Marietta City Schools celebrates the return of the Fine Arts Festival Wednesday featuring more than 800 mixed media entries paired with live performances and opportunities for the public to purchase from creators, too.
“Everything from trompe l'oeil to live sculptures, performances, it’s incredible,” described MHS Art Teacher Heath Rader. “If you’ve never been, you’ll be amazed what our kids can do when they use that right side of their brains.
The festival opens in the Marietta High School Sutton Gymnasium at 5:30 p.m. and will run until 8:30 p.m. with musical performances also taking the stage across the lobby in the auditorium.
| Time | Activity | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 5:30 p.m. | Festival Opens | Marietta High School Sutton Gymnasium |
| 6 p.m. | High Schools That Rock performs | Marietta High School Auditorium |
| 7 p.m. | Vocal performances from Marietta High School Choirs | Marietta High School Auditorium |
| 8 p.m. | Symphonic Band performs | Marietta High School Auditorium |
| 8:30 p.m. | Festival Closes | Marietta High School |
Before the pandemic, the event gathered more than 1,000 attendees to navigate between elementary, middle and high school work.
“They’re on the hunt for that one piece their kid did that’s mixed with work from all grades throughout the gym,” said Rader.
Plus, music complements the physical arts showcased by students of Rader, Steve Foutty, and the elementary schools.
“We’ll have a mixture of kids performing, and some really good singing,” said retired educator Mark Doebrich, founder of High Schools that Rock. “The youngest on stage is in second grade from Phillips, and our oldest a sophomore.”
The group will be followed by performances from Marietta High School’s vocal soloists, a mixed chorus, Vocal Point and Symphonic Band as attendees filter between displays.
“What’s really cool is you will see the work of a high schooler next to one from first grade and our kids see what they can aspire to if they keep working,” said Rader. “Some of our kids are even selling their work, and it’s skilled work, others have multiple entries and are performing in the music side.”
Aspiration breeds hope, he explained, necessary for the development of critical and creative thinking.
“What makes me proud is to see how much they've developed from the time I get them in Art 1 until they’re producing their own individual work in Art 3 and Art 4 and producing stuff that they didn’t believe they could do in the beginning.”