Are your kids driving you completely insane? Does your family need to get out of the house and do something creative?
The City of Gilroy Recreation Department has just what you’re looking for.
The 24th annual Kids Discover Arts event will take place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, March 2 at the Wheeler Community Center, located 250 W. Sixth St. in Gilroy.
This spectacular (and free!) showcase of local talent isn’t something that can be replicated with a couple of broken crayons and some scrap paper from under the couch.
Local art professionals will offer more than 20 different workshops and “hands on” experiences for children ages 5 to 11. This year’s “Kids Discover Arts” event is a collaborative effort between the City of Gilroy Recreation Department, Gilroy Garlic Festival Association and Gilroy Rotary Club, along with 14 local businesses and individuals committed to the cause.
Cathy Mirelez, Cultural Arts Recreation Supervisor has been with Kids Discover Arts from its nascence in 1989. The free event, open to all economic backgrounds to attend, was originally a response to the removal of the arts from elementary school curriculum due to state budget cuts.
The overwhelming feeling was one of “what can we do?” said Mirelez.
A trip to the “Hands on the Arts” festival at Sunnyvale gave Mirelez and company ideas and inspiration to take back to Gilroy.
Community members banded together that following week to put on a creative extravaganza. The effort was driven through sheer goodwill and generosity, which snowballed as volunteers continued to put it on year after year.
For Renee Harrigan, that means organizing local artisans and finding out more about possible future workshop instructors, she said.
Harrigan is an art specialist who acts as a liaison between the artists and the event to make sure the artists’ needs are met. She has been with “Kids Discover Arts” since its inception 24 years ago, beginning as charcoal drawing artist in 1989.
“We have a core group that come back that love it,” explained Harrigan, who in March will be joined by many other returning artists.
“Art is so important to a lot of young kids,” she added.
This year, Kids Discover Arts has a total of 21 workshops available for children to participate in. Six of those will be brand new.
The popular Gilroy event is also an exciting opportunity for the local art community to see what talents are looming on the horizon, including future artists that “really have the knack,” as Harrigan put it.
Past attendance for “Kids Discover Arts” has typically reached 400 children.
Parents are reminded that children must be accompanied by an adult. There will be food available to purchase, and additional parking will be available on the northwest corner of Seventh and Church streets.
Children should wear “paint friendly” clothing and let their creative side run amok.
