KINGS BEACH

Fox Cultural Hall, a nonprofit and community culture hall that opened in 2023 in Kings Beach, closed its physical venue and is transitioning back to its former name, Arts for the Schools, as of Aug. 1. 

Originally started in 1984 with the mission of providing art and culture to rural schools that lacked robust arts programs, Arts for the Schools provided arts funding; took performers, music, and art into classrooms; and put on cultural assemblies for Tahoe-Truckee Unified School District schools. The opening of Fox Cultural Hall venue gave Arts for the Schools a new way to achieve their mission by sharing culture at a community hub.

The organization merged its name with the hall while still providing arts education to the schools by bringing students into a culture-filled space. According to newly appointed Executive Director Linday McIntosh, a lack of funds, growth in the Tahoe Basin, and age-old troubles with bus transportation caused the success and accessibility of Fox Cultural Hall programming to waver.

“Our main goal is to provide the school district with meaningful, relevant, and inspiring cultural, educational opportunities through the arts — the performing arts particularly,” McIntosh said of the redirection.

Now, the nonprofit returns to its roots for the new 2025/26 school year. McIntosh said she has been working closely with TTUSD to maximize the accessibility of arts enrichment that Arts for the Schools provides. This means taking arts and culture directly into the schools once more to meet the schools’ needs. 

McIntosh, who graduated from Truckee High School, said Arts for the Schools was important for her own life. She went on to become a professional oboist in New York before returning home and starting her own performing arts nonprofit, Musica Sierra. 

As the executive director of Arts for the Schools, McIntosh is integrating the two nonprofit organizations to better serve rural schools of the Sierra.

Learn more at artsfortheschools.com.

~ MR