Serving Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and other towns of the North Carolina High Country
Founded 05-05-05
April 12, 2007 issue
Boone Idol OR Star Light, Star Bright, The Local Stars Come Out Next Friday Night
Shooting Stars Comes to Farthing April 20
Story by Sam Calhoun
In the era of reality television and American Idol, it seems that just about everyone wants to be a star.
In Watauga County, the Shooting Stars talent show gives school students the opportunity to stand in the spotlight. Shooting Stars is an annual visual and performing arts showcase featuring Watauga youth of all ages and serves as the largest fundraiser of the year for the Watauga Education Foundation.
Shooting Stars 2007 takes place at ASU’s Farthing Auditorium on Friday, April 20, at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $5 for teachers and students and $10 for adults. Purchase tickets at the door, at the Charleston Forge outlet on Highway 105 Extension or by calling the Farthing Auditorium box office at 828-262-4046.
“[Attendees] will be impressed with the talent of the students in Watauga County schools,” said Becka Saunders, Watauga Education Foundation Allocations Committee chair and co-coordinator of the visual arts portion of Shooting Stars 2007. “And it’s for a good cause. To support education in our community—you just can’t go wrong.”
Shooting Stars 2007 will introduce an exciting amalgam of singers, dancers, actors, instrumentalists and visual artists—hailing from kindergarten to high school—who will display their talents to raise money for educational enhancements.
On average, Shooting Stars generates $35,000 annually for the Watauga Education Foundation. The money supports the foundation’s mission to help area teachers enhance learning in the classroom in three ways—for special programs and projects that regular school budgets do not cover, for Price-Deverick Scholarships and for the Battle of the Books.
A majority of the money—roughly $26,000 in 2006—is spent on grants for area teachers for special programs and projects. Saunders said that teachers submit project requests to the foundation in September and the allocations committee decides who gets the money—a maximum of $2,000 per teacher—in October.
“[The teachers] come to us excited and we don’t want them to lose that excitement,” said Saunders. “We fund them because we want them to pass that excitement into the classroom.”
The foundation also annually donates around $5,000 toward the Price-Deverick Scholarships—awards that also receive funding from the Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation. The scholarships give money to area teachers for professional development such as enrolling in college classes or taking workshops.
The foundation also gives $1,500 annually to the Battle of the Books, a competition held between all schools in Watauga County to test students’ reading retention.
Shooting Stars 2007 is being coordinated without the help of former Watauga Education Foundation Executive Director Sara Massey who moved to New Orleans in November. Massey’s replacement arrives July 1, so in the meantime, Saunders said that foundation board members, including herself, have worked tirelessly to “hold up the shop.”
The “shop” is looking to be in pretty good shape as 27 groups of students arranged and auditioned performances and more than 145 students submitted artwork for the visual arts portion of the competition.
This year’s evening of performing arts features groups ranging from solo size to as many as 20 students. For many of the children, Shooting Stars will be their first venture under the bright lights and in front of a microphone. The performing artists will be paired with a PowerPoint presentation that features the top 50 visual art submissions from the competition.
All 145 visual art submissions are currently on display at the Boone Mall and will be until Saturday, April 14. Starting on Friday, May 4—in conjunction with the downtown Boone Art Crawl—the works will be on display in the Catwalk Gallery at the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts. The Catwalk Gallery exhibit is open until Saturday, June 2.
Boone Mall is the overall sponsor of Shooting Stars 2007. New River Building Supply sponsors the performing arts portion of the competition and Cheap Joe’s Art Stuff and Wealth Advisor Group sponsor the visual arts portion of the competition.
For more information, call 828-297-4123 or email rocksprings@skybest.com.
Want To Go?
Date: Friday, April 20
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Farthing Auditorium, ASU
Cost: $5 teachers and students/$10 adults
What Is the Watauga Education Foundation?
