Lisa David offers a fun, engaging experience teaching oil painting or pottery to high school students. Lisa is an award winning artist from Saratoga County, NY. After a long career as a production potter, Lisa became an art teacher and earned National Board Certification. Lisa taught at Schenectady School District and at Shenendehowa in Clifton Park, NY where she instructed hundreds of students in advanced drawing & painting and craft classes. She took up painting still life, landscape and narrative paintings. Her simple approach to still life painting has advanced her hundreds of high school students into acceptance into the best art schools. Her emphasis on observational drawing, seeing color, using value and composition to engage the viewer are taught during instruction. Lisa’s vintage-inspired still life is sold online and through her gallery representation at Spa Fine Art, Saratoga. She often plein air paints (paint outside from life) and has taught numerous workshops and classes at Saratoga Arts Center. Her numerous high school students have recalled their plein air painting as their “best art experience." Her pottery skills are also exemplary. Lisa once owned Picket Pottery, a production pottery business, selling her functional wares across the country. Once represented with over 18 salespeople, her pottery was sold in hundreds of stores nationwide. Lisa still throws pots, although does so for enjoyment rather rather than for profit. If you are interested in having Lisa demonstrate painting or pottery and talk about the art of business, please reach out! She is a natural with students of all ages.

Wendy and DB Duo and Band - Get your Sunny Side UP with Grammy nominated and award-winning kindie duo from Chicago, with two vocals, guitar and a ukulele, Wendy and DB blend their powerful voices, write and perform songs about science, nature, diversity, animals, safety, and the arts. Their unique style is reflected in the music and catchy lyrics along with their vocal harmonies. They examine the world with curiosity and what you experience is just plain fun!  Wendy and DB Pioneers of Blues for kids and families concerts are high energy and get everyone moving, singing, and dancing.   Grammy Nominated in 2023 in the Best Children’s category for their album “Into the Little Blue House” a blues album for children and families. “Get your Sunny Side Side UP” is the bands 8th album filled with positive pop songs that will light up the whole neighbor with sunshine.

The program involves creating movement plays. Experimental Dance Theatre.

Buffalo Comedy Collective is Western New York’s home for improv comedy! Our offerings break down into three major sections: - Performances: Our mainstage show is Comedysportz, an all-ages improvisational comedy show played as a sport. This high energy short-form improv show has two teams of professional comedians improvising games, songs, jokes, and scenes while a referee calls fouls and fields suggestions from you, our loyal fans. Loyal fans will vote for which team they like best and Mx Voice will declare an ultimate winner for the evening! Best of all, this show uses humor that is appropriate for people of any age. We're clean enough for your kids to enjoy and funny enough to have adults laughing out loud. - Education: We offer workshops that help students connect, open up, and laugh! These interactive sessions have students up & moving while being creative, working together, and learning the importance of support through positivity. Workshops can be held as individual focus groups, combined with a performance, or set-up as an interactive, informal performance where the focus is on getting as many participants involved that are interested. - Professional development: The fun isn't only for kids! Improv helps to develop comfortability in public speaking, enhance communication skills, improve active listening & adaptability, and boost creativity. Studies have shown that improv also helps to reduce anxiety, stress, and uncertainty intolerance, making these skills useful in both a private & workplace setting.

Mars pottery offers raku workshops all day workshops where students create and fire their work in the Japanese art of raku. We also offer sculpture classes and children’s classes. @ginamarspottery

My name is I’m Billy Floyd and I'm the arena host and in-game announcer for the Adirondack Thunder, Union Men’s and Women’s Hockey, and the Glens Falls Dragons. Since 2021, I’ve been blessed enough to entertain and connect with fans all over the Capital Region and North Country -- especially kids! This year, I’m bringing that same energy and positivity right into schools. When I visit, we play trivia and fun games (just like we would do at the arena or ballpark for in-game entertainment) and I give away prizes. But here’s the thing... every trivia question and game comes with a valuable lesson that kids can really take with them. I also share stories from my own life about why failing and losing isn’t the end, how to bounce back, and why it’s so important to support others when it’s their time to shine. We talk about surrounding yourself with people who lift you up, doing what you love, why creativity is key, and why taking action matters more than anything else. Basically, I want to help students build confidence, stay positive, and have fun while learning how to succeed on and off the field. It's critical for my presentations to be extremely interactive because I want all of the kids to be involved in the "show" and this is my favorite way to connect with everyone. I'm beyond thrilled to bring the good vibes to your school!

