There's an Arts Party for kids at the Festival

There is a lot planned for the kids this weekend at the Coconut Grove Arts Festival. The Children’s Trust Kids Express At The Fest will present a Kids Grove Arts Party. From February 16 through the 18, the kids' zone is open daily from 10 am to 6 pm for children ages 5 to 12.

The Party will take shape with the international award winning visual arts education franchise Abrakadoodle, voted “Best Art Class to Bring Out Your Child’s Inner Picasso”, and in Grove lifestyle, reinvent the world in their own terms through art expression. 

Each day the staff will present Art in Our World Curriculum, which are one hour sessions where children will draw, paint, sculpt, design mosaics and collages, as well as create in the styles of multicultural master artists from Picasso to  Matisse.

Abrakadoodle has partnered with the Grove-based Florida Arts Therapy Association to help children understand the importance of expressing thoughts, feelings, reactions, and needs through color that are healthy and relationship-building, and teach them to communicate non-verbally. What better example of expressive color than to have children create in the art style of world-renowned Brazilian artist, who began his life as an artist in the Grove, Romero Britto, the official poster artist for the 2013 festival.

“Our support of the arts goes beyond developing talent," said Modesto E. Abety, president and CEO of The Children’s Trust. “Our goal is to give children the confidence and self-esteem that will help them to succeed in life. By exercising their imagination, the arts help students make new connections, transcend previous limitations, and think outside the box.”

Other highlights include a 10 am show each day, the musical "Party with Picasso and Friends” presented by Sugar and Spice Puppet theater and  at 11:00 am, The Dean of Green, an eco-children’s theater musical that teaches youth the importance of Growing up Green, healthy living, and protecting the earth, directed by Corky Dozier, Event creator, and Founder and Director of the Coconut Grove Children’s Theater, who celebrates her 50th year in Children’s Theater.