Spotlight Children’s Theater started out at the elementary school where Carmen Keel was teaching music. The program had a unit for fifth graders about musical theater. Keel discovered the students were unaware of nearly all aspects of the art, so she started a musical theater club at the school. “I had been a teacher for 15 years, and I realized this is what I love,” she said. “It was my favorite thing I have ever done. So, I decided to leave the classroom. The best way to keep it going was to start as a non-profit.” When Keel heard about the sign grant, “I figured it was a fantastic opportunity to show off and get into the neighborhood,” Keel said. “We moved in March of last year, and people didn’t know we were here. Our students who were interested couldn’t find us. People had no idea there was even a children’s theater program around, so we needed something. I wanted to grab people’s attention because I really do believe that our program is amazing, and it does great things for these kids who are involved, so I wanted to make sure it reflected how bright and how big these kids become because of this program. We created this amazing, beautiful sign and applied for the grant and we were lucky enough to be selected. We went from 25 students last year to 50 students this semester. It has been a blessing to be seen and have kids learn about the program.”
Historic Plant City Main Street awards one sign grant each quarter. “The Design Committee is very much interested in how our downtown looks—how the public comes in and views our downtown,” Lizzette Sarria, Historic Plant City Main Street Design Chair and Board Vice Chair, said. “One of the things that is very obvious are signs. When new businesses are coming into town, signs are very expensive to get, so oftentimes they will get something vinyl to put up, or something temporary that stays there a very long time. It makes an impact when you come in and view our downtown and see just a vinyl banner versus a nice sign.”
Sign grant award amounts range between $100 and $1000. The criteria to win the award are: 1. Be a Historic Plant City Main Street Partner; 2. Have an approved city permit for signage; 3. Have a receipt or invoice; 4. Have a rendering or a picture of the sign; 5. Complete and submit an application on the website at https://www.plantcitymainstreet.org. Individuals, businesses, or organizations can give to support the sign grant fund by navigating to this website and selecting the “Donate to our Efforts” button on the right side of the page.
Spotlight Children’s Theater provides kids the opportunity to shine through fun, inspiring, and affordable camps, classes, experiences, and performances. “The change I have seen in the students from when they first start—their confidence level grows exponentially,” Keel said. “They make friends.” For more information about Spotlight, go to https://spotlightpc.com.