I am an award-winning children's bool author, poet and photographer with over 45 books. With so many books I discuss how I achieved success by cultivating the Mind, Body and Spirit. In this inspiring and fun group presentation, I discuss my books, my life, my inspiration and how students can achieve success. Since many of my books are in verse, I offer poetry and creative writing workshops. As a photographer I also offer photo workshops.

The mission of The Vanaver Caravan is to inspire, through dance and music, the harmonious co-existence of world cultures and traditions, to promote peace and celebrate our humanity. Artistic directors, Bill and Livia Vanaver, have dedicated over 50 years to learning and sharing dance traditions from every corner of the earth. They have traveled across the globe, creating lasting life-long friendships along the way. Our international collective of professional Teaching Artists are trained with an extensive knowledge in our world dance and music repertoire. All of our faculty learn The Vanaver Caravan's holistic, gentle teaching philosophy: keeping students focused and disciplined in a positive and respectful way. Students are given space to learn and grow in an environment that fosters curiosity, creative thinking skills, and self-esteem through kinesthetic learning.

1. K-12 Storytelling Workshop 2. Professional Development for Teachers and Staff 3. Train the Teacher in Storytelling Writing on Your Feet is an exciting new storytelling course for students in grades K-12. Developed over a five-year period in partnership with Taconic Hills Elementary School, Writing on Your Feet provides students the opportunity to generate story ideas, teaches concepts such as a story arc and the skills of live storytelling. Writing on Your Feet complements most schools’ personal narrative writing curricula by introducing students to an innovative approach to storytelling that helps them identify what they want to say in their story, as well as how to say it; students first learn to speak their story and then, after doing so, are prepared to write it down. Writing on Your Feet is a highly impactful, program that uniquely scaffolds a school’s writing curriculum by introducing kids to personal narrative development through storytelling. The Ancram Center believes that this kind of creative pedagogy–one that allows for a wide range of learners to develop an essential skill–is key to supporting individual academic attainment. The course is taught over four 45-minute classes with an optional storytelling event to culminate the students’ work. The classes can be completed over two to four weeks depending on a school’s needs. The Ancram Center also offers one-time two-hour versions of this workshop. Professional development workshops and train the teacher sessions are also available.

Top U.S. youth motivational speaker Jordan Toma, who wrote the self published book: I'm Just A Kid With An IEP* that has sold over 100,00 copies, with a social media presence exceeding 3.6 million followers is looking to reach and inspire people of all ages and abilities with his story and message: My Struggle Is My Strength. jordantoma.com *IEP = Individualized Education Program

My name is Michael Fry, and I'm a 4-time World Champion jump roper, speaker, and founder of Let's Jump L.A. Let's Jump L.A. offers jump rope assemblies and P.E. Takeovers for schools across the country. We’ve worked with over 90 schools, teaching students how to jump rope as an exciting way to learn about persisting through failure, working together, and treating others with kindness. The assembly is a 35 minute show that includes jump rope performances, audience participation, double dutch, high-energy music, and motivational messages. We focus on the importance of kindness, working together, and being persistent in the face of failure. The P.E. takeover is more hands-on learning. We work with rotating groups of up to 50 students at a time, for 30 minutes each. With each new skill they learn, students realize that they can improve at any endeavor with practice and patience.

Brian Zickafoose is an award-winning Hudson Valley muralist, illustrator, and educator whose work bridges fine art and community engagement. As founder of Splash Art Murals, he transforms storefronts and public spaces across New York with vibrant seasonal and thematic designs that celebrate creativity, collaboration, and local identity. His large-scale projects—such as the Seeds of Connection mural at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds and the Art Day in the Village community banner series—demonstrate how art can activate public spaces and inspire collective pride. Through interactive workshops and artist-in-residence programs, Brian guides students in exploring visual storytelling, symbolism, and design thinking while building confidence and teamwork. His programs align with Visual Arts and SEL standards and can be adapted for grades 3–12 in classroom, assembly, or mural formats.