Fox Cities PAC Releases 2012-2013 Season Report

The Fox Cities Performing Arts Center is happy to announce the release of the 2012-13 Annual Report to the Community, which highlights the defining moments of the season and the community impact of the arts and cultural education organization.

10th ANNIVERSARY

The 2012-13 Season put the spotlight on the community and shone brightly as the Center marked many moments of the anniversary milestone and an exciting season that featured 10th Anniversary Signature Events. Nearly 2,000 patrons enjoyed a special behind-the-scenes glimpse of the Center during a free Community Open House to kick off the season of celebration. The event included a Founder's Panel discussion and events such as stage makeup and lighting workshops, and the opportunity for children to realize their dreams of becoming a musician through an Instrument Petting Zoo. A Mamma Mia!Community Flash Mob, led by Richard's School of the Dance, got dancing queens and kings to kick up their heels to ABBA's feel-good hits, "Mamma Mia" and "Dancing Queen." Signature Events included a performance of "Curtain Call," an expanded motif of Fox Cities composer Maury Laws' "Fanfare" by the BBC Concert Orchestra and Principal Conductor Keith Lockhart. Audiences also were able to experience the profound insight and strength of Canadian singer-songwriter Justin Hines. The artist, who has Larsen Syndrome, brought his uplifting and heartfelt music, along with a message of hope to the community. Sir Winston Churchill's granddaughter Celia Sandys shared an intimate portrayal of her grandfather as she fascinated attendees with stories of the world leader's personal and political life.

"Looking back on the 2012-13 Season, the 10th Anniversary celebrations created opportunities for audiences to celebrate the strength of our arts community with a number of performances including The Nutcracker Ballet, which brought together the Makaroff Youth Ballet, Fox Valley Symphony Orchestra and newVoices (formerly the White Heron Chorale)," said Maria Van Laanen, executive vice president. "The Signature Events inspired many special memories for our patrons and reinforced the Center's mission of serving as a community gathering place."

BRINGING THE COMMUNITY TOGETHER

The Center is a place for the community to see world-class performing arts and gather with family and friends while creating wonderful shared memories. During the 2012-13 Season, 359 events drew visitors to the Fox Cities P.A.C. and 40 percent of the events were hosted by community organizations, local nonprofits, businesses and groups. The Fox Valley Symphony Orchestra, a resident partner since the Center's beginning in 2002, continued to transport patrons through the musical talents of local and guest musicians. Many Fox Cities nonprofits used the Center's world-class facility to hold fundraisers which benefit the missions they serve including the Fox Cities Chamber's The Event, the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Fox Valley's Vintage in the Valley and Laughter is the Best Medicine held in partnership with Appleton Medical Center and Community Hospice Foundation.

ENGAGING IN THE ARTS
The possibilities for learning are endless as the Center strives to incorporate engagement opportunities with the shows on the stage. More than 10,000 people enjoyed a Community Engagement Activity. The Fox Cities P.A.C. provided non-traditional learning opportunities for 22,821 students in Northeast Wisconsin and beyond through its Bemis Company Education Series. The curriculum-based programs tie directly to the Wisconsin Model Academic Standards integrating subjects such as theater, music, English, social studies and science. The subsidized student ticket rates of $5-7 attracted schools from a 100-mile radius.

In the spring of 2012, the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center and Appleton Area School District also were selected to take part in the prestigious Partners in Education Program of The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. The program is based on the belief that students benefit when educators include the arts in their teaching. Through this partnership, workshops led by professional teaching artists develop a teacher's capacity to integrate the arts with core curriculum, explore ways to engage their students and revitalize their own creativity.

The Boldt Arts Alive! Series continued to serve as a window to the world's cultures. As an integral part of the Center's mission, many performances are subsidized to keep the average ticket price at $25 making a variety of quality performances affordable and accessible.

MAKING AN ECONOMIC IMPACT
During the season, 122,472 patrons experienced a Broadway show. As the first Broadway show to take the stage at the Center, Mamma Mia! was the perfect opener to celebrate the 10th Anniversary Season. The show has appeared at the Center more times than any other Broadway show and returned to the Fox Cities in August 2012 for its sixth engagement. Disney's The Lion King also came in with a roar as the show celebrated its second sold-out run and set a record as the Center's four highest-grossing weeks of Broadway. It is estimated the engagement generated $16.5 million in economic activity, according to the Economic Impact for Touring Broadway Study.

"We are honored that the Center was awarded the Lioness mask in recognition of the record achieved during the run of Disney's The Lion King in the Fox Cities," said John J. Hogerty, II, chairman of the Fox Cities P.A.C. Board of Directors. "Because of the community's outstanding support of the show, the Center is among the prestigious company of only two other venues to have received the theatrical honor."

FINANCIALS EXPLAINED
The Fox Cities Performing Arts Center is a fiscally responsible nonprofit organization with earned and contributed income generating the revenue necessary to deliver its mission. The 2012-13 Statement of Financial Position and Statement of Activities once again demonstrate the strength of the organization's fiscal stewardship. These statements reflect the cash and non-cash related activities that took place during the year as required by generally accepted accounting principles including pledge and legacy commitments made to the Center's Keystone Campaign during the 2012-13 Season.

The 2012-13 Season marks the organization's most recently completed year of operations and continues a strong tradition of providing live performing arts to the community. The Center continues to invest heavily in its mission-based programs. Last season, 72 percent of the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center's operating budget was allocated to programming and enrichment. A full copy of the Fox Cities P.A.C.'s annual report is available online at foxcitiespac.com.