Antioch School celebrates 90th Anniversary

“Saturday Night with Julia Sweeney”
March 24

Famed comedian Julia Sweeney will visit Yellow Springs for a special performance honoring the 90th anniversary of the Antioch School of Yellow Springs, one of the nation’s oldest independent elementary schools.

Sweeney, who for many years played “Pat” on the legendary television show Saturday Night Live, will star in “Saturday Night With Julia Sweeney,” part of the Antioch School’s annual Auction Gala event. It will be held March 24, 6 p.m. at Antioch University Midwest. In addition to the program by Sweeney, the event will offer a silent auction, a live auction, a raffle, and dinner with wine.

The Auction Gala event hopes to raise $25,000 for the Antioch School, an essential Yellow Springs institution highly regarded as a progressive, child-centered school emphasizing the educational benefits of creative play, individualized instruction and student self-responsibility. The school's five learning programs include nursery, kindergarten, younger group (grades 1-3), older group (grades 4-6), and art and science (for all students). Visitors are welcome.

Julia Sweeney is currently widely known for her one-woman shows performed coast-to-coast and acclaimed for tackling controversial subjects — such as mortality, family life, faith, and others — with love and laughter. She is also author of the memoir “God Said, HA!,” is currently writing a book on parents and parenting, tentatively titled, “If It’s Not One Thing, It’s Your Mother,” and has been featured many times on NPR with Ira Glass and This American Life.

Liz Griffin, a parent of two Antioch School students, said “Julia is the perfect performer for our Auction Gala, able to tell the truth on difficult topics in intelligent and very funny ways.” She and Kipra Heermann, grandmother of an Antioch School student, recently attended a performance by Sweeney in Chicago, met her afterwards and invited her to perform in Yellow Springs.

Admission to the Auction Gala will be $50 per person. The Meadowlark Restaurant will provide a one-course dinner, and wine is complimentary. The live and silent auctions will feature donated items ranging from useful to beautiful to unique. The raffle winner will win four airplane tickets to anywhere in the continental U.S.

In honor of the Antioch School’s 90th anniversary, the Morgan Family Foundation of Yellow Springs has pledged a matching gift of up to $50,000 for every dollar donated to the School the night of the event.

To reserve seats and/or buy raffle tickets, please contact Antioch School Manager M.J. Richlen at 937-767-7642. Seating is limited to 250.

The Antioch School is grateful to an Anonymous Donor who has made the event possible and to these sponsors of the event: Jim Stuart; Adoption Link; Pat Dell; Springfield Urology; Star Pediatrics; Wagner Subaru; A-C Service Co., Inc.; Arthur Morgan House Bed & Breakfast; Bob Baldwin, Laurel Finch, LMT, LLC; Dave and Diane Foubert; Griffin Carpentry and Renovation; GymQuest Sports Academy; Houser Asphalt; Abi Katz- Stein; Linda McNelly, STOP Human Trafficking Dayton; New Liberty Farms; Charles Swaney, Attorney; Tom’s Market; WesBanco Xenia Shoe and Leather Repair, and Yellow Springs Chiropractic.

Go to http://vimeo.com/31657410 to see The Antioch School 90th Anniversary Video.