The Boys & Girls Clubs of Mason Valley is recognizing the youth, volunteers and members of the community who go above and beyond at its annual Youth of the Year banquet on Saturday, Jan. 23 at the Yerington Clubs site. Doors open at 5 p.m. and the program begins at 6.
“The Youth of the Year banquet is a great opportunity to honor the individuals who have made a significant impact in the lives of children in our community,” said Travis Crowder, chief professional officer for The Boys & Girls Clubs of Mason Valley.
Youth of the Year is a national contest across all Boys & Girls Clubs of America. Last year, Yerington local Jeffrey Valladares was named the Boys & Girls Clubs of Mason Valley Youth of the Year and went on to represent the state of Nevada at the regional level. The night is also used to recognize exceptional youth, staff, volunteers and community members. Awards such as Member of the Year, Champion of Youth and From the Heart are given throughout the night.
The theme for this year’s banquet is The Life Cube Project, a community art installation which provides an engaging and interactive place for the community to express ambitions, dreams, goals and wishes through art. The project encourages participants to look at their past, engage in the present and set goals for the future. Life Cube artist and creator, Scott Cohen will be the keynote speaker at this year’s ceremony.
“We are thrilled to have Scott Cohen and The Life Cube Project be a part of our Youth of the Year awards banquet,” said Crowder. “It’s a big deal that such an impactful and high-profile project like this is coming to Yerington and to be able to connect art, youth and our community in a meaningful way.”
In the days leading up to the Youth of the Year banquet, Cohen will bring The Life Cube Project to nine schools in the area. He will speak to thousands of students about how his project connects art with community, beginning with the first Life Cube at Burning Man. He will also share his own experience as a young person, deriving both inspiration and ultimately, success from the lifelong habit of writing down his goals and aspirations.
“I’m really thrilled to be able to involve so many children in this particular project,” said Cohen. “Kids at the various schools will be given canvas squares for each of them to create personal art that represents their ambitions, goals, and whatever they envision for the future. We’ll overlap them in patterns on the art installation to make huge collaborative tapestries. We hope people will come out again and again to see The Life Cube as it evolves and participate by adding their own hopes and wishes to the Wish Tag Wall.”
Members of the community will be encouraged to add their own goals, dreams and aspirations to thousands of ‘wish tags’ that will be affixed to the installation at the Yerington Clubs site. In addition to the canvas panels created by local school children and the wish tags added by the community, Cohen says the installation will include beautiful etched glass panels.
The Life Cube Project installation will be assembled at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Mason Valley Yerington Clubs site during the week of Jan. 18 leading up to the Youth of the Year awards banquet on Jan. 23.
Tickets to attend the Youth of the Year banquet are $40 each or $350 for a table of eight and can be purchased at the Clubs’ Yerington site at 124 N Main St., Yerington. For more information, call 775-463-2334.