Monday, April 2, 2018

Actor Matt Lillard Presents 2nd 5JammaSlamma Event for Five Acres’ Foster Youth

Actor and child welfare advocate Matt Lillard (Twin Peaks, Good Girls, Scooby Doo) will present his second annual 5JammaSlamma spoken word event on April 21, 2018 at Werkartz in Los Angeles. In partnership with Five Acres, Engaging the Senses Foundation and Say Word, the night will celebrate a months-long artistic workshop with live performances from several foster youth in residence at Five Acres.

Launched as a pilot program at Five Acres in 2017, 5JammaSlamma manifested as Lillard’s vision to introduce the power of poetry to children living in foster care. That week-long program connected Five Acres’ foster youth with renowned recording artists, beatboxers and slam poets. This year, the program has expanded to six months, including a final workshop and performance co-led by Hawaii’s first official Poet Laureate, Kealoha.

“What started off as Engaging the Senses’ offer to pay for our 5JammaSlamma party has now turned into a year-round commitment to fund the teaching of poetry to the kids living on campus at Five Acres,” said Lillard. “It’s a brilliant gift that will continue to harvest beauty from the darkness, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.”

This year’s 5JammaSlamma event is invite-only and is a “friendraiser” event for Five Acres, asking for advocacy for foster youth rather than funds from its attendees.

“In many ways, children living in foster care suffer from lack of visibility in our community. They’re growing up without permanent families or access to the kind of life skills and enriching experiences that a typical child may have,” said Chanel Boutakidis, Five Acres CEO. “5JammaSlamma not only provides this kind of experience but gives our community a chance to tell others about their situation and get involved as supporters.”

In addition to Keoloha, poets Sekou Andrews, Steve Connell, Kat Magill, beatboxer Joshua Silverstein and musician/vocalist Cary Brothers will join 5JammaSlamma to perform alongside the young poets. To learn more about the event, please contact Five Acres at events@5acres.org.

Visit 5acres.org for more information.