Indoors on Sunday afternoons, youth run the show

The Springfield Arts Council’s Summer Sundaes is like the cherry on top of the Summer Arts Festival. This five-week series, done in association with the Arts Council’s Youth Arts Ambassadors, offers an afternoon alternative to the outdoor evening events.

Attendees can enjoy Sunday afternoon indoor entertainment at the Springfield Center for the Arts at Wittenberg, where ice cream treats are available for sale, thus the Sundae title.

The Youth Arts Ambassadors are a group of high school students representing all the Clark County schools. During the year, they do curtain speeches and help raise funds during Arts Council events.

Summer Sundaes is all their own, having piloted in 2012. The youths plan out the shows, scout for talent, contact the artists and basically run the show.

They do the curtain speeches, lighting, sound, concessions and just about everything else on performance Sundays. The group focused this year on local talent, to give exposure to artists who are on their way up and may one day find themselves headlining one of the Summer Arts Festival shows.

Summer Sundaes shows begin at 2 p.m. Please note there is a two-week break in between performances between the end of June and mid-July.

The schedule includes:

June 16: Mad River Theater Works, “The Pasture and the Princess: A Tale of Just Food”

June 23: The Young Lions jazz ensemble from the Cincinnati School for Creative and Performing Arts

June 30: Noah Back, singer

July 14: The Gary Geis Dance Company

July 21: Black Box Comedy Improv Theater

For more information, call 324-2712 or go to www.SpringfieldArtsCouncil.org.

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