KINGMAN – A local couple is working to get Kingman kids more interested and involved in the arts. Raul Bibiano and Laurie Middleton hope to open and operate the ARCH Project Youth, a club encouraging participation in the creative process.
“The arts include music. They include dance, voice- and for the younger kids- arts and crafts,” Bibiano said. “And also we’re going to include things like cooking and baking.”
Bibiano and Middleton, who perform in the 4-piece El Jefe band, said they’ve accepted a donated lot and are raising money to place a metal building on site for the ARCH facility. They’ll headline their first fundraiser event this weekend at the Fraternal Order of the Eagles that will include a taco dinner, prize giveaways and music.
“We will be playing for a couple of hours,” Bibiano said. “And then we’ll be doing karaoke until they ask us to leave.
Admission is $10 for Saturday’s event scheduled between 2 and 6 p.m. at the Eagles Lodge at 4536 Patsy Dr. Bibiano said they are set up as a 501-C3 nonprofit organization able to accept monetary contributions and donations of in-kind services by subcontractors and vendors interested in helping with the build.
Bibiano said he and Middleton want to make a difference with local youth, some of whom are overly preoccupied with today’s electronic devices.
“We don’t want the next Beethoven to slip through our fingers because Beethoven was taking selfies all day,” Bibiano said. “We want that device to be put down. Learn how to sing. Learn how to dance. Learn how to move. We want people to be better students because it is proven that music in a young person makes them better students.”
