A Reminder For October's FOFA Meeting

This month's Friends of Fine Arts meeting is on Tuesday October 8th at 7:00 pm in the DGN Alumni Room.

All are welcome and encouraged to attend as we review finances and fund raisers, talk Fannie May candy, address volunteer resources, hear teachers' reports and open the floor to new business. 


DGN FOFA meeting are always concise and informative and well worth your time investment - hope to see you there!

It's October and That Means It's Fannie May Time!

October means cooler and shorter days, chillier nights, colorful falling leaves, playoff baseball (but, alas, no Chicago teams this year...), weekend gridiron action and best of all... the DGN Friends of Fine Arts 2019 Fannie May Candy Fundraiser!

The program officially kicked off last week and will run through Wednesday, October 23rd.

Fine Arts students should have already received or picked up their sales packets so if you have not seen the order forms and informational materials yet, be sure to ask them about it. Pertinent ordering information can be found here; the informational slide presentation shown to the Fine Arts students can be viewed here.

The Fannie May Candy sales program is an important fundraising revenue stream for DGN Fine Arts (along with Spirit Wear sales and the Spring Plant Sale) and it is a vital component in reaching our annual goal of $50,000 to support our Fine Arts students and programs. If every Fine Arts student at DGN sold or purchased one box of Pixies, more than $4,000 would be earned toward that targeted number.

A few helpful selling points/ideas:

• Candy makes a great Christmas/Holiday gift - a perfect way to celebrate the season or say "thank you" to someone.
• Student orders will be delivered to DGN (NOT to homes) and ready for pickup on the morning of November 16th - in time for Thanksgiving gatherings.
• Prices are the same as in store - but NO sales tax.
• Orders will be delivered by the student seller (or proxy) to the customer - no dealing with crowds and waiting in lines.
• Delicious Fannie May chocolate confections. 'Nuff said. 

As further selling encouragement/enticement, all students who sell candy will receive a candy bar treat. Students who sell $50 or more will have a chance to win one of four $25 gift cards (Starbucks, Chipotle, Panda Express or Target - you choose!) - students who sell $100 or more will be entered into the drawing twice.

(Additional links: Order forms  Fundraising 2019 Catalog)

Questions? Please contact Chairperson Ms. Kathy Nelson at tknel@att.net.

Thank you very much for your support of DGN Fine Arts. Happy Selling!

It's Homecoming Week!

Hope you're planning on joining in the festivities!

On Wednesday October 2nd at 7 PM  swing by the Clarence Johnson Auditorium for the Student Variety Show, featuring performances by the Jazz Ensemble Band and the Chamber Choir. $5 at the door (it's a homecoming fundraiser) gets you in for all the student talent and fun.

On Friday October 4th the DGN Marching Band leads the Homecoming Parade, stepping off at 3:15 PM from the corner of Prince and Grant Streets (click here for the parade route). At 7:30 PM the DGN Trojan football team faces off against the Glenbard West Hilltoppers on the gridiron at Carstens Field. Come early and stay to the very end as the DGN Marching Band performs pre-game, halftime and post-game. Joining the band for the evening will be dozens of members of the DGN Alumni Band, spanning generations and the decades! Come on out and join the excitement as we cheer the Trojans on to victory!

And yes, there will be plenty of DGN Fine Arts booster swag available for purchase at the game. Proceeds support ALL DGN Fine Arts programs.

Go Trojans!

FOFA Has Flowers!

Just a friendly tip/reminder: FOFA has flowers for sale at tonight's and Saturday's "Clue" performances!

Flowers are a great way to celebrate and congratulate your DGN Fine Arts thespian and purchasing said flowers at the performance supports FOFA's mission of helping fund various projects and happenings across ALL DGN Fine Arts programs. (Plus, it eliminates the need to remember to pick up flowers beforehand, and that lousy sinking feeling you get when you show up and realize that - oh, man! - you forgot to pick up flowers...) So do yourself a favor and purchase your petals at the play.

Thanks for your consideration and support!

Well Here's Another "Clue" For You All...

It's the play this Fall!

Come out and enjoy an evening of wonderful amateur theater presented by our DGN thespians and lend your support to the Fine Arts program at the same time.

Performances are this Thursday the 26th and Friday the 27th at 7 p.m., and Saturday the 28th at 5 p.m. in the Clarence Johnson Auditorium

Hope you can come out and enjoy the show!

Hear Ye, Hear Ye! The First DGN FOFA Meeting of the New School Year is This Tuesday, September 10th!

Summer is in the books and we are already nearly a month deep into the new school year! Hopefully you've made a smooth shift into the Fall gears. 

This is the official announcement that the first FOFA meeting of the school year will be held on this Tuesday, September 10th at 7 PM in the DGN Alumni Room. Please join us as we discuss FOFA plans for what promises to be an exciting year in the Fine Arts Department! Meet and greet new and returning Board Directors, officers, chairpersons, volunteers and Fine Arts teachers, and find out how you can help the Friends of the Fine Arts in making the 2019-20 academic year an amazing one for our DGN Fine Arts students. 

All are welcome - we look forward to seeing you on Tuesday!

And please mark in your calendar all of the upcoming FOFA meeting dates:

• Tuesday September 10th
• Tuesday October 8th 
• Tuesday November 12th
• Tuesday December 17th
• Tuesday January 14th
• Tuesday February 18th
• Tuesday March 24th
• Tuesday April 21st
• Tuesday May 19th

Marching Band/Football Season Returns to DGN!

