The EFA Presents! Ticket Program provides schools with easy access to performances and exhibitions from around the world. These acclaimed works of art are available to K-12 schools and, occasionally, PreK classrooms at little to no cost, depending on student grade level and the individual work of art. EFA includes educational prep materials and a K-8 bus rebate.
In May 2007, the superintendents of the ten area school districts approved the EFA Presents! Ticket Program in recognition of the importance of maintaining access to high-quality arts education programming during difficult economic times. Since 2007, this exciting initiative has provided free admission for more than 170,000 students to experience world-class works of art.
EFA Presents! Booking Information
Online booking for EFA Presents! tickets starts at 7:00 AM on Tuesday, September 22. To participate, one person from each school or grade level team should contact Deb Strickland at (269) 250-9393 by Friday, September 18, to request online booking access.
All EFA Presents! ticket requests are processed on a first-come-first-served basis. Works of art frequently sell out and admission is not guaranteed.
PreK Classrooms | Special Invitation Only
EFA works of art typically are designed for K-12 students. When available, EFA will invite select PreK classrooms to performances that are suitable for younger students. For the 2026-2027 school year, EFA invites PreK classrooms with students age four or older to attend Billy Goats Gruff and Other Tales by Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia. Admission is free and the bus rebate applies.
Elementary, Middle, and High Schools | Limited Free Admission
Performances | Schools may request one free ticket per enrolled K-12 student each school year. For example, a school with 300 students may request up to 300 free tickets for the school year. The tickets may be used for any combination of performances on the EFA Rep. For example, a school could bring every student to the same performance or select different shows for different grade levels. Free tickets are granted on a first-come, first-served basis and until shows are sold out.
If a school uses all of its free tickets, but wants to attend additional performances, it may purchase extra admissions at a cost of only $2 per K-12 student. To ensure every student has the opportunity to participate, priority will be given to schools using their free ticket allotment before purchased tickets are granted.
Exhibitions | All visual arts exhibitions are available to K-12 schools without cost and attending does not count towards the free ticket allotment. This includes docent-guided tours of A Taste of Art: Food as Form and Metaphor and Among the Beasts: Wild, Tamed & Imagined. Booking the From Here to There: Illustrations by Drew Brockington Traveling Exhibition also is free-of-charge. This means that a K-12 student could experience one performance plus three visual arts exhibitions with no admission cost.
Educational Materials | All schools receive educational prep materials.
Bus Rebate | Only K-8 students are eligible for the bus rebate. The rebate does not apply to students in grades 9-12.
Thank You!
This activity is funded in part by awards from the Michigan Arts and Culture Council and Michigan Humanities, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Michigan Arts and Culture Council.
Image: Students attending The Dancing Granny by Western Michigan University School of Theatre and Dance at the Williams Theatre, 2019.
