This year's Fine Arts Festival was a huge hit for the community. The turnout was larger than last year, had a lot more activities and was an exciting night for all of those involved.
The festival had an array of things for the community to not only watch but to participate in. There was much to do and see at the festival, from the Art Club’s array of stations to keep the kids occupied, to the multitude of performances for the rest of the people to enjoy. All of these performances had an immense amount of heart and time put into everything that was showcased that night.
“We selected our solos two months in advance,” Jordan Adkins said. The piece we performed was to be played at the UIL Solo and Ensemble competition that following Saturday. So we were given some time to prepare.”
Most clubs and groups had around a month to prepare their pieces and figure out how the Fine Arts Festival was going to look for them.
“We meet every wednesday during flex time and would discuss who would be helping where, what time things were, and what the art festival was about,” Braelynn Vineyard said.
Preparing for the festival was still relatively new to these groups considering this was only its second year.
“When preparing for a play, you have quite a bit of time to get ready,” Macie Munoz said. “It is always put together and is most of the time scripted. Preparing for the festival was a bit different. We had a lot less time to prepare, but there was a lot less stress because we knew that it would only be for fun.”
The performance groups had begun preparing music for competitions that were close to the Fine Arts Festival and used this as an opportunity to not only practice but showcase the work they’d put in.
“I think the festival gave the band much-needed practice for their solos,” Adkins said. “In general, the festival displayed the many virtuosic talents of WSISD students.”
The Art Club was the only group featured that didn’t have a performance of any kind to prepare for but that didn’t stop them from being a large part of the festival on the day of.
“There were 3 stations set up, there was face painting, face mask making, bookmark making and button making,” Vineyard said.
With the Art Club being a very interactive part of the night, the other groups needed to be able to captivate the children’s attention and get them involved as well.
“We prepared fun and interesting games for the audience, as well as created an open and inviting atmosphere for friends and family,” Munoz said.
Theater gave their all to include its audience and make sure the kids were able to get involved.
“We as a team asked them to give us topics or characters for our improv scenes,” Munoz said. “We had three different improv performances, each with different games that excited and included the audience.”
Getting the crowd involved in a performance was an aspect that choir and dance couldn’t really do while performing but realized they could teach them how to perform instead.
“We were super busy with our quick changes but our wonderful directors were able to teach some of the littles the basic dance concepts,” said Amber Kopacki.
This year's approach with recruitment and incorporating the kids created a better, more energetic environment.
“Show Choir taught a simplified version of the dance to the little kids, we also did karaoke and gave participation prizes,” Rachel Mohamadd said
Recruiting means so much more than just trying to gain members, especially to the members of these Fine Arts groups.
“The festival gave the Fine Arts program a chance to engage with the community directly,” Adkins said. “An aspiring young artist would be able to see what this district has to offer, and interact with students to see what the Fine Arts experience is truly like.”
When kids realize how much they enjoy doing some of these things by participating in the festival they’re more likely to join them.
“It shows students that there is a place for each and every one of them because I feel like there are still a lot of kids that don’t know we have a choir or show choir,” Mohamadd said.
The Fine Arts Festival was a huge opportunity for students to find their space.
“I believe that the Fine Arts Festival positively impacts the community. I think that it gives a warm welcome to newcomers and encourages them to enter the community,” Munoz said.
Promoting these events is an even bigger factor in recruiting. This is how these groups were able to advertise Fine Arts to them in person in the first place.
“Both before and during the Fine Arts Festival the theater program promoted it,” Munoz said. “Before the festival, we used social media and the spread of the word to share about it. During the festival we let people know to visit other rooms.”
Theater was certainly not the only group that used their social media outreach to get people out to the festival.
“Our team posted pictures and sneak peeks of our routines for people to get excited to come to see us perform,” Kopacki said.
The Fine Arts Festival was an opportunity for students to show off their individuality and creativity. The community was able to see for themselves the talent that our district has to offer.
“The festival had a lot of different groups and schools which only makes it more lively and exciting because we get to see everyone else in our community, and it was a family-friendly event so everyone had a good time,” Vineyard said.