Reporters and editors: This is a great annual event and I hope you'll have
time to fully cover it. The parade route will start at the Monroe Clark
Middle School field (4388 Thorn St. [92105]), go east on Myrtle and north
on 45th to Rosa Parks Elementary School (4510 Landis St. [92105]), circle
the elementary school playground and then retrace the route back to the
middle school.
Probably the best location to setup is at Monroe Clark Middle School as
the kids get ready. Principal Tom Liberto should be available for
interviews, as will folks from the San diego Guild of Puppetry.
See release below.
Contacts: Lynne Jennings, 619-987-5345, lynnejenn@aol.com; or
or Mary Pat Hutt, 619-884-5069, marypathutt@yahoo.com.
Jack Brandais | Communications Department | San Diego Unified School
District | (619) 725-5570 (Desk) | (619) 607-0477 (Cell)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
8th Annual City Heights Giant Puppet Parade Celebration
At 8:15 am Tuesday, July 9, 2013, San Diego Guild of Puppetry lead
artist, Felix Diaz¹s whistle will blow, the drum group from Monroe Clark
Middle School will set the beat, and rank upon rank of 6th graders will
set out on a spirited march to their feeder elementary, Rosa Parks, in the
8th annual, ³Welcome to Middle School² parade.
Students will parade with masks, giant puppets and banners that they and
6th graders from previous years have created, inspired by their studies of
different cultures (giant snakes, inspired by the Mesoamerican plumed
serpent god, Chinese dragons and tall African effigy figures.
As the middle schoolers approach the elementary playground, they will be
joined by Rosa Parks¹ graduating 5th graders, bearing the masks that they
created. After parading before the entire school population, the
procession, now close to 600 students strong, will march together back to
Monroe Clark, marking the passage to middle school, in a larger than life
celebration.
Funding for the original parade in 2006 came from an Arts and Culture
Community Impact grant from The San Diego Foundation, with additional and
continuing funding every year from A-I-S grants from the California Arts
Council, a state agency, the NEA, a federal agency, the City of San Diego
Commission for Arts and Culture, and the Dr. Seuss Foundation.
This support has kept the parade going and growing into a magical, annual
event that celebrates student transition to middle school, while at the
same time, spotlighting cultures, collaborative effort and community
building.
Mentoring the process, the San Diego Guild of Puppetry, is hard at work to
make giant puppet parade pageantry an important element in the San Diego
community at large. Other public, multi-community giant puppet parades
have included those at Theatre of the World Festivals at SDSU, ocean and
dragon themed parades at the Museum of Art, a number of Dia de los Muertos
Celebrations, and parades along downtown San Diego¹s waterfront.
Lynne Jennings, Guild Board Chair explains: ³Giant puppetry, by its very
size, inspires awe. It builds stronger communities, as individuals become
part of a committed team effort. It engenders the realization that working
together, people can effect powerful and positive change. It invites
participants and spectators of all ages, cultures, and backgrounds to join
hands in celebration!²
Everyone is invited to come and cheer. The parade route will start at the
Monroe Clark Middle School field, go east on Myrtle and north on 45th to
Rosa Parks, circle the elementary school playground and then retrace the
route back to the middle school.
For further parade or puppetry guild information, please contact:
Lynne Jennings at 619-987-5345; email:
lynnejenn@aol.com<mailto:lynnejenn@aol.com> or
sandiegopuppetry@gmail.com<mailto:sandiegopuppetry@gmail.com>.
or Mary Pat Hutt at 619-884-5069; email:
marypathutt@yahoo.com<mailto:marypathutt@yahoo.com>
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