Photo courtesy of Human Development Center Fidgety Fairy Tales: The Mental Health Musical, a whimsical youth production with a new twist on traditional fairy tales, will be held Friday, October 9 at 7:30 pm at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts in Grand Marais.
Fidgety Fairy Tales: The
Mental Health Musical
is a lively and thought-provoking musical production performed by youth, for youth, which puts new twists on the traditional stories of Little Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty, and Rapunzel.
Kim Matteen, Director of the Human Development Center, (HDC) which is sponsoring the production, said, “Everyone is invited to join the fun in celebrating positive images of children with mental health disorders on Friday, October 9th at 7:30 pm at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts in Grand Marais.”
Thegoal of the production is to lessen the stigma associated with mental health treatment and to promote positive images of children with mental health conditions such as ADHD, depression, and anxiety.
Jerry Lilja, therapist at the Grand Marais HDC office, said the local staff is very excited to be able to offer the musical. He said, “Kids presenting to other kids is a very effective way to get the message across. We’re hoping that kids will enjoy this entertaining musical, but we also hope it will help them learn to be more accepting of themselves— and others.”
Thethree-act play will be followed by some “Fidgety Fun.” The ACA lobby will be transformed into an information fair with food and other fun geared toward families. Guests will have the opportunity to speak to the youth actors and to mental health professionals from the community to learn more about the importance of good childhood mental health.
Earlier in the day on October 9, at 2:00 p.m., Fidgety Fairy
Tales: TheMental Health Musical
will be performed for Sawtooth Elementary students. Lilja said he hopes students from the other schools in the community, as well as parents, grandparents, and friends will attend the evening presentation.
The Human Development Center Foundation and the County Seat Theater Company in Cloquet, MN are collaborating on Fidgety Fairy Tales: The
Mental Health Musical.
Funding for the Grand Marais performances was provided by the Lloyd K. Johnson Foundation. Both events are free.
If you cannot make the performance and would like to learn more about children’s mental health, or have other issues for HDC, contact Lilja or therapist Gwen Bacon at the Grand Marais HDC office at (218) 387- 9444.
Leave a Reply