Under the direction of Rebecca Johnson, third grade music students from Pepper Ridge Elementary school in Bloomington sing selections from the musical “Heroes All” on May 1 as part of the Arts in Education Spring Celebration at the Peoria County Courthouse. Photo by Amy Morys.

The Gerald M. Brookhart Arts in Education Spring Celebration kicked off its 30th year last week at the Peoria County Courthouse plaza, with an invitation to past participants to perform or exhibit their artwork.

Four alumni have signed up so far to join more than 10,000 students from nearly 100 schools in seven counties in performing or exhibiting their talents during this year’s Spring Celebration, which takes place from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. every weekday through May 22.

“We started the first year with the five local high schools at the time…performing all in one day,” said Gerald Brookhart, who initiated the program 30 years ago and for whom it was officially named last year when he retired after 31 years as the Peoria County Regional Office of Education superintendent. The Spring Celebration now runs for five weeks and has grown to include schools from seven counties: Peoria, McLean, Tazewell, Woodford, Fulton, Marshall and Henry.

Brookhart said his original vision for the program came from a desire to showcase students involved in the arts when schools facing financial issues were cutting fine arts classes, something that’s still happening today.

“The fine arts are often seen as extracurricular activities rather than an integral part of the curriculum,” Brookhart said. “The reality is what makes a person humane is the fine arts, and a critical mission of schools is to raise humane people.”

Spring Celebration project director Mary Rous said she’s not surprised the program has endured for three decades because it’s popular with schools and the public.

“There’s no cost to schools to participate, so it’s a nice way to reward the kids for a job well done at the end of the year,” said Rous, a former music educator who brought her students to perform for years and became project director last year.

Both Rous and Brookhart expect the Arts in Education Spring Celebration to continue but emphasized the need for steady financial support by the business community.

“To keep this going you need at least $20,000 on a shoestring budget,” Rous said.

The program is funded by in-kind donations through the Regional Office of Education and monetary donations by corporate sponsors, including Caterpillar Inc., Peoria Tourism Reserve Fund, Commerce Bank, Ameren Illinois, Associated Bank, South Side Bank, Heritage Bank of Central Illinois, Heartland Bank, Kidder Music, Peoria Area Bar Association, Technicraft Display Graphics and Peoria County. Peoria County provides the venue, and Northwoods Mall provides backup space free-of-charge during inclement weather.

This year the program has added a new sponsor-for-a-day opportunity that allows businesses, booster clubs or other organizations to pay $135 to cover the cost of one of the three venue stages for one day.

The biggest expense for the program is having quality sound, which has been provided by Bill Keister of Illinois Concert Sound since the program began. It’s not an easy task, considering it’s an outdoor venue surrounded by traffic, Rous said.

“The danger is that people take it for granted that the sponsors will always be there or that the money will always be there or someone else will always take care of it,” she added. “We need sponsorships to continue at the same level, if not more, because just like everything else costs go up.”

While the adults manage the finances and logistics, kids see the Spring Celebration as a fun culmination of their hard work throughout the school year, Brookhart noted.

Any alumni who wish to perform, any groups or businesses that want to be a sponsor and anyone who’d like to volunteer to help should contact Mary Rous atmrousarts@gmail.com or 309-253-2020.