Activities spotlight various art mediums
Various forms of artistic expression were highlighted at the Arts Council of Greater Weston’s recent Celebrate the Arts Day.
The free event, staged at Weston Town Center in collaboration with the city, followed up last year’s inaugural event.
Davie’s Young At Art Museum returned with its open- air art studio. They brought a potting wheel with an instructor there doing demos, children got to work with clay, paint and draw on easels and make their own postcards.
“It’s a really great way to connect with the Weston community and give them an example of whatwe have to offer,” said Karla Hernandez, YAA membership coordinator. “A man in his 30s came to our tent and said he’d been a camper at Young At Art years ago and still remembers what a great time he had.”
In addition, talented young performers took center stage in the afternoon. This included Sagemont School’s visual and performing arts department and its rock band Sagemont Synergy. Cypress Bay High School’s band, choral and drama departments provided a preview of upcoming shows, and young hiphop dancers also entertained the audience.
An event highlight was the graffiti wall, which gave residents a chance to contribute in their own artistic way. Jami Nix Rahn, vice president of the Arts Council of Greater Weston, said the idea came from Miami’s Wynwood community.
Rahn built the wall with YAA helping with supplies and housing it. She has documented the wall’s evolution at the various events it has been used.
“It’s very important to have this art event,” she said. “I think Weston is known for its sports. Everybody talks about the sports facilities, but we would like people to know we have a lot of culture, aswell. We put on classical music performances and want to catch the kids young. … We want the kids to come out to experience the arts in Weston. That’s whywe hold this and plan to again.”
Maran Diaz went to the event with three of her daughters. The family liked venturing through the different areas and listening to the music. Diaz said the only part they didn’t get to do was the face painting.
“It was really fun,” she said. “The girls really enjoyed it. They had lots of things for them to do. They went around trying the instruments. Thatwas nice because I had never had experience working with instruments like a flute and guitar. … The girls loved the caricatures and being able to paint on the wall. They wrote their names, and my daughter who plays travel volleyball put her team on there.”