Their moment in the spotlight

Each April, students at Moscow High School have the chance to perform for the entire school.

The performances are part of Arts Fest, a four-day celebration of performing and visual arts at the school. Amy McMurtry, a faculty adviser for the student Arts Fest Committee, said the students organized multiple assemblies and an art gallery this week, where students showed off the results of what for many has been months of preparation.

Arts Fest is a longstanding tradition at the high school that Charlene Jakich, another faculty advisor of the committee, said has grown from a couple optional student assemblies to numerous assemblies throughout the week. Jakich said she and McMurtry work with a group of 10 juniors and seniors to organize the week — from choosing the theme to decorating the stage.

The students on the committee are in charge of organizing the events with assistance from their advisors when asked. The students on the committee and some from student leadership come in the weekend before Arts Fest to decorate the venues.

This year, the theme was “Camp MHS” and featured student-designed T-shirts, patches and a handmade camp directional sign. The sign, Jakich said, was made by a shop student and had the last names of several teachers included in the camp locations, like “Bailey Bridge” and “Huff Hill.”

“It’s really cool to see the kids get excited for (Arts Fest),” Jakich said. “The kids are really protective of it.”

Arts Fest had a few slower years during the COVID-19 pandemic, Jakich said, with no events planned in 2020 and a limited capacity allowed in the auditorium in 2021 and 2022.

The performances were livestreamed into the classrooms during those years. In 2023, Arts Fest returned to the whole student body sitting in the auditorium together again.

“It’s grown to this fun event,” Jakich said.

The performances are open to any student in the school and this year ranged from dance numbers like “Fabulous” from High School Musical, to comedy and musical acts. McMurtry and Jakich said there is a brief interview that comes with the application as a screening process.

This year there were two assemblies held each day Monday through Thursday, the first one was for about an hour and the second a bit longer. The performances range from whole band performances to quartets and single-student acts. The auditorium is standing room only by the time the first act starts.

The backstage tech work was all done by the stage technology class this year, McMurtry said.

Avisors try to attract a wide range of students for the committee so the event represents all the students.

“It’s really cool to see the introverted ones find their place on stage,” McMurtry said.

Nelson can be reached at knelson@dnews.com.