May 9th Exhibit at Lubeznik Center for the Arts will Raise Money for After-School Programs

An Explosion of Stories, Music and Art, at Lubeznik Center for the Arts, May 9th 6:30 PM

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"Spring Loaded: an Explosion of Stories, Music and Art" will be held at Lubeznik Center for the Arts (LCA), 101 2nd Street in Michigan City, IN on May 9th. Doors open at 6:30PM Central. Performance begins at 7:00PM. Cash bar. Tickets are $15 and available at www.brownpaperticket.com. Select Spring Loaded from events.

Featuring storytellers, Mary Dean Cason, Sandy Horwitz, Jill Howe, David Fink, Gregg Fraley, Sean Keen along with award-winning singer/songwriter, James Neary, this event will raise funds for the LCA's afterschool programs for Michoigan City schoolchildren. The performance will be surrounded by LCA's new exhibition, Looking Glass: Exploring Self Portaiture.

"And just to add to the fun, and play off the self portrait theme," says producer and performer, Mary Dean Cason, "we're including Prop Room Selfies, an event within an event." Chose from a variety of back stage props, hats, scarves, and more. Selfies will be posted in real time on the Spring Loaded 2015 Facebook page. Participants will vote for their favorites throughout the evening. The winner will take home a prize.

Most importantly the event will raise money and awareness for the remarkable programs LCA so willingly offers to area children. In partnership with Safe Harbor and Boys and Girls Club, they provide instruction in the visual arts, dance, music, language arts and so much more. "In an age where public schools struggle for the funding to provide these valuable resources," says Cason, " Lubeznik Center picks up the ball and keeps it rolling for over a thousand area kids."

James Neary, last year's Acorn Theater's Singer/Songwriter winner, will perform songs from his new album. Author, Gregg Fraley will emcee. Gregg's book, Jack's Notebook, is available though amazon.com. Jill Howe is the creator of Story Sessions, a performance group that packs them in at the West Loop's City Winery every month. Sandy Horwitz, also a storyteller from Chicago, will remind us what Beatlemania was all about with her story, "I Met the Beatles." Sean Keen, whose upcoming memoir, Near Mrs., will give us some insight to the modern dating world.

Acorn Theater owner, and founder of OutSpoken, a review for LGBT storytellers, David Fink, will also perform. And, finally, Mary Dean Cason, author of What Solomon Saw and Other Stories and founder of Michigan City's Wine, Women and Stories, will round out the evening.