PRINCETON — Influential music educator and theater director Doris Hamilton will be the guest of honor at the 18th annual Prairie Arts Council Gala, Mardi Gras Masqurade, set for 7 p.m. Saturday at the Ye Olde Underground Inn in Princeton. Hamilton will be presented with the fourth annual "Lifetime Achievements in the Arts" award.

Hamilton was a graduate of Tiskilwa High School. She received a bachelor's degree from Western Illinois University and conducted graduate study work at the University of Illinois and Illinois State University.

Hamilton served as a music education teacher for Tiskilwa elementary and high schools for 35 years, providing K-12 music, theater and educational programs for students. She also served as director of the Homestead musicals during Princeton's annual Homestead Festival for 35 years. She also directed several musicals at the Henry Dinner Theater. Hamilton served as musical director for PAC productions of "The Secret Garden" in 2006 and "Godspell" in 2012. She currently teaches voice and piano for private clients, serves as the church organist and choir director for Tiskilwa Community Church, is a contest judge for the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) and the Illinois Elementary School Association (IESA), and is a member of the Princeton Elementary School Board.