Emmanuel Episcopal Block Party

The Emmanuel School of Fine Arts [ESOFA], a music and fine arts based ministry run by Emmanuel Episcopal Church in San Angelo, Texas, recently celebrated their 10th Anniversary with a 6 hour long Block Party, Art Show and BBQ Fundraiser on May 3, 2025. The block party featured three different performance spaces on the church campus, offering students the opportunity to showcase what they've been studying in Concert Band, Jazz Band, Orchestra, Teen Choir, Handbell Choir, and Saxophone Choir, as well as soloists on piano, percussion, violin, and guitar. The Parish Hospitality team and several volunteers cooked up a selection of freshly smoked BBQ and sides for a dinner fundraiser to help the school purchase additional instruments for their loan library. Students who participate in classes and lessons at ESOFA can check an instrument out of the library for free, making music study more affordable and accessible for students who need financial assistance. The program also supplies more than $30,000 in scholarships to at-risk youth and military dependents for private music lessons and involvement in fine arts-based summer camps. The evening culminated with a campfire featuring all of the semester's guitar students and faculty members serenading guests with popular country and contemporary praise and worship tunes they've learned this spring. The event was open to the public and saw over 250 people in attendance, highlighting the many ways that the School of Fine Arts contributes to a feeling of community in San Angelo. By the end of the day our hearts were full of music and our fingers were sticky from marshmallows, a magical combination we hope to repeat again next year!