Kauffman Center Welcomes 4,500+ Attendees And 700 Youth Performers At Annual Free Community Event

Today, the Kauffman Center's sixth annual Future Stages Festival showcased more than 700 youth artists performing on four Kauffman Center stages, including the Saint Luke's Outdoor Stage, Muriel Kauffman Theatre, Helzberg Hall, and an outdoor Community Stage dedicated to small ensemble performances and audience engagement activities.

Thirty-four performing arts organizations headlined the free event that welcomed the entire community. More than 4,500 patrons attended the annual celebration that featured various performance styles ranging from dance, circus, vocal, orchestral and more. Guests also enjoyed 19 free arts activities provided by community organizations, and the festival welcomed new partners Latino Arts Foundation and Folk Alliance International. The festival is presented by the Kauffman Center's Premier Partner, Saint Luke's Health System.

Future Stages Festival has been inviting audiences of all ages to experience the arts. As part of the Kauffman Center's Open Doors program, for the past six years Future Stages Festival has:

· Featured 4,000+ youth performers

· Highlighted 70+ community arts performance groups

· Welcomed 30,000+ guests

· Presented dozens of arts activities for guests of all ages

"The Kauffman Center is proud to host the community for a day of family-friendly programming, all while supporting Kansas City's future artists," said Kauffman Center President and CEO Paul Schofer. "Through the Kauffman Center's Open Doors Program, Future Stages Festival provides young people access to our stages through this annual performing arts celebration. The festival is a huge part of our ongoing efforts to build the future of the performing arts in Kansas City."

Future Stages Festival is part of the Kauffman Center's Open Doors Spotlight on Youth access program designed to share the Kauffman Center's stages with a wide range of local artists and youth performers.

In addition to Spotlight on Youth, the Kauffman Center's Open Doors program offers transportation subsidies for schools to attend matinee programs, provides free community tickets to non-profit agencies, and designs opportunities for students to engage with Kauffman Center staff through workshops and internships. Through its various initiatives, the Open Doors program is vital to the Kauffman Center's efforts to promote and invest in arts advocacy.

"The Kauffman Center is committed to promoting diversity in the arts, and the unique range of performers today achieved that goal. One of our missions is to make the arts more accessible to our great community, which is vital in nurturing the future generations of artists," said Schofer.

The Kansas City metropolitan area is teeming with talented youth artists, all with big dreams of performing on stages the size of their ambitions. The Kauffman Center is committed to recognizing the local young talent at Future Stages Festival by showcasing them on stages that are shared with national and international performers. After another successful Future Stages Festival, the Kauffman Center is thrilled to continue the event's annual tradition of celebrating diverse performing arts disciplines and youth artists from across the greater Kansas City area.

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