My sister, daughter Aven, and I attended the Festival on Ponce at Olmstead Linear Park in Atlanta last Saturday. The art festival was arranged down a pathway lined with vendors’ booths showcasing their art, crafts, and products. I love festivals and checking out local art, and trying out the food. This was my first time visiting Olmstead Linear park. The same event, Festival on Ponce, is slated to take place this fall. Below are 6 reasons you should absolutely take your kids to an art festival this season.
Inexpensive
There are many free art festivals and music festivals, especially Spring through Fall. Just look them up in your city!
Educational
Obviously, there is a lot to learn from every artist you see at a festival: details about how they craft their products, what mediums are used, facts about their personal inspiration, etc. However, a festival is also an opportunity to teach children about sales, money, and even bargaining. Additionally, some art festivals are strategically organized to take place in historic areas and/or support a worthy cause. Find out what you can about the area/cause and make it a learning experience.
You can even print off a scavenger hunt or make your own to increase your child’s engagement in the day’s events.
Free Parking
Lots of festivals will take place in a community where there will be free or cheap parking in neighborhoods or surrounding businesses. Consider using public transportation as well. At the Spring Festival on Ponce, we found free parking at a church across the street. The church was accepting donations though, for a Boy Scout troop, I believe.
Kid Friendly Activities
More often than not, there will be a designated area for children’s shows and activities. At the art festival we attended, there were plenty of activities for kids including face painting, bounce houses, and bungee jumping. Aven was seemingly intrigued by the bungee jumping set up.
Awesome Art and Artists
I enjoyed viewing the art on display and chatting with a few of the artists. People are unbelievably talented. I couldn’t help but to appreciate the complexity, beauty, and creativity of the human mind. Seeing the manifestation of each artist’s vision was a testament to the fact that we can do anything we put our minds to.
The artist featured above is Janine Monroe. She had some of the most intriguing and awe inspiring pieces on display at the festival. Janine’s use of recycled wood along with pigments and acrylic polymers to create sculptures on canvas is brilliant! You can visit her gallery here.
Food
A festival is a one stop shop. You don’t have to go out to eat afterward. Usually there is plenty of food and snacks available for sale. On our outing we saw a line of food trucks in the park. The truck we decided upon had already sold out of a few items, so it’s always a good idea to come early. Aven also enjoyed her first King of Pops Grapefruit Mint popsicle.
Tips
You may want to bring:
- A bottle or two of water
- A few of your own snacks
- Cash (although there is usually an atm and many vendors are equipped to take card payments)
- Tennis shoes
- Sunscreen
- Visor or Hat
- Hand Sanitizer
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- My 6 month old doesn’t like being in her car seat carrier for too long so I brought along my Baby K’Tan baby carrier, I also have a more structured carrier from Ergobaby.
- Because I’m still breastfeeding and often feed my daughter in public, I use this multi-use muslin swaddle from Aden + Anais as a breathable coverup.
- I also brought along my Canon T6i, which I’m still figuring out, to capture a few photos.
*If you have kids that are walking age, it may be helpful to locate designated “lost child areas” and come up with a plan before hand.
I’m looking forward to catching a few more festivals this season in Atlanta, such as the Sweet Auburn Fest, Georgia Renaissance Festival, Dogwood Festival, the Atlanta Jazz Festival, and the Atlanta Black Arts Festival. Which festivals in your city are you looking forward to?
Thank you for sharing. I am an Educator and I so appreciate this article! We try to get families to spend time with their children all the time but everyone says too busy or too expensive! It is so important to expose children to more then iPads and tv screens. We all should plant other seeds to help our children become well rounded and they can learn to appreciate different cultures! I hope you guys had a great time and I hope your baby gets to see more of that 🙂 I love the quote “what you teach your child at a young age is what they will give society when they become adults” keep empowering! Thank you for letting me share!
Thank you Ivory! I certainly agree that children should be exposed to art, music, sciences, different cultures, and develop a rich and diverse set of positive learning experiences. Although the use of electronics can create some opportunities for learning, I do believe it is important to have balance. We did have an awesome time and look forward to many more adventures! Where is that quote from? I love it!
How fun!!! I love exposing my son to culture! <3
We had a blast! It’s awesome that you expose your son to culture, it will surely make him very well rounded, more compassionate, and even more intelligent. I plan to continue with my daughter. Are there any art or music festivals you enjoy attending in your area?