New name for Bliss nets $500 for charity

The competition to come up with a new name for the radically rebuilt Bliss Institute is over… and one lucky Belizean is five hundred dollars richer for entering. Today, Director of the Institute of Creative Arts, Andy Palacio unveiled the successful entry and called the winner, Lois Locke, all the way in Brooklyn to relay the good news.

Andy Palacio, Director, Institute of Creative Arts

“We got over sixty-three entries, some from here at home as well as some from abroad. So I think there was a great deal of interest in coming up with a new name.”

Patrick Jones

“How did you arrive at this final name?”

Andy Palacio

“Well a panel made up of personnel from NICH, as well as some of us from here at the Institute of Creative Arts narrowed down the entries to what seemed to be a favourite by consensus which is the name “The Bliss Centre for the Performing Arts.” And it turned out that we have four persons submitting that same name. So we have had to resort to drawing one of those four in a sort of a raffle to come up with a final winner.”

Patrick Jones

“Now you’re making this name public today. Will you start to market the institution under that name as of today?”

Andy Palacio

“Well definitely because we need to start printing programmes for the upcoming events. And we also need to get on with the planning of the rest of the year. So we have been waiting to get this moment, getting this completed for a long time so we’re just glad that it’s almost over now.”

Late this evening News 5 was informed that Locke has donated her prize money to the Dorothy Menzies Child Care Centre on St. Thomas Street in Belize City. The Bliss Centre for the Performing Arts is scheduled for a grand opening in March. Palacio says the occasion will include ten days of activities featuring the various disciplines of the creative arts.