Local music and theater teacher Sarah Raines recently accepted the role of Youth Arts Education and Arts Advocacy Program Coordinator at Youth ARTS Alive, according to the program’s founder and director, Gale McNeeley. Raines studied music at New York University and acting at the Pacific Conservatory Theatre before beginning her teaching career.
Thanks to grants awarded by the Fund for Santa Barbara, the California Arts Council, and the Santa Barbara Arts Commission, Raines will organize free classes for youth in visual and performing arts and use her new position to lobby city government, local businesses, and schools to provide more funds for public arts and education.
“We plan to continue providing arts education in Santa Maria, while following safety guidelines for public health,” Raines said in a press release from Youth ARTS Alive.
Starting July 13 and through July 31, Youth ARTS Alive will host classes in theater, ukulele, guitar, drumming, dance, visual arts, and pottery at the Abel Maldonado Community Youth Center in Santa Maria. Each class will comply with public safety guidelines, including requiring masks and that participants remain at least 6 feet apart at all times.
To find out more about Youth ARTS Alive and its summer schedule, visit youthartsalive.org. The Abel Maldonado Community Youth Center is located at 600 S. McClelland St., Santa Maria.
This article appears in Jun 18-25, 2020.