The sixth annual Writing for Children Conference will take place Saturday, March 22, 2003 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Columbus. The conference is for teachers, parents, writers and illustrators. In conjunction with the conference, storyteller Sally Crandall will spin tales for families Wednesday, March 19 at St. Joseph Montessori School. Coretta Scott King Award-winning author Angela Johnson, award-winning author and illustrator Denise Fleming and author Chris Woodyard, will visit Second Avenue
Elementary and St. Joseph Montessori School on Thursday, March 20 and Friday, March 21. For more information call 614/291-8644 or email writingforchildren@mail.com.

The Weathervane Playhouse will present The Laramie Project, by Moises Kaufman and the Tectonic Theater Project, February 26-March 16, 2003. The play chronicles the life of the town of Laramie, Wyoming in the year after the murder of Matthew Shephard, a young gay man who was beaten and left to die in an act of hate that shocked the nation. The Laramie Project is a complex portrayal that dispels simplistic media stereotypes and explores the depths to which humanity can sink and the heights of compassion of which we are capable. For more information call 330/836-2626 or visit www.weathervaneplayhouse.com.

2003 FESTIVALS DIRECTORY AVAILABLE
The Ohio Arts Council1s 2003 Ohio Arts Festivals and Competitions Directory is now available. The directory is a useful guide for artists interested in exhibiting at festivals and for anyone seeking information about arts and craft festivals throughout Ohio. To receive a copy call 1-800-BUCKEYE and ask to speak to a traveler counselor or send a self addressed #10 envelope with $1.06 in postage - no cash or checks - to Ohio Arts Council, Attn: Festivals Directory, 727 East Main Street, Columbus, OH 43205-1796. An online version is available on the OAC website at www.oac.state.oh.us.

ARTS ADVOCACY DAY SCHEDULED IN WASHINGTON
The Arts Advocacy Day Conference will take place March 25-26, 2003 in Washington, D.C. The conference coincides with the national convening of Arts Advocacy Day 2003 on Capitol Hill. This past year, arts advocates succeeded in securing increased funding for both the National Endowments for the Arts and for the Humanities, as well as increased funding for arts education programs within the U.S. Department of Education. Arts Advocacy Day is strategically timed to give grassroots advocates the opportunity to shape federal arts policy. The 2002 elections and redistricting will bring in new legislators who will need early educational visits from grassroots constituents about the importance of the arts and culture. For more information, call Americans for the Arts at 202/371-2830 or email events@artsusa.org.

deadlines

January 15

• Operating Support II - Visual and Performing Arts
  
  
• Appalachian Arts Program - FY2003 applications

February 3

• Community and Traditional Arts, including Operating Support II, Project Support and Festivals
  
  
• Performing Arts on Tour - Artists

panel meetings

January 29

• Artists Projects Program
  

February 26-27

• Visual Arts Operating Support II

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RESOURCES
The Dana Foundation has published Planning an Arts-Centered School: A Handbook, a new resource for educators, arts agencies and others interested in arts in education. The handbook consists of 18 essays by artists and educators and was designed to guide organizations in essential issues such as curriculum and development, assessment and community participation. The guide is available free in print and online at www.dana.org/books/press/
artshandbook/. For more information call 212/223-4040.