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Because of CYPRESS' record of accomplishments, Evansville was chosen by the Visual History Foundation to serve as the regional center for 114 video testimonies recorded by the citizens of Indiana, Kentucky, and Southern Illinois. The collection, one of the first in the world, was dedicated in September of 2005, at the brand new Evansville Vanderburgh Central Library. This archive has been incorporated into the existing media collection. It is accessible through listing in the web catalog, programming and marketing to area educational institutions, educators, students and the general public. The library and CYPRESS are working together to create professional compilations, making these testimonies more accessible to area middle and high school teachers and their students. The Regional Archive in Evansville is one of the larger archives in the United States thus far. In addition, the committee plans to be a role model in the country for the programs and activities that will bring the testimonies to life, reaching out to underserved areas throughout the Tri-State with its lessons of understanding and respect.

At the same time that CYPRESS began negotiations to locate a Regional Archive in Evansville, we learned of a children's opera, Brundibar, that had been performed fifty-five times in the Theresienstadt concentration camp. The Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra agreed to join us in mounting a production of the opera to coincide with a teacher workshop led by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Ela Stein Weissberger, one of only four children in the cast from the Theresienstadt performance to survive the Holocaust, agreed to come to Evansville to participate in the musical. CYPRESS raised the funds to rent sets and costumes by America's most famous children's illustrator, Maurice Sendak. The libretto was written by celebrated playwright, Tony Kushner (Angels in America).

Three performances of Brundibar were presented in January, 2005. The premiere was a benefit for the Archive. There was also a matinee for families and a free school performance for middle schoolers. Ms. Weissberger spoke to audiences at all performances and visited area schools for additional presentations. The combination of Brundibar and the teacher workshop attracted national attention for CYPRESS, and were featured on CNN's Paula Zahn show.

As a result of Brundibar, CYPRESS was the recipient of Leadership Evansville's 2005 "Project Award in the Arts." The same year, the YWCA of Evansville presented CYPRESS with its "Tribute to Achievement" award.

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