Soulmembers To Present Benefit Dance For Hays County Food Bank, School Fuel During Mermaid SPLASH Festival

The Mermaids are coming! “Mermaid Society is committed to encouraging creative collaboration for community good whenever possible,” said Moreno.

For the third year in a row, mermaids will take over San Marcos in a spectacular event known as ‘The Mermaid SPLASH Festival.’ SPLASH stands for Stewardship, Preservation, Local, Arts, Sustainability, and Heritage.

When Mermaid Society SMTX began this event, they wanted to inspire others to celebrate what makes San Marcos unique while also educating on the importance of guarding the river.

Thus, the mermaid mascot was born, and each September the little city of San Marcos turns into a glittering tribute to this aquatic creature. For more information on the festival and how you can participate, visit www.mermaidsocietysmtx.com.

An addition to this year’s mermaid festivities is ‘Dance Feeds the Soul,’ an event presented by Soulmenders. Soulmenders is a social-benefit brand, meaning that they create artistic products with a percentage going to produce fundraising events for various nonprofits in the area.

This year, they are proud to present their inaugural dance event, ‘Dance Feeds the Soul’.

One hundred percent of the proceeds raised from this fundraiser will be split between 2 local nonprofits: Hays County Food Bank and School Fuel.

Soulmenders will be paying for this event out of pocket to ensure that all money raised will be donated to help fund these food assistance programs that serve this community.

Tickets are on sale now through http://bit.ly/dancefeeds or on Facebook through their event page.

• Adult Ticket………………………….…..…$20.00
• Veteran/Senor Ticket…………………………..$15.00
• Student with ID (13 years +)………………………...$10.00
• Child 12 and Under With Accompanying Adult Ticket Holder…..FREE

The ‘Dance Feeds the Soul’ benefit will take place on Sunday, September 9th from 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM at San Marcos High School Performing Arts Center (2601 East McCarty Lane, San Marcos). The recital will feature choreographers and dancers from:

• Texas State University Division of Dance
• San Marcos High School Diamond Line Officers & Diamond Line Company
• Goodnight Middle School Dancing Star Officers
• Miller Middle School Dancing Diamonds Officers

Associate Artistic Director for the program is LeAnne Smith. She is a Professor of Dance at Texas State University where she has been a faculty member since 1983. Directing the program for 13 years, she is now delighted to be back to full time teaching. She serves as the Artistic Director for Opening Door Dance Theatre.

The featured choreographer for ‘Dance Feeds the Soul’ is Christa Oliver and the featured performer is Anna Antoniewicz. Soulmenders’ own, Joanna Ruley-Garza, is the creator behind the event’s artistic direction, and costume design.

Makeup is sponsored by Joanna Ruley-Garza and hair is sponsored by SMHS Venom Beauty Academy.

The event will also feature 8 hand painted dresses by the talented Adriana “Gigi” Mederos, a  Venezuelan-born artist and this year’s Mermaid Society Art Ball featured artist.

The dresses will be unveiled during two of the night’s performances and auctioned off at the Mermaid Art Ball that takes place on Friday, September 21st.

A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Hays County Food Bank and School Fuel with the rest going to the artist. Soul Menders is sponsoring the materials used for the art pieces.

The Nonprofits Benefiting From The Event:

Hays County Food Bank is passionately committed to improving lives through food assistance programs, nutrition education, and advocacy.

They provide food to ~1,500 households a week through 7 public food distributions and partner agencies like school and church pantries, shelters, and other nonprofits serving low-income individuals.

Hays County Food Bank’s backpack program provides food items that are simple for children to open or cook, like peanut butter crackers, ravioli, fresh apples, and canned tuna.

Currently, this program serves 5 Hays CISD schools. The food bank also provides nutrition education and cooking classes for children, seniors, families, and individuals.

Most snacks and meals prepared are vegetarian and low-cost to mimic items that households may receive through food bank distributions or through purchases made through SNAP.

Lastly, the food bank offers assistance with signing up for government assistance programs such as SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families). The process can be intimidating, and the staff and volunteers are trained to offer assistance navigating the sign up process.

School Fuel’s mission is to provide the “fuel” for a better learning environment by removing the pangs of hunger among students in the classrooms.

In the Spring of 2013, School Fuel began with a pilot program that provided food sacks for 31 students. The teachers and school administrators were instrumental in choosing the participants and collecting evaluations of their performance and progress. The results were overwhelmingly positive. School Fuel now serves 671 students who have a high-risk of little or no food at home.

All of Hays County and beyond are invited to ‘Dance Feeds the Soul’ and the rest of the mermaid fun during the Mermaid SPLASH Festival.

Mermaid Society SMTX Founder and Executive Director, July Moreno, is passionate about this event and giving back.

“Mermaid Society is committed to encouraging creative collaboration for community good whenever possible,” said Moreno. “We will use our public platform during the festival now and in the years ahead to benefit our local food shelters. Lack of food should not be a factor for community.”