The Stardust Awards will take place Saturday, Nov. 2 from 5 to 10 p.m. at the Plano Event Center, 2000 E. Spring Creek Pkwy. Attendees can enjoy live performances, a silent and live auction, dinner, drinks and dancing.
CEO Darrell Rodenbaugh said the event started as a way to honor volunteers, but has expanded over the past three years.
“There's too many exciting, wonderful things that take place in the performing arts community and so many incredible arts organizations, arts leaders and artists that deserve that chance to be in the spotlight,” Rodenbaugh said. “We decided to create an event and call it Stardust, because stardust is the basic material that comes together to create a star, and we thought that was a good visual for what this event is all about.”
This year’s honorees include Distinguished Performing Artist Baba Kubaye; Arts Organization Cara Mia Theatre; Arts Leader Cindi Lawrence Hanson; Elementary Educator Ashley Marsh of Heritage Elementary School, Grapevine-Colleyville ISD; Middle School Educator Brady Stableton of Irma Rangel Young Women's Leadership School, Dallas ISD; High School Educator Jonette Dalfonzo of Wakeland High School, Frisco ISD; and Penny Ayn Maas, Collegiate Educator at Texas Christian University. The Large Business Champion to be honored is Dairy Farmers of America and local business H-E-B, with Arts Advocate of the Year Centennial Real Estate and its Founder Steve Levin.
This year’s event will feature a speech from Kitt Wakeley, a Grammy Award-winner and five-time No. 1 Billboard charting musician/artist/composer. In addition, guests will get to see a performance from Malik Akil Kimani Victorian, a Broadway performer who is best known for performances in Disney’s “Aladdin” and “Mean Girls.”
Part of what makes the gala so special is that both event coordinators and attendees wear costumes from well-known productions.
“Each theater, members of that theater and patrons of that theater show up in costumes consistent with their theme,” Rodenbaugh said. “You're going to see up to 10 different themes of costumes that people are going to be wearing. They run the gamut from ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ to ‘Alice’ to ‘Phantom of the Opera’ to ‘Annie’ and ‘Beauty and the Beast’ and more. Our patrons go over the top and their costumes are just spectacular.”
The Stardust Awards is North Texas Performing Arts' largest annual fundraiser. As the largest youth theatre in the country, funds raised by this event are critical to the organization's ability to provide scholarship funds for needs-based students.
“We have an adage that no one is turned down because they can't afford to be a part of our program,” Rodenbaugh said. “We use these dollars to enable individuals who otherwise wouldn't have the opportunity to take the stage. We believe that is a life-changing experience and something that's very impactful.”
Rodenbaugh said the best part of the event is seeing the talent in aspiring theatre performers.
“These kids are predominantly juniors and seniors in high school,” Rodenbaugh said. “They are all in the process of applying for college right now, and they will go to some of the best performing arts universities in the country. Someday, many of them will be on Broadway.”
To see a full schedule for the event, visit the website. Community members can purchase a ticket to the Stardust Awards here. To learn more about North Texas Performing Arts, visit the organization’s website.
The above story was produced by Multi-platform Journalist Mary Katherine Shapiro with Community Impact's Storytelling team with information solely provided by the local business as part of their "sponsored content" purchase through our advertising team.
