Louie the Lightning Bug coming to Gentry school

— Louie the Lightning Bug is coming to Gentry Primary School at 10 a.m. Friday, according to a release from Southwestern Electric Power Company.

Louie the Lightning Bug, SWEPCO’s safety “spokesbug,” and friends are a part of the SWEPCO educational touring theatre show which travels to schools with electrical safety presentations and teaches local school children how to “play it safe around electricity.”

Two small troupes (two actors in each) from The National Theatre for Children will be in Northwest Arkansas to present showsat 12 local schools, with each show lasting about 25 minutes. The show is called “The Further Adventures of Louie the Lightning Bug.”

SWEPCO sponsors the program in its electric service territory and power plant locations in Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas.

The National Theatre for Children develops and tours educational theatre programs in schools on behalf of companies like SWEPCO, as well as nonprofits and municipalities. Using creative audience participation techniques, the Minnesota-based national touring company performs age-appropriate live theatre and supplies students and teacherswith follow-up curriculum materials.

SWEPCO serves more than 473,500 customers in three states, including 113,500 in western Arkansas, 180,000 in Northwest Louisiana, and 180,000 in East and North Texas. SWEPCO’s headquarters are in Shreveport, La. For more information, visit www.swepco.com.

News, Pages 8 on 10/13/2010