded approximately $13 million in grants to enterprising cultural organizations in Central Ohio, Philadelphia & Southern New Jersey and Greater St. Louis, through funding delivered by the PNC Foundation, which receives its principal funding from The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. We look forward to now also supporting the arts across Florida's east coast.

PNC Arts Alive programming demonstrates that there is an artistic outlet for everyone, regardless of age, economic background, skill level and taste. Pop-up performances, mobile arts vans and the use of unusual venue are among the many initiatives supported through PNC Arts Alive and we're excited to help invigorate local arts organization in Florida, while bringing new and exciting programs to our communities.

ABOUT LAUDERHILL PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

The mission of the Lauderhill Performing Arts Center is to provide diverse, quality performing arts programming to the City of Lauderhill and its neighboring communities; to serve as a hub for community involvement, engagement and artistic expression; and, to be an influence for positive economic growth and development for our neighbors.

Opening its doors on January 20, 2016, this LEED Silver Performing Arts structure accommodates events for music, theater, dance, cinema, visual arts, education, conferences, workshops and other social gatherings.

Funding for this facility came from several sources: $5.8 million came from the City of Lauderhill's voter approved General Obligation bond from 2005. A matching $5.8 million came from the Broward County Park Bond.

ABOUT FLORIDA GRAND OPERA

Florida Grand Opera (FGO), the oldest performing arts organization in Florida, celebrates its 75th Anniversary Season in 2016-17. The mainstage operas of the season include: Georges Bizet's Carmen, November 12-December 3, 2016; Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin, January 28-February 11, 2017; Jorge Martín's Before Night Falls, March 18-25, 2017; and Giuseppe Verdi's A Masked Ball (Un Ballo in Maschera), April 29-May 13, 2017.

FGO is currently accepting subscription renewals, new subscriptions, and single ticket purchases online or at FGO's offices. FGO's Box Office is located at the Doral Center on 8390 NW 25th Street, Miami, FL 33122, and is open from 10am to 4pm, Monday through Friday during the season. Season tickets may also be purchased by phone at (800) 741-1010. For more information on supporting our work through donation, or to make a pledge, please contact Individual Giving Officer Carlton Ford at (305) 403-*3320 or cford@fgo.org.

Founded in 1941 as Greater MIami Opera and later merging with The Opera Guild Inc. in 1994, FGO presents a mixture of standard repertoire and contemporary works as well as commissions and new productions - all featuring projected translations in English and Spanish. FGO is recognized for funding by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, the Florida Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Funding is also provided, in part, by the Broward County Board of County Commissioners as recommended by the Broward Cultural Council and the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, Cultural Affairs Council, the Mayor and the Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners and the Miami-Dade County Tourist Development Council. Program support is provided by the City of Miami Beach, Cultural Affairs Program, and the Cultural Arts Council. Florida Grand Opera is a Resident Company of the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County and a member company of OPERA America. Intercontinental Miami is the Official Hotel and Steinway & Sons is the Official Piano of Florida Grand Opera.