Agencies ‘planting seeds’ with annual Holiday pARTy
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By Carlton Fletcher
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ALBANY — The annual Holiday pARTy at the Albany Area Arts Council is as much about planting seeds as it is a good time.
The annual pARTy, hosted by the Arts Council and Albany Recreation and Parks Department, will be held for the sixth year Saturday, and Council Executive Director Nicole Willis said Thursday there’s more to the annual event than meets the eye.
“There are all these fun activities to bring kids to the Arts Council — a lot of them kids who might not necessarily know what goes on here — so it’s a great holiday event that offers exposure,” Willis said. “We do it in conjunction with the Elementary Arts Exhibition that is on display so that kids might see works of their peers in that setting and be inspired to make their own creations.”
While kids and their parents are having fun at the Holiday pARTy, they can also admire the artistic talents of students in the Dougherty County School System.
“We think it’s important that kids understand that the gallery here is accessible,” Willis said.
The pARTy, dreamed up by Willis and former Arts Council Board Member and current Recreation and Parks official Kristin Caso, will kick off at 11 a.m. and continue until 1 p.m. in the Arts Council’s 215 N. Jackson St. gallery. There is no charge for the many activities that will allow students to show off their creativity.
“I can’t really say if we’ve gotten the kind of response we want from the students in the area because there’s no way to really measure it,” Willis said. “But there continues to be excitement about the student art exhibit, so I feel like we’re planting seeds that may pay off (with more young people involved in the arts) in the future.”
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