Thursday night's NFL showdown on the Chicago lakefront between the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers ought to whet your appetite for the event we have all long been waiting for: the return of Friday Night Lights at Carstens Field as our Downers Grove North Trojans take on the Blazers of Addison Trail in a week 2 non-conference gridiron clash!

Bracketing the evening's football game with pomp and tradition, and featured at halftime performing their "...AND BEYOND!" musical program will be the internationally renowned DGN Trojan Marching Band! 

Come early and stay late - you don't want to miss any of the band's performance and you'll want to lend your voice and support to the Trojan football team (We love our team, we love our team, we love our team. WE LOVE OUR TEAM!) as they give it their all on the field.

For you newbie Marching Band families, here's a few tips:

• Come early to watch the Drum Line escort the team onto the field for pregame warm-ups. A cool football moment.
• Watch the band and Color Guard forming up in the field house as they prepare to march onto the track. A great photo op of your student musicians looking amazing in their uniforms.
• Catch the pre-game show, including the playing of the visiting team's school fight song. A wonderful tradition that underscores the true sense of sportsmanship between rival schools. 
• Don't miss the band's stirring rendition of The Star Spangled Banner.
• Gather near the south end of the bleachers just before the kick-off as the band, massed on the track, plays "Also Sprach Zarathustra" (the "2001 Space Odyssey" song - you know, Duuuhhh daa daaaa! DUH DAAA!) It's a super cool lead in to the kick-off that you don't want to miss, trust me...
• Catch the half time show, natch....
• At the end of the 3rd quarter join in with the band on a "Hey! Baby" singalong. It's fun.
• Stay till after the final gun for the post game tradition of the Alma Mater song and the mutual shout-outs between the band and the football team. Quite moving, even if you never attended DGN yourself.
• Follow the band back to the field house entrance for more tradition (and photo ops)
• And when the Trojans win, catch the drum line celebrating with the team.
• Plus, as an added bonus, this week's Game Day hoopla includes Senior Night, a pre-game recognition of Football, Marching Band, Cheerleaders and Athena seniors and their parents/guardians. Be on hand to recognize and celebrate their years of hard work and DGN dedication.

And don't forget, there will be plenty of DGN FOFA-sponsored Spirit Wear available for purchase, with proceeds benefiting ALL DGN FINE ARTS PROGRAMS!

It's going to be a great season - hope to see everyone out there!

Go DGN! #WeAreDGN

The DGN Theatre Department Presents "Chemical Imbalance"

The DGN Theatre Department has been busy! We are still a week away from Labor Day and our Trojan thespians have already completed their first production, Chemical Imbalance.

The play is a darkly comic adaptation by Lauren Wilson of Robert Louis Stevenson's Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Set in Victorian England, repressed impulses burst their corsets as Dr. Jekyll's experiments in the nature of evil threaten to reveal the bloody hands beneath the gloves of the British Empire. A fast-paced romp about men and women tightrope walking the line between aristocracy and insanity, and between the twin spectres of good and evil.

Performances are on Thursday August 22nd and Friday August 23rd at 7:00 PM, and Saturday August 24th at 5:00 PM. Tickets are $10 (Adults), $5 (Children) and District 99 students are free with ID! 

Come out for an enjoyable evening of compelling theatre and show support for DGN Fine Arts and our dedicated and hard-working students!

Marching Band Uniform Fitting 2019

Thank you to our amazing DGN Friends of Fine Arts parent volunteers for their service and assistance today as members of the Trojan Marching Band finalized uniform assignments for 2019.

A very special thank you is extended to Dr. Emmie Pawlak who has served as Uniform Distribution Coordinator this year. Dr. Pawlak invested untold hours over the summer matching sizing data with garments, making the initial assignments, and heading up all the coordination efforts that made today run smoothly. THANK YOU!!!

The 2019-2020 DGN Fine Arts Season Is Upon Us...

...and we need your help! We are looking for a few good parents (or older siblings, friends, supporters of the arts...)

The Downers Grove North Fine Arts Department (this encompasses Band, Choir, Orchestra, Jazz Band, Theater and Visual Arts) has literally hundreds of volunteer opportunities starting in August and running all the way into May of 2020. There is a great need for your help at Marching Band football game performances, Theater performances, Band concerts, Choir concerts, ILMEA auditions, Orchestra concerts, Visual Arts shows, Pep Band pizza parties, Mosaic performances - the list is long and your assistance is being counted on!

"How do I sign up?" you are probably (we hope!) asking. Just look for the SignUp.com link on the DGN Friends of Fine Arts blog, on the Downers Grove North Fine Arts blog, or on the DGN Bands blog. Click on that link and you will be directed to a myriad of Fine Arts events where your help will be greatly appreciated. The tasks are not difficult, usually pleasant and fun (and they will not keep you from enjoying your student's performance) and it is a great way to meet other Fine Arts parents and patrons. (and if you want to get really crazy, you can sign up for an evening when your student artist/musician/thespian is not even performing or involved...)

Go ahead and peruse the dates and events and pick one or two (or three or...) and join us in supporting all of the talented and hard-working DGN Fine Arts students and helping make the 2019-2020 Fine Arts program a roaring success! Looking forward to seeing you throughout the year, and THANK YOU for your consideration!