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A Collaboration of Arts and Cultural Organizations to Lead Creation of Cape-Wide Festival ArtSpring Cape Cod, a Cape-wide grass-roots celebration of arts and culture, will take place in the spring of 2017, engaging as many artists, organizations, and communities as possible in an exploration of the important and topical theme of "Freedom of Expression.” Participants may schedule events as simple as an exhibit or as complex as a town-wide street fair—anything that invites the public to “explore, experience, create” between April 27 and May 7, 2017. The Cape Museum of Art, for instance, will host “Freedom of Expression,” a National Juried Exhibition, while Friends of the Cape & Islands Theater Coalition will have a Panel Discussion on Freedom, Propaganda & Dissidence, and the Cultural Center of Cape Cod will host an exhibit and an open mic on the theme. The ArtSpring tap root is a partnership between Cotuit Center for the Arts and Cape Symphony which will produce “Every Good Boy Deserves Favor” by Andre Previn and Tom Stoppard. “This theatrical / musical production inspired both the ArtSpring Festival and the 2017 theme, Freedom of Expression,” says David Kuehn, Executive Director of Cotuit Center for the Arts. “But we look forward to dozens of festival events of all kinds, from Bourne to Provincetown.” Kuehn, Cape and Islands Theater Coalition Executive Director David Kaplan, and the symphony’s Artistic Director and Conductor Jung Ho Pak launched the initiative when they realized the opportunity for a regional effort to involve the public in a range of events, some free, others requiring tickets or registration, from educational opportunities to exhibitions to concerts, readings, films, and much more. They then invited arts and cultural leaders from across the Cape to help plan the festival. The Organizing Committee includes: John Allen, JFK Museum Susan Danton, Miller White Fine Arts Peter Franklin, Highfield Hall David Kaplan, Cape and Islands Theater Coalition David Kuehn, Cotuit Center for the Arts Jeffry George, Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater Janet Lesniak, Wellfleet Preservation Hall Jung Ho Pak, Cape Symphony Edith Tonelli, Cape Museum of Art Vana Trudeau, Cape Cod Community College Margaret Van Sciver, Oceanside Performing Arts Center Stephanie Weaver, Cape Conservatory Toby Wilson, Eventide Theater Company Lauren Wolk, Cultural Center of Cape Cod Organizations or individuals interested in scheduling an event should visit the festival website— www.artspringcapecod.org -submit information and access a toolbox that will help them publicize their involvement. The festival is supported by a grant from the Arts Foundation of Cape Cod but seeks support from businesses and individuals interested in bolstering the Cape’s cultural economy and enhancing its quality of life. “ArtSpring is meant to elevate the Cape’s appeal as a tourist destination but also to acquaint residents with all that the cultural community has to offer,” Kuehn says. “The festival will be an amazing opportunity for people near and far.” Questions or offers of support may be directed to the committee via artspringcapecod@gmail.com.