R S V P / ORANGE COUNTY : Celebration Takes Off With an Art Show and a Show of Support

Hundreds of supporters from Orange County’s arts and education communities gathered at Crystal Court in Costa Mesa last week to launch the 11th annual Imagination Celebration.

Co-sponsored by the Orange County Performing Arts Center and the Orange County Department of Education, the 15-day festival (through May 5) features arts-related activities at 30 sites throughout the county.

Feasts and More

Besides the chance to graze on fare from mall restaurants, guests could view--count ‘em--1,000 pieces of art by schoolchildren. Displayed on easels throughout the three-level retail center are paintings, drawings, prints and mixed-media pieces. Selected from more than 6,500 entries, the paintings make up one of the county’s largest displays of student art. Other festival locations for art by children: the Huntington Beach Art Center, Laguna Hills Mall and the Irvine Fine Arts Center.

Also on view at the kickoff event were performances by the Firebird Russian Folk Ensemble, a Pageant of the Arts performed by children from McGaugh Elementary School and an Imaginarium ballet by Coast Ballet Theater.

Imaginative Support

Along with Crystal Court general manager Anton Segerstrom, Sharon Lesk and Ellis Stern--co-trustees of the Leo Freedman Foundation--were honored for their support of Imagination Celebration, which was designed to encourage creativity in children and teenagers. Phyllis Berenbeim, president of the festival board, was also singled out for leadership. With their assistance, the festival has developed into one of the largest of its kind in the country.

In 1993, the Leo Freedman Foundation made a five-year, $1-million grant to the Performing Arts Center. “Ellis and I said the center could use the money any way it wanted, as long as we were a major underwriter every year of this event,” said Lesk, a lawyer. “Arts-education outreach is something we care deeply about.”