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Programs & Events
The Carson City Parks, Recreation & Open Space Department is partnering with the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts to bring a free educational performance series to the Carson City Community Center. Pioneer Center Youth Programs (PCYP) is the K-6 educational outreach program of the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts. The program presents high caliber performances by professional artists that are designed to educate, entertain, and enlighten children through interactive presentations in a variety of artistic disciplines including music, theater, and dance.
The free PCYP performances will take place once a month from April through August in the Bob Boldrick Theater at the Community Center. The performances are one hour long, and advance registration is recommended.
Saturday, October 14 at 2:00pm – Brüka Theatre for Children
This acclaimed Reno based theater company returns to present the original play “The Paramount & Sometimes Wildly Ridiculous History of Nevada.” In this whimsical, wild, and abridged journey through the history of the State of Nevada, children are invited to participate in each performance, ensuring that every show is unique.
Saturday, August 19 at 2:00pm – Reno Taiko Tsurunokai
Reno Taiko Tsurunokai brings the ancient art of Japanese Taiko drumming to the children of northern Nevada. Tsurunokai performs traditional Japanese folk music as well as original compositions and participants will be invited to participate in drumming and dancing during the performance.
Saturday, July 1 at 2:00pm – Kantu Inka
Kantu Inka’s bilingual performance programs incorporate world language, fine arts, and social studies. Children are encouraged to play instruments, dance to Peruvian rhythms, and interact with the musicians.
Sunday, June 4 at 2:00pm – Collateral & Co
Using dance to teach poetry and prose, Collateral & Co. enables children to understand language arts in a new, accessible way. Children will learn about rhythm, rhyme, meter, verse, stanza and more by exploring the way poetry looks and feels on the body and how dance can be used to make sense of written word and personal experiences.
Saturday, May 27 at 2:00 pm – StorySongs
StorySongs celebrates the rich natural and cultural heritage of Nevada with simple, yet provocative musical tales. This interactive show combines stunning outdoor images, inspiring music, audience participation, and humor to demonstrate the importance of connecting with nature. Each show is tailored to the region where it is performed. Audiences will be awed by award-winning images while they sing, laugh, and stomp to the rhythms of the Buffalo hide drum and African djembe.
Saturday, April 8 at 2:00pm – Brüka Theatre for Children
This acclaimed Reno based theater company presents the original play “The Paramount & Sometimes Wildly Ridiculous History of Nevada.” In this whimsical, wild, and abridged journey through the history of the State of Nevada, children are invited to participate in each performance, ensuring that every show is unique.
TO REGISTER: WWW.CARSON.ORG/CCPR
Stay tuned for more details on Carson City's first mural festival!
WHEN: Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023 - Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023
WHAT: A three-day festival featuring local, national, and international mural artists along with nightly concerts.
WHERE: At least 19 exterior walls downtown and surrounding neighborhoods in Carson City.
This event is a partnership between the Carson City Parks, Recreation & Open Space department, Visit Carson City, the Brewery Arts Center, and the Sierra Arts Foundation. The festival will bring local, national, and international artists to Carson City to paint murals live throughout the city. In addition, there will be concerts at the Brewery Arts Center and at other locations near the artists at work. Other community activities will include docent led mural tours, artist lectures and talks, children's art activities, and interactive mural painting with the community.
For more information CLICK HERE
PAST PROGRAMS AND EVENTS
Free Writing Workshops presented by the Carson City Parks, Recreation and Open Space Department as part of the Mark Twain Days Festival
DATE: Saturday, April 22
LOCATION: Carson City Community Center, Bonanza Room
REGISTER HERE: http://visitcarsoncity.com/mtd-workshops/
Max 20 participants per workshop, early registration is recommended
WORKSHOP #1: 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Nevada Inspirations – A hands-on writing workshop celebrating our people and places.
In this two-hour, interactive workshop you’ll develop a uniquely Nevadan character and then incorporate Nevada settings and landscapes as you create a story only you can write! Author Suzanne Morgan Williams will provide tips on creating layered and interesting characters, using setting to move your story forward, and prompts and visuals to inspire your work. Choose to work alone or with a partner and leave with the structure of, or a completed story. Nevada has produced great writers. Now let it inspire you!
Instructor:
Suzanne Morgan Williams is the author of a dozen published books, fiction and nonfiction, including the young adult novel, Bull Rider. Set in Nevada, it won a Western Heritage Award from the National Western Heritage and Cowboy Museum. She loves textured settings, unexpected characters, and detailed research Suzanne has been giving writers workshops and classes for more than twenty-five years to adult writers as well as to students from kindergarten to twelfth grade. A former teacher, Suzanne loves combining her writing with teaching, and speaking. She believes everyone has a unique voice and a special story that only they can tell.
She is a Nevada Arts Council teaching artist, Sierra Arts Foundation Academy teacher, and Regional Advisor Emerita of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, Nevada Region. Visit www.suzannemorganwilliams.com Read her latest publication here: Pulse and Echo Issue 2 http://pulse-and-echo.com/issues-1-and-2
WORKSHOP #2: 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm
Sense of Place is Sense of Self and Community: Writing from Where You Are, Have Been, and Want to Be (Co-sponsored by the Resident Artist Program in Silver City and the Ray A. Isaac Endowment for the Arts)
With some emphasis specifically on Nevada, this workshop will encourage participants to write honestly and authentically about how place matters. For example, how does where you come from or where you currently reside affect your thoughts and actions? Are there any issues or delights specific to your place of residence or upbringing that affect you or your loved ones? Whether it is birthplace or the apartment or house we currently live in, place is a major factor in our relationship to the world. Acknowledging place as a basis of community can help us all feel less alone. Workshop coordinators, Gailmarie Pahmeier and Courtney Cliften, will share examples from poems and poets they admire, from Nevada and elsewhere, and offer prompts to help you generate your own poems.
