Jaclyn Haggerty
Staff Writer
Balloon animals, face painting, portraits, and origami were just a few of the crafty activities offered at the Polk Museum of Art’s Family Day last weekend.
The event took place on Sept. 21. For over 20 years, Family Day has given children of all ages an opportunity to, “get excited about art,” says Sandra Horan, Public Relations and Marketing Manager of the Polk Museum of Art.
“That’s probably my favorite part – it’s fun to see them really get into the activities,” Horan said.
A perk that parents especially enjoy? It’s completely free.
School aged-children are even able to receive complimentary art supplies if they are one of the first 500 kids to arrive.
While Family Day has been around for quite awhile, there has been a rising amount of newcomers during recent years, a positive sign for the community.
“It’s a very big event,” Horan said. “There are usually up to a thousand or so people that come, but there can be even more than that, like there have been recently.”
Newcomers Crystal and Owen Nelson, parents of 6-year-old Natalie, 5-year-old Luke, and 11-month-old Bradley were drawn to the event by the Museum’s advertisements and activities.
“Yes, yes it’s very nice.” Crystal laughed, accompanied by an enthusiastic nod from her daughter, Natalie.
Museum employees greet each guest with a warm smile and friendly gesture into the lobby that is filled with fresh bake sale items and a plethora of arts and crafts.
The entertainment does not stop there. Children sporting balloon hats of almost every animal imaginable gazed in wonder at the stilt walkers as they performed tricks.
Six-year-old Maxxie was notably awestruck.
“He gave me a high five!” He exclaimed, jumping up and down with his self-made bookmark and mosaic.
Magicians had every audience member puzzled – adults included.
“Family Day is really very focused on children of young ages and getting them involved,” Horan said.
The next event to attend at the Museum is the Art Crawl held on Nov. 16. The event is made up of various emerging artists exhibiting their work and showing demonstrations.
“It’s outdoors, there’s bands and food. It’s very targeting for those in college,” Horan said.
