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In the Calendar section, get to know the youngest female driver at this year’s Monster Jam and check out the expanded offerings at Epcot’s Festival of the Arts. Plus the scoop on popcorn around town, reviews for “Phantom Thread,” “12 Strong” and more.
COMMENTARY
After lapping up the inaugural Epcot International Festival of the Arts, theme-park visitors were eager for a second helping.
“They just wanted more. … More everything,” says Dave Kesting, general manager of Epcot festivals. “When you find something they love, you keep doing more of it.”
The park’s second arts fest is underway, and it features the bulk of the elements from last year’s debut — only bigger. The visual presentations, culinary offerings and Broadway concert series have all been plus-sized a bit for 2018. And the event no longer is just for weekends.
“That’s the biggest thing: It’s not just a Friday-through-Monday festival. It’s seven days a week,” Kesting says.
Disney increased the number of featured artists from 50 to 81. Visitors can shop while strolling from tent to tent, which are set up primarily around the World Showcase half of Epcot.
A big hit in year one, Kesting says, was the Artful Photos, the way-bigger-than-life versions of masterpieces that included cutouts that allowed guests to walk into the scenes — and take a picture, of course.
“People love being part of the immersion of this,” Kesting says.
The festival is adding two more of these works. In place near the Italy pavilion is one based on “The Birth of Venus,” by Sandro Botticelli. An homage to Frida Kahlo in the Mexico section of the park is scheduled to be in place by this weekend.
Another interactive and enhanced activity is the group paint-by-numbers mural. This year, there are seven different designs — they stretch about 6 feet tall and 60 feet long — that will be spread out over the event.