WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. –Spend your weekend enjoying a wide variety of arts performances at the second annual University of North Carolina (UNC) Festival of the Arts, which will be held at the North Carolina School of the Arts (NCSA) on Saturday April 12 from noon until 6 p.m. and Sunday April 13 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. All performances are free and open to the public.

Don’t miss this unique opportunity to experience music, dance, theatre, film and more at the family-friendly festival. Groups from universities in the UNC system will perform at various venues on the NCSA campus at 1533 South Main St., Winston-Salem. There also will be special guest performances by the R.J. Reynolds High School Arts Magnet Program.

To add to the fun, activities for the whole family will be going on throughout the afternoon including NCSA High School students performing juggling and stilt-walking and other interactive arts activities.

Food will be available for purchase from the NCSA dining services, Chick-fil-A^®, Little Richards Bar-B-Que and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.

The first UNC Festival of the Arts was held in conjunction with the installation of Maestro John Mauceri as Chancellor of the North Carolina School of the Arts on April 3, 2007.

This weekend represents the first time in ten years that NCSA has opened its campus to the community at large for a “community day” type of event. New visitors to the campus will see extraordinary changes, including new facilities and a pedestrian-friendly, green environment.

The schedule of events for the weekend is (performance groups, locations, and times subject to change, check the Web site ncarts.edu/festival for most up-to-date schedule):

Saturday, April 12

11:00 a.m.            2008 Kenan Writers’ Encounters*, A conversation with Jonathan Gilligan, Ph.D., Special Events Room, 10th Floor, Stevens Center (this event is free but requires a ticket, call the Stevens Center box office at (336) 721-1945 for ticket reservations.

12:00 p.m.            R.J. Reynolds High School Arts Magnet Program, Collective Elephant Jazz Band, outdoor stage

12:30 p.m.            North Carolina State University, ARTS NC State Dance, Agnes de Mille Theatre

12:30 p.m.            University of North Carolina at Wilmington, Student Films, Babcock Theatre, ACE Exhibition Complex, Film Village

12:45 p.m.            R.J. Reynolds High School Arts Magnet Program, scenes from My Fair Lady, Sheila Cobb Ewing Rehearsal Studio in Performance Place

1:15 p.m.              University of North Carolina at Asheville, Studio 18 Vocal Jazz, outdoor stage

1:30 p.m.              Appalachian State University, Liberace String Quartet, Hood Recital Hall, Gray Building

1:45 p.m.              University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, LAB Theatre, Sheila Cobb Ewing Rehearsal Studio in Performance Place

2:00 p.m.              North Carolina School of the Arts, Open Dance Rehearsal, School of Dance, Studio 608

2:00 p.m.              North Carolina School of the Arts, Student Films, Babcock Theatre, ACE Exhibition Complex, Film Village

2:15 p.m.              University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Jazz Combo, outdoor stage

2:30 p.m.              North Carolina School of the Arts, Guitar students, Hood Recital Hall, Gray Building

2:45 p.m.              North Carolina School of the Arts High School Drama Program, Cabaret, Sheila Cobb Ewing Rehearsal Studio in Performance Place

3:30 p.m.              Fayetteville State University, FSU Jazz Express, outdoor stage

3:30 p.m.              North Carolina School of the Arts, Student Recital, Whitney Reagan, Flute, The Judy and Bill Watson Chamber Music Hall

3:30 p.m.              University of North Carolina at Wilmington, Student Films, Babcock Theatre, ACE Exhibition Complex, Film Village

3:45 p.m.              University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Operatecture, Hood Recital Hall, Gray Building

4:30 p.m.              University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill Players (CHiPs) (improv), Sheila Cobb Ewing Rehearsal Studio in Performance Place

4:45 p.m.              Fayetteville State University, Dr. Lester Knibbs on piano, Hood Recital Hall, Gray Building

5:00 p.m.              North Carolina School of the Arts, Student Films, Babcock Theatre, ACE Exhibition Complex, Film Village

7:30 p.m.              North Carolina School of the Arts, Student Recital, Mark Johnson, Viola, The Judy and Bill Watson Chamber Music Hall

Sunday, April 13

1:00 p.m.              East Carolina University, String Quartet & Piano Quartet, The Judy and Bill Watson Chamber Music Hall

1:30 p.m.              University of North Carolina at Wilmington, UNC-WOOP! (Opera Outreach Program), Crawford Hall

2:00 p.m.              University of North Carolina at Pembroke, Brass Quintet, The Judy and Bill Watson Chamber Music Hall

2:00 p.m.              University of North Carolina at Wilmington, Student Films, Babcock Theatre, ACE Exhibition Complex, Film Village

3:00 p.m.              North Carolina School of the Arts, Undergraduate Opera Scenes, Agnes de Mille Theatre

3:00 p.m.              R.J. Reynolds High School Arts Magnet Program, a cappella groups, Hood Recital Hall in the Gray Building

3:00 p.m.              East Carolina University, String Quartet & Piano Quartet, The Judy and Bill Watson Chamber Music Hall

3:30 p.m.              North Carolina School of the Arts, Student Films, Babcock Theatre, ACE Exhibition Complex, Film Village

4:00 p.m.              Winston-Salem State University, Winston-Salem Pops Orchestra, The Judy and Bill Watson Chamber Music Hall

Parking for the festival will be at Bowman Gray Stadium off of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive with free shuttle service to the NCSA campus. (Note: visitors on Saturday staying for the 7:30 p.m. recital will need to move their cars to NCSA after 6 p.m.  The shuttles stop running after 6 p.m.)

For more information, please visit ncarts.edu/festival or call 770-3399.

*The 2008 Kenan Writers’ Encounters is going on concurrently with the UNC Festival. Four renowned authors and artists will gather at the North Carolina School of the Arts (NCSA) and elsewhere in Winston-Salem on April 12-22 to engage university students and faculty and the broader community on the important issue of environmental stewardship and the arts.

The North Carolina School of the Arts, located in Winston-Salem (“The City of the Arts”), was the first state-supported, residential school of its kind in the nation. Established by the N.C. General Assembly in 1963, NCSA opened in Winston-Salem in 1965 and became part of the University of North Carolina system in 1972. More than 1,100 students from middle school through graduate school train for careers in the arts in five professional schools: Dance, Design and Production (including a Visual Arts Program), Drama, Filmmaking, and Music. The North Carolina School of the Arts is the state’s only public arts conservatory, dedicated entirely to the professional training of talented students in the performing, visual and moving image arts. The chancellor, deans, and faculty work with students in a residential setting to create an educational community that is intimate, demanding, and performance-centered. Learning is enriched by access to an academic program responsive to a conservatory curriculum. Founded to be both an educational institution and a resource enhancing the cultural life of the state of North Carolina and the Southeast, NCSA offers numerous public performances, on- and off-campus, as well as community education in the arts.

School of the Arts alumni have performed in or behind the scenes of Broadway shows, film, television and regional theatre, and are members of the world’s finest symphony orchestras and opera and dance companies. They have won or been nominated for all of the major awards in the entertainment industry, including Tony, Oscar, Emmy, Grammy and others.

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