Life is Beautiful community program benefits Clark High School and Las Vegas homeless population
Press Release – Las Vegas – Life is Beautiful Music & Art Festival’s passion and commitment to Las Vegas extends beyond the three-day festival weekend with the return of two local outreach programs, Hands on Ideas, to make our schools beautiful and the Lighting Hope Project, reaching out to offer a beautiful day for the Las Vegas homeless community and to share the message to donate and help responsibly.
“It is important to give back to the community that has embraced us and accepted our festival with open arms since its inception,” said Justin Weniger, CEO of Life is Beautiful. “Each of these programs will create a better future for Las Vegas residents through empowering seminars, art projects, employment and resource opportunities and more.”
Hands on Ideas
In partnership with Project 150, Life is Beautiful will host Hands on Ideas to create a day where Clark High School is beautiful for more than 3,000 students on Friday, Sept. 9. The day’s activities will feature guest speakers, chef demonstrations by Panacea, plays by the Nevada Shakespeare Institute, yoga sessions, a drum circle presented by Community Productions, live performances and more. Motivational speakers, including Dray Gardner, COO of Making a Difference Enterprises, and John McNichol with Regular Hero, will each give students an inside look into what it takes to succeed and how to empower themselves. In addition, the students will help create inspirational murals on the school walls with Chase Carter with Right at Home; Gabe Gault with MM Productions; Las Vegas artist, The Stencil Artista; and Southern California artists John McNichol and Phenomenal Mark, in an effort to instill the message that each and every student has the power to succeed. Each student will also participate in a contest to create a mural of what they think is beautiful, which will be judged by the attending artists. The winning entry will be created by the artists and put on display.
A variety of prominent businesses and members of the community will also join Hands on Ideas including, singer-songwriter Megan Barker; Youth Outdoor Unity; Wee Souls Wellness for Children; and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. Notable attendees will include Judith Pinkerton, music therapist with Music 4 Life; Sheryl Green, founder of Paw It Forward Las Vegas and director of communications for Hearts Alive Village; and Lieutenant Sasha Larkin with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
Lighting Hope Project
As the festival moves into Downtown Las Vegas and closes off the streets, Life is Beautiful and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department will join forces on Tuesday, Sept. 20 to relocate the homeless population from the festival grid to the Corridor of Hope. Located at 200 Foremaster Lane, the Lighting Hope Project will offer a beautiful morning for Las Vegas’ homeless population, giving each person the tools they need to get back on their feet.
In the days leading up to the festival, the local homeless community will work to clean up the streets in exchange for a “Golden Ticket,” which will provide them with a variety of amenities and services provided by HELP of Southern Nevada, St. Joseph Catholic Church, CARE, Right at Home, Youth Outdoor Unity, Panacea, Wee Souls Wellness for Children, Deblanc Music and Regular Hero.
Programs that morning will include breakfast; motivational speakers; a job fair; on-site resources to help those in need to get their ID and needed documents; free haircuts; mobile showers; a detox bed; chef demonstrations by Panacea; a performance by Las Vegas Academy students and more. Organizations from across the city, including CARE located on Foremaster Lane where the murals will be painted, will have available job information. Last year, Little Caesars had success in hiring those willing and able to work in the homeless community, and will once again be providing homeless individuals the opportunity to find a job and begin earning an income.
Beginning the weekend prior to the event, Chase Carter, The Stencil Artista, Gabe Gault, John McNichol and Phenominal Mark will design and create an inspirational mural within the Corridor of Hope to remind everyone who looks at it to not give up hope and to keep striving for a better life.
Life is Beautiful brings Downtown Las Vegas to life for a three-night all-encompassing music, art, culinary and learning experience Sept. 23-25. Three-day and single-day tickets are still available for Life is Beautiful Music & Art Festival here. For highlights from last year’s festival, check out the Life is Beautiful 2015 Recap video. For more information on Life is Beautiful Music & Arts Festival, please visit www.lifeisbeautiful.com.
