As usual, there are plenty of chances to explore your creative side at the Averitt Center this month.
April is Little Artists Enrollment Month! The Little Artists program gives children a chance to discover the world around them through playing, singing, exploring and creating. Held in the Averitt Center's main building at 33 E. Main Street, this fun-filled program will encourage a child's natural sense of wonder and curiosity while promoting self-expression and social development. The curriculum is designed around learning through play, creating using the arts, helping to develop social skills, and sharpening the important foundational abilities needed for school readiness.
The Little Artists program follows the Bulloch County Schools calendar but is open to children in the surrounding counties of Screven, Jenkins, Emanuel, Candler, Evans, Bryan and Effingham. Beginning on Aug. 1, the program will be held Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to noon and is for potty-trained 3- and 4-year-olds, during the school year. Tuition is $250 per month and there is a $15 monthly supply fee. The program will be under the instruction of Michelle NeSmith. For more information or to register, contact Nesmith at 912-531-2312.
Lisa D. Watson’s Avant Gardener: A Creative Exploration of Imperiled Species gallery exhibition will be on display through May 5. Watson is an artist and a gardener. Her concern with human sprawl fuses with her love for plants and animals, pushing her to create multilayered artwork that sparks a deeper awareness of the human impact on nature. Since 2019, with the help of biologists, rangers and regional naturalists, she has ventured into the surrounding landscapes of the Southeast to study endangered, threatened and rare plants. In Avant Gardener, Watson probes how the loss of habitat, sprawl, chemical spraying, invasive exotic species and poachers are changing native habitats into unhealthy and unsustainable lands.
The Averitt’s Main Gallery is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday and is sponsored by Burney Marsh and John Tucker, Bill and Virginia Anne Franklin Waters, Lawrence and Kathleen Smith, Drs. Patrick and Theresa Novotny, the Statesboro Regional Art Association and Frazier’s Flowers. All galleries are free to the public.
One of the community’s favorite artists and teachers, Bunyan Morris, will hold two creativity workshops in April at the Roxie Remley center (31 E. Vine St.). Come explore the possibilities in visual creativity. This hands-on workshop is designed for artists of any level who have a strong interest in self-expression and creativity. Attendees will have fun with a variety of art experiences that will help them tap into and better understand their own creative spirits. Bring your own sketch pad, sketch pencils, and any color media of your choice. In other words, bring a variety of art supplies and be ready to have a lot of creative fun. The cost for these workshops is $35 plus a $10 supply fee. The first will be held April 1 from 10 a.m. to noon and the second will be April 3 from 6 to 8 p.m.
Bulloch County schools will be out for spring break April 3–7. And when school’s out, art’s in! Indulge your creative child with a week-long spring break camp adventure in the world of art, creation, exploration and experimentation. Campers will learn about colors, art techniques, and how to express themselves through art. Students will need to bring their morning snack, lunch and afternoon snack and should dress to get dirty. Camp will be held from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. each day. Tuition is $150 plus $20 for supplies. Spring Break Camp is for ages 4-10.
Interested in pottery but feeling shy about signing up for a class? Come on down to the Roxie and try the Give it a Spin! workshop on April 8 at 6 p.m. This 2.5-hour session will cover the basics of throwing on the potter’s wheel. All tools and materials provided. The cost is $40. Give it a Spin! is for ages 16-plus.
Come get your groove on in Session 2 of ballroom dance classes, taught by Michael McCurdy. The class will meet from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. on 4 April 13, 20 and 27, and May 4. The class will start off with the show-stealing cha-cha-cha and the ever-adaptable rhumba. Then, in the final two weeks you will be dancing to some of your favorite pop ballads with nightclub two-step and finish up with Detroit-style ballroom. The cost for Session 2 is $97 per couple. All classes will be held in the Grande Studio at 41 W. Main Street.
On April 14 at 6 p.m., join the fun in the monthly Paint-N-Party. No experience necessary! Just come and have fun with friends and your favorite drink! This month you will be painting some beautiful red tulips. The cost to attend this event is $35 and includes all the supplies needed. Paint-N-Parties are held at the Roxy Remley Center and are catered and sponsored by Boro Takeout.
On April 20-23 come see “Bright Star,” the final musical of the 2022-23 season. Inspired by a real event and featuring the Grammy-nominated score by Steven Martin and Edie Brickell, Broadway’s “Bright Star” tells a sweeping tale of love and redemption set against the rich backdrop of the American South in the 1920s and 40s. When literary editor Alice Murphy meets a young soldier just home from World War II, he awakens her longing for the child she once lost. Haunted by their unique connection, Alice sets out on a journey to understand her past — and what she finds has the power to transform both of their lives.
Propelled by an ensemble of onstage musicians and dancers, the story unfolds as a rich tapestry of deep emotion, beautiful melodies and powerfully moving performances. An uplifting theatrical journey that holds you tight in its grasp, “Bright Star” is as refreshingly genuine as it is daringly hopeful. This show will be held in the Emma Kelly Theater. Thursday through Saturday shows begin at 7:30 p.m. Sunday matinee begins at 3 p.m. Tickets are just $25.
Want to try working with clay? No experience? No time to take an eight-week session? This hand-building clay class is designed for you! On the last Saturday of each month from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., join the Try Your Hand at Clay Workshop. This month (April 29) attendees will be making a succulent wall pocket. Instructor Georgina Osuna-Diaz will take you step-by-step through the process of creation. Any experience level is welcome, and registration is required. This workshop is for artists aged 16-plus. The cost is just $35.
On April 30 at 3 p.m, Jonathan Aceto will lead the Chamber Orchestra and String Program in an All-American concert/showcase. Come to the the Emma Kelly Theater to enjoy American classics featuring Aaron Copland’s “Appalachian Spring” and George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue.” Admission is free, and the event is sponsored by Orchid.
For more information on events, classes and workshops, go online at www.averittcenterforthearts.org or contact the Averitt Center at (912) 212-2787.