MoorArts’ annual holiday arts festival will be held on the third floor of the Moorestown Recreation Center from 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 7, following the Moorestown Lions Christmas parade.
The arts event is free and will feature works created by township K-12 students, live music, make-and-take crafts and snacks. The annual tradition takes place on the first Saturday in December and is supported by the Moorestown Parks and Recreation Department.
The festival gives singers, musicians and dancers a venue to perform original musical numbers, along with showcasing their artwork. It’s become a staple since two students came up with the idea a few years ago.
“It’s always nice that MoorArts has some student reps on our board every year,” said MoorArt’s vice president Andrea Seuren. “They have wonderful ideas and they’re a great addition to our board.”
One of the best things about the event – from Seuren’s point of view – is seeing how excited the students get when they come to the show with their families and highlight work they did.
“They’re so excited and proud of the fact that they have a piece there, and some years we’re getting ready to take (everything) down and we have people still strolling in to come see the artwork …” Seuren noted. “It’s … fun for the kids to come and have their photo taken in front of their artwork, and they bring their parents and their grandparents or their aunts and uncles.
“All the family comes to see.”
MoorArts is an all-volunteer nonprofit dedicated to supporting the fine and performing arts in Moorestown schools and throughout the community. Its goals are to support a quality school curriculum in fine and performing arts and provide venues to showcase the talents of not only students, but also teachers and local artists.
“We have some really talented young people in this district,” Seuren said. “It’s very interesting to see the imagination and creativity that the teachers bring to the table, and then the students make a piece of artwork out of it.”
MoorArts (established as Moorestown Arts Advocacy Council) has awarded more than 200 scholarships for outstanding achievement in the visual arts, vocal music, theater, instrumental music and dance. Several recipients now have careers in fine or performing arts or arts-related fields, and many of them have returned to participate in MoorArts as performers, technical and creative assistants and in leadership positions.
For more information, visit www.moorarts.org.
