FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEWPORT NEWS PARKS, RECREATION, AND TOURISM DEPARTMENT WINS TWO STATEWIDE AWARDS

The Newport News Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Department won two statewide awards at the Virginia Recreation and Park Society (VRPS) Annual Conference held on September 11, 2010 in Hampton, Virginia.

The Newport News Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Department won two statewide awards at the Virginia Recreation and Park Society (VRPS) Annual Conference held on September 11, 2010 in Hampton, Virginia. The department won “Best New Special Event” for Holiday Frost at the Downing-Gross Cultural Arts Center and “Best Promotional Effort-Electronic Media” for the Downing-Gross Cultural Arts Center Anniversary promotional video. Department Director Michael Poplawski accepted the awards on behalf of the Department.

The Holiday Frost event was held December 11, 2009 at the Downing-Gross Cultural Arts Center and brought the holiday spirit to over 400 youth of the Southeast End community. This free event featured a life-sized, interactive Candyland, a community-wide “Festival of Trees,” a showing of the “Polar Express” in 3-D, caroling by the Heritage High School Legacy Jazz Singers, surprising gifts from Santa, special guest appearance from 103 Jamz Radio Personality’s Boodah Brothers, and the sparkling outdoor illumination of the Downing-Gross Cultural Arts Center let nearby residents know that the holidays had arrived in the Southeast section of Newport News. The public was invited to the three-story, state-of-the-art Downing Gross facility, where the large banquet room, the 276-seat Ella Fitzgerald theater, the beautiful Anderson Johnson Gallery, and the Newport News Community Gallery were each redesigned to bring to life the sights and sounds of the holidays.

“The holidays are a time for giving and we are so happy to give back to the community in our mission to continue creating positive and productive cultural arts activities for the youth,” says Downing-Gross Cultural Arts Center Executive Director, Kay Sumner.

The Downing-Gross Cultural Arts Center also received the award for “Best Promotional Effort-Electronic Media” for creation of a promotional DVD highlighting the Downing-Gross Cultural Arts Center’s One Year Anniversary Celebration Concert starring Atlantic Records recording artist Laura Izibor.

The VRPS is a professional society with members from government, educational, and non-profit organizations that provide services and programs relating to recreational activities and parks.

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