UACDC to Host University Area Community Arts Festival, Showcasing Local Talent

The University Area Community Development Corporation (UACDC) will hold its first Arts Rise! North Tampa Festival of the Arts on Saturday, Nov. 9 from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. The festival will take place at its community center, located at 14013 North 22nd Street in Tampa, and will showcase local creative arts-based businesses, nonprofits, residents and schools in the University and Tampa Bay area.

“Visual and performing arts are an important part of the development of our community,” said UACDC CEO, Dan Jurman. “We believe cultural arts can transform lives of families within the University Area, giving them a safe and unique environment to learn and express themselves.”

The Arts Rise! North Tampa Festival of the Arts is free to all and will include live music, theater, dance, visual arts, food and children’s activities.

“The Arts Rise! Festival will be a fantastic opportunity for artists to showcase their work and for the community to learn about new and upcoming artists,” said local artist, Junior Polo. “We can exchange our techniques and build our networks all while the community benefits from developing their knowledge about art.”

As a program under the UACDC Partners Coalition, the Arts Rise! North Tampa Festival of the Arts serves as an effort to bring various nonprofits, businesses and religious organizations together to address issues in the community. Working to improve safety, health, education, employment and housing, the UACDC saw the need to include the arts as a way to bring residents together.

Students from UACDC’s Prodigy program will be singing, rapping and dancing during the festival. In addition, a Prodigy display will feature original artwork created by the youth, as well as general information about the program. Prodigy is a research‐based diversion, intervention, and prevention program that provides a safe arena where at risk youth ages 7-17 learn communication, problem‐solving and conflict resolution skills through visual and performing arts. Prodigy currently serves more than 3,000 youth in seven West Central Florida counties and is operated by the UACDC in Tampa.

For more information on participating as an artist, contact Mara Latorre at (813) 558-5212 x217 or [email protected].

About UACDC
The University Area Community Development Corporation, Inc. (UACDC) is a 501(c)(3) public/private partnership whose mission is children and family development, crime prevention and commerce growth. Its primary focus is the redevelopment and sustainability of the at-risk areas surrounding the Tampa campus of the University of South Florida. The UACDC was named nonprofit of the year for public and societal benefit by the Tampa Bay Business Journal in 2011 and 2012. It is headquartered in the University Area Community Center Complex, owned by Hillsborough County and operated by the UACDC, which is located at 14013 North 22nd Street in Tampa. For more information about UACDC, please visit www.uacdc.org or call Dan Jurman at (813) 558-5212 ext. 208.

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