Learners of All Ages Make Magical Strides Together at Leeds

For the sec­ond year in a row, Leeds Center for the Arts will present a joy­ful, col­lab­o­ra­tive evening of games, skits, and coöper­a­tion with two of Clark County’s most vibrant com­mu­ni­ties. Magical Strides will fea­ture both the high school stu­dent lead­ers of the Leeds Board and the adult par­tic­i­pants of STRIDE, a res­i­den­tial day pro­gram for adults with learn­ing, devel­op­men­tal, and phys­i­cal dis­abil­i­ties. This evening is a cul­mi­na­tion of a semes­ter-long, week­ly the­atre class for STRIDE, facil­i­tat­ed by the Leeds Youth Board.

We’re thrilled for this reunion with our good friends at STRIDE. Everyone involved in Magical Strides learns so much from each oth­er, and every sin­gle per­son who par­tic­i­pates has the chance to con­tribute, play, and be heard.

Magical Strides will fea­ture a num­ber of the­ater and impro­vi­sa­tion games, as well as short plays inspired by favorite children’s books, includ­ing Where the Wild Things Are, Elephant and Piggie, and Frog and Toad. Recurring themes from those sto­ries include embrac­ing cre­ativ­i­ty, let­ting loose, and the pow­er of friendship.

“This is one of the very best things we do,” said Leeds Executive Director Tracey Miller. “People with dis­abil­i­ties and youth are two of the most under­served pop­u­la­tions in the Appalachian region, and this pro­gram invests con­sid­er­able time and cre­ativ­i­ty in their poten­tial and tal­ent. And what bet­ter time to have peo­ple from dif­fer­ent back­grounds com­mu­ni­cat­ing and work­ing together!”

Magical Strides will per­form on Thursday, April 17, at 7:30 PM at Leeds Center for the Arts, locat­ed at 37 N Main St, Winchester, KY. Tickets can be pur­chased online at www.leedscenter.org or at the Leeds Center for the Arts box office one hour before showtime.

Leeds Center for the Arts is a vibrant cul­tur­al hub in Winchester, ded­i­cat­ed to enrich­ing the com­mu­ni­ty through per­form­ing arts, edu­ca­tion, and enter­tain­ment. With a mis­sion to spark imag­i­na­tion, engage com­mu­ni­ty, cel­e­brate diver­si­ty, embrace empa­thy, and to share sto­ries, Leeds Center for the Arts offers a diverse range of pro­gram­ming and events through­out the year. 

STRIDE, which stands for Supporting Therapeutic Recreation for Individuals with Disabilities Everyday, began in 2000. Therapeutic recre­ation has been used to offer more expe­ri­ences to indi­vid­u­als with dis­abil­i­ties. STRIDE serves indi­vid­u­als who have a learn­ing or devel­op­men­tal dis­abil­i­ty and who might also have a phys­i­cal dis­abil­i­ty. They pro­vide dai­ly pro­gram­ming, includ­ing cook­ing class­es, dances, Special Olympic activ­i­ties, ther­a­py, dai­ly liv­ing skills class­es, and much more, in an effort to improve the qual­i­ty of life for the par­tic­i­pants. They expect all of their par­tic­i­pants to live up to their respon­si­bil­i­ties at home, work, and in our pro­gram. They rec­og­nize an oblig­a­tion to expect the best out of their par­tic­i­pants and try to help them to con­tin­ue to improve their skills.