Every year, thousands of students come from throughout the Central Coast to attend live performances at the Performing Arts Center. This year, while the facility’s doors are closed, the Performing Art Center and Cal Poly Arts’ Poly Arts for Youth, are offering virtual field trips for local schools. Designed to keep students connected to the arts while distance learning, the virtual field trips are a combination of performances and interactive workshops created for a variety of grade levels.
“We are thrilled to be reconnecting with schools,” said Outreach Program Manager Andrea Castillo. “The virtual student matinees feature many beloved artists that have joined us onstage for student matinees in the past.”
Close to 3,000 students have already registered to take part in the virtual field trip series, which features performances from Sonia De Los Santos, Dan Zanes, Black Violin, Doktor Kaboom and Kattam and his Tam Tams. The virtual field trips are presented at no cost to schools, thanks to the generous support of the Harold J. Miossi Charitable Trust, and Foundation for the Performing Arts Center partners.
The Harold J. Miossi Trust as the Presenting Sponsor of the School Matinee Program has supported the PAC’s efforts of bringing thousands of students to free programs in the last five years. The support of the Trust has allowed the PAC team to pivot to virtual programming and to continue to be a primary source of arts education in the Central Coast region.
“We know that teachers are working harder than ever,” said Castillo. “This turn-key online programming is designed to bring the performing arts to virtual classrooms by connecting teachers and students with world class performers in music, theatre and dance.”
The first virtual School Matinee Program will come from Sonia de los Santos, who has previously performed at the PAC. Sonia is a Grammy Award winning Mexican singer-songwriter who shares messages of joyful community music making and cultural bridge building with her young audience members.
The Sonia de los Santos performance is sponsored by Bank of America. Bank of America has long supported the School Matinee Program. “We know that the arts are an important part of a child’s education,” said Greg Bland, Central Coast Market President. “Bank of America is proud to support arts education endeavors in our region, especially those as impactful as the School Matinee Program.”
All San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara County K-12 students are invited to participate in the virtual 2020- 21 School Matinee Program season. Please visit pacslo.org for details and to register your school. If you would like to support the School Matinee Program and the PAC’s efforts to continue to provide arts and culture opportunities for our entire Central Coast community, both during and after this pandemic, please visit www.fpacslo.org.