Play It Forward is made possible by the generous support of Brian & Tiffany Ruwadi.

For generations, young people have been inspired by the spectacle of their very first drum corps show. This pivotal moment introduced thousands of young people to the arts, and inspired thousands more to build careers in the arts and arts education.

Play It Forward aims to bring that life-changing experience to more young people in our local NE Ohio community by providing free and reduced tickets to hundreds of middle and high school performing arts students. Our goal is to ensure that Play It Forward encourages young people to explore the arts and brings the wonders of a drum corps show to students from communities that are traditionally underrepresented in the drum corps activity.

A NEW VISION

As we celebrate our 50th Anniversary, we have identified four pillars of our New Vision for the future of Bluecoats:

1. Investing in the Bluecoats Experience

2. Investing in Music Education

3. Investing in our Community

4. Investing in Accessibility & Equity

Play It Forward addresses all four of these pillars. It will inspire more students to explore the arts (2), it will expose students from our local community to the amazing local performing arts programming available to them (3), it will re-invest in our founding roots as a drum corps program for Canton, OH (3), it will build a new pathway for students who don’t typically have access to the drum corps activity to experience its joys and wonders (4), and it will strengthen the pipeline of students who might be interested in the Bluecoats Experience (1).

2023 Program

In 2023, thanks to the generous support of Brian & Tiffany Ruwadi, Play It Forward will support five programs in Stark County, and bring the drum corps show experience to hundreds of students in our local community! In 2023, we’re proud to welcome:

• En-Rich-Ment of Stark County

• McKinley High School

• Hoover High School

• Glen Oak High School

• Alliance High School