Youngsters take over Bliss stage for Arts Festival

For the past week or so, Belize’s youngest performers in the districts have been on the stage giving of their talents in art, music, dance, and drama as part of the Pre-School Children’s Festival of the Arts. The junior companion to the main show in May and more recently for secondary schools, it offers an outlet for those of a creative bent to exercise those talents for a wide audience. This week, it is the Belize District’s turn and News Five attended the opening ceremony at the Bliss Center for the Performing Arts. The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports’ curriculum officer for Expressive Arts, Leroy Green, shares details.

Leroy Green

Leroy Green, Expressive Arts Curriculum Officer, Ministry of Education

“All the district versions of this particular event concluded on Friday, and the theme countrywide is “Born Talented, So Shine!” This morning we had the opening of the Belize District Pre-School Festival of Arts, and starting tonight at six o’clock we will be having performance items right up until Friday at six o’clock, and then Saturday morning at nine o’clock the rural schools will come in and take to the stage here at the Bliss. However, we are not leaving out those people who work with their hands; so if you take a walk upstairs you are going to see the art displays from the different schools and also there is a mini-art exhibition from our art facilitator, Mr. Deon Williams, who teaches art to the teachers, and that art contains different ideas that the teachers can use in the pre-schools.”

As of last year, each performance and art piece is adjudicated and the top eight items in the performance category from each district take part in a national showcase. Special prizes were handed out for best performance in arts, dance, drama, music and overall best school in addition to a few special mentions. Again, showtime tonight and all this week is at six at the Bliss Center.