OKLAHOMA CITY – This summer, Neighborhood Arts is presenting an exciting series of theatrical and music performances along with lively storytelling that will be sure to give children a taste of the arts in their community.

Neighborhood Arts – a Community Arts Program produced by the Arts Council of Oklahoma City – is a free eight-week series of performing art shows at 14 libraries of the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Library System.

“Our intention is to allow kids to see the full spectrum of art forms,” said Jennifer Barron, Community Arts Program director for the Arts Council of Oklahoma City. “At the same time, this program encourages children to get involved in their local library literary programs and to be creative participants in the arts.”

Neighborhood Arts is introducing a new storytelling act, Motoko Dworkin and Eshu Bumpus, who will be performing July 6 to 9. These storytellers from Massachusetts help bring the stories to life with their originality and creativity.

“Children these days are saturated with videos, television, movies but all of those things lack one-on-one interaction and that is the whole point of storytelling,” said Motoko, who received a great review when she performed at the Arts Council’s Oklahoma City Storytelling Festival in September and was invited back to be a part of Neighborhood Arts.

“Kids are learning by listening intently to my stories, they identify with the characters and go through the events that my characters go through and that way they learn everything. I’m hoping that the stories that I tell them are not just funny stories from exotic lands, but something they can get a real lesson out of,” she said.

Other new acts are Cimarron Circuit Opera Company, a local non-profit organization providing concert and opera-going experiences, will be performing “The Owl, the Tree, and Me” and the Oklahoma Children’s Theatre, a local non-profit group offering drama instruction and live theater, will be performing “Old McDonald Had a Farm.”

Joining the program once again this year are the Lucky Penny Players who have been performing with the Neighborhood Arts since the beginning in 1984.

“We have parents who come up to us after a performance with their children and tell us they’ve been coming to our shows since they were children,” said Toby Tobin, director and co-founder of the Lucky Penny Players. “I love this program because we have the ability to bring story books alive to fracture them and to make interactive, giving us special connection with kids and parents.”

Other returning favorites: Al Bostick, Rhythmically Speaking, Sugar Free All Stars and the series finale the Children’s Music Festival, which will feature a wide variety of musical acts geared toward a young audience.

Neighborhood Arts is just one of the Arts Council of Oklahoma City’s arts educational programs that bring arts to under-served youth. Community Arts Program also includes: Arts After School; Play in the Park; Teen Advisory Council; and Special Populations, serving children and adults with disabilities. Community Arts reaches 50 community locations and inspires more than 17,000 youth each year.

The Arts Council of Oklahoma City is a non-profit 501 c(3) organization dedicated to bringing the arts and the community together through free or low-cost cultural events and a variety of arts outreach activities that impact underserved populations. Each year, Arts Council events, programs and services reach nearly one million residents and visitors to the Oklahoma City community. The Arts Council of Oklahoma City receives funding from the Oklahoma Arts Council and is an Allied Arts member agency. The Arts Council of Oklahoma City is sponsored by Chesapeake Energy Corporation and Devon Energy Corporation, MidFirst Bank, The Oklahoman, Ozarka Coffee and Water Service, and Sonic – America’s Drive-in. For more information, call 405-270-4848 or visit www.ArtsCouncilOKC.com.
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Note to Editor: Neighborhood Arts schedules are below


The weekly performers are:

June 7 to 11 – Lucky Penny Players – theater
June 14 to 18 – Sugar Free All Stars – music
June 21 to 25 – Al Bostick – folktales
June 28 to July 2 – Oklahoma Children’s Theatre – theater
July 6 to 9 – Motoko Dworkin and Eshu Bumpus – storytellers
July 12 to 16 – Rhythmically Speaking – drama/music
July 19 to 23 – Cimarron Circuit Opera Company – music
July 25 to 30 – Children’s Music Festival – music

The library locations are:

Mondays
10:30 a.m. Ralph Ellison Library
1:00 p.m. Capitol Hill Library
3:00 p.m. Midwest City Library

Tuesdays
9:30 and 10:30 a.m. Bethany Library
1:00 p.m. Downtown Library
3:00 p.m. Southern Oaks Library

Wednesdays
10:30 a.m. Del City Library
2:00 p.m. (June 9 Only) Warr Acres Library
3:30 p.m. Warr Acres Library

Thursdays
9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Edmond Library
1:00 p.m. Village Library
7:00 p.m. Belle Isle Library

Fridays
10:30 a.m. Harrah Library (off site)
1:00 p.m. Choctaw Library
3:00 p.m. Nicoma Park