PlayhouseSquare Hosts 16th Fair On The Square 5/4 In State Theater

The Arts Education Department at PlayhouseSquare will welcome hundreds of educators from all over Northeast Ohio to the 16th annual Fair on the Square presented by Huntington Bank on Monday, May 4th from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the State Theatre. At this free arts education and field trip expo, the only event of its kind in Greater Cleveland, educators can network with colleagues and prepare for next school year.

"Our goal for Fair on the Square is to inspire and nurture educators in providing meaningful arts experiences for their students," said Colleen Porter, director of arts education at PlayhouseSquare. "We also aim to support and celebrate Northeast Ohio's cultural community. Fair on the Square brings these two groups together for collaboration and networking to build a vibrant arts education community for our children."

Those who attend Fair on the Square this year will have the opportunity to browse through more than 50 exhibits to learn about field trips and curriculum enhancement opportunities available throughout Northeast Ohio for the 2009-2010 school year. Some of the exhibitors for this year include the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, Great Lakes Theater Festival, The Holden Arboretum, Inlet Dance Theatre, Progressive Arts Alliance and the Stocker Arts Center.

The Ohio Alliance for Arts Education is sponsoring three free professional development workshops before the Fair at 1 p.m. Educators can explore arts education assessment, how to identify and nurture artistic gifts and ways to use "Readers Theater" in the classroom.

The Mayhem Poets, in Cleveland as part of PlayhouseSquare's Discovery Theater Series, are scheduled to perform at Fair on the Square. The Mayhem Poets present a powerful spoken word opus that seamlessly mixes the power of personal expression, issues of diversity and acceptance, hilariously random topics and mind-boggling hip-hop rhythms.

Fair on the Square is also the first opportunity for educators to find out what shows will be presented by the Arts Education Department as part of the 2009-2010 Discovery Theater Series for Schools. "We are very proud of the series we've put together for next year. There will be a wide variety of opportunities for educators to share the experience of live theater with their students," explained Porter.

Support for Fair on the Square is provided by Huntington Bank, Cuyahoga County residents through Cuyahoga Arts & Culture, Dominion, First Energy, the Ohio Arts Council and WFHM 95.5 FM "The Fish."

Educators can register for Fair on the Square and the three professional development workshops online at playhousesquare.org/faironthesquare.