Artsopolis.com and FIRST 5 Santa Clara County Launch Events Calendaring Website for Children

San Jose, CA, May 25, 2005 – Artsopolis.com, a project of Arts Council Silicon Valley’s Artsopolis Marketing Partnership (AMP), and FIRST 5 Santa Clara County today announced the launch of ArtsopolisKids.com, a comprehensive, community-focused events calendaring website geared towards children 0 through 5 years and their families. This co-branded website features over 500 arts enrichment activities that offer music, dance, story time, and arts and crafts held throughout Santa Clara County for children through the age of 12, with its primary focus being children under the age of 6.

The site was fashioned from the current Kids & Families section on the Artsopolis.com website with the intention of providing parents and caregivers a user-friendly and comprehensive way to find age-appropriate events and activities. FIRST 5 identified Arts Council Silicon Valley as a partner early on because of its success in the region and Artsopolis.com’s proven ability to increase the visibility of arts and cultural programming. Through the collaboration with FIRST 5, Artsopolis.com has been able to significantly expand the amount of age-appropriate content on the website and focus on community and art experiences that are interactive and engaging for our region’s youngest children and their families.

"The partnership with FIRST 5 is really a perfect match," said Bruce W. Davis, Executive Director of Arts Council Silicon Valley. "They have brought to the table the expertise and extensive knowledge of child development as well as the capability to help us identify suitable content and present age-appropriate events to our collective audience."

ArtsopolisKids.com includes event and activity listings by organization as well as venue and allows parents and caregivers to search listings specifically by age. This feature provides a great service for identifying the opportunities for families and their children to be exposed and participate in age-appropriate arts enrichment activities. This project is especially unique as well because it is part of FIRST 5’s Arts Enrichment Initiative, the only initiative of its kind in the State of California.

"ArtsopolisKids.com is an integral component of the FIRST 5 Arts Enrichment Initiative," said Jolene Smith, Executive Director of FIRST 5 Santa Clara County. "The website enables us to provide a very valuable service to reach all families throughout Santa Clara County with children birth through age 5 offering things to see, things to do and places to go. Artsopolis.com and Arts Council Silicon Valley are perfect partners for this venture."

About Arts Council Silicon Valley & Artsopolis.com
Artsopolis.com is a project of the Artsopolis Marketing Partnership (AMP), a program of Arts Council Silicon Valley, California’s largest nonprofit arts council, distributing nearly $7 million to the 130+ local Arts and Cultural organizations, individual artists, schools, and community groups between 1992 and 2004. Arts Council Silicon Valley developed Artsopolis.com in 2003 to inspire greater participation in the region’s thriving Arts and Culture scene. Now, with over 90,000 visitors a month, the site allows you to find all the Arts – theatre, music, dance, and visual art – and get some incredible deals through Artsopolis.com’s weekly half-price ticket e-mail. Artsopolis.com continues to grow, connecting the greater Bay Area to the Arts and Culture of San Jose.

About FIRST 5 Santa Clara County
Research shows that a child's brain develops most dramatically in the first five years of life and what parents and caregivers do during these years to support their child's growth will have a meaningful impact throughout the child’s life. Based on this research, California voters passed Proposition 10 in 1998, adding a 50 cent-per pack tax on cigarettes to support programs for expectant parents and children ages prenatal through age 5. FIRST 5 Santa Clara County supports the healthy development of children through age 5 and enriches the lives of their families and communities through an annual community investment of approximately $28 million.