“Express Yourself” Kicks-Off 25th Anniversary Celebrations!
Co-chairs Debbie Ponn & Vicky Boylan celebrate ExYo25!
To kick-off a year-long series of the 25th Silver Anniversary celebrations, Express Yourself hosted an open house “Friendraiser” on Friday, December 7th for over 100 guests, supporters and friends! Hosted by the EXYO25 Anniversary Committee at the Express Yourself studios, the night was a dazzling event that included special ExYo youth performances, guest arts immersion experiences, martini’s, caterer edibles, and music by Boston’s jazz great Stan Strickland and his multi-talented band.
For the first time, we had three ExYo Mentors share their personal stories in front of an audience, speaking to the positive and lasting impact arts immersion has made on their lives. They were followed by our ExYo Dancers busting out high-energy hip-hop choreography on the dance floor. We are incredibly proud of our youth’s talent.
While the band rocked the dance floor and guests were treated to the soul moving vocals of Wanetta Jackson. Nancy Ostrovsky, painted 4 dynamic paintings that were auctioned off and captured the energy, joy and music in the room.
Party guests participated in a traditional drumming circle by Master Drummer Joh Camara who explored African rhythms to everyone’s astonishment and delight.
Express Yourself 25th Anniversary Kickoff event was the start of our fundraising campaign. With a goal of $125,000, over $41,924 has been raised so far! Many thanks to all our longtime supports and new friends who came out to celebrate Express Yourself’s mission empowering youth through arts immersion.
Most importantly, we want to extend a huge THANK YOU to our event co-chairs, Debbie Ponn & Vicky Boylan for all their amazing hard work, decorating, party planning and making the appetizers, this celebration would not have been possible without their dedication and support and fun energy!
Sad you missed out? Festivities will continue February 9, 2019 with EXYO25 in-studio “Friendraiser party! Everyone’s invited & we hope to see you there!
Don’t forget to mark your calendars for our EXYO25 25th Anniversary show on May 23rd, 2019! Don’t miss it!
All Photos by Roger Farrington.