Serving Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and other towns of the North Carolina High Country
Founded 05-05-05
April 03, 2008 issue
Tickets on Sale Now
Story by Corinne Saunders
“You will laugh, you will cry, you will applaud wildly,” said Melanie Bullard, executive director of the Watauga Education Foundation (WEF).
Bullard was talking about the 10th annual Shooting Stars show coming to Farthing Auditorium on Friday, April 25, adding that the show is “an opportunity for kids to showcase their skills in the visual and performing arts.”
Shooting Stars is the biggest annual fundraiser for the WEF. “It’s a great opportunity for the community to see the talent that exists here, and when you buy a ticket, you’re putting money back into the school system,” Bullard said.
More than 70 acts auditioned to be part of the show this year, and judges selected 29 performances for Shooting Stars.
“We’d like to have them all, but it is a show,” Bullard said.
Bullard began working with the WEF last July. “I came in and watched the show last year and was blown away by the talent—the entertainment value of the evening,” she said.
The performers have gone through two rounds of auditions to be part of Shooting Stars. First, students auditioned at the school level, in which performing arts teachers at every school in the county selected 10 to 13 acts to advance to the county level.
Then, at the countywide competition, four judges chose the 29 acts.
About 200 youth will take the stage the night of the show, said Alison Idol, Shooting Stars assistant coordinator.
The 30th act is the Methodist-Presbyterian Children’s Choir, let by Dottie Sykes and comprised of 77 children in third through seventh grade from all over the county, Idol said.
The WEF selected Farthing as the venue to make Shooting Stars as professional as possible. “We try to make it [the kids’] special moment,” Idol said. “It may be their only opportunity to be onstage in front of an audience of 1,000 people and they’re the star for that moment.”
The show is purposefully well rounded; the acts feature students from kindergarteners to high school seniors and every genre imaginable, “from hula hoops to clogging to cellists and pianists,” Idol said.
The participants in the visual arts aspect of Shooting Stars will be featured more prominently this year than ever before.
“Something new this year is the winners of the visual arts category will be interviewed April 12,” Bullard said. “The video of their interviews will be shown during the Shooting Stars performance.”
The students will also have an exhibition and artists’ reception at the Jones House.
Artist judges will select 43 winning visual arts pieces that will be hung at the Boone Mall on April 6.
Parents will be able to order note cards of their child’s work, regardless of whether or not it was selected to be displayed at the Boone Mall. The WEF will offer the option to buy any participating artist’s work—20 note cards for $18 or framed artwork prints (8.5” x 11”) that will be matted on museum-grade paper, Bullard said.
DVDs of the Shooting Stars performance will also be available for sale, with proceeds ultimately benefiting Watauga County Schools.
Advance tickets are recommended because Shooting Stars sold out last year, Bullard said. Anyone who wants to make a contribution to the WEF can do so at any time, she added.
Purchase tickets in person at Farthing Auditorium and at all Boone BB&T locations or by calling Farthing Auditorium at 828-262-4046.
Date: Friday, April 25
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Location: Farthing Auditorium
Cost: $10 general admission/$5 students and teachers
What Is the Watauga Education Foundation?
Established in 1989, the Watauga Education Foundation’s mission is “to enrich student learning for all Watauga County public school students by effectively promoting innovative educational experiences for children that will inspire every student to achieve.”
Since its beginnings when “a group of concerned parents” joined forces to put books in the classrooms, the WEF has funneled $600,000 into the Watauga County public school system, Bullard said.
Every year, the organization awards grants to Watauga County schoolteachers to fund creative educational projects and programs that would not be possible if the teachers were to rely solely on state and local budgets. The WEF additionally helps to sponsor the annual Battle of the Books competition for students in grades six through eight.
In conjunction with Blue Ridge Electric Membership Co-op, the WEF also offers continuing education scholarships to Watauga County Schools teachers, providing financial assistance for them to attend workshops or training programs, obtain renewal credits or complete certifications.
Dedicated volunteers have made the organization the prominent presence in the community that it is. “The community is blessed to have so many volunteers working for the organization and [to have] the organization,” Bullard said.
Funding for the WEF comes from private donations and annual fundraising events such as the Flapjack Flip and Shooting Stars.
For more information, click to www.wefnc.org.
The Shooting Stars Lineup
Shooting Stars will include the following acts, performed by youth ranging from kindergarteners to high school seniors from all Watauga County Schools.
Addie and Darcy
Angel
As the Deer
Bring It All Together
Castle on a Cloud
Country Kickin’ Charm
Fabulous
God Bless the Children
Hard Knock Life
I Hope You Dance
I Like to Move It, Move It
It Don’t Mean a Thing
It’s My Party
Little People
Love Song
Opus #2 Prelude
Popular
Preamble
Quintetto Watavganini
Renaissance Fayre
Sonata in C Major Allegro
Song from Ebay
Teardrops on My Guitar
The New Girl in Town
This One’s for You
We Will Stand
When You Were Clueless
You Can’t Stop the Beat
You Got a Friend in Me