Dinner, Drama, and Dreams at JDS Creative Academy

Every community has the opportunity to invest in its future. Sometimes that investment looks like new businesses, new infrastructure, or new technology. At JDS Creative Academy, we believe one of the greatest investments we can make is in people, and that the arts are one of the most powerful ways to do it.

On Friday, August 21, JDS Creative Academy will host its inaugural Arts Across the Academy fundraiser, an evening dedicated to celebrating creativity, confidence, and opportunity through the visual, performing, and digital arts.

This isn’t your traditional fundraiser.

Guests will enjoy a full Italian dinner while experiencing an inspiring variety show featuring participants from JDS Creative Academy‘s Title 17 Job Training Program: adults with developmental disabilities who have been developing professional and creative skills through hands-on workforce training. The event will showcase live music, comedy, acting, poetry, singing, multimedia presentations, and original performances.

In addition to the entertainment, Arts Across the Academy offers the community an opportunity to witness firsthand what becomes possible when individuals are given the chance to discover their potential. For more than a decade, JDS Creative Academy has welcomed participants with one simple message:

You belong here.

Some students arrive because they dream of performing on stage. Others discover a passion for writing, filmmaking, costume design, or backstage production. Some simply need a place where their creativity is encouraged and their unique abilities, not their limitations, are celebrated.

Every ticket purchased helps provide scholarships, accessible arts education, workforce development training, production equipment, and career pathway opportunities for youth and adults of all abilities. Every dollar raised stays right here in our community, helping to remove barriers and create opportunities for the next generation of creative professionals.

That mission continues just weeks later as JDS Creative Academy launches its Fall Semester, beginning the week of August 31.

Students of all ages and experience levels are invited to explore professional instruction in Scriptwriting, Filmmaking, Backstage Production, Musical Theater, and Acting. Taught by award-winning industry professionals, these programs provide hands-on learning experiences that build confidence, communication skills, collaboration, leadership, and career readiness alongside artistic technique.

Whether students dream of writing the next great screenplay, directing films, performing on stage, designing sets, or simply discovering a new creative outlet, JDS Creative Academy offers an inclusive environment where everyone has the opportunity to learn, create, and thrive.

The connection between Arts Across the Academy and the Fall Semester is simple: one celebrates what’s possible, while the other invites the next generation to begin their own creative journey.

As our community continues to grow, so too does the need for places where inclusion, creativity, and opportunity intersect.

When we invest in the arts, we invest in people. And when we invest in people, we build a stronger future for everyone.

Arts Across the AcademyFriday, August 21, 2026 Doors Open: 6:30 p.m.

Fall Classes Begin: Week of August 31

Fall Musical is Fiddler on the Roof, Auditions Sept. 3rd, Everyone gets a Part!

Learn more, purchase tickets, register for classes, or make a tax-deductible donation at JDSCreativeAcademy.org.