CRYSTAL FALLS — School is out for summer and the Missoula Children’s Theatre is at the Crystal Theatre next week organizing a production of “Red Riding Hood.”

Under the leadership of trained theatre majors, a five-day workshop Monday through Thursday will culminate in two performances, at 7 p.m. Friday, June 13, and 2 p.m. Saturday, June 14.

The free workshop is open to students who have completed first through 12th grades. In-person registration and casting of characters will begin at 10 a.m. Monday in Stage Left.

Rehearsals will be 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; actors are asked to bring their own lunch.

Crystal Theatre has provided this experience for area youth without fee since 2016.

Tour actors/directors for this production are Abigail Marine and Sarah Lindsay Merriman. A native of Oregon, Marine studied music education and opera at Portland State University. Her favorite stage credits include Princess Pamina in “The Magic Flute” and the Fairy Godmother in “Cinderella.” She made her stage debut at age 5 in an MCT production of “The Little Mermaid.”

Like her partner, Merriman is thrilled to be touring with the Missoula Children’s Theatre. A lover of mountains and the outdoors, she hails from Palmyra, Va., and recently graduated from Radford University with double majors in music and theatre.

Some of her favorite credits include Janet Van DeGraff in “The Drowsy Chaperone,” Cassandra in “The Trojan Women,” and The Little Fish in The “Rainbow Fish Musical.”

“Red Riding Hood” is adapted from the classic tale and musically arranged by Michael McGill, executive director of Missoula Children’s Theatre. Organized in 1970, the nation’s largest touring children’s theater company aspires to help children and adults develop lifelong skills while enriching communities worldwide.

“Over the river and through the woods, to Grandmother’s house she goes,” McGill says. “‘Red Riding Hood’ and her pals try to stay on the straight and narrow path. The Big Bad Wolf, who is not so bad after all, and a friendly Forest Ranger urge them along, for in the Shadows lurk diversions and a sinister surprise or two.”

McGill continues, “And we can’t have a wolf tale without Three Little Pigs and even a Boy Who Cries … you guessed it. With help from her family and a loyal young locksmith, Red finds her Grandma and a whole lot more.”

The audience is sure to find a basket-full of delightful entertainment. Tickets for the two performances are $10 for adults and $5 for children, sold only at the door. Actors in the production will receive two complimentary tickets for guests.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Texas foster care students are defying statistics with only 63% of foster youth graduating compared to the state average of 90%.

“Actually I’m really proud because I didn’t, to this day I never thought I would actually walk the stage or make it with all the thoughts I had in my mind,” said Cortney Cantu, one of a dozen foster care students celebrating their graduation.

Foster youth beat the odds, celebrate high school graduation

Cantu’s cap tells her story: “If you knew my story, you would be proud.”

The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services hosted their annual graduates reception, honoring high school graduates from Nueces and Webb County who have overcome significant challenges in the foster care system.

“I was moving around a lot. Five different high schools… But out of everything I learned one thing, I learned that no matter how hard it gets, as long as I don’t give up, I can do it,” said Devlin De Santiago, another graduate being honored.

Tony Jaramillo

De Santiago says the hardships made him more resilient.

“Four months ago, I was like, this high school doesn’t want me in here. I just got out of CPS, I don’t have a lot of money in my pocket. But I did it anyways,” De Santiago said.

For these graduates, this is just the beginning. Texas covers tuition and fees at state colleges for former foster youth, even up to a law degree or medical degree, opening doors to higher education that might otherwise remain closed.

Cantu hasn’t chosen a major yet but is considering becoming a nail technician.

Tony Jaramillo

“I just can’t wait. I really can’t wait. I’m just glad I’m out and I just can’t wait to move on with my next chapter,” Cantu said.

De Santiago is exploring a career as a dialysis nurse.

“Anything you do in life later on is gonna be for you and for nobody else,” de Santiago said.

When KRIS6 News asked what message they would share with other foster youth who might be struggling, Cantu offered encouragement.

“I would say stay focused, and don’t worry about anybody else. Just worry about you. Fight, push,” Cantu said.

De Santiago’s advice was equally direct: “So don’t give up unless you want to fail yourself.”

