Last Chance! Order BPA Gear by Thursday!

Support our Ballard Performing Arts groups! Show your BPA pride around town! Grab a T-shirt or sweatshirt to wear to football games and parades this fall. Or just show up with Beaver pride at gigs throughout the year. Either way, this is the only place to get BPA branded gear this fall. Place your order by Thursday, September 28th! Your order will be ready for pick up at our Striving to Stand Out Kick Off at Bickersons Brewery on Wednesday, October 18th (see below for more details).

Click here to order on Zeffy, our new fee-free payment platform. 

Click here for screenshots that show you how to opt-out of Zeffy’s request for a donation.

Goodwill Fill-a-Truck Event | Oct 15

Every school year we have two Goodwill special events to “Fill-a-Truck” with your donated items. Please spread the word to your neighbors about our first event of the school year, on Sunday, October 15th from 9 am - 12 pm in the north parking lot of campus. For every trailer we fill, our programs will receive $600 (there will be two trucks at each event). Please do not bring your recyclables or broken items. Early drop off is not allowed. The trailer may leave the premises if items have been left prior to opening at 9 am. Thanks for your cooperation.

Please note, the event will end early if the trucks are filled before noon.

Volunteers are needed for the Goodwill event!

Students can earn service hours and parents are encouraged to participate. Tasks include sorting, unloading cars and traffic control.

Sign up for the October 15 event here! 

Save the Date | Oct 18 Striving to Stand Out Kick Off at Bickersons Brewhouse

Join us at Bickersons Brewhouse on Wed Oct 18 from 5:30-8:30 pm for a family friendly evening of student performances to kick off our Striving to Stand Out fundraising campaign. Admission is free! 

In addition to enjoying free live entertainment, you will be able to… 

• Meet other wonderful BPA families
• Preorder food (coming soon)
• Enter a raffle 
• Participate in fun activities
• Pick up your BPA gear
• Celebrate the beginning of an outstanding year of BPA events!

What is the Striving to Stand Out Campaign?

The fundraising theme of the Ballard Performing Arts Booster Club this fall is Striving to Stand Out: Excellence, Access, and Community through the Arts.

We want our BPA programs to Stand Out! We are raising funds to:

• Support excellent high-quality educational experiences.
• Provide access so ALL BPA students can participate fully in the program(s) of their choice.
• Collaborate with professional performing artists to enrich our programs and create community through the arts! 

*The campaign will run from Oct 18 - Nov 15, 2023.

Stay in the loop with Remind

THE BPAB uses a REMIND app that provides a one-way texting system to keep students and families in the loop for all of our activities and events; for example, concert and event locations, call times and pick up times, field trip deadlines and information, etc. It's easy to sign up for any and all groups you need to track during the school year, and receive important messages via text. Did you sign up last year? The codes change every year, so you'll need to update.

Click here for 2023-2024 Remind codes: https://www.ballardperformingarts.org/remind-info-and-codes

Band

First Home Football Game and Leavenworth Parade 

The back-to-back first football game and Leavenworth Parade schedule of last weekend made for an exciting, intense and memorable experience! The weather was very accommodating; the band played amazingly, and they took 2nd place in the parade. Congratulations to the BHS marching band!

Football Game this Friday at 7:45PM - Senior Night!

The band will be performing at the home football game this Friday at 7:45 pm, which is Senior Night for band seniors. It is tradition for senior families to attend this game to have their picture taken with their student and Mr. Gillespie. We still need two chaperones, as well as help after the game with uniforms. Please sign up here to help! Please note the after school marching band practice on Thursday, September 28th from 3:45-5:30 pm. The students will be practicing for the homecoming show. 

Upcoming Dates

Mark your calendars for these marching band rehearsals and upcoming performances:

• September 28th, Thursday, 3:45 - 5:30 pm @ Ballard, marching band field practice.
• September 29th, Friday, 5:45 pm call time to get uniforms on for 7:45 pm football game at Memorial Stadium. Senior night! 
• October 6th, ALL DAY REHEARSAL. Students get out of class, Homecoming that night.
• October 13th, Friday, call time 3:00 pm to get uniforms on for 5pm football game at Memorial Stadium (no school)

Band Class Fees

Every music class has an annual fee to help pay for buses, trips, uniforms, sheet music, and other supplies that support the students and the program. If you’ve forgotten whether you’ve paid or not, check on zeffy.com! 

Please click here to pay your annual Band Class Fee.

Choir

Concert Choir and Advanced Chorale Camp is this weekend, September 29th - October 1st

Check the packing list - everyone needs a sleeping bag, pillow, and towel. We have all of our volunteer chaperones, thank you.

Keep turning in the camp packets. Your student can put it in the secure black box in the band room. Wondering if you’ve turned it in or not? Email Jill at bpabtreasurer@gmail.com.

