Arts Smart

Connecting the curriculum since 1989.


Ordering and attending Arts Smart events

ORDER ALL ARTS SMART SEATS THROUGH THIS PORTAL. Arts Smart is intended for school groups arriving by bus. It is steeply discounted to support K-5 learners across a 13-county area. All performances are held on the campus of ECU in Wright Performing Arts Center on Friday mornings at 10:00 am. They run for approximately 60 minutes with no intermission. Plan on arriving no later than 9:40 am, as it takes considerable time to seat as many as 1,483 students in our venue.

Schools arriving by bus will be emailed this parking map. Be certain to share this information with your driver so that s/he is not surprised when we ask her/him to exit campus for the bus staging area. Please tape a school identifier sign to the windshield of the bus so ECU personnel don’t have to stop the vehicle to ask which school it serves…this small detail truly helps us be efficient.

Parent chaperones and groups arriving by car: Please report to the parking garage at the Main Campus Student Center, located off Tenth Street at Charles Street (one block from Charles Boulevard at Krispy Kreme and Mcdonald’s). It’s an airport-style garage that charges $1/hour via cash or card at a kiosk. All other parking on campus is by permit only. Plan on a leisurely 10-minute walk to the venue from this location (approximately two lovely tree-lined blocks).

Schools may pay by credit card or check (follow the instructions in the top right segment of the Portal screen to pay by check from an invoice). Payment is due two weeks prior to the performance. Parent chaperones must pay in advance by credit card. Parents attending for fun are strongly encouraged to bring the entire family to our Family Fare performance of the same title on the same date at 7:00 pm instead.

All Arts Smart ticketing is in advance. No tickets are sold at the door.

Patrons do not receive physical tickets. Schools will present a voucher to an usher for seating. (The voucher will be emailed along with the bus sign and the parking map). Parent chaperones and home-school groups will report to a check-in table in the lobby for seating.

As a courtesy, school groups may pay by check (due two weeks before the performance). You’ll receive an invoice on registration and then have the flexibility to adjust the final numbers as the performance date nears. Due to schools that have registered and canceled (which prevents other schools from attending), Arts Smart will bill any school that cancels fewer than 60 days prior to a performance for the amount indicated in the initial invoice. Additionally, any school that has canceled more than once will be required to pay by credit card to attend future performances.


Contact us

Mail: Arts Smart, ECU Mailstop #528, Greenville, NC 27858-4353.

Phone: 252-737-5444

Email: artscomm@ecu.edu

For a successful educational field trip, please note the following:

  • Build extra travel time into your schedule.
  • Give us great contact information, including your cell phone, so that we can reach you in an emergency or a day-of-show development.
  • We email arrival maps and materials about four weeks prior to each performance. Read and share this information with your team, especially your bus driver. Note that your driver must remain with your bus to restage offsite during the performance because we don’t have enough space on campus to accommodate all vehicles.
  • Let us know if you have plans on campus other than attending the performance, as they impact our departure planning. We’re happy to accommodate you.

Click here to download the Arts Smart BUS arrival map.