![Game, set, and match. Corbin Atchley, sophomore, high fives Sanam Sidhu, freshman, after a rally with other club members. “I just joined [the club],” Sidhu said. “[I heard about it] on Instagram, they always post about it, I’ve been wanting to come. My parents used to play [net sports] too and they taught us, and then I learned from my brother.”](https://wlhsnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/MG_7715-2-1200x800.jpg)
![At the bottom of the third inning, the Lions are still scoreless. Rowe stands at home plate, preparing to bat, while Vandenbrink stands off to the side as the next batter up. Despite having the bases loaded, the team was unable to score any runs. “It’s just the beginning of the season. We’re just going to be playing out best by June, [and] that’s where champions are,” Rowe said.](https://wlhsnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/IMG_3077-1200x900.jpg)
![The teams prepare to start another play with just a few minutes left in the first half. The Lions were in the lead at halftime with a score of 27-0. At half time, the team went back to the locker rooms. “[We ate] orange slices,” Malos said. “[Then] our team came out and got the win.”](https://wlhsnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_2385-1200x800.jpg)
Music and Arts Partners (MAP) held an event called Evening With Our Stars on Oct. 6 that brought in over $20,000 for the school district. The money will go to different aspects of arts programs in the 16 schools of the West Linn-Wilsonville School District.
“One hundred percent of the money we raised will go back to the arts programs to purchase instruments, supplies, residencies and clinicians and anything else teachers might need through our grant program,” Sarah Wright, President of MAP, said.
Evening With Our Stars took place at the Oregon Golf Club. The original goal of the event was to bring in $20,000, and MAP raised about $41,000, and after all expenses, netted about $26,000. This was the first auction that MAP has ever held, and it was a way to raise money as well as showcase talent, according to Wright.
“While one of the goals was to raise money for all of the arts programs in the 16 schools throughout the WLWV School District, our main goal was to highlight the incredibly talented students in our district and the teachers who are so dedicated to instilling a love of the arts in them,” Wright said. “We are so lucky to have the arts programs that we do in this district, as so many programs have been completely eliminated or cut down to the bare bones minimum in other districts. We wanted to show how important it is to our students and parents that we maintain our current standards.”
Many different groups of students performed at the event, displaying what Evening With Our Stars was promoting. West Linn’s Jazz Choir performed, and according to Liam Walker, junior, the group was happy to be there.
“The Music and Arts Partners event was a joy to be a part of,” Walker said. “I’m glad that I could help in the effort to support the programs at my school that I know and love.”
Wright regards the event as “the perfect evening of art, entertainment and auctions,” and she, along with MAP in general, was very pleased with the outcome.
“We had over 275 people in attendance and over 75 students from throughout the district put on a two hour performance that was spectacular,” Wright said. “We also had a student art display, and art students from throughout the district created all of the centerpieces for the dinner tables.”
According to Wright, the success of the event shows how much the arts are cherished in West Linn and Wilsonville. MAP’s next fund raising effort will be its annual ‘Dollars for the Arts’ campaign in March.