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HUFFMAN, Texas – A Huffman youth baseball team is trying to recoup the losses after at least $2,900 was stolen that should have helped cover costs for an upcoming tournament.

The incident happened Thursday around 11:45 a.m. just after an assistant coach for the Huffman 12U All-Stars said he left a bank in Humble and stopped at a nearby restaurant on FM 1960 Bypass Road West for lunch.

When Marcus Thornton returned to his car, thieves had broken the front passenger window of his truck and the money was gone, he said, believing he may have been followed.

In addition, he said the thieves took several of his son’s championship rings and checks that should have gone to other area youth sports teams or fine arts groups, as he runs a company that helps the groups raise funds.

Thornton reported the incident, believed to be a jugging, to Humble police. The department confirmed an investigation is underway and detectives are looking into the possibility that Thornton was followed from the bank.

However, the strip center where the break-in occurred doesn’t appear to have any exterior cameras.

Team coach Wayne West said the team will be at Swamp Donkeys Seafood in Kingwood at 5 p.m. on Friday, where the owner has agreed to let the boys bus tables to start recouping the money.

Syracuse, N.Y. – The Syracuse Toffees meet up every year to watch the Everton football club compete in the English Premier League.

When the club’s supporters aren’t watching the games, the Toffees host food banks and other charitable events. Now, the Toffees are getting the opportunity of a lifetime.

The Toffees and local youth soccer club Ball On Center Alliance FC will collaborate with Everton to host a soccer clinic this summer. Children ages 5-14 can participate in a clinic Aug. 4-8 at Nottingham High School taught by coaches traveling overseas from Everton’s development system in the United Kingdom.

Everton is offering three different packages for the camps. Children aged 5-7 will pay $150 while those aged 7-14 can choose between a daily three-hour camp for $235 or a six-hour camp for $405 via the Everton FC website.

Everton was once the home for American soccer legends like Landon Donovan and Tim Howard. The club was recently purchased by the Friedkin Group, an ownership group out of Houston. Now, the club is furthering its presence in the United States.

The Toffees are led by president Andy Woodring, an Everton fan from Rochester, New York, who fell in love with the club while his parents were living in England in the early 2000s.

Woodring has been involved with the Toffees for nearly a decade. He is directly connected to the team and said he had been asked for years if there was interest in holding a camp in Syracuse.

Once he found a partner in Boca FC, Woodring said he couldn’t resist the chance to assist in Everton’s stateside efforts. Players don’t need to be a member of BOCA FC to participate in the camp.

“They’re about building humans first,” Woodring said of Everton’s youth academies. “Building people who happen to be good soccer players. And that’s kind of the idea they want to build over here.”

The United States will host the Club World Cup and the senior World Cups for both the men and women in the 2020s, and Everton wants to be the team that profits the most from that. The club will be playing games in Chicago, Atlanta and New Jersey.

Everton knows that hosting events in major American cities will only get the club so far, which is why it emphasizes grassroots efforts in cities such as Syracuse. When the club evaluated the fandom of the Syracuse Toffees and the sincerity of Woodring, it decided Central New York was a place to be.

“Clubs that host our programs need to have an understanding of what they’re getting,” said Roy Collins, Everton’s development director for soccer schools.

“A lot of it comes from people coming out and saying, ‘Hey, I’ve run a club with so many kids in it, we love the English Premier League, we like Everton and we’d like to consider being offered a chance to host a program.’ ”

Everton has hosted camps in 22 states and has 30 kids enrolled in the Syracuse camp, Collins said.

Everton is the only club that sends its actual coaches to develop children in the Syracuse area and has run a camp in Clifton Park, near Albany.

The camps provide Everton the opportunity to teach kids the proper way to play the game and teach the coaches of the host clubs better schemes and ways to practice.

The camps are mutually beneficial. If the club finds players they like, they can sign the children to their youth academies, where they get paid to develop and could ultimately find themselves on the senior team in the Premier League.

“We want to use the U.S. market to help brand our club,” Collins said. “We know, historically, it’s an iconic club. … If you compare what our camps cost to what other camps similar to our camp costs, we are on the lower end because we could charge a lot more for it, but the club didn’t want to do that. The club would rather make it affordable and get as many kids to go as possible.”