By Mary Owen
North Santiam Canyon youngsters are invited to become “art smart” when they participate in a program of the same name at the upcoming CanyonArts Festival 2011.
“For example, we are building a couple of spin art bikes, where one person pedals to spin the turntable while the other squirts paint on the moving paper,” said Renate Medley of Santiam Hearts to Arts. “I expect this will be quite a crowd pleaser.”
Medley received an Oregon Community Grant to create an interactive art Family Fun Fair at the festival, an all-day event that takes place Saturday, April 30, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on the Santiam High School grounds in Mill City. A Battle of the Bands will take place Friday, April 29, 7 – 9 p.m. at SHS auditorium prior to the festival.
Another Family Fun Fair activity will be a Mock Chalk Walk, Oregon’s answer to sidewalk pavement art in rainy April.
April 30, 10 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Mill City Middle School &
Santiam High School
503-897-2949
Saturday afternoon & evening
entertainment tickets: 503-586-8072
“We’ll be having a contest with 4- by 4-foot chalkboards as a sort of indoor pavement,” Medley said. “For an entry fee of $5 per person, each team, up to four members, will be given chalk pastels to create a drawing for prizes. They will work on the floor to simulate pavement drawing and so onlookers can watch the work as they would at a pavement drawing event – without the danger of rain.”
And the popular Remaking of the Master’s activity will be repeated, during which kids will color 4-inch squares to place on a grid, creating a replica of a piece of art such as last year’s Mosaic Mona. After filling their passport with stamps from eight artists – seven from history and one of Mill City’s own – that they meet along the ArtSmart Passport trail, participants will be given a new book courtesy of the First Book Local Advisory Board in Mill City.
The artists visited range from Rembrandt Van Rijn and Baroque Dutch to Aristotle Contemplating the Bust of Homer and Salvador Dali, Surrealism, Persistence of Memory.
“We’ve really grown since the first year in 2010,” Medley said of the event. “Last year, almost the whole event was in the high school gym. This year, with the new Family Fun Fair taking up that space, the gallery and bazaar have moved to the Mill City Middle School, and we’ve added a literary corner there, too, with open mike poetry readings and writing workshops throughout the day.”
Medley said a block-long section of street filled with civic and social groups will connect the two venues.
“Kicking off the weekend of activities will be a Battle of the Bands. Competing are: March of May from Mill City and From Ashes to Grace and Flawless Escape, both from Salem.
“They each play their own brand of rock,” said stage manager Ray Hanna of the Mill-City-based band, The Rockhounds.
The competition includes cash prizes and free studio time with Magic Sound in Salem. Admission is $5 at the door; a discount is offered with student identification.
Saturday’s festivities include an art gallery at Mill City Middle School, a craft bazaar at the MCMS gym, the street fair along Evergreen Street, and the Family Fun Fair with bounce houses, games and entertainment in the SHS gym. Demonstrations include chainsaw carving, blacksmith work and pottery making.
A Food Court Stage will at the covered area at the middle school. Performers include Cwerks interactive
children’s theater, Green Machine Jazz Ensemble, and the Stayton High School Chanticlairs choral group.
Tara Manning’s Steppin’ Up Jazz dancers and a local kids’ jump rope team will be featured in a matinee performance on the SHS auditorium stage, followed be a 7 p.m. evening performance.
Tickets for the afternoon performance are $3 and for evening, $10 for adults, $5 for children 12 and under, or $20 for reserved seating. For tickets, call Jahn Hoover at 503-586-8072. For information on the CanyonArts Festival call 503-897-2949 or visit www.canyonartsfestival.com.
