Sunday, April 15, 2001
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Sunday, April 15, 2001 |
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Unique arts festival showcases talents of students and teachers From stand-up comedy and skateboarding to poetry reading and visual and performing arts, everyone at Fayette Middle School gets to showcase his or her artistic flare during the annual Arts Festival. Art teacher Ellen Mitchell started the arts festival four years ago when she became a teacher at the school. During the last several years, the festival has blossomed into a venue where everyone's talent and interest is considered a work of art. The festival will be at the school April 17 from 7-8:30 p.m. The event is being coordinated with PTO night at the school. All teachers and most of Fayette Middle's student population participate. Each teacher decorates an easel outside of his or her classroom representing the subject that is taught. For example, science teachers show off their graphs and kites while those in the English department display books and literature drawings. As guests wander throughout the school, they are entertained by performances taking place in different venues. The cafeteria features the most festive displays such as teachers showcasing their arts and crafts, dancers performing the Cha Cha Slide and up-and-coming vocal talent singing the latest pop hits. Comedian routines and performances from the Fayette Middle chorus round out the vibrant talents of this venue. For a more refined experience, the winners of the school's recitation contest give dramatic readings of their poetry in between the soothing sounds of Fayette Middle's string orchestra. "The way the festival is put together is really neat. Each venue is visibly different from the next. People go from the wild and loud cafeteria to the refined presentations in the media center," Mitchell commented. For those who are interested in creating something from clay, Mitchell's eighth grade students are scheduled to conduct clay demonstrations and mini-workshops in the art room. There will also be weaving demonstrations. Outdoors, a group of skateboarders, who call themselves 411 Amateur Skate Demo, plan to wow audiences with their jumps and moves. "We added skateboarding to the festival last year. This is a hard thing that these students do. It takes a lot of talent and creativity and it is a form of art," Mitchell said. When guests want to take a break from all of the festivities, they can relax in the 1950s café in the commons area and enjoy edible works of art such as lemonade, cookies and popcorn prepared by the home economics department. When Mitchell first started the festival, she says her goal was to create an activity where everyone at the school could participate regardless of involvement in the arts. Virtually every student who wants to showcase a talent at the festival can do so. Even if students do not want to perform or display something, they are invited to help create banners and posters that hang in the school to direct guests to the different venues that evening. "We have over 900 students at the school and almost every child has something exhibited in some form. This is a good, unified and beautiful event where everyone has something going on somewhere," Mitchell added. There are no admission charges to enter the festival. Mitchell said everyone is used to donating money to different causes and events, so she decided that for one night out of the year the school community should be able to enjoy the cultures and talents of the students at no cost.
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