Have you paid for camp?

Go to Zeffy.com, log in, and check your transactions, or email bpabtreasurer@gmail.com.

Zeffy is our new fee-free payment platform. For details about how to opt out of their request for a donation, click here.

Small Group Auditions

TENOR BASS ENSEMBLE: Auditions for Tenor Bass Ensemble will take place later in September. Stay tuned for more info!

Choir Class Fee

Every music class has an annual fee to help pay for buses, trips, uniforms, sheet music, and other supplies that support the students and the program.

Please click here to pay your annual Choir class fee.

Upcoming Dates

• Saturday October 21st - Tenor/Bass Festival at Roosevelt - details to follow.
• Wednesday October 25th- Fall Choir Concert
• Saturday October 28th - Concert Choir with Apollo 5 at St. Mark’s - 2 pm (1:45 pm call time) rehearsal and evening concert
• Friday November 10th - Vocal Jazz at Meadowdale High School*
• Wednesday November 15th - Concert Choir at CWU Choral Classic - all day*
• Tuesday December 5th - Vocal Jazz Caroling*
• Saturday December 9th - Chamber Choir and Tenor Bass at Seattle Seachordsmen

* Chaperones will be needed - details to follow.

Orchestra

Ballard Fiddlers

The Ballard Fiddlers group will meet weekly on Tuesdays starting on September 12 from 6:30 pm-8:00 pm in the main band/orchestra room with coach Kat Bula. The Fiddlers ensemble is composed of students who play the violin, viola, cello, bass, guitar, mandolin etc. Fiddlers members work to refine their improvisational skills, learn music in an aural tradition, and perform authentic American roots music by arranging traditional tunes of the American Roots and Jazz repertoire. The Fiddlers ensemble performs at school concerts and special events and is available for private performances throughout the year. All acoustic string instruments are welcome! 

Theatre

Fall Play | Sonnets for a New Century

The fall play, "Sonnet for a New Century," will be performed on Oct 19th, 20th, and 21st at 7:30 pm.

The show is a devised play based on the work of playwright Jose Rivera. It explores themes of love, loss, and everything in between. A rare opportunity for our students to speak as themselves, "Sonnets" is written by the students about their own lives. It is a vulnerable, honest piece about what it means to grow up in a new century, with a world of unknown laid out ahead.

Click here to buy tickets!

The district only pays for teachers’ salaries; everything else we have to raise or donate.

Donate Wine, Gift Cards, or Raffle Items

Help make our Striving to Stand Out kick off party a success by donating a bottle of wine, a gift card to a local restaurant or store, and/or a raffle item (such as tickets to a performance, sporting event, or a stay at a vacation home). Email Kris at bpabfundraising@gmail.com to donate! Or click here to join our procurement team!

Become a Sponsor for the 2023-2024 School Year!

If you own a business (or know of a business) that would benefit from advertising on our programs, website, and newsletters, click here to learn about all the perks of becoming a corporate sponsor.

Goodwill Truck Volunteers needed!

Students can earn Service Learning Hours by volunteering at the Goodwill Trailer event on Sunday, Oct 15 from 9 am - noon. Parents and guardians, we can use your help too!

We need help on site: sorting donations, unloading cars, and keeping traffic moving in the parking lot. Gloves will be available. Please dress for the weather.

Click here to sign up!

Lots of Volunteer Opportunities

See a position that interests you? Click here to sign up for these volunteer opportunities:

• Emcee/Announcer at gigs
• Procurement Team
• Communications Committee
• Social Media Committee
• Newsletter Committee
• Graphic Designer (event posters/graphics)
• Uniforms Committee
• Spring Mattress Sale Coordinator (May)
• Visual Media Lead (archive our photos)
• Poster Distribution Team

Want more information? Read about these volunteer opportunities on our website!

Interested? Email bpabvolunteers@gmail.com with any questions.

Check out our YouTube Channel to watch last year’s wonderful performances that were captured on video!

Check out past performances any time on our YouTube and Vimeo channels.

Snowflake Lane Opportunity!

Every year, Snowflake Lane hires a group of drummers (think high-energy marching band) who contribute to a spectacular holiday parade that occurs nightly along Bellevue Way. And we would love to count your talented musicians among them!

We audition performers 14 years of age and up (there is no age cap, so instructors and staff are encouraged to audition as well), and hire musicians for snare drum, bass drum, and cymbals. As per usual, Snowflake Lane will run nightly from Black Friday to Christmas Eve (11/24-12/24). Drummer auditions will be held on September 30th, 2023. Drummers will earn a minimum of $40 per night, with plenty of additional opportunities for bonuses throughout the season (meaning they can earn over $1,400 if they commit to every rehearsal and all 31 performances). Use this link to complete the audition form for a chance to become a part of the holiday magic: https://bit.ly/2023SFL_Audition_Form