On Saturday, April 8, Mount Carmel held its annual Spring Arts Festival, a celebration of the talent and hard work of Mount Carmel’s art community. The Fest, which ran from 5 p.m. to 8 pm., was coordinated by music teacher Moises Pacheco, with the cooperation of art teachers Julie Chappetto and Matthew McGuire.

This yea’s event ncluded a talent show featuring individual and group performances by members of Mount Carmel’s band and choir, as well as the cast of the musical Elijah performing two numbers from their recent production.  Several members of the IHSA Speech Team also reprised their presentations from state competition, and during the various performances, guests had the opportunity to view the sculptures, paintings, and photographs produced by many MC students in the various art classes this year.

The evening concluded with a short lecture by DePaul University professor Miles Harvey, who edited and recently published the collection of oral histories How Long Will I Cry:  Voices of Youth Violence.  Harvey showed a short video which told the story of how his book came to be, and then spoke about the power of writing to build community and cultivate sensitivity in a divided world.  In appreciation of his participation, Harvey was the named the “Mount Carmel/James T. Farrell Author of the Year.”

Earlier this spring, MC students had the opportunity to participate in the James T. Farrell Writing Contest by writing an essay, poem, or conducting an interview as part of an oral history project based on the theme “The American Dream:  past, present, and future.”

Finalists in the writing contest were announced on the Friday before the Arts Fest, and the winning entries were announced at the end of the evening.  This year’s winners included freshman Blake Lopez (short poetry); and seniors Tyler Stanish (un-themed poetry), Dorien Levy (thematic poetry), Matthew Garcia (essay), and Dillon Hoey (oral history).