By Sue Fishkoff

Staff

Thursday, February 27, 2003

KIDS ON PARADE...The CARL CHERRY CENTER FOR THE ARTS opens its ANNUAL HIGH SCHOOL ART EXHIBIT, "THINKING OUT LOUD," with a reception Saturday from 2-4pm. Last year''s exhibit demonstrated a high level of technical skill and artistic talent, with some particularly breath-taking drawings and watercolors. This year''s crop of nearly 60 works of art is drawn from eight local high schools, and showcases excellence in pen and ink, ceramic, acrylic, bronze, watercolor and photography. The exhibit is being held in conjunction with the Cherry Center''s HIGH SCHOOL POETRY AWARDS, an annual event co-sponsored by the MONTEREY PUBLIC LIBRARY, held this year on APRIL 5. Twenty-five poems selected from over 200 submissions from county high school students will be published in an anthology, and their authors will be recognized in a ceremony that day at 1pm at the library. As our schools'' arts programs are cut to the bone, programs like these, made possible through a grant from the CULTURAL COUNCIL OF MONTEREY COUNTY, become ever more important ways to encourage young people to get out there and create.

LEARNING THE CRAFT...THE WESTERN STAGE is offering a hand up to actors, directors and other performers who have no venue for their art, with its fourth annual ONE-ACT FESTIVAL. This "class," which runs through May 3, will produce ten one-act plays, each of which will be performed publicly for one weekend, beginning MARCH 14. The plays themselves are legitimate works, written by well-established playwrights-it''s the production side, i.e. the acting, directing, and technical work, that is being learned here. For details on upcoming performances, call 755-6987.

HELP RENESSA...RENESSA ZIEGENHAGEN is a senior in the Art Academy at MONTEREY HIGH SCHOOL who is organizing a benefit arts and craft show and children''s carnival APRIL 5 as her senior project. She''s calling it "ART FROM THE HEART," and she hopes to raise money from proceeds to send to I-HELP Shelter Program and the 2003 ELCA (Lutheran) Youth Gathering. Renessa is looking for artist and craftspeople who would like to be vendors. Please call 899-5825 or write to haljo@redshift.com.

GET WELL KALISA...Cannery Row stalwart KALISA MOORE, owner of the historic LA IDA CAFE, is in the Monterey HOSPICE, just weeks after being celebrated as Queen of the Row at an event held in her honor at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Here''s wishing her a speedy recovery.