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Lied Center outreach program gives more than 20,000 free tickets

More than 20,000 people have attended events at the Lied Center at no cost, thanks to the center's Statewide Outreach Program.

Since 1996, free tickets to everything from chamber music concerts to dance performances to Pink Floyd tributes have been made possible through the Lied Performance Fund, created by Christina Hixson, trustee of the Lied Foundation.

The goal of the program is to make the art, culture and entertainment staged at the Lied Center accessible to the people of Kansas. The 20,000-plus people who have seen a performance through the program include teachers and students at all levels, social service organizations and clients and local organizations such as Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts troops.

People from 62 counties in Kansas, as well as individuals in Nebraska, South Dakota and Missouri, have all taken part in the program. Any organization with 503c(3) not-for-profit status qualifies for tickets through the program.

The Lied Center provides tickets for one event to each organization that applies until the annual fund is depleted. To apply, call 864-2787 and request a Statewide Outreach application.

NOTABLE ALUMS

A one-time Kansas farm boy, Darrell Abernethy is now chief science officer for U.S. Pharmacopeia, a Rockville nonprofit organization that sets standards for prescription and over-the-counter medicines, dietary supplements, food ingredients and other health-care products manufactured and sold in the U.S. He earned a degree in chemistry at KU and two in pharmacology at the KU Medical Center.