Memorial Day Ceremony - May 31st - 9:30 a.m.

A formal Memorial Day observance will take place at the Veterans Memorial Plaza beginning at 9:30 a.m. on Monday, May 31st. The Plaza is located on top the hill at the grounds of the EmilyAnn Theater & Gardens on FM 2325.

At the conclusion of the observance, the flags will then be lowered to half staff, accompanied by the playing of Taps. In keeping with custom throughout the United States, flags at the Plaza will be raised to full staff at noon.

2021 Shakespeare Under the Stars (SUS)

We are bringing the performing arts back to the EmilyAnn starting this summer with our Shakespeare Under the Stars (SUS) program!

The Shakespeare play for 2021 will be Much Ado About Nothing and will be directed by Kendra Patch, Bronson Lassetter & Neil Decker, all alumni of the SUS program.

This Shakespeare intensive gives middle and high school students the opportunity to perform a full Shakespeare play while also working on costumes, constructing the set, and attending workshops that develop their acting skills.

Details:

• Participants can be students from 12-18 years old, students from the class of 2020, and any SUS alumni.
• Video auditions will not be required to be accepted into the camp; however, they are helpful if you have a specific part you would like during the performance.
• Rehearsals and workshops will be held June 28-July 17, Monday-Friday with workshops 2-5pm, dinner 5-6pm, rehearsal 6-9pm
• The final performance will run from July 19-25.
• Cost is $200 and financial assistance may be available. Tickets to the end-of-camp performance will be free of charge.

Shakespeare Under the Stars (SUS) found a permanent home when the EmilyAnn was founded. Originally a program of Wimberley High School, Shakespeare Under the Stars has been fully funded and administered by the EmilyAnn Theatre since 1998. This unique Shakespeare Intensive offers students the opportunity to study and perform one of Shakespeare's plays during the summer. Students select an area of technical theatre (set construction, costuming, or lighting) on which to focus. With guidance, students aid in the construction of the costumes and sets. When not working on their assigned technical area, students rehearse with the director, working on acting and the understanding of Shakespeare's plays. Students also attend workshops to compliment their theatre experience. The experience culminates with the production of a full-length play.

The goals of Shakespeare Under the Stars are to:

• foster a love, appreciation, and understanding of Shakespeare's works,
• enable students to assist in producing a full-length play,
• provide students with a solid background in theatre industry practices and safety standards,
• and build students' self-confidence, team-work skills, leadership skills, and competence in theatre arts.

Update as of 3/28/2021!

Wow, what a response to our request for butterfly box sponsors for our schools! Due to your generosity we were able to get all of the boxes sponsored!

We had several hundred caterpillars remaining after the classroom boxes were delivered so we offered them out to our wonderful supporters via our email newsletter. Again, what an incredible response! We were able to find loving homes for hundreds of caterpillars! We are looking forward to seeing wonderful photos of the experience from both our classroom and individual hosts! We want to offer a huge thank you to the tennis clubs in the area who helped us collect tennis ball cans. It was fun to see the ball cans repurposed into caterpillar/butterfly homes!

Updates & Announcements for 2021!

We have lots of good news to share for 2021! As the world is starting to open back up, we too are looking at what we can accomplish at the EmilyAnn. Of course, the community's safety is still our #1 priority so while we will not be able to hold our full Butterfly Festival in April, we are hopeful that by summer we will be fully open and welcoming you all back to the EmilyAnn!

At this point, we can announce the following:

• Our Shakespeare Under the Stars (SUS) theatre program will be returning this summer!
• We are planning several camps this summer! Look for details in the coming month.
• We are planning an amazing Trail of Lights in November/December of 2021!
• We are sad that we are not able to hold our full Butterfly Festival this April; however, we are happy to announce that our butterfly boxes are going into the schools and the program is up and running at 100% this year! We have thousands of caterpillars going out to schools in Central Texas next week! Also, we are very confident that you will be able to come enjoy our festival and art contest in 2022!

As always, thank you for supporting us through the good times and the bad. We cannot sufficiently express our gratitude! Here are a few ways you could get involved as we start to open:

• We are looking for butterfly cage sponsors! The cages are $50 each and will supply a deserving classroom with lots of caterpillars for them to raise and then release at a location of their choice. The children's smiles as they watch their babies are priceless! If you would like to sponsor please respond to this email and I will immediately send you the information!
• We cannot wait for Trail of Lights and so we are already starting to find organizations, families and/or businesses that would like to set up an exhibit, volunteer at the event, sponsor, or be a part of the entertainment lineup. If you are interested, please let me know!
• We are beginning discussions with organizations, businesses and families that would like to utilize one of our amazing indoor and/or outdoor stage facilities at the EmilyAnn. If you are looking for a wonderful place for a production, meeting, or event we are here for you!
• Continue to come out and enjoy the grounds! Nature is coming alive as the cold disappears and Spring arrives!

We are excited to welcome our community back to the EmilyAnn in the coming months! If you have any questions or need additional information, please do not hesitate to send an email to info@emilyann.org. We would love to hear from you!

**New** - "Latest News/Gallery"

Click here to visit our new "Latest News/Gallery" page. This will be a running blog of special moments and/or memories at the EmilyAnn or in the lives of the wider EmilyAnn family including our patrons, volunteers, and visitors.

Specific Visitor Information during Covid-19

The list below will be updated as new information becomes available. This list will provide our visitors with specific information about different facets of the EmilyAnn during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• The outdoor grounds are open. Visitors are welcome to walk through our gardens, Veterans Memorial and Children's Memorial Garden. Visitors may also enjoy our outdoor, interative activities, including the frisbee golf course, Cobb's Corral, Gaga Ball, dinosaur garden, musical garden and giant chess/checker board. So that everyone is comfortable, please maintain social distancing if you meet other family groups on the grounds.
• None of our buildings are open, including our restrooms. We are planning to open our buildings in the near future.