An Evening with the Arts at the Bumper Car Pavilion

Artists and musicians will collaborate Friday evening to benefit the

"An Evening with the Arts: A Benefit for the Children's Inn at NIH" will take place in the Bumper Car Pavilion at Glen Echo Park from 6:30-9p.m. Friday.

The event will feature live jazz music by the Washington Conservatory of Music accompanied by Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia painters who will interpret the performance through a visual medium. While the Conservatory performs "Music from the Village, Dave Brubeck to Miles Davis," artists J. Jordan Bruns, Walter Bartman, Jackie Hoysted, Margaret Panas and Lida Stifel will render the notes in paint.

Several of the participating artists have personal connections to NIH.

Bruns, who is the studio manager at the Yellow Barn Studio and Gallery at Glen Echo Park and also a finalist, is directing the event. He credits the Institutes with saving his life after undergoing treatment there for Cushing's disease. Last March, he began looking for ways to give back.

“It is important to not only raise money for Children’s Inn, but to involve our artist performers with monthly art instruction for the Inn’s residents,” said Bruns. “I remember how important art was for me while I was undergoing treatment, and I want to not only make this an annual event, but also give back year round. Next year we plan on raising money for musical instruments for
the Inn, and The Washington Conservatory is planning on hiring a musician to pop in weekly to play music with the kids.”

Margaret Panas, a participating artist, also has a deep and personal appreciation for NIH.

"While our oldest son, Christian, was not in residence  at the the Children's Inn, the NIH and, in particular, Dr. Elaine Jaffe were of enormous help at a very difficult time in our lives," Panas said.

Jaffe,  the premier pathologist working on lymphoma at the time,  went above the call of duty while treating Panas' sons' Hodgkins Disease in the late 1980s, Panas said.

"Dr. Jaffe and NIH have always held a special place in our hearts," Panas said.  

The event commences with an artist reception where young jazz students from the Washington Conservatory of Music will play, followed by the synchronized musical and visual arts performance, and culminates in a silent auction of the artwork.

The Children's Inn at NIH provides a "place like home" for children who are ill and their families. Families reside at the Inn while the children receive necessary medical treatments. Children receive treatment for illnesses such as cancer, heart, lung, blood, bone and growth disorders, mental illnesses, and HIV infection. 

The Yellow Barn Studio and Gallery is one of the anchor residences of Glen Echo Park, said Walt Bartman, who directs the studio and gallery.

"It is the mission of the Friends of the Yellow Barn to provide opportunities to people of all ages and backgrounds to grow as artists," Bartman said. "This benefit, organized by Jordan Bruns for the children at NIH, is so important to our whole community and we are honored to be able to help with such a great cause.

As an artist and teacher in the Glen Echo community for forty years, I have known of the wonderful support system NIH provides for these young children. The arts have always provided to the quality of life. As a parent of five children, I know how much  children benefit from programs that have a positive effect on their young lives."

Tickets are $40 and available through the NIH Arts website. All ticket and art sales benefit the arts program at the Children's Inn at NIH. The event will be held rain or shine. More information about the event and participating artists is available at the NIH website.