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The annual Children's Art Expo hosted by the Fredericksburg Department of Parks and Recreation will be celebrated this Saturday at Hurkamp Park Date published: 7/23/2009
By COLLETTE CAPRARA FOR THE FREE LANCE-STAR If you think kids are too young to "paint the town," you may have never visited the annual Children's Art Expo hosted by the Fredericksburg Department of Parks and Recreation. It will be celebrated this Saturday at Hurkamp Park. A tradition for more than 20 years, the Expo gives youngsters an opportunity for hands-on, fun-filled experience with a spectrum of art forms. A longtime favorite has been the Architexture station, where a local volunteer artist typically tapes together a town from giant cardboard boxes from refrigerators and other household appliances and large objects. After this walk-through "town" is created, buckets of paint are set up and, throughout the day, children are welcome to paint away. "The kids love the Expo because they're allowed to get messy," said Special Events coordinator Sarah Byrne. "And, although staff and volunteers are there to provide guidance on the crafts for them, there aren't any rules or any 'right way' to do a project. "The children are definitely encouraged to be creative. And they get to take home everything they make." In all, there will be 15 creation stations--five provided at no charge and others with fees for materials ranging up to a dollar. Participants can purchase 25-cent tickets at the central information booth to spend as they choose, or they can "do" the entire park for $5. "One of the booths that was so much fun to watch last year was the Sculpture Garden," said Megan Penn, a volunteer assistant coordinator of the event. "We gave the kids a bunch of recyclables and tape and they could create whatever they could imagine. It was amazing to see the things they came up with!" Craft activities this year will include Art to Eat (an Oreo cookie decorated with frosting and pretzel sticks to look like a spider), Junque Jewelry (where necklaces and bracelets are crafted from colored pasta, buttons, beads and yarn), and Mosaic Magic (where children use beans, rice and dried peas to add texture and color to drawings they make on matte board. Eggs-cellent flowers (maybe a nice gift for mom or grandma?) will be crafted from sections of an egg carton, cupcake liners and pipe-cleaners. And at another booth, kids will draw with a blunt pencil on Styrofoam sheets to create unique prints. The Radical Rock station (where kids will paint smooth river rocks) will be offered as a result of popular demand. Penn explained: "Last year, the staff painted rocks to use as paperweights in all the different booths, and all the kids kept asking, 'Where's the rock painting station?' So we've added that activity this year." The 2008 Art Expo attracted more than 1,000 participants, and at least that many are anticipated this Saturday. "The expo is a great way to get the kids out and learning--and a good way to release their energy and maybe to find something that they will really enjoy doing," said Penn. Collette Caprara is a local artist and freelance writer.
Read more stories about Fredericksburg Date published: 7/23/2009
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