In the spirit of music festivals everywhere, Toledo School for the Arts (TSA) will host its Flying Pig Music Fest. Last year’s inaugural event was such a success that it’s been made an annual fest. “The first year of a fundraiser, being a new event, you generally hope to break even, but we had such a great turnout last year that we were able to make money,” says John DuVall, the annual giving manager for TSA.
One of the “Big Three”
The Flying Pig Music Fest is one of three major fundraising events for the school. The other two major fundraisers, Steppin’ Out with TSA— a shoe-themed “not-so-silent auction” for the general public, and the student fundraiser, O-Rama Day, will continue, says DuVall.
A day of music and fun
Eight bands will perform in the TSA parking lot, starting at 12:30pm (doors open at noon) and continuing into the evening. There will also be an arts and crafts fair and vendor area, face painting and other activities for kids, as well as a wide variety of food trucks— including Mr. Frosty’s Ice Cream, Rachel Michael’s Gourmet Popcorn, and Rosie’s Rolling Chef.
Musical acts include Not Fast Enuff, Madison Avenue, East River Drive, Unpaved, Hepcat Revival, Damn Adams, Right Angles, and Mojoe Boes and His Noble Jones. Each of the eight bands has at least one TSA staff member. “Their dedication to this school is absolutely incredible, above and beyond their rigorous teaching,” explains DuVall. “It’s just an amazing group of people that we have here.”
Number one in Ohio
TSA was recently ranked the number one charter school in Ohio by Niche, a college and K-12 ranking website. This ranking was determined by SAT/ACT and state test scores, graduation rates (TSA has a 100% graduation rate), overall college readiness, teacher quality, and student/parent reviews.
Local support allows the charter school to receive high rankings. Unlike public schools, TSA receives no funding from the local government, instead raising money through this kind of special event.
DuVall says, echoing a mantra of the school, “We’re just ordinary people doing extraordinary things.”
Noon-9:30pm | Saturday | September 10
$10/adults | $5/students | free/ages 5 and under
VIP: $35/person | $50/couple
Toledo School for the Arts | 333 14th St.
419-246-8732 | ts4arts.org