Instructors:
Gailmarie Pahmeier, now Emeritus faculty, taught creative writing at the University of Nevada, Reno. Widely published, she’s the author of three chapbooks and three full-length collections of poetry, the most recent being Of Bone, Of Ash, Of Ordinary Saints (WSC Press, 2020) which was nominated for the High Plains Book Award. In 2015, she was appointed Reno’s first Poet Laureate, in 2016 she was inducted into the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame, and in 2017, she was selected as Outstanding Teacher in the Humanities. In 2021, the governor of Nevada, Steve Sisolak, appointed her Poet Laureate, State of Nevada. In 2022, she was selected as a Laureate Fellow, Academy of American Poets.
Courtney Cliften was raised in the Nevada Desert. She writes poetry as an MFA candidate at the University of Nevada, Reno. Courtney often explores the complexity of relationships—with another person, with the self, the relationship between life and death, relationships we have to place, ideas, etc. Her writing attempts to examine inter-connectedness and deflate boundaries. Her work has appeared in The Meadow, Helen Literary Magazine, An Anthology of Emerging Poets, The Racket, The Hunger, Caustic Frolic and more.
MARK TWAIN DAYS FESTIVAL | April 21 -23, 2023
A new capital city festival celebrating the life of Mark Twain in Carson City.
“Never let the truth get in the way of a good story.” (Mark Twain)
CLICK HERE for the event website with full schedule of events including a special Twain Cocktail Train, Bow Tie Ball, look-alike contest, picnic basket auction, vendors and so much more.
It was here in Carson City that Samuel Longhorne Clemens started signing his work under the pen name Mark Twain. Twain commenced his writing career with the Territorial Press, writing letters to the editor. The first letter that he signed using his new pen name was a humorous description of a party that he attended at the home of the former California Governor J. Neely, a story that was published on January 31, 1863 – signed “yours dreamily, Mark Twain”.
“DISCOVER THE ARTS” - FREE YOUTH ART CLASSES IN PARTNERSHIP WITH SIERRA ARTS FOUNDATION
Youth ages 7-17 are invited to discover their inner artist and explore different types of visual arts mediums in these fun and FREE 2-hour workshops every Saturday in May. Advance registration is required. Classes will be held at the Community Center Art Building, 801 N. Roop Street. Co-sponsored by Visit Carson City.
Saturday, May 6
- 10:00 am – 12:00 pm: Ages 7-12, “Discover Color” - In this class, students will learn the science and art of color. The students will design and create their own color wheel.
- 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm: Ages 13-17, “Discover Color” - Students will learn about the science and art of color and color theory. Using acrylic paints, students will design and create their own color wheel.
Saturday, May 13
- 10:00 am – 12:00 pm: Ages 7-12, “Discover Abstract Art” - In this class, students will be introduced to abstract art and design theory. Through the art of collage making, the students will design and create their own colorful abstract art.
- 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm: Ages 13-17, “Discover Perspective Drawing” - Students will learn about one- and two-point perspective drawing. In this class, the students will design and create a perspective drawing.
Saturday, May 20
- 10:00 am – 12:00 pm: Ages 7-12, “Discover Pop Art” - In this class, students will be introduced to the fun world of Pop Art. Using bold lines, shapes and colors, they will design and create a unique Pop Art composition.
- 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm: Ages 13-17, “Discover Pop Art” - Students will be introduced to the fun world of Pop Art. Using bold lines, shapes and colors, they will design and create a unique Pop Art composition.
Saturday, May 27
- 10:00 am – 12:00 pm: Ages 7-12, “Discover 3D Art” - In this class, students will learn the fundamentals of three-dimensional art. Students will have fun designing and creating an optical illusion art piece.
- 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm: Ages 13-17, “Discover Sculpture” - In this class, students will learn the fundamentals of form and structure. Using various materials, the students will design and create an organic sculpture.
TO REGISTER: WWW.CARSON.ORG/CCPR
YOUTH ART SERIES
This series is designed for young artists who are eager to further develop their artistic skills. The series focuses on the fundamentals of design and art making. Each class is dedicated to a specific art element, design principle, art medium, and technical application.
- Every Saturday in June from 10:00 am - 11:30 am (6/3, 6/10, 6/17, 6/24)
- Ages 7-12
- $25 per class (includes $5 material fee)
- Location: Community Center Art Building, 801 N. Roop Street
- Pre-registration is required
ARTS ENRICHMENT CAMP FOR KIDS
Five fun-filled days of creativity in art making, dance, and theater. Kids will connect with their inner artist through engaging in unique art projects in pencil drawing, pastel drawing, watercolor painting, and acrylic painting. They will learn about character development and experience the joy of creative expression through dance and theatre.
- Monday - Friday 7/31 - 8/4 from 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
- Ages 7-12
- $150 for the week
- Location: Community Center Art Building, 801 N. Roop Street
- Pre-registration is required
Thank you to our partner, the Sierra Arts Foundation.