Jon Moses and Lisa Amorosa. PHOTO BY JOSHUA KODIS

A newly revised Winterfest burst onto the scene at Riverside Theatre, with children taking center stage throughout the weekend. Winterfest, like its Festival of Trees predecessor, is the major fundraiser for Riverside’s educational department, and its students, as well as children from partner organizations, shone brightly as the stars of the festival.

At the Preview Gala, guests enjoyed cocktails and hors d’oeuvres in the lobby, greeting Santa and Mrs. Claus, bidding on beautifully decorated trees and wreaths, and entertained by Gifford Youth Orchestra musicians.

Once in the auditorium, Jon Moses, Riverside’s managing director and COO, welcomed everyone to the first of several productions that weekend of “Finding Nemo, Jr.”

“It’s hard to believe that it has been four years since we all gathered here to celebrate and support all things kids in the performing arts,” said Moses, referencing how the pandemic put a halt to much of their programming and fundraisers.

“Tonight is really special for me and for many of us here because tonight, and this weekend kind of symbolizes the last major component that the community has been without for four years with the reopening of Winterfest,” said Moses.

After thanking the major sponsors and the “army of tree and wreath designers,” he applauded the Riverside staff for their parts in the successful event which, over the weekend, included Santa’s Village and hourly performances by children on all three stages.

Kevin Quillinan, Riverside’s director of theater education, commented that arts can level the playing field in terms of socioeconomic status and academic achievement for children of all ages. In addition to its long-running arts education program, he said, Riverside has a fully endowed tuition assistance program, with fundraisers such as this enabling scholarships.

“So we make sure that regardless of ability to pay, we can not only serve as many kids as possible, but we can keep the lights on. And we can inspire the next generation of artists,” said Quillinan.

Adam Schnell, Riverside’s director of dance and Ballet Vero Beach CEO, cited the importance of their community engagement initiatives.

“It really is the reason that I continue to work here. Because getting out into the community and being able to share our love of the arts with young people, it really changes the world,” said Schnell.

Quillinan noted that while the Festival of Trees was a beautiful event that raised a great amount of money for the education program, what he liked about Winterfest was that it was demonstrating what the fundraiser supports by centering on the acting, dancing and musical skills of children, including the 32 children who performed in “Finding Nemo, Jr.”

Over the weekend, there were also performances by children from the Gifford Youth Orchestra, Boys & Girls Clubs, Music Angels, Citrus Singers, Youth Guidance, the Homeschool Troupe, and a special presentation of “The Lion King, Jr.” by students from Gifford Youth Achievement Center, who will be performing it at the Junior Theatre Festival in Atlanta.

“What I love about this program is that it’s welcoming to everybody,” said Quillinan. “So thank you all so much for coming out and supporting this and the amazing work everyone’s doing.”

Photos by Joshua Kodis