Breakout music sensation Las Cafeteras to headline concert at "In the Arts! Healing Our Community Through Sight & Sound” on Thursday, September 30, 2021, from 5:30-8:30 pm at the Barstow Community College Performing Arts Center.
A breeze of positivity swirls around the Barstow Community College Performing Arts Center as it prepares for its long-awaited re-opening to the public on September 30th. This free event will offer a family-friendly evening of music, dance, visual art, comedy, and a live concert by international sensation, Las Cafeteras. The genre-defying group from East L.A. is known for their electric live performances and positive message which consistently wows audiences fromthe Hollywood Bowl to New Zealand.
The college has taken extraordinary measures to create an environment that is both safe and enjoyable. Although vaccinations are not required to attend the event, masks, an online self- health check-in, and pod seating are mandatoryfor all in attendance--including staff, volunteers, attendees, and performers. The venue is equipped with hand sanitation stations, temperature monitoring, and extra masks that can be issued as needed. In addition, free vaccinations andtesting are being offered on-site during the event courtesy of Rite Aid Pharmacy.
Like a multi-faceted gem hidden in plain view, the Performing Arts Center stands as a glowing symbol of potential. This event is the first of many planned efforts designed to bolster enrollment, increase community engagement, spark economic growth, attract visitors to the region, and improve the quality of life for area residents through the creation of courses and programming that will further drive educational success of the student body and better serve thecommunity at large. "Growing and supporting our future will not only require the X's and O's of science, technology, engineering, and math. But it will also take creativity," acknowledges Dr. Eva Bagg, District Superintendent-President.
Barstow Community College, a highly decorated college has forged a new partnership with Arts Connection: The Arts Council of San Bernardino County. With this partnership, they hope to continue co-creating more engaging programming such as their successful Black History Month collaboration in February 2021. The event featured a solution-seeking dialogue with Marc Bamuthi Joseph, Vice-President and Artistic Director of Social Impact for John F. Kennedy Center of Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., and a virtual art exhibition of artists of color.
By drawing on its past successes, a Theater Arts Degree for Transfer is being developed. Additionally, BCC is exploring the development of a local associate degree in Theater Arts, and with faculty and industry input, potential certificate programs in the performing arts and entertainment field. With relevant and exciting programming that fostersdiversity, inclusion, and equity, the "PAC" (as it is often called), is poised to become a go-to choice for studentspreparing for careers in arts and entertainment, as well as becoming a hub for cultural activity in the region.
In the Arts! Healing Our Community Through Sight & Sound is being produced by consulting Artistic Director, T. Faye Griffin and PAC manager, John “Ed” Will. Griffin, a veteran television, and live event writer-producer (Black Girls Rock, The Gracie Awards, NAACP Image Awards), is confident that the center can play a major role in the economic development and post-COVID recovery of the City of Barstow. “California’s creative workforce is the largest in the world. In 2019, the arts and entertainment sector garnered $200 billion dollars,” she asserts. “This event is BCC’s first step in helping creative workers in the region get back to work.”
To get your FREE tickets, go to: https://bccpac.ludus.com/index.php.
