Talent on display at Spring Arts Festival
Students artists created boxes with designs ranging from sports logos to contemporary art, and stacked them together to create a unique welcome to the Spring Arts Festival.
On the weekend of May 13-15, Mount Carmel showcased some of the school’s top artistic talent in the second annual Spring Arts Festival. The event included performances by the Caravan Band and Choir, as well as the IHSA Speech Team. On the same weekend, members of Mount Carmel’s Drama Club presented “You Can’t Take It With You” for audiences on Friday evening and Sunday afternoon.
At Saturday evening’s Arts Festival, IHSA Speech Team state finalists Emmanuel Reid ’16 and Justin Fekete ’17 showed off their impressive skills. Fekete enjoys performing for the Speech Team and was thrilled at the opportunity to perform his impromptu routine from the competitive speech season. “I did my impromptu that got me to the state finals and then also performed with the Caravan Choir.” One of the main goals of the weekend was to get additional exposure for the flourishing Speech Team that has produced back to back state finalists in its first two years of existence.
Art teacher Matthew McGuire was pleased that the event built on the success of last year’s inaugural festival, at which only select pieces of art were displayed. “This year we had (producing) artwork for the festival built into the curriculum, so the range of art was much broader, and all students were well represented.”
Building up attendance from the smaller numbers who participated in the first annual Spring Arts Festival was no easy task. Art teacher Julie Chappetto observed that a concerted publicity effort in the weeks leading up to the event are what made it so successful. “Last year the event was free, but this year there was a fee at the door to raise money (for the arts program). Also, I think the entire festival was publicized much more than in the past, which helped out.”
The new Parents Arts Council took the lead in organizing and publicizing the event.
As a result of that effort, nearly 400 students, parents, and alumni enjoyed the event, far exceeding last year’s attendance. Be sure to mark your calendars next spring to enjoy the third annual Spring Arts Festival!
