The Pavilion hosts full day of fun, community activities

THE WOODLANDS, Texas - The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion held a full day of activities on April 22, touching the lives of more than 4,700 people in the community. Events on April 22 included Arts Day Out, Hats Off to Reading and Peking Acrobats with the Houston Symphony. As a nonprofit organization, The Pavilion strives to make the arts more accessible to the community and provide the chance for families to experience the arts at a low or no cost.

Arts Day Out, a new educational outreach program in 2015, hosted more than 330 students from Conroe Independent School District. Arts Day Out provides the opportunity for kindergarten through 2nd grade students to venture outside the classroom during STAAR testing. Initially designed for “flex” elementary schools, or schools that serve kindergarten through sixth grade students, this program allowed CISD students to experience the arts in an intimate setting. Students from Tough, Deretchin and Stewart Elementary Schools were treated to a performance by Houston Grand Opera’s “Opera To Go!” program. The troupe performed “The Pastry Prince,” an original kid-friendly work composed by Houston Grand Opera.

“By being able to expose students to the opera, we were hopefully able to enhance their appreciation of the arts and start to develop future performing arts patrons,” said Shannon Wilson, director of marketing and education at The Pavilion.

Hats Off to Reading also was held on April 22 prior to The Peking Acrobats with the Houston Symphony performance. This annual celebration is a favorite for children who get to take home a free book and participate in literacy-based activities such as visiting with storybook characters and making bookmarks and hats. Sponsors of this year’s Hats Off to Reading event include Dr. George and Diane Kaufman, Scholastic Book Fairs, Junior League of The Woodlands, The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, Chick-fil-A of The Woodlands, Conroe Independent School District, Montgomery County Memorial Library System, St. Anthony of Padua Library and Lamar Elementary School PTO.

Another element of The Pavilion’s mission as a nonprofit organization is to provide performance opportunities to young artists. During the pre-concert time, The John Cooper School “Flying Dragons” Aerialist Team performed in the North Plaza. The school’s advanced team is comprised of 11 members and is led by Elizabeth DeMonico, a teacher at The John Cooper School.

“We are honored to have the opportunity to perform before The Peking Acrobats and the Houston Symphony,” said DeMonico. “It was a wonderful chance for our team to perform in front of the community. We even had one young girl say that she wanted to be involved in aerial arts when she grew up!”

The evening concluded with a performance on The Pavilion’s Main Stage by The Peking Acrobats with the Houston Symphony. The performance included China’s most gifted tumblers, contortionists, jugglers, cyclists and gymnasts.

“With part of The Pavilion’s mission to present a diverse offering of performing arts, the audience was entertained by chair stacking, balancing acts, traditional Chinese instruments and more, all alongside the world-renowned Houston Symphony,” said Jerry MacDonald, president and CEO of The Pavilion.