Peter Van Heerden, Westport Arts Center executive director, will speak on "The Arts Center's Journey to Jessup - Prospects and Plans to Develop a Cultural Campus in Downtown Westport," at the Westport Sunrise Rotary breakfast meeting on Friday, April 11th. The meeting will be held at Bobby Q's, 42 Main St., Westport at 7:30 a.m. Guests are welcome. There is a $12 fee for the meeting which includes a breakfast buffet.
Van Heerden said, "Along with WAC chairman of the board, Lance Lundberg, we have been spearheading our campaign to explore the prospect of a new building for the Westport Arts Center."
Van Heerden joined WAC as executive director in 2011. From 2004 through 2010, he was founder and artistic director of The Erf 81 Cultural Collective, Cape Town, South Africa, a nonprofit organization in which artists, performers, historians, architects, and interested cultural parties develop and produce creative projects in theater, art, and new media. Previously, Van Heerden was a senior lecturer in live performance for the City Varsity School of Media and Creative Arts in Cape Town, where he was involved in the accredited curriculum for professional acting for camera as well as community outreach programs. He was also development director for School Environmental Education and Development (S.E.E.D.) in Cape Town, where he implemented school-based work programs and teacher training.
Westport Sunrise Rotary supports a wide range of charitable programs locally and internationally, serving all ages, in four categories: community service, including Gillespie Center and Staples Student of the Month; vocational service, such as the District Four-Way Speech Contest; international service, including worldwide polio eradication; and local organizations, including Cancer Care, CLASP, Earthplace, HomesWithHope, Meals on Wheels, Project Return, Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities, STAR and Westport Youth Film Festival. Funds are raised through various Sunrise Rotary-sponsored events annually, including a Duck Race in June and a Wine Tasting in October. A complete list of organizations that Westport Sunrise Rotary serves is available at http://www.westportsunriserotary.com/charities.html