Arts Alliance accepting registration for after-school programs

Hudson - The Arts Alliance is again accepting registration for local students interested in attending art-related after-school programs. The programs, which are between eight and nine weeks long, will begin Thursday Jan. 31 and run through Wednesday April 9. The weekly programs will be held at five different schools in Hudson and are open to all children interested in attending regardless of past artistic experience.

The winter-spring session of after-school programs will offer a wide array of programs for children through young adults in the community with interest in several creative and artistic mediums.

For aspiring young musicians, the classes will include returning favorites like beginner guitar lessons taught by Louis Hetzler at Forest Avenue School.

Dynamic Dramatics, which meets weekly on Tuesdays, is a sure fit for the young performers aspiring to be the next child star.

Arts Alliances Program Director Barbara Worrest will lend her arts-and-craft skills to children in grades one through five Thursday afternoons. In the origami portion, she will lead them fold-by-fold from paper to bird. The class will also cover the basics of a wide range of crafts, including crocheting.

Several classes will be offered to students interested in painting, drawing, mixed media and puppet making. The classes, ranging from "Wearable Art" to "Monet's Garden and More," will be taught by a variety of accomplished local artists.

The weekly hands-on classes range in price from $100 to $125.

The after-school programs, which are offered annually in two sessions, are among the many programs run by the Arts Alliance, a nonprofit organization supported by over 350 members and businesses in more than 25 communities.

The Arts Alliance grew out of a grassroots campaign by local parents and teachers to increase cultural and artistic programs for schoolchildren and their families and was established in 1990. In 1993 the group extended the existing programs and started the after-school component.

To enroll in the program or to learn more about the Arts Alliance's other programs, visit the website at www.upwitharts.org or call 978-562-1646.