All about the 2013 EEDS Carnaval Celebration

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MMC dancers

EEDS CARNAVAL CELEBRATION 2013
In honor of Carnaval this year the Evanston Escola de Samba is having a big celebration and you’re all invited! We have a lot in store for this event, in addition to some great music and dancing, of course. There will be crafts, face painting, dance and drumming lessons and more!

When: February 16th, 2013 from 10am to 12pm
Activities start at 10 AM
Concert Starts at 11 AM
Where: Nichols Concert Hall in Evanston (1490 Chicago Avenue).
How Much: Admission is $10 for adults, $5 for kids and a $30 maximum per family. $5 With a Student ID.

Check out the event on Facebook

Thanks to our 2012 contributors!

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As Evanston Escola de Samba’s 2012 season draws to a close, we wanted to personally thank all those who generously donated to their time, energy, and resources to EEDS during the past year. Please join us in thanking all the friends of EEDS by visiting our official contributors page!

But even with such a successful year, EEDS still needs your support!

EEDS is one of Chicagoland’s most unique intergenerational programs: children and parents, spouses and grandparents come together to make Brazilian music and have fun. This past year, EEDS brought the joy of samba to more than 1,000 individuals of all ages through dance and percussion classes throughout Chicagoland. Please help us to grow this inclusive and multi-generational program for our community with a tax deductible gift. Your contribution will go directly toward EEDS’ most pressing needs, including:

  • Financial support for scholarships for students in need
  • The purchase of costume elements for underserved youth to be used at our performances
  • The purchase of additional Brazilian percussion instruments to be used in residencies, where our professionals bring Brazilian music to public school children
  • Financial support for EEDS’s participation in the Evanston 4th of July Parade. This includes the performance of a “Samba Enredo” (theme song) to be recorded by the escola and performed with live musicians in parades

With your much needed help, we hope to increase our outreach events and offer the joy of samba to everyone in our community. To give, click on the yellow icon at the right of this page, or visit our official donation page. Once again, thanks to all of our contributors over the past year, and thank you for your continued support!

Fall Class Schedule is Up!

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Though we’re still in the midst of summer – it’s time to start looking ahead to Fall! Our Fall EEDS class schedule has been released, and we’re excited to welcome back both new and returning students, beginning Wednesday, September 12th. Check out more information about classes and how to sign up on our classes page.

Evanston 4th of July Parade: The Results Are In!

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Zenaida Saez, 2012 EEDS Porta-Bandeira at the Evanston 4th of July Parade

Congrats to the Evanston Escola de Samba for an incredible showing at the Evanston 4th of July Parade! Not only did we win 1st place in the category “performance,” but we were one of three overall parade winners. EEDS was awarded the “Pelton Plaque” for “Outstanding Neighborhood Group” (see complete list of Parade winners here).

Thanks to all the EEDS performers, especially to those who danced and carried drums in the incredible inferno (103 degrees!) that was this year’s parade. There are so many people to thank we are not sure where to start! We want to express gratitude to EEDS Board chair Matt Rarey and EEDS members Kirsty Montgomery, Lindsay Fullerton, and Elyse Fineman for helping to conceive of the parade and for doing the incredible amount of hard work to get it done, and believe us, it was an incredible amount of work. Thanks to all the EEDS students who have been with us throughout the year and have maintained a strong core that made it possible to bring the overall level of our Escola up several notches since last year. Thanks to all the EEDS dancers, especially our flag bearers, Zenaida Saez and Jaime Angeles, and our dance leaders, Diane Berrios and Ariel Barbick, who set the tone for the whole group and kept us all alive with their amazing energy and poise. It goes without saying how much everyone at EEDS loves our friends from Bloco Maximo who came in to make our bateria sizzle!! Special thanks to Reed Flygt and Andrew Green for donating so much time and energy to the cause. Thanks to all the volunteers who helped build and decorate our float. Thanks to Michael Kormanik and our partners from Greenwise Organic Lawn Services who provided wonderful support  before, during, and after the parade. Thanks to our professional musicians Marcos Oliveira and John Beard who have dedicated their amazing talent, time, and energy to the EEDS. Thanks to the volunteers who helped keep our dancers hydrated during the parade, and thanks to Conor Montgomery and Dana Hasselbring for taking video and photos. We will be releasing photos and video over the course of the coming week. Thanks to our sponsors, Campagnola, Contemporanea, and the Evanston Arts Council, and finally to our major partner, the Music Institute of Chicago without whose support the EEDS would simply not exist.
In the coming days, we’ll be posting lots of photos and videos from the parade so you can catch some glimpses of our award-winning performance. Now it is on to the Thanksgiving Day Parade. And rumor has is we plan to win it!