Women’s History Month: Heidi Kallenberg, chair of Christmas in the Sky, is huge supporter of the arts

SHREVEPORT, La. (KSLA) - Throughout the month of March, KSLA is honoring women in the ArkLaTex who have made an impact in different areas of the community. On Friday, March 17, KSLA honored Heidi Kallenberg, chair of Christmas in the Sky and longtime supporter of the Shreveport Regional Arts Council (SRAC).

She has such a clear vision and is able to bring you in and get you excited about that vision as well. Kallenberg is best known for her constant love and support of the arts.

“The arts have an incredible, essential impact on the economy of a community and on education, and even health. And I think that we need it. I think that all of those great things about our city, the things that that we love, I love living here. The things that I love are really the arts,” Kallenberg said.

Since 2007, Kallenberg has poured her heart into the arts and SRAC. In that time, she has tackled their biggest fundraiser: Christmas in the Sky. The event funds their free programs, like Art Break.

“Because of Christmas in the Sky, we are able to produce Art Break, which is phenomenal, and it’s coming up, actually, it’s the 16th to the 23rd of April. Art Break is so cool because it showcases successes in the arts, that our children have it, showcases our collaboration with other organizations like Film Prize Junior and Sci-Port. And we work with the symphony, we work with the library. We all come together and produce this phenomenal, bright, happy event that is so great for kids,” Kallenberg said.

Kallenberg is a strong believer and fostering the love of art at a young age, and she’s the first to jump in and help make that happen. And if you have noticed already, she’s quick to pass the credit along to others.

“She is the first to shout out, hopefully other people that help her along the way and and probably would be mortified that we’re talking about her on chair and hearing about all the wonderful things she does,” said Chef Melissa Brannan, a support of Prize Foundation and the arts.

Kallenberg also believes that beautifying the area not only helps the arts flourish, but makes the City of Shreveport a better place.

“A formerly neglected part of downtown is going to become a thriving arts community. It’s beautiful. We’ve got this gorgeous new pavilion where we’ll be able to have art shows, outdoor activities for families. We’ve got a walking path. You can come down here on a walk during the day. It’s beautiful and bright and vibrant. We can have healthy outdoor programs like fitness programs on the weekends,” she said.

At the end of the day, Kallenberg says the arts are a financial and emotional investment into the future growth of the area.

“The arts are so important to a community because of economic development, for one, and that’s just the cold hard facts. Not not really fun to talk about, but it is a fact. And I would tell them that the arts differentiate a community. They enrich a community and they are the little bouillon cube in a community that just makes the soup taste so good. And it has brought so much joy to my life to see the changes and the color that the Shreveport Regional Arts Council brings to our community,” Kallenberg said.

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