West End Walk - 2018

On June 12 over 100+ kids from the West End Center's summer program will walk the one mile route from the Center to the historic Grandin Theatre for the third consecutive year.  As part of the annual program created by the Grandin Theatre Foundation and the Center, kids will participate in physical activity involved with walking to the venue, combined with the arts and cultural educational experience of viewing a film or production upon their arrival.

The program will have a total of four dates throughout the summer for walks.  In addition to June 12, the kids will also be walking to the Theatre on June 26, July 10, and July 24.  A couple of rain dates have been secured in case of bad weather. 

“Our goal as a cultural community center is to ensure that all citizens of the Roanoke Valley have the ability to use this historic facility for entertainment, education, experience and hopefully inspiration,” said Grandin Theatre Foundation Executive Director Ian Fortier.  “Reaching out across the bridge to the West End Center gave us an opportunity to offer the kids the chance to come share in the Theatre, a place that some of them have never been before.”

“This program was very appealing to us from the beginning as it blends physical activity and arts and cultural experience for the students in our summer program”, said West End Center Executive Director Joy Parrish.  “We are always looking for external opportunities to expose the students to their community, and we are so excited about the chance to bring them to the Grandin Theatre and the Village multiple times this summer, for the third summer in a row!”

The WEST END WALK program has multiple sponsors ensuring this program is a success, including: FLEET FEET, PROJECT FORWARD, NEW BALANCE and BALEGA who will provide a new pair of New Balance sneakers and Balega socks to every child participating in the program.  Special thanks to the program's title sponsor, FREEDOM FIRST CREDIT UNION who provide annual resources to help underwrite the costs of the program.
 

This program is Co-Sponsored by: