On Thursday, Nov. 7, the Marblehead High School Friends of the Performing Arts will host their annual Rock the Arts gala at the King Hooper Mansion, 8 Hooper St. The celebration is the biggest fundraiser for performing arts at MHS each year, and student performers rely on the donations from guests to fund transportation to venues, theater productions, field trips, senior scholarships and more.
The festivities will begin at 7 p.m., when guests are encouraged to arrive in cocktail dress and dancing shoes. In addition to live music from the band Code Blue and hors d’oeuvres, the evening’s events include raffles and a silent auction.
“When we started Rock the Arts four years ago, we decided that in addition to a fundraiser, we want this event to be a community builder,” wrote Chair Slyvia Kane to the Current. “We saw it as a way to increase the visibility of the performing arts at the high school and bring all of its supporters together for a night of fun.”
FoPA has many goals this year that they hope to finance with the proceeds from Rock the Arts, including purchasing a new trophy case for performance awards, updating the framed portraits and banners for seniors in the music hall, and helping to subsidize costs for students hoping to join the performing arts department trip to Ireland this April break.
In the past, money from the Rock the Arts gala has helped FoPA provide opportunities to student singers, actors and instrumentalists. Last spring, they funded a field trip for the cast of the spring musical “The Prom” to see a professional production of the show and meet the cast. This past summer, they helped a cappella group The LumiTones release an album called “Glitz and Glimmer.”
In addition to these events, FoPA fills many needs for the student performers on a regular basis throughout the year. They provide dinners for drama students during long rehearsals, design and distribute yard signs to advertise the spring musical, and decorate venues for annual performances like the winter concert.
Each year, FoPA rents the Hooper Mansion, orders food and drinks, and books entertainment months in advance of the fundraiser. Following the announcement of the MHS spring musical last week, FoPA members have been running around to find matching decorations. This year’s gala will be “Hadestown”-themed.
