S T E W A R D ARTS
Steward Senior Earns First Place in Summer Palooza Music Festival When Hailey Wharram '21 heard about The Cadence Theatre Company's inaugural Summer Palooza Music Festival, she was hesitant about submitting a song to the virtual showcase. "I had never entered any sort of contest before," she said. "[Lower School theatre and Upper School acting teacher Craig Smith] forwarded me the details and said that [Middle School theatre and Upper School public speaking teacher Susan Sanford] had a connection to the theatre company, and I thought, why not put myself out there?" She certainly didn't expect to take home the top prize in the Best At-Home Performance category for her original song entitled "The Dark Side of the Moon." The song — unrelated to the Pink Floyd album of the same name — draws inspiration from the music of Taylor Swift, whom Hailey described as "setting the blueprint" for young musicians like herself. Hailey picked up guitar in third grade, and despite writing her first songs five years ago, it was just within the last year that she began sharing them with others. The Summer Palooza Music Festival invited high school and college freshmen musicians from all over Virginia to submit their original work for a chance to win cash prizes and receive an opportunity to spend two hours of instudio time with an engineer at Red Amp Audio. In other words, it was a low-risk, high-reward opportunity. "I knew I was going to be up against a bunch of really talented Richmond musicians, many of whom had entered other contests through Cadence Theatre," she said. "I was coming in as an outsider." Even if that were true, it didn't stop this Spartan from standing out in a big way. Congratulations to Hailey on this prestigious win and for making a splash in the Richmond music scene!
Scan here to watch Hailey's performance of "The Dark Side of the Moon."
Painting to Protect the Environment During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bulger family, like many others, found themselves spending more time in nature, frequenting the community beach down the street from their home on the Potomac River in Heathsville, Virginia. Since they acquired the house in 2014, the family has watched erosion take its toll on their beloved getaway. Worse, the homeowners' association couldn't agree on whether or not to continue funding a breakwater that would prevent further erosion. First grader Patrick Bulger, upon learning that the beach was in danger of eroding away completely, asked what he could do to help to keep the project moving. "We told him to take action if he wanted things to be different," his mother, Mary Lou Bulger, said. "So he did!" After contemplating a T-shirt fundraiser, the Bulgers brainstormed a few other options that they thought would tell a more captivating message. Their solution was to use the beach itself — or part of it — to tell the story. With help from his younger brother, Patrick began collecting driftwood that he then painted with inspirational "Save the Beach" messages to rally the community around funding the breakwater. His mother said the community buy-in was swift. "We started getting unsolicited donations and realized our little quarantine project was really affecting people," Mrs. Bulger said. Aside from some help with the wording, Patrick was in charge of the whole operation, including collecting, designing, and painting the driftwood, even delivering some of the pieces in his own battery-powered vehicle. Community members were so captivated by the driftwood art that they donated money to fund the breakwater installation with every piece he completed. Through Labor Day, the family raised roughly $1,850 to donate toward the breakwater's second phase, which is already underway and progressing. "This got so much bigger than we ever imagined," Mrs. Bulger said. "But I guess that's a good thing!"
The Colonnade |
13
