EDUCATION
GREGORY ENNS
The Lindsay School of the Arts is renting space for its classes in The Crain
House on Orange Avenue. The beautiful structure is the former home of
Jack and Mary Lee Crain and is now owned by developer Gus Gutierrez.
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art galleries and exhibits, along with a children’s library. The
third floor will remain an auditorium which she hopes to rent
out to organizations for their productions.
“The outside needs so much work, and then the contractor
says he won’t know which floor will be worked on first until
he gets in there and looks at things closely,” Bridges says.
There is no elevator in the old building and plans are to
add a tower to the building that will provide the elevator
service for those who might need it.
“My hope is to put in a public parking lot and a small garden
with an amphitheatre,” Bridges says. “I envision a beautiful,
small garden and a small amphitheatre, just a small one.”
On Feb. 8, the City of Fort Pierce and the Lindsay School of
the Arts are hosting a Meet and Greet on the 3.5-acre campus.
There will be a barbecue and demonstrations of some of the
school’s lessons, probably an art class, Bridges says. The public
is welcome to come and see what the school has to offer.
Currently holding its classes at space it rents in the Crain
House at Orange Avenue and Seventh Street, Lindsay School
of the Arts has been in existence since 2017. Bridges and her
husband, a graduate of Fort Pierce Central High School, both
teach at the school, which offers classes in dance, art, music,
drama, creative writing and production, which includes
graphic design, for ages 8-18. Most of the classes are afterschool
or in the early evening, September through May. All
classes are offered free of charge.
In the summer months, the school staff runs an eightweek,
10-hours-per-day free art camp. This year, Bridges
says, the school is projected to have funding for 85 kids.
Parents are applying now to have their children included in
the summer camp.
Funded mostly by the Children’s Services Council of St.
Lucie County, Bridges says the council funds cover almost all
of the programming, but not 100 percent of the costs.
“I can accept what I have funding for,” Bridges says. “Currently
we have 39 classes. We said we would do 22 classes
with 150 kids. We have many more than we projected, so we
do a lot of fund-raising. Obviously, the more funding, the
more programs I can offer. I have massive waiting lists as we
only register students once a year, in August. We have over >>
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