Saints & Sinners Ball Set for St. Regis Deer Valley, 3/14

Polish those halos or seek redemption with a devilish and fun night of doing good. The fourth annual Saints & Sinners Ball invites all heroes, gangsters, despots, angels, villains, cherubs... to gather at St. Regis Deer Valley for an impishly delightful soirée on Saturday, March 14. Proceeds from this St. Paddy's celebration benefit Park City Institute's Student Outreach Program. The revelry begins at 6 p.m. Dressing the part is encouraged, but not required.

A sprightly affair, the Saints & Sinners Ball includes cocktails, dinner, an auction (with fiendishly clever and positively heavenly goods on the block) and dancing to live music. And there will be shenanigans...

But in the end, it's all about the kids. Student Outreach has been a vital part of PCI's mission since the organization's inception. Bill Cosby was the first artist to perform as a part of the program in 1998. Since then, hundreds of world-renowned dancers, musicians, actors, filmmakers, tech-savvy production artists, comedians, authors and cultural groups have worked with students in Summit County. These performers and innovators put on workshops, classes, lecture-demonstrations and student-only performances.

"Without the support of saints and sinners among us -and we put the St. Regis in the 'saints' category for countless reasons - we couldn't offer these free, student outreach events, which are integral to our organization," says PCI executive director Teri Orr. "Student outreach is about introducing young people to the arts - the magic, the hard work, the inspiration, the limitlessness of creativity. It's transformative. And it's necessary. We can't thank our supporters enough for keeping this program going strong for 17 years."

This season, approximately 2,000 students have already experienced workshops, demonstrations, talks and performances: the actor-writer-composer team of "Witness Uganda" met with drama students; speaker/economist Mark Anderson spoke to ethics and English classes while "Not Impossible's" Mick Ebeling gave a talk to architecture and leadership classes; Choo-Choo Soul chugged into a first grade classroom; Green River Ordinance jammed with high school jazz students; dance students of all ages learned from Parsons and MOMIX professionals in a series of master classes; and several Sundance filmmakers met with middle school and high school classes. In the past, students have taken master dance classes from Ailey II professionals; watched Tibetan monks create a sand mandala; learned ribbon dancing from Chinese dancer, Lily Cai; rocked out with The Bacon Brothers (Kevin and Michael); brainstormed songwriting techniques with rock band Delta Rae; conducted a Q&A with actor Jeff Daniels; and glimpsed the gravity-defying art of cirque acts.

Another aspect of PCI's Student Outreach Program, The After-School Tech Program, allows students to learn the backstage ropes from experts in the field. In some cases, the weekly program has given those "at risk" a creative outlet and a sense of belonging. For others, it has led to college scholarships and career opportunities. Working towards a journeyman's certification, many technical theater students leave the program equipped to work the lights, sound and stage management of theaters around the country. Today, these former tech program students are some of PCI's most valued crew members.

PCI's Student Outreach captures imaginations, broadens horizons and inspires careers. The Saints & Sinners Ball on March 14 is a wickedly fun way to keep this program going strong.

Tickets to the Saints & Sinners Ball are $200 per person or $1,800 for a table of 10. Please call The Eccles Center box office at 435-655-3114 or purchase tickets online at www.ecclescenter.org.