The Watauga Education Foundation is a nonprofit organization made up of a volunteer board—not affiliated with the school system in any way—that works to support Watauga County teachers and enhance learning in the classroom. For 15 years, the foundation has raised funds for projects not funded through state or local budgets—projects that introduce and reinforce arts and enrichment activities to county children, improve graduation rates and increase community participation in each of the nine public schools. The foundation does not receive any funding from tax dollars. Grant support comes entirely through the help of individuals, businesses, organizations and from the foundation’s main annual fundraising effort, Shooting Stars.
Shooting Stars 2007 Visual Arts Winners
More than 145 pieces of artwork were submitted for the Watauga Education Foundation’s Shooting Stars 2007 visual arts talent show. All the pieces are currently on display at the Boone Mall until Saturday, April 14. On Friday, April 20, 50 of the pieces will be shown via a PowerPoint presentation during the Shooting Stars show at Farthing Auditorium. The works will also be on display in the Catwalk Gallery at the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts from Friday, May 4, to Saturday, June 2.
Emily Pineda—Watauga High School, grade 11
Rebecca Pineda—Watauga High School, grade 11
Paul Sarovici—Watauga High School, grade 11
Kai Weaver—Watauga High School, grade 10
Erika German—Watauga High School, grade 12
Samantha McCullough—Watauga High School, grade 11
Helen Lindau—Watauga High School, grade 11
Adam Ray—Watauga High School, grade 11
Sarah Ashley—Watauga High School, grade 9
Ashleigh Miller—Watauga High School, grade 10
Ledah Finck—Valle Crucis, grade 7
Thomas Davis—Valle Crucis, grade 6
Ingrid Forsyth—Valle Crucis, grade 7
Makala McGlamery—Bethel, grade 7
Jennifer Francisco—Parkway, grade 8
Alex Giammatteo—Cove Creek, grade 6
Jenny Myers—Blowing Rock, grade 8
Zachary Roseman—Hardin Park, grade 7
Taelor Critcher—Green Valley, grade 6
Danielle Eggers—Bethel, grade 8
Samantha Watson—Valle Crucis, grade 6
Savannah Hostetter—Valle Crucis, grade 6
Matthew Kahle—Parkway, grade 7
Katie South—Mabel, grade 6
DeRhonda Gragg—Parkway, grade 8
Sylvia Wood—Mabel, grade 3
Alex Bolinsky—Mabel, grade 3
Jessie Haggaman—Mabel, grade 4
Zeb Speir—Valle Crucis, grade 4
Devin Hollars—Parkway, grade 3
Chandler Clawson—Bethel, grade 4
Barbara Ramsdell—Valle Crucis, grade 3
Ivy Ulmer—Bethel, grade 5
Aleah Hodges—Cove Creek, grade 4
Zachary Horine—Hardin Park, grade 5
Joshua Horine—Hardin Park, grade 3
Courtney Cramblit—Valle Crucis, grade 3
Sierra Hill—Hardin Park, grade 4
Jillian Cone—Bethel, grade 4
David T. Shoemake—Valle Crucis, grade 4
Kate Cone—Bethel, grade 2
Alex Marinakis—Parkway, grade 1
Cameron D. Sechrist—Hardin Park, grade 1
Sara Fran Greene—Parkway, grade 2
Matt Taylor—Parkway, grade 2
Elijah Evans—Hardin Park, kindergarten
Emma Saltman—Mabel, grade 1
James Moretz—Green Valley, grade 1
Olivia Michael—Hardin Park, grade 1
Shooting Stars 2007 Performing Arts Talents
The following acts have been selected to perform in the 2007 Shooting Stars on Friday, April 20, starting at 7:00 p.m. at ASU’s Farthing Auditorium.
Rocky Top
Forget Me Nots
Jasmine Flower
Beethoven 5th
Rhythm of My Soul
Why Do Fools Fall In Love
Dear God
Devil In A Blue Dress
Hit Me Up
Top Secret
Part of Your World
Clogtensity
Country Kickin' Charm
I Can't Say No
Somewhere Over The Rainbow
L.O.V.E.
Jackson
Sizzlin' Violins
Celtic Fusion
La Cinquantaine
You Ain't Never Had A Friend
The Return of Cows
Justin
Orange Colored Sky
Hushaby Mountain
I Feel Good
Jammerz