Thursday, September 22, 2016

Wings of Color: Magic Happens at Moody Gardens

It’s a beautiful day at Moody Gardens here in Galveston, Texas, the site of our 5th Annual Art in the Gardens festival sponsored by VSA Texas and Moody Gardens. This free event for schools gives students with disabilities an opportunity to show off their creative side through interactive art stations. This year’s theme is "Wings of Color" and we have over 15 local art groups and 4 performance groups providing activities and entertainment for these kids.

Well we better start getting busy setting up. The schools, performers, and art groups will be arriving soon, and we got a big fun-filled event to put on!

We have an adhesive foam butterflies activity provided by The Galveston Art League:
The Galveston Art League table covered in clipboards and butterfly outlines 
A bin of brightly colored foam stars and other shapes
Making animal face masks with Tide Way. Got those creative juices flowing!
Coloring and cutting out various animal face masks
Hey, I see some dancing going on by the Down Syndrome Association Pantomime Dancers.  Fabulous costumes! The kids are loving this.
Pantomime dancers donning circus costumes
Another pantomime dancer in a colorful tutu carefully walking an imaginary tightrope
More pantomime dancers, this time dressed as cars
Oh my gosh, it’s a Penguin Mascot from Ryan's RazzMaTazz! Maybe I can get his autograph, see what kind of fish he likes and if he has a girlfriend.
The penguin mascot greeting one of the kids
Where are all these bubbles coming from? Why it’s from VSA Texas' own bubble making machine attached to this wheelchair. Bubbles everywhere!!
The wheelchair bubble maker attachment blowing bubbles in all directions
More bubbles!
A big shout out to all the volunteers provided by Moody Gardens that are working hard to make this such a special day for all the kids!
Someone dressed up as a bright blue and yellow bird. A penguin admirer? 
Ah, I think it’s lunchtime now for us as well as the kids, but I don’t know, they are loving this live music provided by School of Rock. Look at some of these kids' moves. They know how to rock!
A student grooving to School of Rock with the help of a teacher
Well, it seems like we just got started and now it’s pack up time and thank you's to do for all our great participants. We saw many creative expressions on this year’s theme “Wings of Color.” The kids are off now to see the Rainforest Pyramid compliments of Moody Gardens. This event has been a delight every year and the art community always pulls together to donate their time and creativity in making this event so special for the kids and their families and teachers. Galveston is such a welcoming and beautiful city here on the waters behind Moody Gardens, so magical.
The VSA team behind the magic: Janelle, April, and Lynn
See ya next year!

No comments:

Post a Comment