Introducing Free Family Saturdays

By Jessica Handrik, Education Director

A preview of Free Family Saturdays, March 2, May 11, and June 1 in the Flynn lobby at 10 am.

Picture the Flynn’s MainStage lobby, filled on a Saturday morning with dozens of families—kids, caregivers, grandparents—all engaged in listening to a live jazz band. This was the scene last March when we welcomed Nation Beat to try out our new idea for bringing families together in a free Saturday morning concert series.

Inspired by that mini-pilot, we are excited to announce Free Family Saturdays beginning this spring.

“At the Flynn we want to foster a lifelong association with the performing arts,” Executive Director Anna Marie Gewirtz says. “And it is a priority for me that we make it possible to begin that path at a young age. It’s also extremely important to make high-quality performing arts experiences accessible to children and families of all backgrounds. That’s why this program is free.”

The genres this spring range from classical to electronic and jazz. On March 2, we collaborate with the Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival for It’s a String Thing, featuring local musicians bringing strings to Flynn families in an interactive concert. On May 11, Winooski’s own DJ Craig Mitchell transforms the lobby into a beat-filled dance party for Family Rave; and on June 1, the Burlington Discover Jazz Festival welcomes locally beloved jazz quartet Birdcode to make the lobby swing.

Each hour-long event begins at 10 am. Admission is free but registration at flynncenter.org is required. We will also be reaching out via schools and community partners to ensure that everyone in our community is aware of this new family engagement opportunity.

We look forward to sharing our incredibly rich and diverse local musical talent with Flynn families both old and new.