Big Thought's 25th Anniversary Gala

Big Thought will kick off its 25th anniversary year with a gala celebration at The Adolphus Hotel on Saturday, Feb. 11th at 7:00 p.m. The evening will feature a seated dinner, entertainment and dancing. Organizers anticipate more than 250 guests will attend the celebration.

Founded in 1987 as Young Audiences of North Texas by Mitch Jericho and Edith O’Donnell, Big Thought has grown from a small arts agency to an organization focused on providing creative learning opportunities to hundreds of thousands of children and families each year.

Key programs include Thriving Minds, Creative Solutions, Library Live, SLANT: Service Learning Adventures in North Texas, and Young Audiences. Big Thought – working in partnership with the City of Dallas, Dallas ISD and hundreds of Dallas youth, cultural and educational organizations – serves more than 300,000 children, teens and families every year.

The evening will honor Big Thought co-founders Mitch Jericho and Edith O’Donnell and pay tribute to IBM and the Corrigan family, recipients of the 2012 Founders Award.

Contact: info@bigthought.org / http://www.bigthought.org/

DMA celebrates Mexico Bicentennial

Mark your calendars for next Friday, September 17 when Late Nights at the DMA celebrates the bicentennial of Mexico’s independence. There will be special lectures by Dr. Ron Tyler on José Guadalupe Posada, poet Homero Aridjis, and the Tejas Brothers will perform during the After Hours Music Showcase.

General admission is $10 or less. DMA members and children under 12 free. All activities are included in the price of general admission.

Celebrate the México 200 exhibitions and Mexico bicentennial with a night of music, performances in the galleries, films, Creativity Challenges, and family experiences, all focusing on Mexican culture.

Late Night Lecture 7:00 pm
José Guadalupe Posada and His Influence on Mexican Art
Join Dr. Ron Tyler, Director of the Amon Carter Museum, to discover the work of José Guadalupe Posada, the most influential Mexican artist of the early 20th century.

Creativity Challenges 8:00 & 10:00 pm
Teams compete with limited materials to design unique creations inspired by works of art.

Late Night Lecture 9:00 pm
Poet Homero Aridjis discusses and performs a reading of his work, which explores political consciousness, Mexico's cultural heritage, and environmental concerns.

Slant 45 9:30 – 11:30 pm
Make artistic reflections to document your community service project.

Late Night After Hours Music Showcase 10:00-11:00 pm - Atrium
The Tejas Brothers, a group formed in 2006 on a little stage in the historic Fort Worth Stockyards, put on a high energy show that is part honky-tonk country, part blues and rock, and part Tex-Mex. Featuring Texas musicians Dave Perez, John Garza, Danny Cochran, and Lex Cochran, the Tejas Brothers perform genuine Texas music.

For more information and a complete schedule of events, visit DMA online.

The Limelight: Slant 45

What is SLANT 45?
Service Learning Adventures in North Texas

The organization was formed by The North Texas Super Bowl XLV Host Committee and Big Thought. It is a youth education program that works with school districts throughout the region to reward its young participants. SLANT 45 was named after an actual football play used by Daryl Johnston and Emmitt Smith for the Dallas Cowboys.

Dedicated to making imagination a part of everyday learning, Big Thought is one of the nation’s leading nonprofit organizations focused on improving public education through creative learning. The combination of Big Thought’s credibility and the Super Bowl’s appeal create a winning team.
From now through December 2010, in one of the largest communitywide service-learning projects in U.S. history, an estimated 20,000 elementary-age students will log a combined 45,000 hours of service across North Texas. These youngsters, representing all socio-economic and cultural backgrounds and every corner of North Texas, will undertake projects large and small. Some will assist those in need or beautify neighborhoods. Others might stage a play for fundraising purposes. A few may even undertake the development of a mural project simply because it lifts the spirit.

Area school districts and private school systems are being enlisted to recruit groups of students and volunteers in communities across North Texas to participate in SLANT 45. Examples of these groups include neighborhood associations, church groups, classrooms and school clubs, PTAs, community-based organizations, scout troops, youth athletic teams and corporate groups.

Big Thought supports the program with materials to ensure that life skills are realized as learning outcomes within individual service-learning projects. Tools include workbooks, thought-starters for idea generation, key questionnaires, etc., for the children and adult project leaders of individual service projects.

After the hard work has been completed, it will be time to celebrate! The children who brought these unique projects to life will be invited to a special event in January 2011. More than 20,000 children and their adult leaders will join Big Thought and the Host Committee at a private event where they will be congratulated for their accomplishments and celebrated for their commitment to their community.

To learn more about the concept of service learning and how you can get involved with SLANT, visit http://www.slant45.org/