What better way to celebrate a 75th anniversary than with 600 of your closest friends?! Yes, Main Line Art Center truly got our anniversary year started off the right way with the Family Arts festival on Satu
rday, Sept. 10th. This free event featured art projects from around the world, music, performances, and refreshments (the cupcakes were a personal favorite!). From card making to mosaics, there were 11 different, interactive art projects for children throughout the Art Center’s studios – from the ceramics studio in the basement all the way to the 3rd floor! Parents, grandparents, and kids all enjoyed the variety and left with their goody bags bursting with completed art projects.
Along with the three packed floors of arts and crafts, families delighted in the fast-paced comic antics of
John Cassidy, magician and balloon sculptor. From kid-sized motorcycles (which we found out the hard way cannot be sat on!) to wearable butterfly wings, to 5-foot giraffes, it’s no wonder that the lines wrapped around the gallery for John’s creations.
Kid rock band the Cat’s Pajamas performed two high-spirited musical sets, infusing their performance with puppets and props. As usual, their high energy performances kept the crowd on its feet!
Children’s radio host Kathy O’Connell of WXPN’s Kids Corner, greeted festival guests, signed autographs, and announced the band.
But the party did not stop there. At 1:30 pm, the crowd gathered just off the Art Center’s front patio for a special announcement and unveiling of the Arts Alive Mobile. First Executive Director Judy Herman welcomed everyone to the Art Center and thanked PNC Arts Alive for their sponsoring the Family Arts Festival and the year-long mobile art project. Next, State Senator Daylin Leach and Rep. Gregory Vitali presented the Art Center with a 75th anniversary citation. Finally…the moment that everyone was waiting for. Members of Main Line Art Center’s Board of Directors slowly pulled the blue tarp off of the Art Center’s SUV, revealing the paint-splattered, eye-catching design of the Arts Alive Mobile. There will be no missing this vehicle as it comes rolling into your neighborhood!
Finally, we would like to thank everyone who had a part in making this event a success including Patty Papatheodore, event coordinator extraordinaire, Teaching Artists and volunteers, John Cassidy and the Cat’s Pajamas, State Senator Daylin Leach, Rep. Gregory Vitali, Kathy O’Connell from Kid’s Corner, photographer Tom Ammon, our facepainters, and of course the PNC Foundation.
Keep your eyes on this blog for announcements about where the Arts Alive Mobile is headed next! And, if you see it out on the road, take a picture, email it to info@mainlineart.org for our use on this blog and you could win a prize!
It turns out a rainy day was no hindrance for a fun morning at West Laurel Hill’s annual Easter Egg Hunt! Dozens of children along with their families showed up to join the hunt last Sunday and to get their creative juices flowing! Main Line Art Center’s Arts Alive Mobile and its Street Squad Artists were equipped with oodles of 
art supplies to help each child make his or her very own pinwheel and let us tell you the crowd went wild. Not only were the children thrilled to be able to create their own pinwheel but more than one parent’s face lit up once the assembly of the project was complete. By the time the Easter Egg Hunt started at 10:30 and the Street Squad Artists had completed their session, the scattered crayons, pencils, and streamers were a testament to the fun that been had! Here are a few pictures we took of the fun day…and you can view more on West Laurel Hill’s website here. 
