FCA Hosts Halloween Kid Fest
-A version of the following first appeared in The Floyd Press on October 31, 2019. –Whether you took a spooky elevator ride or the stairs up to the Floyd Center for the Arts (FCA) Community Room, you and over 100 kids and their parents had fun at Sunday afternoon’s Halloween Kid Fest. One of the oldest FCA annual events, the Kid Fest is 19 years old.
The only event older is Winterfest, which is set to mark its 25th year in December.
You don’t have to buy anything at the Kid Fest. Tricks and treats are free to the public. One-hundred pumpkins were donated by Sinkland Farms for the children to paint. Other activities included a Halloween spider-web blindfold game, Halloween bag decorating and jack o’lanterns full of creepy crawlies to touch and feel.
FCA program director Becky Lattuca described the Kid Fest as a community outreach event. “It brings families in and gets the kids comfortable here. They come year-after-year and then suddenly they’re here for a different reason. We want it to feel like their center. We’re not just an art gallery,” she said.
The center’s mission is“to facilitate and showcase artistic endeavors and creativity and to provide education in the arts throughout our rural community and region.” Currently the Center is showcasing three exhibits through November 30, New Work, Elephant in the Room and Peak Creek.
Upcoming classes at the Center include Beeswax Batik, Bookmaking and Watercolor Painting. Upcoming events include the Winterfest Arts and Craft Festival and the Festival of Trees (December 7 and 8) and a Home for the Holidays concert with the Wiley family (David and Leah and son Misha) and the Bouknights (Philip and Tara) on December 22.
Treats at the Halloween Kid Fest were donated by the community. Alea Lacoste, who was one of three ACE (Access to Community College for Everyone) volunteers at the event, baked ghost cupcakes for the occasion. There were also chocolate broomsticks and cookies topped with chocolate witch hats.
Virginia Tech and Radford University students also volunteered at the Halloween Kid Fest. A costume parade, spooky decorations and a photo booth (with free printed out pictures) rounded out the festivities.
